Senate likely to begin amending financial reform bill today

Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said amending the financial reform bill could begin as early as today, but he was unsure on how many votes would be required for a proposal to be added to the legislation. 

"There hasn't been a formal agreement or UC on the exact votes that will be necessary," he told reporters. "I'm just speculating that some will require 60 votes, but perhaps not all of them." 

A proposal by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) prohibiting taxpayer funds from being used to bailout finance firms is expected to be the first measure the Senate will consider once the amendment process begins. 

Durbin hopes work on the bill will be completed by the end of the month, but unforeseen obstacles could keep that goal from being reached. 

"It's a bill that's complex, but it's also extremely important," he said. "We ought to take the time to do it right. You know, we spent a whole week debating whether we could extend unemployment benefits [for] 4 weeks... So we have spent a lot of time and had little to show for it because of the filibusters we faced."