Senate Republicans Band Together in Opposing Financial Bill

By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
NYT

All 41 Senate Republicans have signed a letter urging the majority leader, Senator Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, to adopt a more bipartisan approach in developing legislation to tighten regulation of the nation’s financial system.

But in a sign of the internal discord among Republicans, the letter does not threaten a filibuster that could block the legislation from even reaching the floor for debate to begin.

In recent days, the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, has criticized the legislation as encouraging, rather than preventing, future taxpayer bailouts of failing financial firms.

But even some Republicans concede that the legislation, as written, was intended specifically to prevent such bailouts in the future. For instance, Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee, who helped draft the bill, has said that it contains some “loopholes” that could be fixed with ease.

(More here.)