By Amanda Paulson, Staff writer / June 22, 2010
Immigration debate in Fremont, Neb., has made it the latest town to decide to take immigration enforcement into its own hands.
On Monday, 57 percent of voters in the 25,000-person town in eastern Nebraska helped pass a law that would bar businesses from hiring illegal immigrants or landlords from renting to them.
In doing so, it joins Hazelton, Pa.; Riverside, N.J.; Valley Park, Mo.; and at least a few dozen other towns that have passed laws targeting undocumented immigrants. The ordinances have generally faced lawsuits, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in Nebraska has already declared its intention to fight the Fremont bill.
“An ordinance of this kind is a true indication of the frustration some communities
feel, and I don’t belittle that feeling,” says Laurel Marsh, executive director of ACLU
Nebraska. “That being said, I believe it violates the supremacy clause of the United States.”
Ms. Marsh argues that two main problems exist with the law: that setting immigration policy is solely a federal function, and that the 14th Amendment guarantees due process to all people in the US, not just citizens.
And so far, many cities – including ones like Hazelton and Farmers Branch, Tex., which have tried to restrict landlords' abilities to rent to illegal immigrants – have had laws struck down by federal courts, though they remain on appeal.
Legal costs
The cost of fighting such lawsuits has also caused some communities – like Riverside, N.J. – to drop the measures, and was a major argument of those inFremont who opposed the referendum.
"In a community of 25,000, it's going to be hard to take on the whole country, and it will be costly to do so," Fremont City Councilman Scott Getzschman told the Associated Press.
But such laws continue to crop up in communities around the country – a measure, say many, of the frustration that many Americans feel with the lack of federal immigration enforcement and with the burdens illegal immigration places on their towns.
“The feds aren’t doing their job,” says Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates restricting immigration. “It’s a sign of the public frustration, and you’re going to see more and more of this sort of thing.”
Those on the other side of the immigration debate agree with that basic assessment, and say that they hope that measures like Fremont’s, as well as the law passed in Arizona last month, will spur Congress to again take up the issue.
Page: 1 2 CSMonitor.com
----http://davidsradiotv2000.blogspot.com
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
BP to create $20 billion claims fund, suspend dividend
June 16, 2010, 3:46PM
By JENNIFER A. DLOUHY HOUSTON CHRONICLE
WASHINGTON -- Under pressure from President Barack Obama, BP agreed today to set aside $20 billion in a spill recovery escrow account to compensate Gulf Coast fishermen and others who have lost wages and work because of the massive spill from a BP deep-water well.
The company also said it will suspend its quarterly dividend payments to shareholders for the rest of this year and will divert some of that cash to the escrow account, which would be managed by an independent administrator and be funded over three and a half years.
BP also agreed to set aside $100 million to compensate oil industry workers whose jobs disappear because of the government's moratorium on deep-water drilling and a delay of exploration in shallower depths while regulators develop new safety regulations.
BP's concessions are a win for Obama, who has struggled to show he is in control of the crisis in the Gulf of Mexico. The agreements — hammered out in a three-hour meeting with BP executives at the White House - give the president a concrete example of administration efforts to help coastal residents.
Obama called the claims fund "an important step toward making the people of the Gulf Coast whole again."
The escrow account could soothe complaints in coastal communities and Congress that the claims process has been flawed -- a sentiment that has shaken confidence in BP executive's repeated assurances that the company will pay all "legitimate" economic damages.
"We have always met our obligations and responsibilities," said BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg, speaking outside the White House. He said the escrow account and revised claim process should assure Americans that "we will look after the people affected, and we will repair the damage to this region."
The spill response fund will be administered by Kenneth Feinberg, a veteran claims administrator who oversaw compensation for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.
Obama stressed that the fund would not prevent anyone from pursuing claims in court and does not place a cap on BP's responsibility.
BP will fund the account with initial payments this year of $3 billion in the third quarter and $2 billion in the fourth quarter, followed by quarterly payments of $1.25 billion until the total reaches $20 billion.
