US Senate to Debate Financial Reform Despite Failed Deal, US Senate to Begin Debate on Financial Regulations, US Senate to Debate Financial Reform

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DPA | 29 Apr, 2010
The US Senate is set to begin debating an overhaul of financial regulations this week, despite the failure of Democrats and Republicans to reach a compromise on the far-reaching legislation after months of talks.

The financial reform bill passed a procedural hurdle late Wednesday that allows the full Senate Thursday to begin debating the legislation, which aims to curb excesses on Wall Street that led the financial sector to the brink of collapse in October 2008.

The procedural motion had been blocked three times this week by conservative lawmakers. Republicans late Wednesday lifted their opposition, paving the way for a new phase in the long-running discussions.

Lawmakers will now likely continue debating the legislation for weeks on the floor of the Senate.

The move comes after Democrat Christopher Dodd and Republican Richard Shelby announced that their months-long efforts to reach a bipartisan compromise on the bill had failed. But both sides said they remained confident the divide could be bridged as the debate moves to the full Senate.

"We haven't sealed anything, but we have had great conversations... that i think will allow us to get there," said Dodd, chairman of the Senate's Banking Committee.

The reforms, supported by President Barack Obama, have been the subject of increasingly acrimonious debate in the last few weeks. Obama has sought to paint Republicans as opposed to reform and siding with greedy banks, while conservatives have argued the legislation amounts to over-regulation that could hamper economic growth.

Dodd and Shelby said they did reach agreement Wednesday on a key element of the bill, a $50 billion fund that financial firms would have to pay into in order, to keep taxpayers off the hook for future bail-outs.

But Shelby said there were still major divides over the regulation of derivatives markets and the creation of a new consumer protection agency to monitor new and complex financial products.

"I think we've made real progress," Shelby said. "But we have to seal it all."