Senators voted Tuesday to end debate on an annual defense policy bill, overcoming objections from Democrats on extra war funding.
Senators voted 83-15 to invoke cloture on their version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), with well over the 60 votes needed to overcome the procedural test.
{mosads}Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), both 2016 presidential contenders, were the only Republicans to vote against ending debate.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) sought to pressure Democrats ahead of the vote, saying the vote was “every common-sense Democrat’s chance to say enough. This is a bad strategy.”
Democratic leadership has been critical of the bill because of an extra $38 billion included in the Pentagon’s war fund. But, they remained tightlipped over whether or not the extra money would cause them to try to block the bill.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) told reporters earlier this week that he expected a “diverse set of views,” suggesting that his colleagues would rather fight spending battles over an upcoming defense appropriations bill.
In the end, 12 Democrats, including Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), as well as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) voted against ending debate.
The move paves the way for a potential final vote on the bill this week, with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, telling reporters: “I’m very, very guardedly optimistic that we’ll get it done by Thursday.”
The Senate’s work on the annual defense policy bill has been stalled by a fight over amendments, including an ultimately failed Republican push to include cyber legislation with the bill.
McCain said Tuesday that House and Senate lawmakers could finish up and pass a joint conference report on the legislation, which would allow it to be sent to President Obama by the end of July.
But the legislation still faces opposition from the administration, which has threatened to veto both the House and Senate versions of the defense policy bill.
McCain said while he thinks the veto is “a real threat,” he added that “it’s awfully hard to justify to the American people in the world we live in.”