Monday
Apr262010
Wall Street Reform Bill Fails To Clear First Hurdle
Monday, April 26, 2010 at 6:16PM
A procedural vote for Wall Street reform legislation failed to gain traction in the Senate Monday after Republicans and Democrat Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) voted against moving the bill to overhaul the regulation of the nation’s financial industry towards its next stage.
Although necessary to open the bill up to formal debate, the vote, which came in at 57-41, was largely considered a test. Negotiations between the two parties will continue.
Republicans cited concerns in the lead up to Monday’s vote that the legislation fails to provide strict enough language against government funded bailouts and that a fund supplied by large financial institutions to ultimately aid failing banks would not do enough to deter risky behavior.
Democrats are likely to capitalize on the Republicans’ opposition to the bill by casting the GOP as being too cozy with the financial industry.
“A vote against even opening debate on holding Wall Street accountable is a vote to protect Wall Street,” a spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) charged in a statement Monday morning.
Nelson also sparred with his party amid the health care debate, wherein the Nebraska Democrat withheld support for reform legislation until stronger measures preventing publicly funded abortions were provided.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) ultimately changed his vote Monday to oppose bringing the regulatory reform bill to debate, a procedural move that would allow the legislation to be brought to the Senate floor again.
In December, the House of Representatives passed their version of financial regulatory reform legislation. It passed with no Republican support. In order to move forward, the Senate will need to find 60 supporters for the bill.
Although necessary to open the bill up to formal debate, the vote, which came in at 57-41, was largely considered a test. Negotiations between the two parties will continue.
Republicans cited concerns in the lead up to Monday’s vote that the legislation fails to provide strict enough language against government funded bailouts and that a fund supplied by large financial institutions to ultimately aid failing banks would not do enough to deter risky behavior.
Democrats are likely to capitalize on the Republicans’ opposition to the bill by casting the GOP as being too cozy with the financial industry.
“A vote against even opening debate on holding Wall Street accountable is a vote to protect Wall Street,” a spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) charged in a statement Monday morning.
Nelson also sparred with his party amid the health care debate, wherein the Nebraska Democrat withheld support for reform legislation until stronger measures preventing publicly funded abortions were provided.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) ultimately changed his vote Monday to oppose bringing the regulatory reform bill to debate, a procedural move that would allow the legislation to be brought to the Senate floor again.
In December, the House of Representatives passed their version of financial regulatory reform legislation. It passed with no Republican support. In order to move forward, the Senate will need to find 60 supporters for the bill.
Reader Comments