The House and Senate kicked off the reconciliation process for the fiscal year 2016 defense authorization bill today.
This morning, the Senate struck a section of the National Defense Authorization Act that fell under the purview of the Senate Finance Committee, allowing Congress to move the bill forward into conference.
The chairmen of the House and Senate defense committees, Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), have said they are hopeful that they will be able to agree on a final bill sometime in July.
A key issue will be acquisition reform, as both Thornberry and McCain have offered language that restructures the Pentagon’s current weapon’s buying process. However, those changes may never come to pass, as President Barack Obama has threatened to veto the bill.
“We cannot afford to let partisan issues hinder passage of this bill. I hope the President will think long and hard about his threat to veto the NDAA at a time when he is sending troops into harm’s way,” Thornberry said in a statement.
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) named 18 Republican conferees: Thornberry; Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.), chairman of the seapower and projection forces subcommittee; Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.); Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), strategic forces subcommittee chairman; Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.); Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah); Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), tactical air and land subcommittee; Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.); Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), strategic forces subcommittee chairman; Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.); Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas); Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.); Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.), readiness subcommittee chairman; Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.); Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.), oversight and investigation subcommittee chairwoman; Rep. Joe Heck (R-Nev.), military personnel subcommittee chairman; Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio); and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.).
Representing the House Democrats are: House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-Wash.); Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.), ranking member of the tactical air and land subcommittee; Rep. Susan Davis (D-Calif.), ranking member of the military personnel subcommittee; Rep. James Langevin (D-R.I.), ranking member of the strategic forces subcommittee; Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.); Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.), strategic forces subcommittee ranking member; Rep. Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam), ranking member of the readiness subcommittee; Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), ranking member of the seapower and projection forces subcommittee; Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-Mass.); Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.); Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.); Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), oversight and investigation subcommittee ranking member; Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas); and Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.).
The Senate has not announced which members will take part in the conference process, and likely will do so after lawmakers return from recess on July 7.