Senate likely to begin amending financial reform bill today

A proposal by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) prohibiting taxpayer funds from being used to bailout finance firms is expected to be the first measure the Senate will consider once the amendment process begins. 

Durbin hopes work on the bill will be completed by the end of the month, but unforeseen obstacles could keep that goal from being reached. 

“It’s a bill that’s complex, but it’s also extremely important,” he said. “We ought to take the time to do it right. You know, we spent a whole week debating whether we could extend unemployment benefits [for] 4 weeks… So we have spent a lot of time and had little to show for it because of the filibusters we faced.”