GovernmentExecutive.com

Senate Democrats derailed the fiscal 2007 Defense appropriations bill Thursday night, sparking heated floor exchanges as they demanded time to debate as many as 50 amendments after lawmakers return from their summer recess in September.

Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., chided Republicans for taking floor time for same-sex marriage and other issues and for delaying debate on the Defense spending measure until just days before their August break. At presstime, Democrats were working on a finite list of amendments they would like to introduce in September, aides said.

"I'm not going to agree on a time for final passage," Reid said. "We're not going to finish the bill tonight."

By delaying passage of the bill until September, Democrats might set the stage for another Senate debate on the war in Iraq, focusing attention on an issue they believe will hurt Republicans in the November elections.

Indeed, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., said the minority would use additional floor time on the bill to address Iraq and other defense issues.

"None of us really feel like this is the time to discuss this," Kennedy said, stressing that the Senate should not rush to finish the massive Defense spending bill this week.

Attempts to stall the bill drew a strong rebuke from Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, who was prepared to pass it Thursday night. Doing so would allow the Defense appropriations conference report to be completed before fiscal 2007 begins Oct. 1, he reasoned.

Enactment after then would force Congress to cover the military's expenses through a continuing resolution, a stopgap measure Pentagon officials are loath to have Congress consider. A CR would stall new starts on contracts and generally would temporarily make available a smaller amount of money than would otherwise be appropriated in fiscal 2007.

"We've got to get this bill passed before the end of the fiscal year," Stevens said.

"I wish we could do a lot better," he added. "I think we're going to be criticized, every one of us, for deciding to go home instead of finishing this bill."

At presstime, Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., expressed hope the Senate would keep working on the Defense bill, but he acknowledged Democrats were determined to keep debate open on it.

"There's no way to finish it" with the list of amendments Democrats are drawing up, Frist said. He indicated he would try to strike a deal with Democrats that would allow the Senate to resume consideration of the bill Sept. 5, with a final vote the next day.

Democrats remain sharply opposed to the White House's policies on Iraq, and stepped up their criticism earlier in the day during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

"Under your leadership there have been numerous errors in judgment that have led us to where we are," Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., told Rumsfeld. "We have a full-fledged insurgency and full-blown sectarian conflict in Iraq."

Although it was unclear what Iraq-related amendments Democrats are drafting to the bill, senior Democrats on the House and Senate defense and foreign relations committees agreed last weekend to call on the president to begin a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of the calendar year.

Before Democrats thwarted a planned final vote on the bill, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., won, by a 96-1 vote, passage of an amendment that would require the Defense secretary to post online the details of earmarks, including the congressional districts that benefit.

Under the amendment, the posting should include the total cost of the earmark and an "assessment of the utility" of the earmark, based on whether the add-on furthers Pentagon goals.

The Senate also approved another Coburn amendment that would limit the annual military travel budget to $70 million, despite strong opposition from Stevens. It passed by voice vote, although the presiding officer initially announced erroneously that the amendment had failed.

COMMENTS

• Ever since Congressional members passed legislation making their pay raises automatic - unless specifically vetoed (never happens!), the continuing resolution has become a way of life. The fiscal year was shifted 3 months many years ago, from July to October, to allow Congress enough time to complete the annual budget. That hasn't happened either. If a continuing resolution is absolutely necessary to keep the government in operation, it should exclude any salaries for elected officials -- maybe that would provide sufficient incentive to get the job done and on time? Keep the budget process clean; bring your pet rocks out in the open for all to see and vote on individually, not as an amendment to a piece of critical legislation. If it’s a legitimate program, it certainly should be able to pass on its own merit. If not, it shouldn't be hidden as an add-on and slid in through the back door. Ron Powell Posted August 4, 2006 4:15 PM
• It seems to me that the Congress of the United States should continue to work to get a defense bill passed before they go on vacation! What is wrong with these guys when they think that their vacation is more important than the defense of the country? The last Congress worked only 76 days and that is ridiculous! Reid needs to get his priorities straight and so the rest of the Democrats. While the Republican issues are of much lower priority they seem to be interested in pushing life style issues rather than the things that are important for the country. This is a perfect illustration of why everyone should vote against any incumbent in the coming elections! Goodbye Joe Lieberman. At least that is a start. Taxpayer Posted August 7, 2006 6:46 AM
• And yet again, Congress fiddles while the rest of burn in the fires of another upcoming "continuing resolution." I really wish they would not take off August, and stay in Washington to get their jobs done. I also wish they would take a few days off in October to visit field offices so they could see first hand how their playing politics affects the bottom line. Signed up for a class in October or November? Sorry, we didn't get the money and spending under the CR is very limited. You will just have to request training or travel later. Need supplies or services? Sorry, all you contracting and purchasing types, you will need to double your work because you can only order small amounts of what is needed and will need to do it again when more funding comes through. Let’s add work by having to create modifications to contracts to add funds as they trickle in during the fall and winter months. And sorry to all you BRAC’ed people. Even though your lives are already in an upheaval, we can't give you any information about your moves and your futures until we get the budget passed. We can't make decisions under a CR. GovExec.com reader Posted August 7, 2006 8:11 AM