–House Majority Leader Says Dems Don’t Support ‘Additional Bailouts’
–Rep. Hoyer: Reviewing Best ‘Mechanism’ To Unwind Failing Firms
–Must Put ‘The Referee Back in the Field’ on Regulation
–Senate Majority Leader Reid, Sen. Dodd Say GOP Trying To Kill Reform

By John Shaw

WASHINGTON (MNI) – House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Tuesday
that Democratic leaders in Congress do not believe establishing a $50
billion fund to unwind failing banks is the most important issue in
their regulatory reform effort.

“I don’t think the fund is central to what we’re doing,” Hoyer said
at a briefing.

“Central is putting the referee back on the field,” he said.

Hoyer said that it’s critical to create a “mechanism to ensure that
taxpayer’s don’t pay” to resolve failing banks.

“It’s still being discussed on how to do this,” Hoyer said.

Hoyer accused Republicans of mischaracterizing the $50 billion fund
as a pot of cash for future bailouts.

“The Republicans trying to position this as a bailout bill are
grasping at straws,” he said, adding it is an “inaccurate representation
of what the bill is doing.”

“We’re not providing for additional bailouts,” Hoyer said.

Hoyer said that once the Senate passes its regulatory reform bill,
a formal House-Senate conference committee will be held to craft the
final bill.

He said House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank is
eager for this public conference committee to develop a compromise bill.

“I think Chairman Frank is holding his powder somewhat dry” until
these talks commence, Hoyer said.

In a related development, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd sent a letter to Senate
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell Tuesday, saying that Republican efforts
to focus on the bailout fund are an effort to distract policymakers from
dealing with the critical issues in regulatory reform.

They called it a “transparently partisan effort to kill Wall Street
reform.”

** Market News International Washington Bureau: (202) 371-2121 **

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