In a 219 to 206 vote, Congress approved the FY 2015 omnibus spending plan that continues to fund the government. President Obama had urged lawmakers to pass the $1.1 trillion package, despite the White House’s disagreement with two particular inclusions; a provision that would repeal a portion of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reforms and a measure to increase the limit on campaign contributions by single donors.
Despite the support of the president, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi urged her fellow Democrats from the House floor to reject the spending plan until the language that would roll back Dodd-Frank was removed.
“I appreciate the work that you’ve done to bring this bill to the floor, and that’s why I was so really heartbroken – I don’t think I’ve ever said that word on the floor of the House – heartbroken to see the taint that was placed on this bill,” said Pelosi.
On Wednesday, fellow Democrat Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren also spoke out against what she described as a weakening of Dodd-Frank.
“Opposition to government bailouts of Wall Street is not a liberal or conservative issue. The current law, the one about to be repealed, was put in place years ago because after the 2008 financial collapse people of all political persuasions were disgusted of ever having to use taxpayer dollars to rescue big banks of their own bad decisions,” said Warren.
While in agreement with many items in the budget that would impact the Capital Region, Democratic Congressman Paul Tonko said he voted against the spending plan after the 11th hour “sweetheart deals” on campaign financing and Wall Street deregulation.
“So while we worked very hard to make progress in this budget to allow or many great investments in the 20th district, I was too concerned that while some of those bits of progress in the budget can be short term, these two measures would become law of the land, which is a troublesome measure,” said Tonko.
But other New York representatives voted for the omnibus bill. Lower Hudson Valley Congresswoman Nita Lowey, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, voted yea, but not before taking to the floor to voice her concern.
“I fought throughout the conference for example to get rid of the swaps language, it does not belong on the appropriations bill. The Reid-Boehner provision to increase by tenfold the limits on contributions to political parties is excessive and also does not belong on this bill,” said Lowey.
Lowey was also disappointed with the bill’s language to only fund the Department of Homeland Security until the new year — when Republicans will control the House and Senate and could potentially use the funding to impact President Obama’s executive actions on immigration.
Lowey was joined by Democrats Bill Owens of Northern New York, Sean Patrick Maloney of the 18th District, and Republican Chris Gibson of the 19th District in supporting the bill.
Gibson praised the House for working together to avoid a shutdown, although he acknowledged the bill was not perfect.
“Certainly there are things in this bill that I would have I preferred not to be in the bill, and there were things that I wanted in the bill that didn’t get in the bill, but this is the work of a representative democracy; that you have in good faith, bipartisan negotiations that lead to an agreement. So to the sentiment by many that this wasn’t a perfect bill and there were objectionable things in there, I agree. Certainly that campaign finance piece of it, that’s something I wouldn’t have wanted to see in that bill,” said Gibson.
The entire Massachusetts Congressional delegation, as well as Vermont Congressman Peter Welch, Connecticut Representatives Elizabeth Etsy, John Larson, and Joe Courtney voted against the bill. Republican Richard Hanna of New York’s 22nd District voted for it.
The legislation now heads to the Senate. Vermont Independent Bernie Sanders has said he would vote against it.
Sound from Rep. Pelosi and Sen. Warren courtesy C-SPAN.
