R&I – FS
Hours after the Republican Party released a coronavirus relief proposal including $0 for election assistance funding and no additional funding for cities and states as the country continues to combat the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. Senate passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act on Thursday, allocating $740.5 billion to the Pentagon.
The annual military budget bill was passed with a vote of 86-14, with 37 Democrats joining the Republicans in supporting the proposal. View the full roll call here.
Progressives including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA),and Ed Markey (D-MA) voted against the bill.
The bill was passed a day after an amendment proposed by Sanders and Markey to cut the Pentagon’s budget by 10 percent and redirect that funding toward significant investments in education, healthcare, and housing in poor communities — was rejected in the Senate, with a majority of Democrats siding with the GOP.
Democrats in the House also overwhelmingly joined Republicans to block a similar amendment put forward by Reps. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Mark Pocan (D-WI).
The Senate bill includes $636.4 billion for the Pentagon’s base budget, $25.9 billion for national security programs within the Department of Energy, and $69 billion for the Overseas Contingency Operations account.
Kurgen
Article URL : https://consortiumnews.com/2020/07/24/37-senate-dems-join-gop-to-approve-740-billion-war-budget/