WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. Democrats yesterday stripped out a controversial tax from their landmark financial reform bill in a scramble to win the votes needed to pass it through Congress.
Democrats hoped the change would draw enough moderate Republicans to allow them to pass the sweeping overhaul through both chambers of Congress and send it to President Barack Obama to sign into law by July 4.
Though a supposedly final version of the bill had been hammered out last week, Democrats called a fresh negotiating session after support for the bill appeared to be waning.
Heeding the concerns of moderate Senate Republicans, they axed a $17.9 billion tax on large financial institutions that was added to cover the bill’s costs in the wee hours on Friday as lawmakers wrapped up an all-night bargaining session.
Their new plan would cover most of the bill’s costs by shutting down the government’s $700 billion bank bailout fund ahead of schedule. It also would raise the amount that banks must pay to insure their customer’s deposits.
“I’m prepared to make some compromises to get this very important bill through,” said Democratic Representative Barney Frank, who has overseen the process. Leaders in the House of Representatives set the stage for a quick vote today, while their counterparts in the Senate hoped to act by the end of the week.
But their plans may be complicated by the death of Democratic Senator Robert Byrd. His absence leaves them one vote short of the 60 needed to clear a Republican procedural hurdle in the 100-seat chamber.
Furthermore, Byrd’s body was scheduled to lie in state on the Senate floor tomorrow, delaying any legislative action.
