Congress shrugs off veto threat on Confederate base names

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday joined the House in defying a veto threat from President Donald Trump to approve defense legislation that would remove the names of Confederate officers from American military bases such as Fort Bragg and Fort Benning.

The Senate approved the annual policy measure, 86-14, a margin that suggests more than enough support to override a potential Trump veto. The House approved its version Tuesday by a veto-proof margin of 295-125.

Now the two chambers will have to negotiate a final version. Both bills authorize $741 billion for the military, including a 3 percent pay raise for the troops.

The White House said in a statement this week that it supports the overall spending figure but expressed “serious concerns” about the House bill, including the mandate on base renaming.

Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said lawmakers will work to produce a joint HouseSenate bill “that both sides can support and the president can sign.”

The Senate bill “gives our military the personnel, equipment, training and organization needed to implement the National Defense Strategy and thwart any adversary who would try to do us harm,” Inhofe said, singling out China and Russia as the top threats to national security.

Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on Armed Services, also hailed the bill, saying it “strengthens our military and bolsters our capacity to effectively defend America from evolving security challenges.”

The bill invests in integrated technologies and platforms that improve deterrence, Reed said, and “provides our troops with decisive, lasting advantages and powerful, force-multiplying assets.”

Beside the 3 percent percent pay raise for more than 2 million uniformed service members, the bill authorizes the construction of a host of submarines and battle force ships, aircraft and other equipment and establishes the Pacific Deterrence Initiative to focus resources and oversight in the region.

The bill does not include an amendment sought by Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, that would block the Trump administration’s plan to withdraw 10,000 U.S. troops now stationed in Germany.