Byrd’s death hampers finance-overhaul vote

WASHINGTON — The death of Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia threatens to delay the vote on a package of new rules for Wall Street.

Senate Democrats had been counting Byrd’s vote as one of the 60 needed for final passage of the financial-regulatory bill approved Friday by a House-Senate committee. With his death, and with Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., suggesting he might switch from yes to no, Democrats could come up short if they take the measure to the floor as planned before Sunday.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy,D-Vt., told Bloomberg Television on Monday that consideration of the bill could be postponed until West Virginia’s Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin appoints a successor to Byrd, possibly not until after the funeral.

“The hope was that the Senate would vote this week, and now you have lost a vote,” Leahy said. “I am not sure what will happen. It is possible they put this off until after a replacement has been appointed by the governor.”

Leahy said he expects the bill “will eventually pass.”

In the House, where the Democrats enjoy a wider margin, leaders expect to hold a vote as early as today.

The regulatory package would create a consumer protection agency at the Federal Reserve, give the government more authority to unwind failing financial firms and impose new requirements on over-the-counter derivatives markets and the banks that oversee these trades.

The latest developments may increase pressure on two Senate Democrats, Maria Cantwell of Washington and Russell Feingold of Wisconsin, to switch their votes and support the bill. Cantwell and Feingold voted against the measure May 20 because they said it was not strong enough.

Without Byrd, Democrats could still pass the bill if they hold onto support from four Republicans: Brown, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, and Charles Grassley of Iowa. If any of the four vote no, leaders would need one Democrat to switch.

Byrd’s death leaves Democrats with 56 of the Senate’s 100 seats; two independents - Sens. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Bernie Sanders of Vermont - also caucus with the party. Byrd, whose declining health forced him to miss votes in recent years, cast critical votes in favor of President Barack Obama’s health-care bill when Republicans united against it.

Information for this article was contributed by Alison Vekshin and Peter Cook of Bloomberg News.