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Congress this weekend passed a $1.1 trillion spending bill to keep the government operating.
(J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
All six of Oregon's Democratic members of Congress voted against the $1.1 trillion spending bill as they rejected a package that had the support of the leaders of both chambers and President Barack Obama.
The president -- as well as House Speaker John Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and the latter's soon-to-be replacement, Republican Mitch McConnell -- wanted to push the massive spending bill to avoid another government shutdown.
But there was plenty in the package to draw ire from both conservative and liberal critics. In the end, opponents got the best of both worlds -- a recorded vote against a bill but that had many politically unpopular provisions but no complaints that they helped force a shutdown of the government.
Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, both D-Ore., zeroed in on provisions that allowed Wall Street banks to freely trade in government-backed financial derivatives, which were among the financial instruments that helped lead to the 2008 crash.
"This provision allows big Wall Street banks to get back in the business of making risky and exotic bets with government backing," Merkley said in a statement after the vote. "These bets have no place inside a bank, putting our financial system at risk. And they certainly don't merit government backing."
Wyden also criticized provisions that raise some limits on political donations, saying in a statement that "it revives the corrupting influence of soft money-style fundraising, creating new avenues for big money in politics."
Lastly, Wyden also criticized a provision blocking endangered species listings for two species of sage grouse found throughout the West. The oil and gas industry, miners and ranchers have expressed concern about the impact of sage grouse protections, but Wyden said blocking possible listing "creates uncertainty for Oregon ranchers and interferes with government efforts to protect an endangered species."
In the House, Oregon Democratic Reps. Suzanne Bonamici, Kurth Schrader, Peter DeFazio and Earl Blumenauer all opposed the bill while the sole Republican in the delegation, Greg Walden, voted for it.
The Democrats cited similar complaints with the package.
"At a time when too many still feel like they are struggling to get ahead, this bill favors a small number of Americans over the hard-working majority," Bonamici said in a statement.
Slate quoted DeFazio as saying that Democrats need to stick to their principles on things like Wall Street regulations or risk facing a repeat of the losses they had in the 2014 midterms.
DeFazio said that White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough made an "unbelievably odious" pitch in favor of the omnibus bill in a closed-door meeting with House Democrats before the vote. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and most of the Democratic caucus remained unmoved, although 57 Democrats provided the crucial votes needed to get the bill through the House.
-- Jeff Mapes