WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has conceded that he will not be able to schedule a Senate vote this week on compromise financial regulatory reform legislation because of Republican opposition to the bill.
Reid had hoped Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., would support the bill. But Brown has said he plans to use the July 4 recess to study the measure. The Senate is not expected to return from its recess until July 12.
Senate Democrats need 60 votes to limit debate on the bill and prevent a Republican filibuster. With the death of Sen. Robert Byrd earlier this week, there are only 58 Democrats in the Senate, along with two independents. But at least two of the Democrats — Sens. Russ Feingold from Wisconsin and Maria Cantwell from Washington — are either opposed to or undecided on the reform measure.
