The House approved a bill governing floor debate for the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), even as Democrats warned that they would look to add tougher language to help reverse the rising tide of sexual assault in the military.

Members voted 239-184 in favor of the rule; only 10 Democrats supported it. The rule calls for an hour of debate on the bill, H.R 1960, which will take place later Wednesday.

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) announced Wednesday that she supports measures being debated by the Armed Service Committee to address sexual assault in the military, but does not think senior officials should be removed from the process.

“I have become convinced that the approach that the Armed Services Committee will take today is the right approach,” McCaskill said on the Senate floor. “It will better empower victims and lead to more reporting.”

The House on Wednesday quickly and easily approved legislation aimed at helping the federal government avoid taking on excessive debt through a reverse mortgage program.

By voice vote, members approved H.R. 2167, the Reverse Mortgage Stabilization Act. This bill would allow the secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to make critical changes to the reverse mortgage program under the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) without having to wait 18 months or longer to issue regulations.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) defended border security provisions included in the Gang of Eight bill he helped craft.

“The provisions in this bill, I am confident that it will make this border secure as much as humanly possible,” McCain said on the Senate floor Wednesday. “I am proud of it. I am confident that we will secure the border with the provisions in this bill.”

Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) said on Wednesday that a 10-year-old-girl's fight with the federal government to gain access to a healthy lung is an early look at the control the government will have under ObamaCare.

McClintock was reacting to the refusal of Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to change federal rules that say people age 12 and older can get on the adult waiting list for a lung transplant. That rule stopped 10-year-old Sarah Murnaghan of Pennsylvania from getting on that list, even though she was diagnosed with end-stage cystic fibrosis and desperately needed a transplant to live.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) accused Democrats of creating a “manufactured crisis” by threatening to change the rules because of GOP obstruction to presidential nominees.

“Senate Democrats are not content with the additional powers they have — powers greater than those enjoyed by any previous majority — so they intend to manufacture a crisis over nominations as pretext for a power grab,” McConnell said on the Senate floor Wednesday. “Yet, the Senate is treating President Obama’s nominees fairly.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Wednesday that he is concerned some Republicans will use border security amendments to kill the comprehensive immigration bill.

“I am concerned that some who oppose the very idea of reform see these triggers as a backdoor way to undermine the legislation," Reid said on the Senate floor. "And I believe some Republicans with no intention of voting for the final bill — regardless of how it is amended — seek to offer these amendments with the sole purpose of derailing this vital reform." 

More than one-third of all House members are supporting bipartisan legislation that would ban new state and local cellphone taxes for five years.

The Wireless Tax Fairness Act is a response to rising state and local taxes on cellphones that many members of Congress feel are excessive. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), the lead sponsor of the bill this year and in the last Congress, has said wireless customers pay an average tax of nearly 17 percent.

The House will start work Wednesday afternoon on the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a bill authorizing $618 billion in defense spending next year.

Members will start by debating the rule for the bill, H.R. 1960, and approve it by the mid-afternoon. This rule only allows an hour of debate on the bill, which is likely to take place Wednesday.