Senator Richard Shelby Slams Senate's Financial Legislation

It was revealed earlier in the week that Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, had unveiled his legislation to completely overhaul financial industry regulations that are currently in place. The most powerful Republican Representative within the Senate Banking Committee, Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama, harshly criticized the contents of the bill during an address that he made at the outset of Thursday's committee meeting that was held to discuss consideration of the legislation.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Senator Shelby announced his prepared remarks in regards to the financial industry overhaul bill at the beginning of the discussion, when he stated, "This committee has not done the necessary work to even begin discussing changes of this magnitude. If our goal is to 'protect consumers and our economy from another crisis,' we should gather every bit of information available on every facet of the current crisis."

Senator Dodd came to the defense of the bill that he has developed, stating that the innovative content contained in the legislation will ensure protection for the entire economy as well as for consumers. According to The Wall Street Journal, Senator Shelby's support is not going to be required for the legislation to be passed but he has the ability to potentially generate a strong Republican opposition to the financial overhaul bill.