Bill to Extend Crisis-Era Deposit Protections Fails in Senate

A bill to extend a financial crisis-era deposit insurance program on Thursday failed to garner the needed support to overcome a crucial procedural vote in the U.S. Senate.

The Transaction Account Guarantee program, which insures checking account deposits above the $250,000 normally covered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, is set to expire at the end of the year.

The bill, sponsored by Majority Leader Harry Reid, would have given the program two more years. Bank lobbyists said letting the program end would lead U.S. companies to pull funds from bank accounts and invest elsewhere.

Fifty senators voted to waive a procedural challenge to the bill raised by Republican members on Thursday, fewer than the 60 votes needed to move forward with the legislation.