Senate Republicans this evening successfully prevented an open debate on a bill that would overhaul how Wall Street and financial markets do business. With a 57-41 vote, the GOP delayed the vote for at least another day; the vote broke down along party lines except for Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), a centrist Democrat who surprised some by voting against the measure to begin the debate. Here on Capitol Hill, Democrats are expected to schedule another cloture vote soon, even as early as tomorrow, to try to start full debate on financial reform.
In the meantime, talks behind closed doors will continue between Democrats and Republicans in an effort to shape the finance bill in a way that wins over a few Republicans. How far Democrats and Republicans have to go to reach an agreement is unclear. On the one hand, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) told reporters earlier today that he felt the bipartisan talks had reached a “tipping point,” suggesting that an agreement was near. After the vote, however, Shelby said he still wants to “reach agreement on three big sections,” a substantial hurdle for both parties this late in the game given that the Senate has been working on financial reform for almost a year.
