House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday that she won’t vote for the “cromnibus” appropriations bill to fund the government through September.
Pelosi said Democrats are being “blackmailed” into voting for the $1.1 trillion spending measure. She and many other Democrats oppose provisions in the 1,603-page bill that would increase the maximum amount of money campaign donors can contribute to party committees and amend the Dodd-Frank financial reform law.
{mosads}”This a moral hazard. We’re being asked to vote for a moral hazard,” Pelosi said, referring to the Dodd-Frank provision that critics say would put taxpayers at risk of another Wall Street bailout.
Pelosi acknowledged that “there will be bipartisan support for this bill,” but said she wouldn’t be among the lawmakers voting for it.
“It will not have my support,” Pelosi said on the House floor.
Still, Pelosi made clear she isn’t whipping her members to vote against the measure, which could be important because House Republican leaders have made clear they will need Democratic votes to get it through.
“I’m not asking anybody to vote one way or another,” Pelosi said.
President Obama on Thursday issued a statement in support of the cromnibus after it nearly failed to advance in a razor-thin procedural vote, putting added pressure on Democrats to support it.
Democrats have leverage in the debate because at least 50 to 60 House Republicans are expected to vote against the bill, some because it doesn’t block Obama’s immigration actions. Republicans don’t have enough votes to pass the bill on their own.
With a government shutdown looming at midnight, the stakes are high for both sides.
The measure would fund the government through September 2015 except for the Department of Homeland Security, which would only receive funds through Feb. 27.