The board said the issue was "moot" because the change required the cooperation of Mr. Smulyan, and he had already said he'd withhold it.
The White House said it would withhold its response until it sees a bill, but called Republican movement on the debt ceiling an "encouraging sign".
MPs will debate the Off-Patent Drugs Bill on 6 November, but the Breast Cancer Now charity said it was concerned the Government would withhold its support, as it has done on similar legislation in the past.
Calpers said it would withhold its votes to re-elect Citigroup's chairman, Sanford I. Weill, and its chief executive, Charles O. Prince, as board members.
The Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance, a coalition of 19 community, church and labor groups, said it would withhold its support for the $310 million project unless Related guaranteed specified wage and hiring standards for workers and tenants.
Indeed, Calpers said it would withhold its votes for Ms. Unger as a director of Ambac because she is a member of a committee that approved paying Ambac's auditors to provide other services to the company.
The nation's largest public pension fund said Wednesday that it would withhold its votes for Michael D. Eisner, the besieged chief executive of the Walt Disney Company, signaling that the ranks of disaffected shareholders are growing ahead of next week's annual board election.
One remaining hurdle to disbursement of new aid is the International Monetary Fund's condition that it would withhold its portion of the next installment, of 12 billion euros, for Greece's first bailout program until European ministers pledge to make good any gaps in Greece's public finances during the next 12 months.
Calpers, the biggest U.S. pension fund, said Thursday it would withhold its votes against five members of the board of long-distance giant AT&T, extending its campaign to protest corporate audit committees allowing auditors to provide non-audit services.