BP pledged to set aside $20 billion in U.S. assets as collateral, which will decline as the reserves in the fund build.
Although it will take time to establish the fund and rules governing payouts, White House energy adviser Carol Browner promised a seamless transition from the existing claims process.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., called the decision "a good first step toward compensating victims."
Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., called the fund the "very least BP must do to start making the coastal communities devastated by its recklessness whole again."
But other lawmakers fretted that the $20 billion could be misused. Rep. Pete Olson, R-Sugar Land, said he views the account as a "privately funded, government slush fund that the administration is going to divvy out as they see fit."
BP's decision to suspend its prized quarterly dividends is a blow to pension funds and investment portfolios in the U.S. and overseas that count on the revenue.
The White House meeting was the first time Obama has spoken with BP's corporate chiefs since oil began gushing from the Macondo after an April 20 blowout that also destroyed the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and killed 11 workers.
Obama said he told the executives about the anxiety among fishermen and shrimpers who are watching their businesses and way of life disappear as the crude encroaches on the coast.
He insisted that the executives keep those people in mind when making decisions about spill recovery and cleanup.
"That's going to be the standard by which I measure BP's responses," Obama said after the meeting. "Throughout this process, as we work to make sure that the Gulf is made whole once again the standard I'm going to be applying is whether or not those individuals I met with, their family members (and) those communities that are vulnerable are uppermost in the minds of all concerned."
jennifer.dlouhy@chron.com
By JENNIFER A. DLOUHY HOUSTON CHRONICLE
WASHINGTON -- Under pressure from President Barack Obama, BP agreed today to set aside $20 billion in a spill recovery escrow account to compensate Gulf Coast fishermen and others who have lost wages and work because of the massive spill from a BP deep-water well.
The company also said it will suspend its quarterly dividend payments to shareholders for the rest of this year and will divert some of that cash to the escrow account, which would be managed by an independent administrator and be funded over three and a half years.
BP also agreed to set aside $100 million to compensate oil industry workers whose jobs disappear because of the government's moratorium on deep-water drilling and a delay of exploration in shallower depths while regulators develop new safety regulations.
BP's concessions are a win for Obama, who has struggled to show he is in control of the crisis in the Gulf of Mexico. The agreements — hammered out in a three-hour meeting with BP executives at the White House - give the president a concrete example of administration efforts to help coastal residents.
Obama called the claims fund "an important step toward making the people of the Gulf Coast whole again."
The escrow account could soothe complaints in coastal communities and Congress that the claims process has been flawed -- a sentiment that has shaken confidence in BP executive's repeated assurances that the company will pay all "legitimate" economic damages.
"We have always met our obligations and responsibilities," said BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg, speaking outside the White House. He said the escrow account and revised claim process should assure Americans that "we will look after the people affected, and we will repair the damage to this region."
The spill response fund will be administered by Kenneth Feinberg, a veteran claims administrator who oversaw compensation for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.
Obama stressed that the fund would not prevent anyone from pursuing claims in court and does not place a cap on BP's responsibility.
BP will fund the account with initial payments this year of $3 billion in the third quarter and $2 billion in the fourth quarter, followed by quarterly payments of $1.25 billion until the total reaches $20 billion.
BP pledged to set aside $20 billion in U.S. assets as collateral, which will decline as the reserves in the fund build.
Although it will take time to establish the fund and rules governing payouts, White House energy adviser Carol Browner promised a seamless transition from the existing claims process.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., called the decision "a good first step toward compensating victims."
Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., called the fund the "very least BP must do to start making the coastal communities devastated by its recklessness whole again."
But other lawmakers fretted that the $20 billion could be misused. Rep. Pete Olson, R-Sugar Land, said he views the account as a "privately funded, government slush fund that the administration is going to divvy out as they see fit."
BP's decision to suspend its prized quarterly dividends is a blow to pension funds and investment portfolios in the U.S. and overseas that count on the revenue.
