![]() “I didn’t have conversations with him about that. Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.) said McCarthy didn’t sign off on the agreement between Senate leaders and defense-minded GOP senators. Though Schumer and McConnell were able to quell the revolt from Republican defense hawks, it’s uncertain whether they’ll be able to deliver on their promise to get all 12 appropriations bills passed by Christmas or, if necessary, a supplemental spending package to Biden’s desk. Kaine, the only Democrat to offer an amendment to the bill, failed in his attempt to strip language from the deal to expedite the completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline through his home state. Those assurances paved the way for colleagues to vote on 11 amendments to the bill and then final passage.Īll of the amendments failed Schumer warned that any changes to the legislation would require it to be sent back to the House and put the nation perilously close to default. “This debt ceiling deal does nothing to limit the Senate’s ability to appropriate emergency supplemental funds to ensure our military capabilities are sufficient to deter China, Russia and our other adversaries,” he pledged on the Senate floor. Schumer entered into the official record two statements promising to make every effort to ensure the Pentagon will have the money it needs and to move emergency spending packages if necessary. Graham teamed up with other Republican defense hawks to demand assurances from Schumer and McConnell to move the appropriations bills on time to avoid the potential of a 1 percent rescission and to move a supplemental defense spending package. The party of Ronald Reagan would never allow inflation to reduce defense capabilities,” he said. For that to be true, you would have to believe that the military is OK if you cut their budget $42 billion below inflation. “I’ve heard House leaders suggest this bill fully funds the military. Graham argued the bill would actually cut the defense budget when measured against the rate of inflation. Graham, one of several defense hawks who held the bill up for hours Thursday in an effort to extract a promise from Schumer and McConnell to safeguard defense spending, slammed the legislation for not funding additional military assistance to Ukraine. Republican defense hawks had a different set of complaints about the legislation. Lee last week threatened to use “every procedural tool” at his disposal to impede any debt limit bill that didn’t include “substantial spending and budgetary reforms.”īut conservatives’ appetite to drag out the debate on the bill over the weekend was dampened by the huge bipartisan vote it got in the House. Senate Democrats, meanwhile, weren’t happy about caps on nondefense discretionary spending, tougher work requirements for federal food assistance and approval of a controversial natural gas pipeline - but the overwhelming majority of Democrats voted for the bill to avoid a default. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) in voting against the bill.Ī total of 31 Republicans voted against the measure, including Senate Republican Conference Committee Chairman John Barrasso (Wyo.). Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) joined Republican defense hawks including Sens. Senate Republican conservatives including Sens. “For all the ups and downs and twists and turns it took to get here, it is so good for this country that both parties have come together at last to avoid default.” The consequences of default would be catastrophic,” he said. “From the start, avoiding default has been our North Star. America can breathe a sigh of relief,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) declared on the Senate floor. “By passing this bill, we will avoid default tonight. ![]() The approval came after the Senate clinched an agreement to conduct a series of amendment votes Thursday night and move directly to final passage the normally slow-moving chamber raced through a dozen votes in just over three hours.
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