Tuberville, House ‘toxic amendments’ complicate defense bill

The Senate has officially begun work on the National Defense Authorization Act, the legislation that sets the policy for Pentagon programs. Senators voted 72-25 to start the debate on the bill, with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer calling for “an open and constructive amendment process without needless delay or dilatory tactics” or the “toxic amendments” that “severely hindered the NDAA process over in the House.”

For both sides of leadership, the hope is the process is as painless and uncontroversial as possible. Both sides want it done by the end of next week so that they can all go have a prolonged August recess. That will give them time to prepare for the shit show that will be the House/Senate conference on the two versions of the bills. The House bill is laced with poison pills on abortion, transgender health care, and book bans that most in the Senate, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, want to avoid.

The bill is starting out well according to Schumer, with “51 amendments, 21 from Republicans, 21 from Democrats, and 9 bipartisan” adopted in committee. They’ve got a problem, however, in the form of Alabama’s own national security threat, Tommy Tuberville. The Republican is still not backing down from his blockade of hundreds of defense promotions and appointments over the Pentagon’s policy of allowing paid leave to service members for abortion and other reproductive health care.