Conference leaders to limit amendments to defense bill

The chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate Armed Services committees decided this morning not to allow members to "air drop" any new provisions into the conference report on the fiscal 2009 defense authorization bill, a House committee aide said.

That means that most of the 100 amendments in a manager's package the Senate failed to pass before approving its version of the bill will fall by the wayside as lawmakers negotiate a final version of the bill.

The only amendments from the Senate's massive manager's package that can be raised during conference negotiations are those with corresponding language in the House-passed bill or that address a specific provision in the Senate-passed bill.

The manager's package, which was backed by both Republican and Democratic leaders, fell victim to a partisan spat over a provision in the bill that would give funding tables in the conference report -- which include earmarks -- the force of law. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., blocked consideration of the package when he was not given a vote on his own amendment striking the provision. DeMint argued that the provision in the bill was an end-run around an executive order directing federal agencies to ignore earmarks in report language.

Among the amendments that appear to be off the table during the upcoming conference talks is one from Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, aimed at improving the process of delivering military absentee ballots from overseas. Last week, Cornyn blocked consideration of the manager's package, declaring he wanted a vote on his amendment.

But after several days of negotiations and language revisions, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., agreed to add Cornyn's proposal to the manager's package. Cornyn, who tried and failed Thursday to bring up his amendment as a free-standing bill, called it "one of the casualties" of the Senate's defense authorization debate. House and Senate Armed Services aides are expected to work throughout the weekend on the final bill. The "Big Four" -- Armed Services chairmen and ranking members - are expected to meet Monday to resolve any major outstanding differences. The current plan, aides said, is to edit the final report Tuesday in hopes of voting on it and sending it to the president's desk by the time Congress adjourns next week.