WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate is poised to vote on a $612 billion defense policy bill that President Barack Obama says he’ll veto over a larger dispute about government spending.
Obama doesn’t like the way the bill increases defense spending by padding a separate war-fighting account with an extra $38 billion. Also, Congress didn’t increase money for domestic agencies, too, as the president wants.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday the president’s desire to veto the bill is “outrageous” in light of national security threats. But Minority Leader Harry Reid said the bill would use “funny money” to pay for national defense.
The policy bill provides a 1.3 percent pay increase to service members, authorizes lethal assistance to Ukraine forces fighting Russian-backed rebels and extends the ban on torture to the CIA.