Talking Points Memo reports that Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, says Republicans are close to supporting Sen. Chris Dodd’s (D-Conn.) financial regulatory reform bill. “We’re very close to a deal and there will be a substantial number of Republicans that go along with it,” Shelby says. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) had last week convinced all 41 Republican Senators to sign on to a letter opposing the bill on the grounds that it would create “perpetual bailouts” for Wall Street firms. It now seems Republicans will not filibuster the popular bill.
The Senate Agriculture Committee, meantime, passed Sen. Blanche Lincoln’s (D-Ark.) derivatives reform bill out of committee. All committee Democrats, plus Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), agreed to the plan, which Wall Street stringently opposes.
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