The financial reform bill - touted by the White House as the most comprehensive overhaul of financial regulation since the 1930s - has passed the House . Now the Senate must act.
Harry Reid of Nevada, the Majority Leader, has indicated that the bill will be brought to the floor the week of July 12.
Senate Democrats plan to take up their sputtering unemployment-extension legislation the week of July 5, and the voting arithmetic of the financial reform bill has been complicated by the death of West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd. With Byrd's passing, securing support from centrist Republicans and moderate Democrats will become crucial to approving the financial regulation overhaul. Washington Democrat Maria Cantwell came out in favor of the bill after she was reassured that it strengthened derivatives regulation, and Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown may be wooed by the Democrats' concession on a $19 billion bank fee. Instead of the fee, the Troubled Asset Relief Program will be ended early.
Some matters are all but settled. A new consumer-protection agency would be created in the Federal Reserve, most derivatives trading will move to central clearinghouses and debit card fees will be capped. The bill may require further tinkering to meet with swing voters' approval, though.
