Senate sets up vote to end debate on defense bill for Monday

The Senate will vote on a motion to end debate on the defense authorization bill Monday evening.

At 5:30 p.m. Monday, the Senate will decide whether to advance the National Defense Authorization Act — something lawmakers in the chamber spent most of the week amending.

Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), who are managing amendments for S. 3254, failed to reach an agreement Friday with all members of the Senate to allow consideration for a list of more than 100 amendments. 

McCain said more than 400 amendments were submitted for the bill and more than 70 have already been disposed of. Among those passed were amendments that would permanently prohibit the use of funds to transfer terrorist detainees in Cuba to U.S. prisons and support President Obama's timeline for Afghanistan withdrawal at the end of 2014.

McCain and Levin said they hope to reach agreement with members on the finite list of more than 100 amendments during the weekend, and will continue to work on Monday before the cloture vote on the motion to end debate of the bill.

Before adjourning, they did manage to pass by unanimous consent 17 more amendments.

Amendments 2959, 2984, 3079, 3082, 3087, 3102, 3105, 3135, 3145, 3196, 3198, 3234, 3244, 3247, 3258, 3280 and 3290 were agreed to.

Click here for more information on the amendments.

The Senate also passed S. 2170 by unanimous consent before leaving for the weekend.

The Hatch Act Modernization Act, introduced by Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), would allow a state or local employee to be a candidate for partisan elective office unless the salary of such officer or employee is paid completely, by loans or grants made, by the United States or a federal agency.

The Hatch Act was designed to keep politics out of the federal government workplace.

S. 2170 also extended the restrictions to include the executive branch of the District of Columbia and would no longer make a violation of the Hatch Act result in mandatory firing.

The bill now moves to the House for consideration.

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