US Senate Democrats on Wednesday joined Republicans to approve the annual defense policy bill, defying a veto threat from US President Barack Obama.
The Senate voted 70-27 in favor of the $612 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a wide-ranging bill that would set policy and spending priorities for the Pentagon. Twenty Democrats voted yes, as did Sen. Angus King (Maine), an Independent who caucuses with Democrats.
The policy bill would appropriate $38 billion to the Pentagon through a war fund account.
Republicans and some Democrats have questioned why Obama is poised to veto the NDAA, as the bill only authorizes spending, without actually appropriating the money.
Obama has threatened to veto the policy bill six times before, primarily due to objections on the transfer of prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay prison facility, but never followed through.
But this year will be different, the administration vows, due to Obama’s strong objections to the use of the war fund.