The House voted 219-206 Thursday to approve a campaign finance bill to tighten disclosure requirements for corporate and union spending on political campaigns.
The bill, a response to the January Supreme Court decision that overturned spending limits for corporations and unions, now heads to the Senate, where it faces a perilous path to passage.
The vote on the Disclose Act came after weeks of aggressive lobbying by supporters and critics. Democratic leaders were forced to pull it from the House schedule last week after liberals revolted over an exemption tailored for the National Rifle Association.
Centrist N.Y. Dem says he will oppose Wall Street bill if derivative plan remains
- 06/24/10 03:27 PM ET
A centrist New York Democrat said Thursday he will vote against the financial regulatory reform bill if the current derivatives language is not altered.
The report comes amid tensions between the Senate and a cadre of House Democrats that are wary of the strict language included in the Senate's bill by Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.)
Rep. Mike McMahon (D-N.Y.), who represents a traditionally Republican district and voted against the healthcare bill, appears to be the first House Democrat to publicly say he will vote against the bill because of the language. He told the Wall Street Journal:
House and Senate leaders are looking to conclude work on the bill in conference soon and hope to send it to President Barack Obama's desk before the July 4 recess.
But it remains unclear how many Democrats will oppose the bill in the end if the derivatives language is not changed. Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) said earlier Thursday that major language in the bill probably won't be altered.
House Democrats opposed to the derivatives language plan to convene and meet with Lincoln this week.
The report comes amid tensions between the Senate and a cadre of House Democrats that are wary of the strict language included in the Senate's bill by Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.)
Rep. Mike McMahon (D-N.Y.), who represents a traditionally Republican district and voted against the healthcare bill, appears to be the first House Democrat to publicly say he will vote against the bill because of the language. He told the Wall Street Journal:
“It would be impossible for me to vote for a bill that contains that provision,” he said.
[snip]
“This may cause the whole bill to fail,” McMahon said. He said there needed to be new regulation of derivatives but “we’re not going to force the whole industry to go to Singapore and Zurich.”
The Journal notes the bill passed by a 21-vote margin in the House last time around, meaning only 11 congressmen would need to switch from a yes vote to a no vote to derail the bill.House and Senate leaders are looking to conclude work on the bill in conference soon and hope to send it to President Barack Obama's desk before the July 4 recess.
But it remains unclear how many Democrats will oppose the bill in the end if the derivatives language is not changed. Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) said earlier Thursday that major language in the bill probably won't be altered.
House Democrats opposed to the derivatives language plan to convene and meet with Lincoln this week.
Obama hails deal on Wall Street bill
- 06/25/10 09:02 AM ET
President Barack Obama hailed the Wall Street reform conference agreement Friday as shielding consumers from future financial crises.
The president said he hoped to sign a final bill by the Fourth of July during a brief statement on the South Lawn before he boarded Marine One to embark on a trip to the G-20 summit in Toronto, Canada.
He said the legislation included the "toughest consumer financial protections" in the nation's history and listed Wall Street reform as one of the significant accomplishments of his administration.
"Over the last 17 months, we have passed a recovery act, health insurance reform, education reform and now, we are now on the brink of passing Wall Street reform," he said.
House and Senate negotiators reached a deal on the conference report just before dawn after a night of marathon negotiations. The House could take up the conference report as early as Tuesday and the Senate hopes to finish work by the end of the week.
Obama said in the end, he got "90 percent" of what he wanted from lawmakers.
Obama also said that he would push for international cooperation on global financial issues pertaining to the legislation at the G-20 summit, a meeting of the leaders of the world's largest economies.
The president said he hoped to sign a final bill by the Fourth of July during a brief statement on the South Lawn before he boarded Marine One to embark on a trip to the G-20 summit in Toronto, Canada.
He said the legislation included the "toughest consumer financial protections" in the nation's history and listed Wall Street reform as one of the significant accomplishments of his administration.
"Over the last 17 months, we have passed a recovery act, health insurance reform, education reform and now, we are now on the brink of passing Wall Street reform," he said.
House and Senate negotiators reached a deal on the conference report just before dawn after a night of marathon negotiations. The House could take up the conference report as early as Tuesday and the Senate hopes to finish work by the end of the week.
Obama said in the end, he got "90 percent" of what he wanted from lawmakers.
Obama also said that he would push for international cooperation on global financial issues pertaining to the legislation at the G-20 summit, a meeting of the leaders of the world's largest economies.
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