WASHINGTON – US senate Democrats yesterday appeared to have nailed down sufficient votes to approve a historic overhaul of financial regulations and set up a final vote by the end of the week.
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid scheduled a key vote for this morning after Senator Ben Nelson, one of the chamber’s most conservative Democrats, said he would support the Bill, which would be the broadest rewrite of the Wall Street rule book since the Great Depression.
Senator Nelson’s support probably gives Democrats the 60 votes they need to clear an expected Republican procedural hurdle in the 100-seat chamber.
If they succeed today, backers could hold a final vote by Saturday and send the Bill to President Obama to sign into law.
“I believe we have 60 votes, otherwise we wouldn’t be going forward,” said Democratic Senator Christopher Dodd, one of the chief architects of the Bill.
The House of Representatives already has approved the measure and Democrats are eager to get it to the President’s desk.
If signed into law, it would give Democrats an important legislative victory alongside healthcare reform as they try to minimise Republican gains in the November congressional elections.
The Dodd-Frank Bill, named for chief authors Dodd and Representative Barney Frank, would impose tough new restrictions on the financial services industry in an effort to avoid a repeat of the 2007-2009 fiscal crisis, which triggered a deep recession.
The Bill establishes new consumer protections and gives regulators the authority to seize and dismantle large, troubled financial firms. It limits banks’ ability to engage in risky trading practices and imposes new regulations on much of the $615 trillion over-the-counter derivatives market.
“This reform is good for families, it’s good for businesses, it’s good for the entire economy and I urge the Senate to act quickly so that I can sign it into law next week,” President Obama said.
Passage would allow Democrats to capitalise on disgust with Wall Street, which soaked hundreds of billions in bailout funds as the financial meltdown pushed the economy into a deep recession.
“By cleaning up Wall Street, we’re going to make sure big bankers can never again gamble away our future,” Senator Reid said. Three moderate Republican senators have said they will vote for the Bill. Republican senator Olympia Snowe said she was disappointed that more Republicans did not support it. – (Reuters)
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