Brown, Snowe Give Dems 60 Votes to Pass Wall Street Bill

With New England Republicans Olympia Snowe and Scott Brown on board, Senate Democrats appear to have the 60 votes they need to pass the Wall Street reform bill. The move by Snowe and Brown means Dems won't have to wait for the appointment of a successor to the late Sen. Robert Byrd before passing the overhaul and sending it to President Obama.

The conference report, the Democratic Congress's second major overhaul after health reform, would tighten regulation of credit cards and mortgages, regulate the $600 trillion derivatives market, boost oversight of financial system risks, and seek to prevent future taxpayer-funded Wall Street bailouts. Besides Snowe and Brown, Dems have commitments from 57 of their members and Maine Republican Susan Collins, the Hill reports.
(More Wall Street regulation stories.)