Congress Finalizing Bill

Will the Senate's tough financial-reform bill survive the influence of special interests? Working to meet the July 4 deadline set by President Obama, leaders in the House and Senate are working to blend the two chambers’ financial-reform bills, walking a delicate line between preserving tough regulations and holding together a fragile Senate coalition that includes only four Republicans. Though the political atmosphere has encouraged lawmakers to vote against big banks, Wall Street and the finance industry are flexing a powerful lobbying arm in an attempt to dilute the reform measure. "It's going to be very difficult to stop special interests, working through some members of the conference, from inserting weakening provisions," said Travis Plunkett, legislative director of the Consumer Federation of America.