Politics

Congress Links

By Sunlight Foundation & Participatory Politics Foundation

Will there really bipartisan cooperation on financial regulation? A Senate committee vote offers a glimpse of hope. The Senate Agriculture Committee today approved a sweeping bill regulating derivatives on an almost party-line vote. The 'almost' qualifier is key. Sen. Chuck Grassley [R, IA] surprised many by breaking with his party to vote the bill out of committee. Granted, there is still a long, long way to go on this bill and Sen. Chris Dodd’s [D, CT] broader regulation bill but this could be the first of many cracks in Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell’s [R, KY] strategy of unanimous opposition. For more, check out today’s Congress Links:

• The Washington Post looks at the financial regulation landscape and sees opportunities for the Democrats looking for Republican support. (The Washington Post)
• Sen. McConnell’s claim that Democratic financial reform efforts constitute 'endless taxpayer bailouts of Wall Street banks' is false. (PoliFact)
• When Sen. John McCain [R, AZ] willingly abandoned his 'maverick' moniker, did Sen. Bob Corker [R, TN] pick it up? (Mother Jones)
• Huge surprise: as Congress took up financial regulation, major banks dramatically increased their spending on lobbying. (The Hill)
• People in both parties have advocated ending the filibuster. Ruth Marcus says 'mend it, don’t end it.' (The Washington Post)

Full post as published by Open Congress on April 22, 2010 (boomark / email).