Banking Bill Heads to Senate Floor

The Senate today will take up a bill to overhaul Depression-era banking laws, but the measure will likely face stiff opposition from Democrats, Senate leaders said. The bill has been stalled by partisan disagreements, which were discussed last week at a meeting between ranking GOP and Democratic Senate leaders. Democrats oppose the bill championed by Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas) chiefly because it would restrict the Community Reinvestment Act, which mandates that banks lend in poor areas where they take deposits. The White House has already threatened a veto. Democrats have presented an alternative bill, which Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) said they would try to offer on the floor. Congress has tried for years to pass legislation to allow U.S. banks, brokerages and insurers to enter each other’s businesses. A bill that passed the House by a single vote died in the Senate during the last Congress.