Main Street

Talkin’ Wall Street Reform in the Senate

The Senate is set to begin debate tomorrow on numerous amendments to the Wall Street reform bill. Here’s a rundown on some of the latest coverage from the blogs.

At Daily Kos mcjoan writes about several key amendments that are expected, including one from Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Ted Kaufman (D-DE) to limit bank size and scope:

The author of one of the key amendments, the SAFE Banking Act, says he doesn’t have the votes yet.

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said he lacks the votes right now to advance his amendment limiting the size of banks.

Brown held out hope that the measure, which he’s offered along with Sen. Ted Kaufman (D-Del.), could win enough support to pass as the Senate debate moves forward.

“I don’t think we do yet,” Brown told Bloomberg’s “Political Capital” when asked if he has the votes. “I think a week ago we weren’t even close. I think this weekend we’re closer.”

Politico has a lengthy rundown which includes this on amendments expected from Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont:

Sanders is pushing two amendments — one to cap the interest rates offered by credit cards at 15 percent and a second requiring the Federal Reserve to divulge the names of financial institutions that have received low-interest loans.

The latter is being hotly resisted by the Fed itself, which argues that financial institutions need anonymity to take the loans, but the amendment has support from five Democrats and 10 Republicans, including Sens. John McCain, David Vitter, Jim DeMint and Chuck Grassley. The House bill includes a version of it pushed by Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas).

Sanders said he is also supporting the Kaufman-Brown amendment. “People are loosely working together. We’re going to fight for each other’s amendments and make sure this bill comes out as strong as it can possibly be.”

And Bloomberg is reporting that Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), who is managing the Wall Street reform bill on the floor as chairman of the Banking Committee, expects Republicans will try to weaken consumer financial protection every which way:

Dodd predicted in an April 30 floor speech that Republicans will bring up “a ton of amendments to try to undermine” the bureau. An agency to inform borrowers is needed because the sale of “bad mortgages” was “where the fires began that nearly consumed our economy,” he said.

Tags: financial reform, Wall Street Reform