Gramm maneuvers to kill 2 Senate bills.

WASHINGTON -- The Senate Banking Committee has scheduled votes on bills dealing with credit reporting and limited partnership roll-ups, and at least one key republican lawmaker hopes to use interstate branchng legislation to kill both.

The main target for Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Tex., is a measure that would regulate roll-ups, in which a number of limited partnerships are combined into a single publicly traded company.

His hope, according to sources familiar with his plans, is to load down the bill with so many extraneous measure, including interstate banking, that the leadership would be reluctant to permit floor consideration. Fair credit reporting could be lumped in as well.

Senate Supporters

However, the limited partnership bill commands broad support in the Senate, and many observers believe Senate Banking Committee Chairman Donald W. Riegle, D-Mich., will rule the Gramm amendments out of order. The chairman would likely be sustained on a party-line vote.

Sen. Gramm has filed amendments that incorporate two titles from the Senate version of last year's banking bill. One deals with interstate branching; the other calls for repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act.

Sen. Jake Garn of Utah, the panel's ranking Republican, cosponsored the interstate branching amendment. He is a strong advocate of such legislation.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act, which would make it easier for consumers to correct errors in their credit reports, could get a new lease on life if approved by the Senate panel.

Although a House subcommittee cleared the measure in March, House Banking Committee Chairman Henry B. Gonzalez, D-Tex., abruptly ended a committee session on the bill and has refused to resume deliberations on it.

Rep. Gonzalez lost a close vote in subcommittee on a provision in the bill that would preempt state laws that conflict with the federal statute. The Senate bill is expected to include a compromise on that issue.

The banking industry generally supports the bill's House version.

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