Defense policy bill punted to November

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said today the Senate will not vote on any legislation until Nov. 14, sending lawmakers home to campaign for mid-term elections and delaying passage of the chamber’s defense authorization bill.

While the Senate will meet to begin formal consideration of the bill on Oct. 11, most senators are expected to be out of town campaigning, meaning a vote will not occur until mid-November at the earliest.

Schumer, who previously said the Senate would be in session to pass the bill in October, said on the chamber floor today that senators should be prepared for “an extremely -- underline extremely -- final two months of this Congress.”