Democrats Unite on Finance Bill, Pressuring G.O.P. (NY Times)

Democrats Unite on Finance Bill, Pressuring G.O.P.
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
Published: April 25, 2010

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats said Sunday that they had bridged internal party differences and coalesced around a plan to tighten regulation of derivatives, the complex financial instruments that were a major factor in the 2008 economic crisis.

The proposed derivatives rules are an important part of the effort to strengthen regulation of the nation’s financial system, and seem certain to anger some of Wall Street’s biggest players.

The agreement among Democrats would combine overlapping proposals on derivatives by the banking and agriculture committees, and it raised the pressure on Senate Republicans, who said that they were still fighting for changes to the bill and planned to block the start of floor debate in a first procedural vote on Monday.

The desire by Senate Democrats to move quickly on the regulatory bill gained new urgency over the weekend, as party leaders said they would try to squeeze major immigration and energy bills onto a tight Congressional calendar, which will include efforts to pass a budget and the confirmation of a new Supreme Court justice.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/26/business/26regulate.html?hp