Republican senators involved with crafting financial reforms said on Wednesday that they expected the Senate to pass a bill to revamp how the country’s financial system is regulated.
“It is difficult to see a scenario” where a bill does not pass the Senate,” Senate Banking Committee member Bob Corker told reporters on the sidelines of a conference.
“There will be a lot of pressure on every senator and House member to pass a financial regulation bill,” said Corker, who was helping craft a bipartisan bill with Democrats until negotiations fell apart.
Judd Gregg, also a member of the Senate Banking Committee, said there was “incentive” to overhaul regulation after Wall Street’s meltdown.
Their comments came two days after every Republican on the committee, including Gregg and Corker, voted against a bill crafted by the panel’s Democratic chairman, Christopher Dodd.
On Monday, the committee voted 13-10 along party lines to pass the bill out of committee. The bill would usher in new rules for consumer financial products, banks and derivatives and set up a mechanism to unwind large troubled financial firms.
The vote on Monday meant the measure will head next to the Senate floor, but not before Dodd tries once more to find compromises with Senator Richard Shelby, the top Republican on the committee.
