Senate defense bill, hate crimes law survives cloture vote

Senate lawmakers voted Thursday to end debate on the chamber's defense appropriations bill -- which means the proposal, and the hate crimes bill attached to it, should soon head to a final vote.

Democrats now hope to complete that vote as early as Thursday night or Friday morning, according to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) office.

This year's defense authorization bill -- approved 64-35 this afternoon -- has captured lawmakers' attention more so than usual because Democrats attached to it an amendment that would specify harsh penalties for hate crimes, including those based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Democrats have long sought such a law, which the House also attached to its defense bill. But many Republicans have recently rebuffed such efforts. Some GOP lawmakers take issue with Democrats' strategy of attaching the hate crimes bill to a "must pass" piece of legislation.

"It set the lowest standard I have ever seen from a political strategy standpoint," Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) previously said of the House's effort. "Now that the House has been held hostage to this kind of political extortion, it tells me that they can stick almost anything on a must-pass bill, something as irrelevant as hate crimes to our military."

Others GOP members, however, have long questioned the need for any hate crimes legislation, especially at the federal level. Some Democrats, too, have echoed those concerns.

Nevertheless, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) -- the bill's primary sponsor -- praised Thursday's outcome.

“Earlier this month was the 11th anniversary of the brutal murder of Matthew Shepard, a college student who was beaten and killed solely because of his sexual orientation,” Leahy said of the bill, which was named after Shepard. “Matthew’s parents have worked courageously and tirelessly for this legislation, which aims to ensure that this kind of despicable act will never be tolerated in this country.”