Senators Plan To Flood Financial Reform Bill With Nearly 400 Amendments

Senators plan to offer nearly 400 amendments to the financial reform bill the Senate Banking Committee will take up on Monday -- ranging from Democratic provisions to strengthen the proposed consumer protection agency to Republican amendments calling for new rules potentially compromising the independence of the board that sets financial accounting standards.

Sen. Richard Shelby, the top Republican on the committee whose bipartisan negotiations with committee Chairman Christopher Dodd broke down last month, is responsible for 109 amendments alone. Earlier this week, Shelby, of Alabama, told the Huffington Post that "probably not a lot" will happen in the committee, indicating that the real battle will come on the Senate floor.

The document outlining the amendments, obtained by HuffPost, doesn't include the actual language of the provisions, but it does give a sense of what the senators plan to push for.

Sen. Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, may offer an amendment that "would establish a fully independent [consumer-focused] agency that has full authority to write rules, supervise, and bring enforcement actions against all banks and nonbanks engaged in consumer financial products or services with no veto by any prudential regulator," according to the document.

That's a far cry from how Dodd's current bill treats the proposed agency, which has largely been de-fanged since it was first proposed by President Obama last summer.

Sen. Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, may offer an amendment preventing banks from betting against the securities they underwrite and sell to investors, an activity likened to "selling a car with faulty brakes and then buying an insurance policy on the buyer of those cars."

Shelby, who wowed a crowd of bankers this week in Washington, plans to introduce an amendment to "remove the requirement for certain executives to swear under oath what risks their firm poses to financial stability," the document shows. Dodd's bill allows the Federal Reserve to require certain systemically-important firms to "submit reports under oath" detailing the firm's financial condition and "the extent to which the activities and operations of the company... pose a threat to the financial stability of the United States."

READ a summary of the amendments below:

Amendments to Dodd bill

Comments

[NOFLOOD]

12:08 PM on 03/31/2010

Ask yourself “who is worse the prostitute, the pimps or the johns”?
The National Flood Insurance Program in a desperate attempt to stay alive has prostituted itself, their pimps are the insurance industry and yes the tax payer and congress are the johns.
They have lobbing Congress for mandatory preparation, high risk rates, asking for forgiveness of the note to the US Treasury; lenders must participate or face fines, escrow accounts for enforcement, and so on and so on.
The program has become so much automated to the point that if a property that is found to be in the flood zone your lender will notify the barrower they must buy flood insurance. If the owner does not comply the leader will open an escrow account for them.
The GAO has estimates at least 56% of premiums are for selling policies.
I say estimate because it turns out fema is not keeping track of these cost they paid.
Yes the flood program is a much like a prostitute, the pumps are the greedy insurance industry and we and congress are the JOHNS.
Like I said the program is so automated it no longer needs insurance agents to sell their product.
The program needs to sell direct.
A savings up to 56% should be possible right away.
Want to cut your flood insurance bill by 56% or more.
Tell congress.

[Godfearing]

12:30 PM on 03/21/2010

When are the American people going to find out there are no financial regulations for the super rich.
Unfortunately, the Super Depression is near and everyone will be dead broke, including the super rich,
anyway.

[Livid]

06:54 PM on 03/20/2010

Nothing is surprising here.

As I have said in other posts, the battle over money goes right to the core of what is most important to conservatives and the right wingers, money and protecting privilege.

We have vicious, take-no-prisoners class warfare going on in the US. What is humorous is that middle and lower income whites do not realize that upper income groups don't give a damn about those below.

The most extreme reactionaries and protectionists are the rich and those who control companies and money at the top of the demographics.

Whitey below is a patsy in this game.

Far more than health care, financial reform is for all the marbles. Expect a bitter fight.

[mitsie]

06:37 PM on 03/20/2010

All the Dems have to do is to use this info in commercials against them this fall. Americans don't want this done, they want to see work done.

[CoronaDischarge]

04:54 PM on 03/20/2010

Awfully peculiar that the same people that complain about parliamentary tricks in using the perfectly legal Slaughter Rule method, pivot on a dime when they want to obstruct and have no problem at all diving into the deep end of the legislative tricks puddle?

To top it off, the Slaughter Rule apparently isn't even going to be used on Health Care. Such whiners.

[Allgernon]

04:43 PM on 03/20/2010

Don't these people ever wake up in the morning, realize who they are, and just want to puke their guts out?

[ddDinah]

02:16 PM on 03/20/2010

Is that before the BILL becomes a LAW or after? Will the Democrats use the 'SLAUGHTER RULE' again?

[joeybee]

01:31 PM on 03/20/2010

Outlawing financial deception and fraud should be a no brainer. Unfortunately. deception and fraud is running rampant in the Congress. Neither party seems capable of legislating in an honest and transparent manner. Maybe we should deport Congress and the Bankers and replace them with illegal aliens. The illegals are more honest people on the whole and they are capable of doing an honest days work.

[waverly]

12:30 PM on 03/20/2010

Welcome to the land of the free where deception and fraud is the rule of the land. Please feel free to rob us all brought to you by the GOP.

[edva]

12:17 PM on 03/20/2010

Old-school GOP cockroaches like Shelby are not going to like having light shone on them. Their days are numbered, thankfully.

[purplet]

12:16 PM on 03/20/2010

I dont understand how Republicans- voters can agree with what their party is doing I know alot of Repubs that lost their retirement- investments ect- You would think they would revolt against this and demand that their leaders do something on finance reform- I get the HCR debate but finance reform- why doesn't everyone demand that get done

[mfyourmomscalling]

11:16 AM on 03/20/2010

what a joke our senators are vote them all out

[DeadPhish]

11:13 AM on 03/20/2010

Of course they do...have to protect the campaign contributors...

[shadowanddaisy]

01:58 PM on 03/20/2010

Not to mention their future employers.

[okim5150]

11:04 AM on 03/20/2010

We need a new rule "one amendment per customer" I mean, LOL, that's four amendments for every Senator.

[opama]

10:58 AM on 03/20/2010

Goldman Sucks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdjVISS6NP0