The White House meeting was the first time Obama has spoken with BP's corporate chiefs since oil began gushing from the Macondo after an April 20 blowout that also destroyed the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and killed 11 workers.
Obama said he told the executives about the anxiety among fishermen and shrimpers who are watching their businesses and way of life disappear as the crude encroaches on the coast.
He insisted that the executives keep those people in mind when making decisions about spill recovery and cleanup.
"That's going to be the standard by which I measure BP's responses," Obama said after the meeting. "Throughout this process, as we work to make sure that the Gulf is made whole once again the standard I'm going to be applying is whether or not those individuals I met with, their family members (and) those communities that are vulnerable are uppermost in the minds of all concerned."
jennifer.dlouhy@chron.com
Saturday, June 5, 2010
UPDATE 1-BP will pay legitimate claims "as long as it takes"
June 5 (Reuters) - BP (BP.L) has no specific pre-allocated budget amount to pay damage claims resulting from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, but will pay all those "hurt, harmed or damaged" until all legitimate claims are satisfied, a BP executive said on Saturday.
BP America Vice President of Resources Darryl Willis said the company over the past 30 days had written damages claims checks totaling more than $46 million across the U.S. Gulf region, and he expected that to rise through June to "$84 million plus."
Asked during a conference call how much the British-based energy giant had set aside for economic damage claims, Willis said there was no pre-allocated budget for that.
"We will make these payments for as long as it takes and for as many people who have been hurt, harmed or damaged by this spill," he said, speaking from Orange Beach, Alabama.
"There is no budget, we'll do this until it's finished. We'll stay with it until people are able to return to their normal way of life on the Gulf Coast," Willis added.
BP, whose share price has lost about one-third of its value since the crisis began, has said it has already spent $1 billion on the disaster, which includes the growing cleanup bill.
Willis said 90 percent of the damages or income loss claims paid out so far had gone to individuals -- "primarily fishermen, shrimpers, oyster fishermen and crabbers."
The rest had gone to smaller businesses, and the company was also moving to respond to claims by medium- and large-sized businesses, he added.
"So far, we have not denied any claims," Willis said.
BP faces a U.S. criminal probe, several lawsuits, dwindling investor confidence and growing questions about its credit-worthiness, but Chief Executive Tony Hayward says it has plenty of money to meet its obligations. (Reporting by Pascal Fletcher; Editing by Peter Cooney)
BP America Vice President of Resources Darryl Willis said the company over the past 30 days had written damages claims checks totaling more than $46 million across the U.S. Gulf region, and he expected that to rise through June to "$84 million plus."
Asked during a conference call how much the British-based energy giant had set aside for economic damage claims, Willis said there was no pre-allocated budget for that.
"We will make these payments for as long as it takes and for as many people who have been hurt, harmed or damaged by this spill," he said, speaking from Orange Beach, Alabama.
"There is no budget, we'll do this until it's finished. We'll stay with it until people are able to return to their normal way of life on the Gulf Coast," Willis added.
BP, whose share price has lost about one-third of its value since the crisis began, has said it has already spent $1 billion on the disaster, which includes the growing cleanup bill.
Willis said 90 percent of the damages or income loss claims paid out so far had gone to individuals -- "primarily fishermen, shrimpers, oyster fishermen and crabbers."
The rest had gone to smaller businesses, and the company was also moving to respond to claims by medium- and large-sized businesses, he added.
"So far, we have not denied any claims," Willis said.
