Senate passes defense policy bill to conference with House

Despite the ongoing federal shutdown, the Senate voted 77-20 tonight to pass the annual defense authorization bill, teeing the legislation up to be conferenced with the House.

The bill has been stalled on the floor for weeks but Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) announced a breakthrough on allowing votes for nearly 20 amendments.

Among the more noteworthy votes of the night was the voice-vote passage of an amendment authored by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) that would repeal the 2002 Iraq War authorization for the use of military force, along with the 1991 Gulf War AUMF.

“The 1991 and 2002 AUMFs are obsolete," Kaine said in a statement. "Iraq is now a strategic partner, and leaving these AUMFs on the books runs the risk of potential misuse by presidents of both parties. Today’s vote is significant because Congress is finally reaffirming its solemn constitutional responsibility in decisions as important as whether or not we should send servicemembers into harm’s way."

Lawmakers, however, clashed over partisan stances on President Trump’s recent deployment of the military to U.S. cities.

Senators rejected by a party-line vote an amendment from Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) that would have limited armed forces' support to civilian law enforcement operations.

Lawmakers also rejected an amendment from Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) that would have blocked deployment of National Guard troops to U.S. cities if their presence is opposed by local officials.

Duckworth released a statement, however, saying she had received assurance from Wicker that the Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing on Trump’s deployments of the National Guard.

Meanwhile, a federal judge in Chicago on Thursday issued a ruling blocking Trump’s planned deployment of Guard troops in Illinois. A similar ruling has also blocked the deployment of Guards troops to Portland. The administration is appealing.

Senators also rejected an amendment from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) that would have prohibited the use of federal funds to procure or modify foreign aircraft for presidential airlift. The amendment was related to Qatar’s controversial gift of a jet to President Trump to be used as Air Force one.

Conference negotiations are expected to soon begin with the House in the hopes of passing a final bill sometime in November.

When lawmakers form a conference committee, they will need to address their level of authorized defense spending as the Senate’s bill is more than $30 billion more than the House’s version.

Both bills also contain significant acquisition reform measures that enjoy bipartisan support and come as the Pentagon is preparing to advance its own procurement reform agenda.