by Victoria Finkle
approved a broad regulatory reform bill Thursday on
party lines, with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle
vowing to continue negotiations this summer.
Chair man Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and Democrats
have clashed in recent weeks over a GOP bill to
provide regulatory relief for small and regional banks,
along with changes to the insurance industry, the
Federal Reserve and the Financial Stability Oversight
Council. Democrats have repeatedly charged that the
legislation goes too far, rolling back key parts of the
Dodd-Frank Act. But committee members did signal that they plan to continue working on a bipartisan
compromise in coming months, with the hope of getting a bill signed into law.
"Even if we report this bill on a partisan vote, I do not in any way see this as the end of the road,"
Shelby said at the markup. "In fact, I believe it presents another opportunity to explore areas of 
potential agreement before this bill goes to the Senate floor which I fully expect that it will."
The Financial Regulatory Improvement Act passed 12-10.
Democrats, meanwhile, offered a narrower substitute bill that was defeated down party lines, 10-12.
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