By John Shaw

WASHINGTON (MNI) - Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell responded cooly and cryptically Tuesday to Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd's new financial regulatory reform bill, saying it was drafted without Republican input and is another Democratic effort to rush through sweeping legislation without careful review.

In comments to reporters after a Senate Republican luncheon, McConnell said he is unsure when Dodd's bill will begin moving through the Senate.

He said there is "no clamor to pass yet another 1,000 page bill."

During a recent briefing, McConnell said he is concerned that the effort to overhaul financial regulation will go too far and unduly cramp American financial institutions.

Speaking Tuesday, McConnell said that he assumes financial regulatory reform will not move in the Senate until health care legislation is disposed of. And that could take a long time, he said.

McConnell said that he expects the Senate health care debate to take "a number of weeks" and dominate the congressional agenda for "the coming months."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said earlier in the day he would like to begin the Senate health care debate next week.

McConnell said the Senate debate will be lengthy and contentious.

"This is a big bill ... . There are going to be a lot of amendments," he said.

McConnell said Republicans believe Democratic health care bills are too big, too complicated, cost too much, cut Medicare too much and raise taxes too much.

On another matter, McConnell said he is "open" to the idea of creating a special bipartisan entitlement reform panel to address long-term fiscal challenges.

"I'm willing to talk about that," he said, adding the panel should "target the real problem" which he said is steadily rising Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid spending.

"I'm certainly open to that approach," he said.

Meanwhile, former President Bill Clinton met with Senate Democrats at their Tuesday lunch and urged them to move quickly to pass health care legislation.

Later, Clinton told reporters that soaring health care costs are a "big economic problem" that should be dealt with soon.

** Market News International Washington Bureau: (202) 371-2121 **