Senate passes adjournment resolution

The Senate voted 51-42 Thursday to adjourn for two weeks.

The vote came minutes after senators failed to end debate on a “must-pass” defense authorization bill.

{mosads}The House and Senate will have little time to complete crucial legislative issues before the end of the year, because there is only one week in December where both chambers are in at the same time.

Lawmakers will have to complete work on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) — which authorizes more than $625 billion in defense spending for the Pentagon — when it returns, giving a House and Senate conference committee little time to work out differences by the end of the year.

And a budget conference committee is due to produce a report by Dec. 13 — that conference was created in an attempt to avert another government shutdown and default early next year.

Earlier Thursday, Senate Democrats made a partisan move to change the Senate filibuster rules on presidential nominees with a simple majority. Using the “nuclear option” likely damaged the bipartisan will of some senators to get things done.

If the House passes S.Con.Res. 28 on Friday, the Senate will stand adjourned until Dec. 9.