Will Brown Kill Financial Reform?

I can only hope that Scott “Beefcake” Brown is just grabbing the attention in which he revels.

The financial reform bill designed to prevent another economic blowout like the one seen in 2008 may die in a Republican filibuster after Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) announced he has serious reservations about it.

Brown is seen as being the necessary 60th vote in the Senate to overcome a filibuster. Though he had voted in favor of the bill in May, Brown now says he can’t abide by the recent inclusion of a $19-billion tax on banks in the bill. The new tax is meant to pay for the oversight agencies being created under the financial reform package.

"Brown’s possible defection from the bill increases the chance of a successful Republican filibuster this time unless Democratic leaders can find another vote," Reuters reported Sunday.

“While I’m still reviewing the bill’s details, these provisions were not in the Senate version of the bill which I previously supported,” Brown said, as quoted at the Boston Herald. "I’ve said repeatedly that I cannot support any bill that raises tax."…

Inserted from <Raw Story>

The way conference committees work, the majority leadership keeps a bill in conference until that have reached a compromise in which the votes to pass are guaranteed.  If Brown is indeed the 60th vote, then the bill would not have been finalized without his verbal assent, making Brown a lair.  However, it is also possible that another Republican has agreed to be the 60th vote.

Also, Republicans claim to support PAYGO, even though they have never abided by it themselves.  They also claim to support financial reform.  Both claims are lies.  If the Democrats were to drop the tax on Banksters, Republicans would object that the bill increased the deficit.