Shelby: I ‘got two trains running’ on regs overhaul

Senate Banking Committee chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) says he hasn’t given up on his own panel advancing his financial regulatory overhaul package.

Earlier this month, Shelby surprised many when he worked behind the scenes to advance his policy proposal — the largest financial pitch since the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform law — through the Senate Appropriations committee, where it advanced on a party-line vote.

But in a brief interview with The Hill, Shelby said that he’s “got two trains running” and that he’s continuing to reach out to moderate Democrats on the panel in an attempt to advance a bipartisan package.

{mosads}”We’ve got two rails going,” Shelby said, referencing both his own committee and Senate Appropriations. “We’re going to see what we can do when we get back [after August recess] with what’s substantive and what’s doable.”

Shelby’s staff has taken particular interest in negotiating with Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), a moderate Democrat on the panel.

“We’ve got a lot of talk in the back channels going everywhere and I think that’s healthy,” Shelby said.

“We have talked about talking,” Tester said when asked about the nature of the discussions. “We’re a long ways from this being over.”

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), the top Democrat on the committee, however, maintained that “there are no serious negotiations” occurring between him and Shelby.

“They just try to jam us every single place,” Brown said. “He’s not willing to play it straight.”

The community banking industry has been pushing for years to weaken Dodd-Frank regulations that they argue were intended for big banks and not their industry.

While a hefty chunk of Shelby’s bill has bipartisan support, it also includes partisan provisions championed by Republicans that would dramatically raise the threshold that determines which banks are labeled “systemically important” and thus subject to more stringent federal supervision.

Shelby’s package advanced on a party-line vote in May, but it’s stalled because it didn’t attract moderate Democratic support.