BP faces a U.S. criminal probe, several lawsuits, dwindling investor confidence and growing questions about its credit-worthiness, but Chief Executive Tony Hayward says it has plenty of money to meet its obligations. (Reporting by Pascal Fletcher; Editing by Peter Cooney)
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Next Steps to Confront the Big Spill
May 30, 2010
(CBS) BP said last evening that its so-called "Top Kill" operation failed to stop the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. Don Teague has more on where things stand now in this Sunday Journal: It's been almost six weeks since the explosion and fire that destroyed the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform, killing 11 workers. Forty days of oil gushing at what experts now fear may be up to a million gallons a day. Forty days of failure, at every attempt, to stop the flow. The latest failure, the so-called "top kill" procedure of sealing the well with mud and bits of junk, confirmed yesterday by BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles - a new setback for a Gulf of Mexico disaster that's been described as a Hurricane Katrina in slow motion.
Every day that more escaping oil washes up on beaches or into delicate marshes, more birds and marine life perish, and more tourists - key to the Gulf economy - are driven away. And the people who depend on these once-clear waters to make a living are driven closer to bankruptcy . . . people like fishing guide Jeff Brumfield: "The efforts to stop and cleanup the oil aren't happening fast enough," he said. He fears he's watching the death of his livelihood… "This is where the shrimp and the fish and everything starts, in this marsh, and if it kills this marsh grass, the entire ecosystem is gone," Brumfield said. Memorial Day weekend is supposed to be the high season in Grand Isle, Louisiana. Ordinarily these beaches should be filled with tourists, but on this weekend they're empty. It's an economic disaster. Once-bustling fishing marinas are also deserted. Cleanup workers are the only people out in large numbers. "A lot of people can't understand," said one. "This is our Gulf. This is where we're from. We need to protect it." And questions are mounting about BP's efforts to clean up the spill. Yesterday the company responded to charges that an army of workers that suddenly appeared around the time of President Obama's visit Friday was largely there for show. "This was not window dressing," said BP's Suttles. "If you went there today - I just flew over it - you would find people working today." BP announced yesterday plans for the building of tent cities and even floating camps to house cleanup workers, so they can spend more time at work. And the next step? The company said it will now cut off the well's broken gushing riser pipe and try to replace it with a new riser to help capture the oil. "It takes a little longer to do that and that's why that would be the next option to stop the flow," said Suttles. But all the while, the waters of the Gulf of Mexico - like the emotions of those that live here - grow a little darker.
(CBS) BP said last evening that its so-called "Top Kill" operation failed to stop the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. Don Teague has more on where things stand now in this Sunday Journal: It's been almost six weeks since the explosion and fire that destroyed the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform, killing 11 workers. Forty days of oil gushing at what experts now fear may be up to a million gallons a day. Forty days of failure, at every attempt, to stop the flow. The latest failure, the so-called "top kill" procedure of sealing the well with mud and bits of junk, confirmed yesterday by BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles - a new setback for a Gulf of Mexico disaster that's been described as a Hurricane Katrina in slow motion.
Every day that more escaping oil washes up on beaches or into delicate marshes, more birds and marine life perish, and more tourists - key to the Gulf economy - are driven away. And the people who depend on these once-clear waters to make a living are driven closer to bankruptcy . . . people like fishing guide Jeff Brumfield: "The efforts to stop and cleanup the oil aren't happening fast enough," he said. He fears he's watching the death of his livelihood… "This is where the shrimp and the fish and everything starts, in this marsh, and if it kills this marsh grass, the entire ecosystem is gone," Brumfield said. Memorial Day weekend is supposed to be the high season in Grand Isle, Louisiana. Ordinarily these beaches should be filled with tourists, but on this weekend they're empty. It's an economic disaster. Once-bustling fishing marinas are also deserted. Cleanup workers are the only people out in large numbers. "A lot of people can't understand," said one. "This is our Gulf. This is where we're from. We need to protect it." And questions are mounting about BP's efforts to clean up the spill. Yesterday the company responded to charges that an army of workers that suddenly appeared around the time of President Obama's visit Friday was largely there for show. "This was not window dressing," said BP's Suttles. "If you went there today - I just flew over it - you would find people working today." BP announced yesterday plans for the building of tent cities and even floating camps to house cleanup workers, so they can spend more time at work. And the next step? The company said it will now cut off the well's broken gushing riser pipe and try to replace it with a new riser to help capture the oil. "It takes a little longer to do that and that's why that would be the next option to stop the flow," said Suttles. But all the while, the waters of the Gulf of Mexico - like the emotions of those that live here - grow a little darker.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Kingston under siege
By Nick Davis
BBC News, Kingston 5-24-2010
As I drive through the city, my taxi driver tells me that he is going to have to charge extra: "Everywhere is blocked up, it's just turn, turn, turn."
