Rohrabacher Voted ‘No’ on Omnibus; Pot Amendment Passes

Orange County’s Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) took a symbolic stand against big government spending in voting against the recent omnibus bill–despite the fact that one of his own amendments was included in it.

The bill passed easily, “316-113, with 150 Republicans voting yes and 166 Democrats voting yes”–meaning that Rohrabacher’s gesture of opposition may have been just that.

In a message explaining why he voted against the “trillion dollar fiasco,” Rohrabacher–one of 112 who voted against the bill–listed and explained why he voted against the bill.

Those reasons included: Huge spending increases, national security loopholes, government attack on internet freedom, funds illegal immigration, quadruples H-2B foreign worker visas, funds IMF bailouts, government control over all waters in the U.S. and a delay of the Obamacare “cadillac tax.”

One of the amendments to the gargantuan bill was co-authored by Rohrabacher and Rep. San Farr (D-CA) of Carmel. That amendment would maintain that the federal government would not prosecute medical marijuana use and sales that fall within an individual state’s law. A similar amendment passed in the 2014 omnibus bill.

Rohrabacher told the Orange County Register, “If Congress wanted to address even a few of the major challenges America faces, this was the time and legislative vehicle to do it.” He continued, “Instead, we chose the path of least resistance and let our economic and security concerns fester yet another year.”

Fellow Orange County Rep. Mimi Walters (R-CA) of Laguna Beach voted for the bill asserting that it represented “responsible spending.”

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