"After hours of trying to find a way to block this, they (Republicans) found two relatively minor provisions that are violations of Senate procedure which means we're going to have to send it back to the House," said Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
The news is a blow for Democrats, who had worked to avoid returning the legislation to the House, where a fragile coalition was assembled to pass the bill over the weekend.
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Reid was working to corral the Senate votes for a package of "fixes" to the legislation, which House lawmakers laid down as a condition for passing the reform.
Manley said the violations related to provisions dealing with "higher education," without providing further details.
"I'm confident that the House will be able to deal with these and pass the legislation," he said.
