Free Republic

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Despite lawmakers' last-minute change to win his vote, Republican Sen. Scott Brown said Wednesday he needs more time to study a sweeping overhaul of financial regulations before committing his vote. His stance leaves Democrats short, for now, of the 60 votes they need to overcome procedural hurdles to the bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the Senate will have to wait until after the weeklong July 4 congressional break to take up the bill. The House was expected to vote on a final, combined House-Senate bill, late Wednesday afternoon.

U.S. Senate Republicans stood together Monday to successfully block lawmakers from moving ahead with sweeping legislation to overhaul U.S. financial markets, a temporary stumble for the Obama administration's top domestic policy priority. The Senate voted 57-41 on a procedural measure allowing lawmakers to move toward debate on financial regulatory overhaul legislation, falling short of the 60 votes needed. All GOP senators present voted against invoking cloture, joined by at least one Democrat, Sen. Ben Nelson (D., Neb.). The partisan vote underscores the high political stakes surrounding the legislation, which would subject the nation's financial institutions to new consumer and capital...