The Senate agreed Sept. 14 to wrap up floor debate on its fiscal year 2018 defense authorization bill, clearing the way for a vote to pass the legislation Sept. 18.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that he has worked with Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the committee’s ranking Democrat, to incorporate more than 100 amendments into the bill. He said he hopes they can agree on another round of amendments before Monday’s vote.
Chairman, Senate Armed Services Committee
But McCain indicated that the Senate would not have time to consider several amendments, including a proposal to end the unpopular across-the-board budget cuts known as sequestration.
“While I had hoped to debate and vote on a number of other amendments from senators of both parties, especially the proposal to end sequestration, I am proud that we continued the strong tradition of moving the [defense authorization bill] through the Senate in a bipartisan fashion and look forward to its final passage on Monday,” he said.
Once the bill is passed, it will head to a conference with the House, which approved its version of the bill in July. While both measures would add tens of billions of dollars to the Trump administration’s request, Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, has warned that defense funding will ultimately be slashed if Congress fails to prevent the return of sequestration.