Senate Democrats are signaling they won’t support a push to increase defense spending unless Republicans agree to bolster non-defense money.
“Americans share many common values. One of the most fundamental is if you make a commitment, you should keep it,” Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Wednesday. “Republicans are demanding billions more for the Pentagon but refuse to give an extra penny for the middle class.”
{mosads}Reid’s comments come as the Senate is expected to vote Thursday morning on an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) that would increase defense spending by $17 billion.
McCain had floated that the Senate could take up the amendment on Wednesday, but that would have required the consent of every senator.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said that McCain’s amendment “would undermine the spirit of bipartisanship we have cultivated with the last several budget deals without fully addressing our national security and domestic needs.”
Instead, Democrats are offering a deal: If Republicans want to attach McCain’s boost to defense spending to the annual defense policy bill, they have to agree to increase domestic funding.
Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) has filed an add onto McCain’s amendment that would increase non-defense spending by $18 billion. It would also pave the way for security funding in the Middle East and $1.9 billion in funding to fight the Zika virus.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) said that if Senate Democrats were going to agree to increase money for the military, “then it’s only fair that we also invest more in education, in job training and workforce readiness to raise incomes and create a strong economy.”
But Democrats likely have an uphill battle to get the 60 votes — including more than a dozen from the GOP — needed to move forward with Reed’s amendment.
McCain is pressuring Democrats to support his amendment even if they aren’t successful with their own proposal.
“If it does fail, my Democratic colleagues will be left to answer a simple question: Will you vote to give our military service members the resources, training and equipment that they need and deserve?” he said. “This vote will be that simple.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) warned that while he was willing to work to find ways to increase domestic money, “all spending is not equal.”
“We’re on track to have the smallest army since 1940. Sequestration, our across-the-board budget cuts, have taken almost $1 trillion out of the defense budget, is insanity and nobody seems to give a damn about fixing it,” he said.