The U.S. Senate has approved the appointment of all 20 members of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs to the conference on S. 900, the Financial Services Modernization Act.

Sen. Phil Gramm, chairman of the Banking Committee, made the recommendation to the Senate Majority Leader that the full committee be appointed to the conference.

"Congress has been working for 20 years to remove the Depression-era barriers that separate banking, insurance and securities," Gramm said. "And for the first time in 20 years, both houses of Congress have passed bills to do that.

"Members of the Banking Committee had a key role in shaping this legislation, and their expertise will be needed as we convert it into law," Gramm said. "It is a historic bill that has potential for benefiting all of our constituents, from Texas to South Dakota and from New York to Idaho."

In addition to Gramm, the Republican members of the Banking Committee are Richard Shelby of Alabama, Connie Mack of Florida, Robert Bennett of Utah, Rod Grams of Minnesota, Wayne Allard of Colorado, Michael Enzi of Wyoming, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, Jim Bunning of Kentucky, and Mike Crapo of Idaho.

The ranking member of the Banking Committee is Sen. Paul Sarbanes of Maryland. The other Democrat members are Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, John Kerry of Massachusetts, Richard Bryan of Nevada, Tim Johnson of South Dakota, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Chuck Schumer of New York, Evan Bayh of Indiana, and John Edwards of North Carolina.

The members of the Senate Banking Committee will work with House members to combine the two versions of S. 900. The Senate Banking Committee approved its version March 4, and it was passed by the full Senate May 6. The House approved H.R. 10 on July 1, and set the stage for conference on July 20 by substituting its language in S. 900 and sending the bill to the Senate.