They weren’t kidding when they said this evening’s markup of finance reform legislation would be a speedy affair.

The Banking Committee took less than an hour to pass the bill — along a party-line vote of 13 to 10 — and send it to the chamber floor. The quick process is an indication that Republicans, who’ve introduced hundreds of amendments designed to dilute the reforms, plan to stage their fight on the Senate floor, where they’ll likely have more cover from conservative-leaning Democrats who’ve historically protected the banking industry.

A Banking Committee summary of the legislation follows the jump.

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More on the Arab-American Institute’s forthcoming poll about U.S. attitudes toward Israel. I still haven’t seen the full poll, but I’ve gotten one detail of it. According to its findings, not only has the partisan gap between Democratic and Republican views on Israel widened, but the Democratic drop-off in support has been severe over the past year. From the poll, which won’t be fully released until Thursday:

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Now that there are only a few banks left that haven’t repaid their TARP funds — and many did so to get out from under Pay Czar Ken Feinberg’s pay-restricting thumb — and bonus season has passed, Feinberg has just a little time on his hands. The Wall Street Journal reports that he’s going to use it to look back at bonuses paid to bailed-out bank executives before February 2009, when executive compensation limits went into effect and Congress required that the person in his position examine those bonuses.

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A new ABC News poll asks what Americans have to say about the newest economic villains — banks — as they return to profitability well ahead of America’s burgeoning unemployed population. There are few surprises there: The vast majority of people don’t believe the banks have done enough to “make up” for their role in the economic meltdown — and Americans think the best way for them to help is to lower credit card interest rates, simplify their paperwork requirements and, to a lesser extent, hold off on foreclosures until the economy improves. Notably, only the last bit has been part of a government program to aid Americans during the crisis, and only to a very limited (and often paperwork-choked) degree.

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The Senate is expected to pass the House’s health care reconciliation fix this week — and after the upper chamber’s members return from spring recess, they can finally turn their attention to other major legislation. But environmental advocates have feared that with a jobs bills, financial regulation and possibly immigration reform on the table, comprehensive climate legislation could get pushed back until it’s too late.

Today, 22 Democratic senators signed a letter urging action on a climate bill this year. And while the support of less than half the Democratic caucus wouldn’t ordinarily be noteworthy, what’s interesting here is the makeup of the letter’s signatories: They’re almost all moderates or representatives of states with significant industrial or fossil fuel interests. Take a look at the list (via Dave Roberts):

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The Wall Street Journal reports:

A suspected al Qaeda organizer once called “the highest value detainee” at Guantánamo Bay was ordered released by a federal judge in an order issued Monday.

Mohamedou Ould Slahi was accused in the 9/11 Commission report of helping recruit Mohammed Atta and other members of the al Qaeda cell in Hamburg, Germany, that took part in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

That doesn’t mean Slahi’s release from Guantanamo Bay is imminent, or even definite, said Nancy Hollander, the Albuquerque-based attorney who argued Slahi’s habeas case.

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It’s looking that way.

Observers had expected a drawn-out battle over Senate Democrats’ plans to overhaul the nations financial regulations in favor of more oversight and consumer protection. The Senate bill is being marked up in the Banking Committee beginning at 5 p.m. today.

But sources on and off Capitol Hill are now indicating that, in a surprise move, the Republicans — who’ve introduced hundreds of amendments designed to dilute the bill — will pick their fight on the Senate floor in lieu of the committee room.

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