Two weeks ago, Obama vetoed the FY16 National Defense Authorization Act. His Statement of Administrative Policy, which details his criticisms of the bill, emphasized a desire to address defense and non-defense spending jointly when undoing sequestration cuts, an opposition to Republicans' budget gimmicks with the Overseas Contingency Operations fund, and an opposition to the continued strictures on closing Guantanamo. You can read the full SAP here.
Earlier this week, Congress struck a deal to align the NDAA with the funding levels established by the new budget. The bill is still a massive $607 billion, and it maintains the language preventing transfer of detainees out of Gitmo.
The bill authorizes $715 million for Iraqi forces fighting the Islamic State, $406 million to train and equip Syrian opposition forces, and $300 million for lethal weapons for Ukraine. It also blocks the Pentagon from retiring the A-10 Warthog aircraft (against the wishes of the Air Force) and authorizes $11 billion for the F-35 Fighter (the "the most expensive weapons system in the history of the planet," which--outside of trade press--is almost always called a boondoggle).
The NDAA passed easily in the House yesterday 370 to 58.
235 Republicans and 135 Democrats voted for it. 49 Democrats and 9 Republicans voted against it.
Here are the 49 Democrats who should be commended for voting against the NDAA:
Karen Bass (CA-37)
Xavier Becerra (CA-34)
Earl Blumenauer (OR-03)
Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01)
Mike Capuano (MA-07)
Andre Carson (IN-07)
Judy Chu (CA-32)
David Cicilline (RI-01)
Katherine Clark (MA-05)
Yvette Clarke (NY-09)
Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05)
Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11)
Keith Ellison (MN-05)
Sam Farr (CA-20)
Marcia Fudge (OH-11)
Alan Grayson (FL-09)
Raul Grijalva (AZ-03)
Luis Gutierrez (IL-04)
Janice Hahn (CA-44)
Mike Honda (CA-17)
Jared Huffman (CA-02)
Joe Kennedy (MA-04)
Dan Kildee (MI-05)
Barbara Lee (CA-13)
John Lewis (GA-05)
Zoe Lofgren (CA-19)
Alan Lowenthal (CA-47)
Carolyn Maloney (NY-12)
Betty McCollumn (MN-04)
Jim McDermott (WA-07)
Jim McGovern (MA-02)
Gwen Moore (WI-04)
Jerry Nadler (NY-10)
Grace Napolitano (CA-32)
Rick Nolan (MN-08)
Donald Payne (NJ-10)
Mark Pocan (WI-02)
Jared Polis (CO-02)
Charlie Rangel (NY-13)
Jan Schakowsky (IL-09)
Kurt Schrader (OR-05)
Jose Serrano (NY-15)
Eric Swalwell (CA-15)
Mark Takano (CA-41)
Chris Van Hollen (MD-08)
Nydia Velázquez (NY-07)
Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-09)
Pete Welch (VT-AL)
Frederica Wilson (FL-24)
And here are the 9 Republicans:
Justin Amash (MI-03)
Jimmy Duncan (TN-02)
Morgan Griffith (VA-09)
Walter Jones (NC-03)
Raul Labrador (ID-01)
Tom Massie (KY-04)
Mick Mulvaney (SC-05)
Dana Rohrabacher (CA-48)
Mark Sanford (SC-01)
There were fewer NO votes this year than in 2014 (119: 87D, 32R) or 2013 (69: 50D, 19R).
11 Democrats who voted against the NDAA in both 2013 and 2014 voted for it this year:
Steve Cohen (TN-09)
John Conyers (MI-13)
Diana DeGette (CO-01)
Donna Edwards (MD-04)
Doris Matsui (CA-06)
Frank Pallone (NJ-06)
Chellie Pingree (ME-01)
Mike Quigley (IL-05)
Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40)
Mike Thompson (CA-05)
John Yarmuth (KY-03)
Pete DeFazio (OR-04), who voted against the NDAA in 2013 and 2014, was not in attendance for yesterday's vote. Gregory Meeks (NY-05), Bobby Rush (IL-01), and Mark Takai (HI-01) were also not in attendance but would have likely voted for it.
There are 31 Democrats who have reliably voted against the NDAA over the past three years:
Karen Bass (CA-37)
Xavier Becerra (CA-34)
Earl Blumenauer (OR-03)
Judy Chu (CA-32)
Katherine Clark (MA-05)
Yvette Clarke (NY-09)
Keith Ellison (MN-05)
Marcia Fudge (OH-11)
Alan Grayson (FL-09)
Janice Hahn (CA-44)
Mike Honda (CA-17)
Jared Huffman (CA-02)
Barbara Lee (CA-13)
John Lewis (GA-05)
Zoe Lofgren (CA-19)
Jim McDermott (WA-07)
Jim McGovern (MA-02)
Gwen Moore (WI-04)
Jerry Nadler (NY-10)
Grace Napolitano (CA-32)
Donald Payne (NJ-10)
Mark Pocan (WI-02)
Jared Polis (CO-02)
Charlie Rangel (NY-13)
Jan Schakowsky (IL-09)
Kurt Schrader (OR-05)
Jose Serrano (NY-15)
Eric Swalwell (CA-15)
Nydia Velázquez (NY-07)
Pete Welch (VT-AL)
Frederica Wilson (FL-24)
Mike Capuano (MA-07) was not in attendance for last year's vote but would likely have been a "no." Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-09) is a freshman who will--I hope--follow the pattern of her predecessor, Rush Holt.
As is often the case, the final NDAA was amended to a non-controversial bill that already passed. The NDAA this year was amended to S. 1356: "to clarify that certain provisions of the Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Act of 2014 will not take effect until after the Director of the Office of Personnel Management promulgates and makes effective regulations relating to such provisions."