Pelosi could whip against defense policy bill, top Dem says

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is considering opposing the House draft of the annual defense policy bill when it comes to the floor later this week, according to a senior Democrat.

“I don’t know if she’s whipping against it, she’s opposed to it,” according to Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.

Pelosi is against the proposed $612 billion authorization measure because it adds $38 billion to the Pentagon’s Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) account, commonly known as the war fund, he told The Hill.

{mosads}“Basically, by giving defense $38 billion more, you bust the budget caps only for defense and you leave everything else behind. And we’ve always said that we don’t support that,” Smith said.

Under a 2011 budget deal, the ceiling on defense spending is set at $523 billion.

The 2016 national defense authorization act (NDAA) keeps that ceiling but beefs up the war fund to $96 billion to provide the Pentagon with more flexibility. 

Smith said he was unsure whether Pelosi had spoken to other Armed Services members — who approved their version of the NDAA earlier this month in a 60-2 vote — about her potential challenge to the legislation, which has passed Congress for 53 consecutive years.

“I’m probably going to oppose the bill myself because of that money,” he told The Hill. “I’m telling members to vote for what’s in the best interests of their districts.”

A Pelosi spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The House Rules Committee is set to meet Wednesday to begin consideration of nearly 350 amendments to the policy roadmap. 

The massive authorization bill could reach the floor as soon as Wednesday night, with debate slated to take up most of Thursday.

A vote on passage of the measure is expected some time Friday.

“It’s stunning that Democrats are willing to perpetuate using troops as political pawns when they could be voting for a bill that meets the president’s request, updates benefits for military families, and tackles our acquisition problems,” a GOP aide said.

“This is the first partisan drive on the NDAA in recent memory,” the aide added.