Dodd, Shelby at 'Impasse' Over Financial Reform

Attempts to craft a bipartisan financial regulatory overhaul have broken down, Chris Dodd announced today, raising the possibility of another partisan brawl like the health care debate. “Last night, Senator Shelby assured me that he is still committed to finding a consensus,” the Senate Banking Committee chairman said of Alabama Republican Richard Shelby, “but for now we have reached an impasse.” Dodd instructed his staff to draft its own version of the bill.

Dodd has spent months working with Shelby, the banking committee’s top Republican, on a bipartisan bill. The Connecticut Democrat now says it’s time to move the process forward, with or without Shelby. Dodd didn’t specify what had scuttled the bill. Republicans agree with Democrats on many of the reform proposals but have strongly opposed others, notably the creation of a new consumer protection agency. (More Chris Dodd stories.)