GOP lawmaker sees no Republican votes for financial overhaul

A key House Republican on Wednesday said he does not expect any of his colleagues to vote for financial regulatory reform legislation.

Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), a member of the Financial Services Committee, said he would be “surprised” if any Republicans supported the measure Republicans are billing as a second round of bailouts.

"I would be surprised if any Republicans voted for [the bill],” Hensarling told reporters, "I don't sense that any [Republicans] see anything that would encourage them to vote yes."

The bill, which is sponsored by committee chairman Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), could be brought to the House floor as soon as this week.

Should the bill receive no Republican votes, it would be the second time the GOP unanimously opposed a major Obama administration legislative initiative. No Republicans voted for the stimulus package in February.

One Republican supported healthcare reform legislation in November and eight voted for the cap-and-trade bill in June.

The financial overhaul would allow the federal government to dismantle in a more organized way financial firms deemed “too big to fail” should a financial collapse occur again. The bill also creates a large new regulator, the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, which would oversee a myriad of practices in the financial sector.

Hensarling, however, pointed to a $200 billion fund included in the bill that would help unwind failed financial firms to claim that the bill was nothing more than a second bailout measure.

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