
A new defense authorization bill that reflected both House and Senate bill language from earlier in the year passed the House of Representatives Thursday evening in an overwhelming 350-69 vote. The bill now goes to the Senate, where it faces much tougher opposition due to the mechanism in which it will be passed, not the content of the bill. House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said on his way out of the House chamber that, despite the…