Senate approves defense bill with veto-proof margin
WASHINGTON – The Senate on Friday approved a wide-ranging defense policy bill, sending it to President Donald Trump, despite his threat to veto the bill because it does not clamp down on big tech companies he claims were biased during the election.
The final vote was 84-13, mirroring a similarly overwhelming margin in the House that, if maintained in both chambers, would be enough to override a potential veto.
Congress also passed a bill to fund the government for another week, giving lawmakers time to reach agreement on a new coronavirus relief bill.
The Senate approved the funding extension by voice vote Friday. The House had passed the same bill Wednesday.
The Senate vote on the defense bill had been expected Thursday but was delayed after Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky objected to the measure, saying it could limit Trump’s ability to draw down U.S. troops from Afghanistan and Germany.
Congress has approved the bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, for nearly 60 years in a row. The current version affirms 3% pay raises for U.S. troops and authorizes more than $740 billion in military programs and construction.
Trump has vowed to veto the bill unless lawmakers impose limits on social media companies he claims were biased against him during the election. He has also said he wants Congress to strip out a provision of the bill that allows renaming of military bases such as Fort Benning and Fort Hood that now honor Confederate leaders.
Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, hailed the bill’s passage, calling it “the most important bill we’ll do all year.”
The defense authorization law “is what the Constitution tells us we have to do” in Congress, Inhofe said. “We must protect freedom, democracy and peace and support our troops.”
Trump has vowed to veto the bill unless lawmakers impose limits on social media companies he claims were biased against him during the election. He has also said he wants Congress to strip out a provision of the bill that allows renaming of military bases such as Fort Benning and Fort Hood that now honor Confederate leaders.
The bill’s approval was never in doubt, though Paul’s filibuster cast uncertainty on the timing. Paul said Friday that “neoconservatives” such as Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., “are inconsistent in saying they want … to give the commander-in-chief powers to begin war, but then they want to restrain and hamstring a president from ending a war. I think it’s a pretty important principle to discuss, so we did hold things up for a day.”
Two amendments addressing troop deployment could create “535 commanders-in-chief in Congress,” he said. Democrats support the measure because they oppose Trump, Paul said, but the amendment would also apply to future presidents, including Presidentelect Joe Biden.
One amendment, co-sponsored by Cheney and Democratic Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, an Afghanistan veteran, would block troop withdrawals in Afghanistan unless the Pentagon submits interagency reports certifying that the drawdowns would not jeopardize national security. A separate provision pushed by Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and other lawmakers would limit planned troop withdrawals in Germany.
Paul singled out Cheney by name in a floor speech, saying she and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, share a neoconservative belief in “perpetual war.”
Cheney called Paul’s actions “inexcusable” and charged that he delayed hazardous duty pay to hundreds of thousands of service members and their families and kept Congress from completing its greatest duty: providing for the nation’s defense.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, in a rare break with Trump, urged passage of the measure despite Trump’s threat to veto it. McConnell, RKy., said it was important for Congress to continue a nearly 60-year streak of passing the National Defense Authorization Act.
The Democratic-controlled House overwhelmingly approved the defense bill Tuesday, defying Trump’s veto threat and setting up a possible showdown with the Republican president in the waning days of his administration.
Trump tweeted Tuesday that he will veto “the very weak” defense bill unless it repeals Section 230, a part of the communications code that shields Twitter, Facebook and other tech giants from content liability.
The White House said in a policy statement that “Section 230 facilitates the spread of disinformation online and is a serious threat to our national security and election integrity. It should be repealed.”
The dispute over social media content – a battle cry of conservatives who say the social media giants treat them unfairly – interjects an unrelated but complicated issue into a bill that Congress takes pride in having passed unfailingly for nearly 60 years. It follows Trump’s bid over the summer to sabotage the package with a veto threat over Confederate base names.
“Over the course of United States history, these locations have taken on significance to the American story and those who have helped write it that far transcends their namesakes,” the White House statement said.
If he does veto the defense bill, Congress could cut short its Christmas recess to hold an override vote.
“I think we can override the veto, if in fact he vetoes,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said Tuesday. “And I think he will get substantial pressure (from Republicans) that, you know, you don’t want to put the defense bill at risk.”