I am just trying to get into the main commercial district of the capital, New Kingston, but the journey provides a snapshot of the situation the country finds itself in.
As we head up one road we spot the few vehicles on the road doing sharp U-turns. Then I hear it, the sound of automatic weapon fire.
We head back down the road to go around the trouble, and we are suddenly surrounded by police. A shot-up Toyota is parked up by a petrol station.
We continue. Towards the centre of town the streets are quiet - it is a national holiday, Labour Day, a time when communities get together to do work in their areas.
But everywhere is empty until we pass the main army camp as truckloads of soldiers in convoy head out, sandbags loaded on their vehicles, to a city under seige.
Steve the driver, like many Jamaicans, has a nickname. His comes from his time in the Jamaican defence force: Sojey, the patois for "soldier".
After seven years in the army, he recognises the sound of the M16s fired in our direction. Tight control
The old police station at Darling Street had stood in West Kingston for over a century. Now it is a ruin, firebombed and looted in an brazen daytime attack. Parts of the capital are under a state of emergency with two police officers killed overnight.
Jamaica had been gearing up for trouble from the moment the country's Prime Minister, Bruce Golding, announced he would address the nation a week ago.
He promised to explain his handling of an extradition request from the US for Christopher Coke, better known as Dudus.
He also goes by the other aliases of Shortman and President, the last one an indicator of how he is viewed in his community of Tivoli Gardens in West Kingston.
Before the violence which came to a head on Sunday, I had spent time in the community of Denham Town, and I was surprised by the reaction from many residents.
The area had been called the "mother of all garrisons" by a former head of the Jamaica Constabulary Force yet when I spoke to people, I was struck by the loyalty and support people had for the Dudus.
"Nobody can steal round here without his say-so, nobody carries out rape round here, they'd be dead."
I was worried for my safety but was told that nobody would touch me and in the early hours of the morning I walked out of the community, something that would be unheard-of in other more volatile communities on the island.
He was seen as the boss who cared for his community, providing what the state had not: safety.
Fast-foward to nine months ago and the US put in an extradition request for Christopher Coke, a man Washington claims is the head of the Shower Posse, an infamous gang that made and earnt its name in the 1980s by spraying bullets like water when they attacked rivals.
It is believed they are responsible for more than 1,400 murders in the US.
His extradition would see him facing charges of drug-smuggling and gun-running but, as a prominent supporter of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party, he holds a large amount of political sway. Jamaica's 'dons'
He keeps the area, which is also Prime Minister Bruce Golding's constituency, loyal to the party.
The government initially turned down the request, saying the evidence for the extradition had been gathered illegally.
But following calls for Mr Golding's resignation, after it became clear he had sanctioned a US law firm to lobby against the extradition, he announced the order would be signed the following day.
The warrant for the arrest saw fortifications being put round West Kingston.
The tough inner city communities of Kingston are not called garrisons for nothing.
Controlled by an "area leader" - the island's euphamism for the criminal bosses who are better known as "dons" - local strongmen can control a few blocks to whole swathes of the city.
The power they have stretches from the gully to the Gordon House, the seat of government.
The prime minister says the security forces will be swift and decisive in re-establishing law and order but, as the violence spreads, many wonder if they can handle the criminals who are taking on the state.
-------Jamaica PM promises to end unrest
BBC News, Kingston 5-24-2010
As I drive through the city, my taxi driver tells me that he is going to have to charge extra: "Everywhere is blocked up, it's just turn, turn, turn."
