Pelosi predicts ‘strong’ Dem opposition to GOP’s one-week spending patch

Despite an enticing Pentagon-funding provision, House Democrats will unite in “strong” opposition to the Republicans’ one-week spending patch, expected to hit the floor sometime Thursday, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) predicted.

With the government’s spending authority slated to expire at day’s end Friday, House Republicans are expected to bring a vote Thursday on a one-week funding patch to prevent a government shutdown. The bill includes $12 billion in new spending cuts and a provision that bars the use of federal or local government funding for abortion services in Washington, D.C.

{mosads}Hoping to entice centrist Democratic support, Republicans also included language to fund the Pentagon through the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends Oct. 1.

“I think you’ll see a strong Democratic ‘no’ on that,” Pelosi said of the funding measure, “and I would hope that the president would veto that bill.”

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (Md.), senior Democrat on the House Budget panel, called the Pentagon funding “a cynical ploy to use our troops to try to impose the Republican agenda through the budget process.”

Pelosi agreed, and predicted the attempt to lure Democratic votes won’t work.

“For them to hide behind our troops while they build a future unworthy of the sacrifice of our troops … is a contradiction in terms,” she said. “I believe we’ll have a solid vote against that.”

Congress has already enacted two temporary spending bills to prevent a government shutdown — votes that split House Democrats almost down the middle. Pelosi did not indicate if Democratic leaders would whip opposition to the GOP’s latest temporary fix.

Addressing the search for a long-term agreement on 2011 funding, the California Democrat was quick to note that she’s not directly involved in those negotiations, which have featured President Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio).

Still, she indicated her disapproval for what’s been floated so far.

“So far we haven’t seen anything that House Democrats can support,” she said, “but we hope that they arrive at a place that we can.”