Warner: Senate could vote to reinstate Glass-Steagall
By Michael O'Brien - 05/01/10 12:00 PM ET
Senators could approve an amendment to reestablish the separation between banks' commercial and investment operations, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) suggested.
Warner, a member of the Senate Banking Committee who's been closely involved in negotiations over a Wall Street reform bill, said that while he opposed such a measure, the Senate could get the votes to reimpose the Depression-era Glass Steagall law.
"It may have a chance," Warner said during an appearance on C-SPAN's "Newsmakers" of the chances for passage of an amendment to reimpose the law, which was repealed by Congress in 1999.
The Senate will begin voting on amendments next week to Democrats' Wall Street reform bill in a bid to improve the legislation and win Republican support for the underlying bill. Warner said that he expect that process to wrap up by the end of this month, when lawmakers break for a Memorial Day recess.
A bipartisan group of senators have pushed for the reinstatement of Glass-Steagall, which would force banks to separate their commercial and investment activities. Other key amendments would seek to make more explicit that public funds cannot be used to bail out banks, limit the size of banks, audit the Federal Reserve, and more.
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http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/95427-warner-senate-could-vote-to-reinstate-glass-steagall