I am just trying to get into the main commercial district of the capital, New Kingston, but the journey provides a snapshot of the situation the country finds itself in.
As we head up one road we spot the few vehicles on the road doing sharp U-turns. Then I hear it, the sound of automatic weapon fire.
We head back down the road to go around the trouble, and we are suddenly surrounded by police. A shot-up Toyota is parked up by a petrol station.
We continue. Towards the centre of town the streets are quiet - it is a national holiday, Labour Day, a time when communities get together to do work in their areas.
But everywhere is empty until we pass the main army camp as truckloads of soldiers in convoy head out, sandbags loaded on their vehicles, to a city under seige.
Steve the driver, like many Jamaicans, has a nickname. His comes from his time in the Jamaican defence force: Sojey, the patois for "soldier".
After seven years in the army, he recognises the sound of the M16s fired in our direction. Tight control
The old police station at Darling Street had stood in West Kingston for over a century. Now it is a ruin, firebombed and looted in an brazen daytime attack. Parts of the capital are under a state of emergency with two police officers killed overnight.
Jamaica had been gearing up for trouble from the moment the country's Prime Minister, Bruce Golding, announced he would address the nation a week ago.
He promised to explain his handling of an extradition request from the US for Christopher Coke, better known as Dudus.
He also goes by the other aliases of Shortman and President, the last one an indicator of how he is viewed in his community of Tivoli Gardens in West Kingston.
Before the violence which came to a head on Sunday, I had spent time in the community of Denham Town, and I was surprised by the reaction from many residents.
The area had been called the "mother of all garrisons" by a former head of the Jamaica Constabulary Force yet when I spoke to people, I was struck by the loyalty and support people had for the Dudus.
"Nobody can steal round here without his say-so, nobody carries out rape round here, they'd be dead."
I was worried for my safety but was told that nobody would touch me and in the early hours of the morning I walked out of the community, something that would be unheard-of in other more volatile communities on the island.
He was seen as the boss who cared for his community, providing what the state had not: safety.
Fast-foward to nine months ago and the US put in an extradition request for Christopher Coke, a man Washington claims is the head of the Shower Posse, an infamous gang that made and earnt its name in the 1980s by spraying bullets like water when they attacked rivals.
It is believed they are responsible for more than 1,400 murders in the US.
His extradition would see him facing charges of drug-smuggling and gun-running but, as a prominent supporter of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party, he holds a large amount of political sway. Jamaica's 'dons'
He keeps the area, which is also Prime Minister Bruce Golding's constituency, loyal to the party.
The government initially turned down the request, saying the evidence for the extradition had been gathered illegally.
But following calls for Mr Golding's resignation, after it became clear he had sanctioned a US law firm to lobby against the extradition, he announced the order would be signed the following day.
The warrant for the arrest saw fortifications being put round West Kingston.
The tough inner city communities of Kingston are not called garrisons for nothing.
Controlled by an "area leader" - the island's euphamism for the criminal bosses who are better known as "dons" - local strongmen can control a few blocks to whole swathes of the city.
The power they have stretches from the gully to the Gordon House, the seat of government.
The prime minister says the security forces will be swift and decisive in re-establishing law and order but, as the violence spreads, many wonder if they can handle the criminals who are taking on the state.
-------Jamaica PM promises to end unrest
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Brown switches vote to advance financial regulation overhaul
Posted by Stephanie Vallejo May 20, 2010 03:44 PM
By Matt Viser, Globe Staff
WASHINGTON – Senator Scott Brown switched a key vote from yesterday and joined 57 Democrats and two Republicans this afternoon in advancing a massive financial regulation overhaul.
The Massachusetts Republican said that over the last 24 hours he received assurances – from the chief negotiators in the House and Senate, Senator Christopher J. Dodd, and Representative Barney Frank -- that changes he was seeking would be addressed. Those assurances came during a phone call with Frank last night, while the Newton Democrat was working out in the House members gym. Brown was further convinced during a 40-mile bike ride he went on this morning with Senator John Kerry.
