The House on Thursday passed the fiscal year 2016 defense authorization bill in a bipartisan, landslide 370-58 vote, but dreams of a more bipartisan Congress turned out to be shortlived when Senate Democrats later that morning blocked the defense appropriations bill from moving forward.
The 51-44 vote in favor of the spending bill fell short of the 60 needed to move it toward final passage.
In a press conference after the vote, Senate Democratic leaders said they had been concerned that Republicans would pass the fully-funded defense appropriations bill and then renege on the Bipartisan Budget Agreement, which spells out equal spending increases for defense and nondefense.
“The way to reach an agreement is not, as Republicans already proposed, to give special treatment only to the Pentagon at the expense of the middle class,” said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) countered that there was no “nefarious scheme” to go back on the budget deal. “We thought all objections having been removed, the appropriate thing to do … is to pass some of the appropriations bills given the limited time we have left.”
The Senate should be focusing on drafting an omnibus spending legislation instead of trying to pass individual bills, said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
“Senator McConnell tried to run the same play he ran all year long yet again,” he said. “What he wanted to do is say, ‘Hey, pass defense. Then we’ll debate the other stuff.’ That’s not fair. That’s not reasonable.”
On Thursday afternoon, Senate Republicans and Democrats agreed in a 93-0 vote to move forward the military construction and veterans affairs appropriations bill, which will then be turned into the vehicle for a larger omnibus bill that includes all government spending. That solution was more palatable to Democrats because it provides defense and nondefense funding, making it less of a loss if Republicans try to pass it, Schumer said.
Under McConnell’s current plan to start building an omnibus bill, the majority will give a “top limit” of funding to every appropriations subcommittee, which will to sculpt its bill to meet that cap, Reid said.
“Now frankly, they’re not bad,” he said about the spending limits. “They’re not perfect, but they’re okay.”
For defense, appropriators will have to remove $5 billion from the original $612 billion spending bill so that it falls in line with the $407 billion authorized in the budget deal.
But if Republicans begin inserting controversial policy riders—such as defunding Planned Parenthood—into the omnibus bill, Democrats will block its passage, Schumer said. That could lead to a government shutdown if a spending measure is not passed by Dec. 11, when the current continuing resolution expires.
Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) took Democrats to task for filibustering the bill, saying they are using defense spending as political leverage.
“It seems Senate Democrats always find an excuse not to support funding our national defense,” he said in a statement. “There is always some negotiating stance to defend, some procedural quibble to make, some domestic spending priority that is more important.”
Although the defense appropriations bill—which allocates funding—stagnates, the National Defense Authorization Act—which sets policy and recommends spending levels—will move forward to the Senate after being passed by the House. The upper chamber is slated to bring the NDAA to the floor next week.
The bill was initially vetoed by President Barack Obama because disagreements between Democrats and Republicans about increasing Budget Control Act of 2011 spending caps. The $607 billion NDAA has since been revised to meet the limits specified by the budget agreement, which authorizes equal increases for defense and nondefense for 2016 and 2017.
Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the House Armed Services Committee’s top Democrat, praised the budget deal for providing two years of budget stability. That’s progress, he said, but it’s not enough.
“Until we finally get rid of the budget caps and allow for a predictable— at least five if not 10 year—future for our defense department, national security will be at risk,” he said.
HASC Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) said, “This bill, and the overwhelming bipartisan majority supporting it, demonstrates that we got it right from the beginning. This time, I hope the President will drop the politics and sign the bill.”