” A Pale Green Mermaid Blog “
With the threat of an all night session from Senator Reid The Republicans decided to allow debate on the floor of the senate concerning the financial overhaul/reform bill,
FROM NY TIMES,
“We have an opportunity here to do something that was not done in the House of Representatives, where they produced a bill that had no Republican support whatsoever,” Mr. McConnell said.
But the Democrats who spent months working with Republicans to develop the bill expressed no willingness for further, protracted negotiations — and Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut and chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, pledged to bring the bill “to the floor of this body in a matter of days.”
Mr. Dodd, gesturing furiously with his hands throughout an angry speech, accused the Republicans of blocking stricter regulation.
“You have to ask yourself a question: who benefits if this bill to rein in Wall Street or large financial institutions is strangled by a filibuster?” Mr. Dodd asked. “Certainly no one can make the case that the American family would benefit. These families have seen millions of jobs lost, trillions in savings wiped out because of the greedy few on Wall Street who gambled with money that didn’t even belong to them.”
Mr. Reid said Republicans were faced with a stark choice. “You either believe we need to strengthen oversight of Wall Street or you don’t,” he said at a news conference, “You either believe we need to strengthen protections for consumers or you don’t.”
But Mr. Reid said that Democrats would not be lured into lengthy negotiations after struggling for months to reach a deal first with Mr. Shelby, and later with Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee, also a member of the banking committee.
Above from NY TIMES
Bi-partisan bill for the sake of appearance?
a resounding NO,
A bill with the best ideas for financial reform and protection of the consumer YES.
We all need to pay attention in the ensuing days to the evolution of this important bill.
PEACE
Excerpts above from www.nytimes.com, War Of Words Flare Up In Senate Over Financial Bill, Deal Book Section
