Week ahead: House returns to defense policy, Iran bills

House lawmakers are returning from their one-week recess to take up the chamber’s draft of the annual defense policy bill and legislation allowing Congress to review any nuclear deal with Iran.

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) sets funding levels for all Defense Department programs and initiatives. The House Armed Services Committee passed the massive $612 billion measure in a 60-2 vote.

Debate over the measure could quickly become contentious, as members have filed more than 300 amendments to the measure.

{mosads}Two provisions that made it into the committee markup of the bill could help put illegal immigrants who serve in the military on a path to citizenship. Conservative Republicans have pushed back hard, demanding the provisions be stripped from the bill.

While not every provision will receive a floor vote, lawmakers, especially Democrats on the Armed Services panel, will also look to again push measures that lost out during the panel’s marathon markup.

Expect more debate over the Air Force’s call to retire the A-10 Warthog fleet, the Pentagon’s request for more base closures and the fate of the greater sage-grouse.

The House will also take up a measure aimed at letting Congress review a final deal with Iran on its nuclear program. The Senate overwhelmingly approved the legislation in a 98-1 vote.

House GOP leaders say they plan to move quickly on the measure, but conservative Republicans might seek to amend the legislation to make it tougher on Tehran. The White House has warned lawmakers not to alter the legislation, with Democrats hoping to give President Obama breathing room to strike a final accord by a June 30 deadline.

Meanwhile, the Senate Armed Services Committee will begin hammering out its version of the defense policy bill.

The legislative gears start grinding on Monday, when the committee’s Airland subpanel convenes behind closed doors to mark up its portion of the bill.

On Tuesday, the Seapower and Strategic Forces subpanels will meet — also in a classified setting — with open hearings of the Readiness and Management Support, Emerging Threats and Capabilities, and Personnel subcommittees to follow.

The full Senate Armed Services Committee will meet on Wednesday, Thursdayand possibly even Friday to put the finishing touches on the giant bill.

Also on Capitol Hill, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold three hearings on U.S. policy toward China, including on Wednesday afternoon, when committee members will hear from officials with the State and Defense departments about U.S. interests in the East and South China Seas.

Last month, satellite imagery revealed that China is constructing a roughly 10,000-footlong runway capable of handling military aircraft in Fiery Cross Reef, part of the Spratly Islands, which are claimed by at least three other countries.

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