Dodd's bipartisan push may signal end for consumer protection agency

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said today he will work with Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., a member of the Banking Committee, to write a new draft of the financial-services reform legislation the committee has been considering. Mr. Dodd's announcement that he's teaming up with the conservative Republican may be another nail in the coffin for President Barack Obama's proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency. The establishment of such an agency was included in modified form in the financial services reform bill approved in December by the House of Representatives. But Mr. Corker and other Banking Committee Republicans have opposed the CFPA, as have banks and other financial service companies. Teaming up with Mr. Corker it may be the best hope Mr. Dodd has of reviving the stalled financial service reform bill. Other bipartisan pairs of Senate Banking Committee members have been trying to negotiate a compromise bill. "Sen. Corker has proved to be a serious thinker and a valuable asset to this committee," Mr. Dodd said in a release. "For that reason I called him Tuesday night and asked him to negotiate the financial reform bill with me. We met in my office on Wednesday and given the importance of these issues, he agreed." While there are still many difficult questions remaining, "financial reform is in a strong position, due to the good work done by Banking Committee members, both Democrats and Republicans," Mr. Dodd said, adding that he is "more optimistic than I have been in several weeks that we can develop a consensus bill."