Lawmaker aims to take up defense authorization in September
Armed Services Committee leader wants to gain support in the next week for a unanimous consent agreement limiting debate on the bill.
With the August recess fast approaching, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., has set his sights on early September for floor action on the fiscal 2009 defense authorization bill.
"I don't see how it's possible" to move the annual policy bill to the floor before the recess, he said Friday. But Levin still wants to gain support in the next week for a unanimous consent agreement limiting debate on the bill, which he hopes will make it a viable candidate for floor consideration once the Senate reconvenes in September.
The unanimous consent agreement, which Levin said has the support of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., would limit amendments to those germane to the Armed Services Committee's version of the bill or the House-passed authorization bill, or that fall directly under the panel's jurisdiction.
Sen. John Warner, R-Va., a former Armed Services Committee chairman, is discussing the prospects for the unanimous consent agreement with Republicans, but Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has not yet signed on, Levin said. Levin said he plans to ask Reid to meet with McConnell on the issue.
Despite lawmakers' plans to not convene after September, Levin is still intent on getting a final bill to President Bush. To do so, he said committee staff might negotiate informally to resolve some of the differences between the House and Senate bills during the recess.
Meanwhile, Levin said he needs more information from the Air Force before his panel can vote on Gen. Norton Schwartz's nomination to be the service's chief of staff.
During Schwartz's confirmation hearing Tuesday, Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., raised concerns that the general had not been forthcoming with the committee in classified briefings during the run-up to and the early days of the Iraq war. In response to Nelson's concerns, a contrite Schwartz, who served as the director for operations on the Joint Staff in 2003, asked committee members to judge his performance since then.
"I have grown since that time," he said. "And I ask you to accept my assurance that, if confirmed, I will provide answers and best military advice worthy of a chief of service."
But Levin said Schwartz's classified testimony remains a lingering concern for the panel. "Before the committee considers the nomination, there is some additional material that we're seeking, which is classified," Levin said.