Corker expects another week of negotiations on Wall Street reform bill, removal of $50B fund

Corker said it would be fair to give Senate Banking Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and ranking member Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) the rest of this week “work something out.”

The argument that the $50 billion fund allows for “unlimited” bailouts plays into the hands of the Obama administration, which also opposes the account, he said. Keeping the fund would halt the administration’s effort on a proposed bank tax, he added. 

“They want to tax the banks and if there’s a $50 billion pre-fund, it keeps them from doing it, so I don’t understand our line of attack over that fund,” Corker said. 

Corker, who said he isn’t against the bill because of the account, said it has nothing to do with bailout and called the rhetoric of the past couple of weeks “silly” between Congress and the White House.  

The fight is between Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner who opposes the creation of an “unwinding” fund and FDIC administrator Sheila Bair, a Republican, who proposed it, Corker said. During earlier negotiations on the bill, there were several suggestions from both parties on the size of the fund and there still needs to be a way to wind down firms whether the money is collected up front or after a firm fails. 

“If we end up with a good bill I’m going to vote for it, if we end up with a bad bill I’ll vote against it,” Corker said.