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Democratic backlash throws spending bill in doubt

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Washington (CNN) -- A backlash from Democrats over add-ons to a massive government spending bill is throwing passage of the measure into doubt and once again raising concerns about a government shutdown.

The House is slated to vote on the legislation Thursday, just hours before agencies run out of money.

The $1.1 trillion spending bill authorizes funding for virtually all agencies through September, but some Democrats on Capitol Hill are vowing to oppose the legislation, arguing that the addition of some key policy changes amount to a giveaway for big special interests. Congress must pass some type of legislation by Thursday at midnight to avert a shutdown.

READ: What's tucked into the spending bill

The top concerns from Democrats center on a proposal to ease banking regulations in the Dodd-Frank law and a measure that would allow wealthy donors to give considerably more money to the political parties.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said the provisions were "destructive to middle class families and to the practice to our democracy" and demanded they be stripped out of the bill. Pelosi's position is critical because House Republicans need Democratic support for the measure to pass.

Though Republicans hold a significant majority in the House, Speaker John Boehner is expected to lose anywhere from 40 to 60 conservatives in his party who oppose the bill because it doesn't block the President's immigration executive action. Democrats will need to provide votes to offset those losses, setting up the sort of political brinksmanship that has become typical in Washington.

A shutdown remains unlikely because lawmakers could agree at the last minute to approve a bill that would keep the government running for a few months -- when Republicans will have full control of Congress.

House GOP aides say they are surprised Pelosi and others are lobbying for changes, since Democrats signed off on the bill before its release.

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Democratic backlash throws spending bill in doubt

ObamaCare Disaster – Even Prominent Democrats are Now Getting Buyer’s Remorse – Video


ObamaCare Disaster - Even Prominent Democrats are Now Getting Buyer #39;s Remorse

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ObamaCare Disaster - Even Prominent Democrats are Now Getting Buyer's Remorse - Video

Gerrymandering: NC Democrats Get More Votes, Republicans Win 9 of 13 Seats – Video


Gerrymandering: NC Democrats Get More Votes, Republicans Win 9 of 13 Seats
Gerrymandering: North Carolina Democrats received more votes but Republicans won 9 of 13 seats http://wunc.org/post/duke-mathematicians-investigate-2012-ele...

By: David Pakman Show

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Gerrymandering: NC Democrats Get More Votes, Republicans Win 9 of 13 Seats - Video

Democrats Resisting Policy Changes in Plan to Avoid Shutdown

Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Congress will vote this week on a $1.1 trillion spending plan that would avert a U.S. government shutdown as Democrats agreed to roll back rules affecting banks, clean water and rest for truckers. Peter Cook reports on In The Loop. (Source: Bloomberg)

Congress will vote this week on a $1.1 trillion spending plan that would avert a U.S. government shutdown as Democrats agreed to roll back rules affecting banks, clean water and rest for truckers.

The House will vote on the plan tomorrow, Speaker John Boehner told reporters today. The Ohio Republican said he looks forward to it passing with bipartisan majorities in the House and the Senate in the coming days.

The deal was announced late yesterday after Democrats accepted Republican demands to ease regulations including the banking provision, a significant victory for big banks. It lets JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Citigroup Inc. (C) and other lenders keep swaps trading in units with federal backstops.

The measure is a compromise that can and should have wide bipartisan support, House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers, a Kentucky Republican, said in a statement yesterday. Passage of this bill will show our people that we can and will govern responsibly.

While Democrats arent pleased about the policy changes, they said they beat back dozens of other provisions that Republicans had sought in the measure.

This agreement means no government shutdown and no government on autopilot, said Senate Appropriations Chair Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, a Democrat who negotiated the plan with Rogers.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat from Nevada, said earlier today that if the House included the District of Columbia marijuana provision in the bill, its going to be hard to take it out over here. But I oppose it. Close

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat from Nevada, said earlier today that if... Read More

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Democrats Resisting Policy Changes in Plan to Avoid Shutdown

Capitol Report: Pelosi hopeful Democrats will back spending bill

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was treading carefully in the wake of the Tuesday-night release of a spending package to keep the government open past Thursday.

Pelosi, a California Democrat, said shes hopeful Democrats can support the $1.1 trillion spending bill slated for a vote later this week, according to the Hill. She declined to show her hand, however, saying she first needs to read the bill. Our goal has always been to keep [the] government open, and to accomplish that goal in a bipartisan manner, she said in a statement. Until we review the final language, we cannot make a determination about whether House Democrats can support this legislation, but I am hopeful.

The spending bill, reports The Wall Street Journal, funds most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security through February. The shorter Homeland Security funding ensures Republicans can try to take aim at President Barack Obamas plan to curb deportation for millions of undocumented immigrants, without threatening to close the federal government. The measure provides $521 billion for defense and $492 billion for non-defense spending, hewing to a bipartisan budget deal.

Cuts for EPA, IRS: The budget agreement conforms to spending caps that lawmakers and the White House agreed to last year. But there are winners and losers underneath the overall number. For example, reports the Washington Post, the Environmental Protection Agencys budget would be cut by $60 million. The Internal Revenue Service would lose $345.6 million. Meanwhile, the bill authorizes a 1% pay raise for military service members and allows a 1% raise for federal employees. For the first time, the Post said, Congress would allow the benefits of current retirees to be severely cut, part of an effort to save some of the countrys most distressed pension plans.

Harry Reids new battle: Harry Reid was not chastened by the midterm elections. The New York Times writes the Senates incoming minority leader wont be discouraged from picking fights with Republicans on issues including the environment, financial regulations and womens rights. Were going to have to set up for the new battle, which is going to begin on Jan. 6, Reid told the Times. Reids Democrats lost nine seats in the election and handed control of the Senate to the GOP.

Lobbyists return to Hill: The lure of a Republican-dominated House and Senate is drawing some lobbyists back to Capitol Hill. The outgoing chief of staff for Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman, for instance, has helped recruit a lobbyist to replace him, reports the Hill. And Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the Utah Republican who will lead the House Oversight Committee in the next Congress, recently hired a Podesta Group lobbyist as staff director for the panel. People are interviewing all over the Hill, said Ivan Adler, a principal at The McCormick Group.

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Capitol Report: Pelosi hopeful Democrats will back spending bill