Financial Reform

Behind Closed Doors Four Key Democrats Maneuver To Weaken Financial Reform

Brian Beutler | June 17, 2010, 11:48AM

(Clockwise from top left) Reps. Dennis Moore (D-KS), Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Mel Watt (D-NC)

Several House Democrats with close ties to the financial industry, including four members of the conference committee hashing out the final bill, are pushing to weaken the Wall Street reform legislation in the conference committee.

The 68-member New Democrat Coalition has been circulating drafts of a letter outlining their position on financial regulatory reform, proposing to significantly scale back regulations on derivative trading, and open up exceptions to the so-called Volcker rule, which limits financial firms' ability to speculate with their profits.

One draft of that letter, obtained by TPM, can be read here. Their position on derivatives provoked the ire of Americans for Financial Reform, the largest pro-regulation coalition in the country, which responded yesterday with a letter of their own.

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