Senator Graham Sees Financial Bill in Face of ‘Tough Sledding’

Senator Graham Sees Financial Bill in Face of ‘Tough Sledding;’ Bloomberg

Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham said he is confident his party and Democrats can pass a financial regulation measure even after the fight over health- care legislation.

“Tough sledding lies ahead because of the acrimony around health care,” Graham, of South Carolina, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program. “But on financial regulation we’ll get a bill.”

The Senate’s banking panel last week approved Senator Christopher Dodd’s financial-rules overhaul, advancing the Obama administration’s bid for the biggest restructuring of Wall Street oversight in seven decades.

Republicans threatened after the health-care vote last week not to cooperate with the White House on major legislation. Senate Democrats used a budget process called reconciliation that enabled them to pass the health legislation with no Republican votes.

Graham said the battle over health care would make it harder to advance on immigration overhaul, and he called on President Barack Obama to present legislation to Congress. Graham sits on both the Judiciary and the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committees.

“Let him do some heavy lifting here on immigration,” Graham said. Graham, saying not all Democrats supported a previous measure, called on Obama to “write a bill and send it to me.”

Graham said March 19 in a statement that passage of the health-care bill would “pretty much kill” any chance of an immigration overhaul this year.