Senate Close to Financial-Reform Deal

Hooray! The Senate is near a deal on financial reform, according to Republican Senator Richard Shelby. "We're very close to a deal and there will be a substantial number of Republicans that go along with it," Shelby tells Talking Points Memo. Another Senate Republican, Bob Corker, said last night that he expects all 100 senators to vote to begin debating the bill. Meanwhile, Senator Chuck Grassley was the only Republican to cross the aisle and vote with Democrats on the Senate Agriculture Committee for a bill that will regulate the financial-derivatives market. That measure is likely to be incorporated into the larger financial-reform legislation, which could be on the Senate floor within days.