Republican Scott Brown To Support Financial Reform

Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) released a statement on Monday announcing he’ll support the financial regulatory reform bill when it is voted on this week.

“I’ve spent the past week reviewing the Wall Street reform bill. I appreciate the efforts to improve the bill, especially the removal of the $19 billion bank tax. As a result, it is a better bill than it was when this whole process started,” he said.

“While it isn’t perfect, I expect to support the bill when it comes up for a vote.”

Brown added, however, that he still believes the bill has room for improvement. Specifically, he said he’d like to see the legislation contain language to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

With Brown now on board, Democrats in the Senate likely need just one more Republican to switch sides in order to reach the magic number of 60 votes required to overcome a filibuster.