“Senate Ends Financial-Bill Standoff”
“Lawmakers ended the three-day standoff holding up action on the financial-overhaul bill, setting up a Senate debate in which both sides will be maneuvering for advantage.
The breakthrough came in a bipartisan agreement on a single contentious element of the overhaul proposal: the creation of new government authority to wind down failing financial firms.
Democrats, in a concession, agreed to kill a proposed $50 billion fund to break up large, failing financial companies. The move gave Republicans an opening to end their opposition to moving the legislation as their unified position was starting to fray.
But in other areas, notably derivatives regulation—which will be debated Thursday—and consumer protection, the sides remain divided.
Administration officials and lawmakers of both parties were already turning their attention Wednesday evening to the coming floor debate, especially a series of populist amendments that could be difficult to defeat.” Read more.