“We recognize that there’s going to be some fixes here, more than likely, and the conference committee,” Brown said after voting. “I’m satisfied that all of our efforts – Senator Kerry and my efforts – will benefit and protect jobs in Massachusetts.”
“I spoke at length over a 40 mile bike-ride with Senator Kerry about it,” Brown added. “He’s a very good athlete.”
Brown’s vote was the key in making the difference after Democrats tried unsuccessfully yesterday to shut off debate and move toward a final vote. Brown was criticized, though not by name, by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for breaking his word and not voting for the measure. Reid and Brown met this morning.
Brown said yesterday that he opposed the measure to end debate because he did not have assurances that several changes would be made, including one that would ensure that some of the new regulations would not apply to certain financial institutions.
Brown has tried to protect some of the insurance and mutual fund companies in Massachusetts from falling under the so-called Volcker rule, which could restrict the investment options of large institutions, including preventing them from owning private equity funds.
Brown argues that those restrictions should be designed to curtail the risky bets placed by big Wall Street firms, not the more traditional practices of the Massachusetts-based companies.
One of the key difference-makers was assurances that Brown received from Frank, who told Brown last night that he would ensure that the changes were made in conference committee. Frank, chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services, wrote legislation that the House passed last year and will be the top negotiator in reconciling differences between the House and Senate.
The financial overhaul legislation, which has been debated for several weeks, is designed to crack down on some of the risky practices that contributed to the financial downturn. It would create a consumer protection bureau that seeks to help people avoid trouble with mortgages and credit cards they cannot afford. The legislation would also establish a council that would be charged with monitoring the system for potential problems.
Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.
By Matt Viser, Globe Staff
WASHINGTON – Senator Scott Brown switched a key vote from yesterday and joined 57 Democrats and two Republicans this afternoon in advancing a massive financial regulation overhaul.
The Massachusetts Republican said that over the last 24 hours he received assurances – from the chief negotiators in the House and Senate, Senator Christopher J. Dodd, and Representative Barney Frank -- that changes he was seeking would be addressed. Those assurances came during a phone call with Frank last night, while the Newton Democrat was working out in the House members gym. Brown was further convinced during a 40-mile bike ride he went on this morning with Senator John Kerry.
“We recognize that there’s going to be some fixes here, more than likely, and the conference committee,” Brown said after voting. “I’m satisfied that all of our efforts – Senator Kerry and my efforts – will benefit and protect jobs in Massachusetts.”
“I spoke at length over a 40 mile bike-ride with Senator Kerry about it,” Brown added. “He’s a very good athlete.”
Brown’s vote was the key in making the difference after Democrats tried unsuccessfully yesterday to shut off debate and move toward a final vote. Brown was criticized, though not by name, by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for breaking his word and not voting for the measure. Reid and Brown met this morning.
Brown said yesterday that he opposed the measure to end debate because he did not have assurances that several changes would be made, including one that would ensure that some of the new regulations would not apply to certain financial institutions.
Brown has tried to protect some of the insurance and mutual fund companies in Massachusetts from falling under the so-called Volcker rule, which could restrict the investment options of large institutions, including preventing them from owning private equity funds.
Brown argues that those restrictions should be designed to curtail the risky bets placed by big Wall Street firms, not the more traditional practices of the Massachusetts-based companies.
One of the key difference-makers was assurances that Brown received from Frank, who told Brown last night that he would ensure that the changes were made in conference committee. Frank, chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services, wrote legislation that the House passed last year and will be the top negotiator in reconciling differences between the House and Senate.
The financial overhaul legislation, which has been debated for several weeks, is designed to crack down on some of the risky practices that contributed to the financial downturn. It would create a consumer protection bureau that seeks to help people avoid trouble with mortgages and credit cards they cannot afford. The legislation would also establish a council that would be charged with monitoring the system for potential problems.
Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.
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