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Politics : The Obama - Clinton Disaster -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: GROUND ZERO™ who wrote (23218)	12/9/2009 9:13:18 PM
From: Hope Praytochange	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 103300

U.S. financial reform bill delayed as Democrats quarrel BY Reuters — 6:09 PM ET 12/09/2009 By Kevin Drawbaugh WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives were locked in a struggle on Wednesday over a handful of last-minute amendments to a financial reform bill, preventing floor debate on it from beginning as scheduled. The reforms are seen by President Barack Obama and most congressional Democrats as crucial to preventing a repeat of last year's global financial crisis and the multi-billion-dollar taxpayer bailouts that followed. Some moderate Democrats were pushing the House Rules Committee to let them introduce amendments on the floor that would water down the 1,279-page bill, hammered out over months of discussion and compromise at the committee level. House leaders were keen to move forward with the bill, which they hoped to clear from their agenda before the holiday break. Floor debate had been slated to get under way on Wednesday afternoon, but still hadn't by early evening. One amendment being pushed by Democratic Representative Walt Minnick would scrap a proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) and set up instead a council of regulators to look after financial consumers' interests. The proposed CFPA is supported by the Obama administration and most Democrats, but it is bitterly opposed by banks and other business interests whose profits could be threatened by it. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nation's largest business lobbying group, is spending heavily to block the CFPA. Another amendment from Democratic Representative Melissa Bean would give the CFPA more power to preempt state laws that are stricter than the agency's own limits, a change that is favored by businesses but opposed by consumer advocates. More than 240 amendments have been filed to the bill, which had been expected to consume three days of House floor time, and to win passage, possibly as soon as Friday. The delay over the amendments could throw that timetable into jeopardy. One amendment would fine-tune the bill by changing to 10 percent from 20 percent the so-called "haircut" secured creditors would have to take in resolving the problems of failing financial firms. A major, controversial amendment would add mortgage bankruptcy "cramdown" reform to the bill. This change, favored by many Democrats, would let bankruptcy judges adjust the terms of mortgages for troubled homeowmers in bankruptcy court. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank also wants to amend his own bill to give regulators the power to set margin requirements in over-the-counter derivative transactions involving end users, such as automakers and airlines, that use OTC derivatives in the businesses. BANK LOBBYISTS FIGHT REFORM Republicans and an army of lobbyists for banks and Wall Street have fought to block and delay the bill, which not only calls for creating a CFPA, but for regulating over-the-counter derivatives for the first time and a raft of other changes in the wake of last year's global financial crisis. After the Obama administration spent billions of dollars rescuing the financial sector in the past year, bailed-out firms, from AIG to Citigroup (C Loading... ), became targets for lawmaker fury over sky-high executive bonuses, excessive risk-taking and sharp lending practices. "This great nation is suffering the consequences of a period in our history when living beyond our means plagued not only American consumers, but also those on Wall Street, whose greed compelled them to take indefensible risks," said Representative Bill Pascrell, a Democrat. "The market failed us ... Wall Street reform is a critical step," he said in a morning speech on the House floor. If Democrats can push the bill through the House, then financial reform would shift to the Senate, which has moved more slowly and where debate is expected to go well into 2010. Republicans have attacked the House bill as a measure that would codify bailouts in law and destroy jobs, while setting up new government bureaucracies and piling costs on businesses. Republican Representative Scott Garrett told journalists at a midday briefing that the bill would institutionalize a "bailout mentality" and create a "slush fund" for Democrats to dip into to pursue their political agenda.