The Senate banking committee is reportedly “very, very, very close” to reaching a deal on a consumer-protection agency, which in turn could lead to a breakthrough on a broader agreement on financial-reform legislation. The latest news from the Senate’s grueling, ongoing talks is that several more Senate Republicans—Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), and Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH)—have joined the negotiations already being lead by Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), chair of the banking committee, and Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), Dodd’s main GOP negotiator, the Wall Street Journal reports. It’s unclear why the additional Senate GOPers jumped on board, perhaps to help finish off the closed-door talks.
The WSJ also reported that a deal to house a consumer-protection agency within the Federal Reserve, an idea of Corker’s, remained on the table. The Fed option has been roundly panned by consumer advocates—John Taylor, president and CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, said he’d rather put the agency at the National Zoo than the Fed—and if passed, would be viewed as a win for the Big Finance. The Senate’s financial-reform negotiations continue today, and a agreement within the banking committee could come as early as this week.
