Hawaii Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa on Thursday voted against a $1.1 trillion appropriations bill from House Republicans to fund most of the federal government through fiscal year 2015.
The bill passed by a vote of 219-206 and is now in the hands of the Senate.
Hanabusa’s “no” vote was “because of two objectionable policy provisions, including one that rolls back regulations to allow Wall Street to participate in the same risky transactions that led to the financial crisis of 2008, and one that approves much higher contribution amounts to national political parties.”
Hanabusa said in a press release, “While I support several programs funded in this bill, I could not in good conscience vote for a bill that prioritizes Wall Street and the wealthiest campaign donors rather than the people that government has a duty to serve.”
Colleen Hanabusa addresses supporters on Aug. 9 in Honolulu as results in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary were trickling in.
Alana Hong/Civil Beat
The vote would appear to be one of the last for Hanabusa, who was defeated by U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz in the Hawaii Democratic primary. Also on Thursday, the Senate approved a two-day funding measure to keep the U.S. government active until a vote on the House measure is held, which is set for Friday.
According to Hanabusa’s office, repeal of “key provisions” in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act “effectively permits Wall Street to invest in risky derivatives with no penalty because the taxpayers would be forced to bail out their failed investments.”
Hanabusa added, “I am disappointed that the House Republicans once again held the taxpayers of this country hostage through these last-minute negotiations in exchange for bad policies that benefit the rich and the few instead of the majority of our community.”
UPDATED: As expected, U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard voted no, too, on the spending bill.
“There are two kinds of people serving in Congress—those who are here to serve the interests of the American people, and those who are here to serve the interests of the Big Banks and Wall Street speculators,” Gabbard said in a press release after the vote. “The big banks that forced the American people to bail them out in 2008 are even bigger today. This bill sets us up to bail the big banks out again, and its passage brings us closer to the precipice of an economic disaster that would make the 2008 meltdown seem like a picnic.”
Gabbard also objected to a provision “snuck into the spending bill,” her office said, that would dramatically increase the amount of money contributors can give to a political party.
“I’m opposed to a last-minute change to this legislation, which increa
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About the Author
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Chad Blair is the politics editor for Civil Beat. You can reach him by email at cblair@civilbeat.org or follow him on X at @chadblairCB.