House Vote Puts Burden of Wall Street Bill on Senate
Updated: June 30, 8:19 p.m.
The House voted Wednesday to adopt a hastily revised conference report on a financial regulatory overhaul, although Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) noted earlier in the day that his chamber does not yet have the votes to send it to the president.
The 237-192 House vote tees up final action in the Senate, where GOP resistance is imperiling Democrats’ preferred plan to send the bill to President Barack Obama this week before leaving for the July Fourth recess. Changes were made to the conference report Tuesday to address objections from Republican Senators who voted for the bill last month.
The death on Monday of Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) further complicates the effort to reach 60 votes, and Reid may need to wait for West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin (D) to announce a replacement.
Democratic leaders tout the bill as evidence of the majority party’s commitment to curbing the irresponsibility on Wall Street that contributed to the global economic recession. But Republicans cast the bill as the latest in a string of misguided Democratic attempts to meddle with the economy and expand the scope of government.
House lawmakers advanced the conference report Wednesday by a wider margin than they did for the bill in December.