Brown gets shout-out at financial regulation bill signing ceremony

By Michael Kranish, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- Senator Scott Brown, the Massachusetts Republican who played a vital role in passage of legislation to overhaul financial regulation, did not attend today's elaborate bill-signing ceremony -- but did get a shout-out from President Obama.

Brown joined with the two Maine Republican senators, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, as well as 57 Democrats, to provide the needed 60 votes to break a filibuster and approve the bill.

Yesterday, Obama told an audience of more than 400 people that while a "partisan minority" opposed the bill, he wanted to "thank the three Republican senators who put partisanship aside, judged this bill on the merits, and voted for reform. We’re grateful to them." He did not name the Republicans but their names had been well-publicized.

The audience, which included a host of Democratic leaders, applauded loudly.

Brown spokeswoman Gail Gitcho said that Brown did receive an invitation to the event, held at a federal conference center a short ride down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol. She said he did not show up in part because he had a "packed schedule." But, she said, "more than that he believes that it's time to move on and finally turn the focus to creating jobs and fixing the economy."

Some of most sustained applause at the event went to House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank of Newton and Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, who shepherded the legislation through their respective chambers of Congress.