McConnell shortens August recess, cites defense authorization bill

By Tony Bertuca / July 11, 2017 at 3:13 PM

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has directed the Senate to remain in session during the first two weeks of its scheduled August recess in a bid to pass healthcare legislation and the fiscal year 2018 defense authorization bill.

"Once the Senate completes its work on healthcare reform, we will turn to other important issues including the National Defense Authorization Act and the backlog of critical nominations that have been mindlessly stalled by the Democrats," according to a statement McConnell released Tuesday.

McConnell blamed the action on Democratic "obstruction."

The Senate Armed Services Committee released the text of its version of the defense authorization bill Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the full House is scheduled to vote on its version of the bill sometime this week, likely concluding Friday morning, according to a staffer.

The House Rules Committee, as of Tuesday, had received 424 amendments.

The House Armed Services Committee has created a special "tracker" to display a list of upcoming amendments and the order in which they will be considered. The tracker will also display a list of already-considered amendments and their outcomes. 

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