Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) joined Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) this evening, putting herself back into the undecided column on Wall Street reform legislation, after House and Senate negotiators added new fees on banks to the final bill late last week.
“It was not part of either the House or Senate bill and was added in the wee hours of the morning. So I’m taking a look at the specifics of that and other provisions as well,” Collins told reporters this evening outside the Senate chamber.
If both she and Brown oppose financial reform over bank fees, it could stall or even kill the legislation. Democrats would have to sweep the remaining swing votes—Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA)—to pass the legislation. They want to pass the bill this week, but the death of Sen. Robert Byrd has thrown into doubt whether they’ll have the votes lined up before the fourth of July recess.
Brian Beutler
Brian Beutler is TPM's senior congressional reporter. Since 2009, he's led coverage of health care reform, Wall Street reform, taxes, the GOP budget, the government shutdown fight, and the debt limit fight. He can be reached at brian@talkingpointsmemo.com.
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