House-Senate conference seeks to resolve differences in financial regulations

With the C-SPAN cameras rolling, lawmakers involved in a rare House-Senate conference waded deep into the legislative weeds Tuesday, beginning to work in earnest on reconciling the two chambers' differences over financial regulations.

There was almost a circus atmosphere at times during the seven-hour hearing, underscoring just how peculiar this particular tradition is for many in Congress.

Scores of congressional aides and government officials lined the walls and filled the chairs of the Rayburn hearing room, conducting whispered conversations and tapping away at BlackBerrys, as lawmakers discussed rules for credit-rating agencies and the status of federal deposit insurance.

Republicans peppered the conference chairman, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), with questions about how he planned to conduct the proceedings. GOP members, saying they were unclear on the protocol, passed out summaries of what they hoped to change.

"Does the clerk have an amendment?" Frank asked at one point, looking around and adding, "Do we have a clerk?"