Dems break jobless-aid stalemate

Dick Taffe — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:52:02 +0000

Waiting only for the late Sen. Robert Byrd’s replacement to be sworn in so they have enough votes, Senate Democrats were voting break the GOP-led stalemate and extend unemployment benefits for millions of Americans who have been out of work 6 months or more. Political science Professor Graham Wilson, author of “Only in America? American Politics in Comparative Perspective,” reminds that everything from now to November will have a political motive behind it.

“For once the Democrats have got the Republicans just where they want them on an issue where they’ve been filibustering. Saying ‘no’ to unemployment benefits in the middle of a recession won’t go down well with most Americans.”

Contact Graham Wilson, 617-353-2540, gkwilson@bu.edu

Wall Street reform bill threatened

Dick Taffe — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:00:57 +0000

The death of U.S. Senator Robert Byrd (r.) is threatening to delay passage of the sweeping Wall Street regulatory reform legislation until mid-July after it had been on track for House and Senate votes this week. Law Professor Cornelius Hurley, a former counsel to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and now director of the Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law, says the proposed legislation has been so weakened in compromise efforts to garner enough votes to pass it in the Senate that it might be worth starting over.

“Its demise would have at least two significant benefits: first, it would allow the next Congress to develop a more robust bill, particularly with respect to systemic risk; and, second, it would enable global regulators to press the ‘reset button’ on international harmonization efforts, a vision apparently abandoned by this Congress and this Administration.”

Contact Cornelius Hurley, 617-353-5427, ckhurley@bu.edu

BU Now » Robert Byrd

Dems break jobless-aid stalemate

Wall Street reform bill threatened