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May 18, 2020 Update
[New information bolded and italicized]
On May 15, the House approved a $3 trillion measure to fight the coronavirus, the fifth such package. The vote was 208-199. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has declared the bill dead on arrival.
More particularly relevant to national security, the same evening the House voted 217-189 to permit proxy voting by members on the House floor during the crisis and markups of bills via in person committee meetings, virtual voting or some combination of both. The House Armed Services Committee may be one of the first bodies to work with the new procedure to produce the annual National Defense Authorization Bill.
Immediately after the last vote Friday night, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said he had spoken to House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-WA) about such a markup, but did not provide a schedule.
The House is recessed for votes until May 27 and 28.
The Senate continues to focus on Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s campaign to win approval of more judges and other officials.
The Senate Armed Services Committee National Defense Authorization Bill markup is scheduled for the week of June 8.
Key Fiscal Year 2020 National Security Bills
Emergency action on coronavirus and economic crisis
In early March, Congress passed the $8.3 billion Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act.
On March 18, the Senate approved the second major piece of legislation cost about $100 billion to deal with the preeminent national security and health threat to the country and the world: the coronavirus disease pandemic.
The overwhelming vote for the Families First Coronavirus Response Act was 90-8. On March 14, the House had approved the bill by a strong bipartisan majority 363-40, with the 40 no votes cast by Republicans.
Late the night of March 25, after many starts and stops, the Senate unanimously approved the $2 trillion emergency package intended to deal with the tumult in the economy in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. The final vote was 96-0. $10.5 billion of the measure is slated for the Pentagon.
The week of April 27, Congress passed the fourth coronavirus package totaling $484 billion.
War Powers Resolution and War With Iran
On January 9, the House voted to force President Trump to seek congressional approval for further military action against Iran. The war powers measure offered by Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) was approved by an almost party-line vote of 224-194, with three Republicans voting yes (Gaetz, Massie and Rooney) and eight Democrats voting no (Brindisi, Cunningham, Gottheimer, Horn, Luria, McAdams, Murphy and Rose).
On January 30, an amendment by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) to repeal the 2002 Authorization to Use Military Force (AUMF), which has been used by administrations of both parties to cover combat in many places, was approved 236-166, with 11 Republicans and 1 independent voting “yea,” while 2 Democrats voted “nay.”
A second measure offered the same day by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) to prohibit U.S. military action against Iran without prior congressional approval was adopted 228-175, with four Republicans and an independent voting “yea” and three Democrats voting “nay.”
On February 13, the Senate approved the Kaine (D-VA), Durbin (D-IL), Lee (R-UT) and Paul (R-KY) war powers measure, S.J.Res 68, a measure to limit the President’s actions against Iran. The vote was 55-45, with an unusually large number of eight Republican Senators voting aye: Lamar Alexander (TN), Todd Young (IN), Mike Lee (UT), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Susan Collins (ME), Rand Paul (KY, Bill Cassidy (LA) and Jerry Moran (KS).
On March 11, the House joined the Senate in approving the Kaine (D-VA), Durbin (D-IL), Lee (R-UT) and Paul (R-KY) war powers measure, S.J.Res 68, a bill adopted in the Senate to limit the President’s actions against Iran. The House vote was 227-186.
Six Republicans voted for the measure: Buck (CO), Griffith (VA), Massie (KY), Reed (NY), Schweikert (AZ) and Upton (MI). Six Democrats voted against: Brindisi (NY), Horn (OK), Luria (VA), McAdams (UT), Murphy (FL) and Rose (NY).
As expected, on May 7, the Senate failed to override President Trump’s veto of a resolution seeking to block him from taking further military action against Iran without explicit approval from Congress. The vote was 49-to-44 vote to override, a margin well short of the two-thirds majority needed to overcome the veto. Seven Republicans voted to override: Alexander (TN), Cassidy (LA), Collins (ME), Lee (UT), Murkowski (AK), Paul (KY), Young (IN)
[The bill has yet to be sent to the President, apparently to avoid what is called a pocket veto — a bill held by the President without his official veto — so that Congress can try to override the veto.]
Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Bill
Reminder: the two-year budget deal between Congress and the White House caps the 2021 budget at $740 billion, compared to $738 billion appropriated for 2020.
On February 10, the Trump administration submitted its Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 budget request to Congress of $740.5 billion, only a modest change from FY 2020 because of last year’s budget deal between Congress and the White House. Some highlights include a big increase in the request for nuclear weapons refurbishment, the beginning of a phase out of the Overseas Contingency Operations budget and a reduction of almost $12 billion in the international affairs budget that pays for diplomacy.
Click here to see analysis of the defense budget by the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, the Council’s sister organization.
Chairman Adam Smith has announced that due to the pandemic, the annual House Armed Services Committee markup of the annual defense authorization bill will be delayed indefinitely, but affirmed that the plan is to complete the bill before the end of the fiscal year.
Fiscal Year 2021 Budget Resolution
The Trump administration submitted its Fiscal Year 2021 budget request to Congress on February 10. In January 2020, House Budget Chair John Yarmuth (D-KY) and Senate Budget Committee Chair Mike Enzi (R-WY) suggested it is unlikely that the House will pass a Budget Resolution this year.
Fiscal Year 2021 Defense Appropriations Bill
Reminder: the two-year budget deal between Congress and the White House caps the 2021 budget at $740 billion, compared to $738 billion appropriated for 2020.
Fiscal Year 2021 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill
Fiscal Year 2021 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill
Fiscal Year 2021 Military Construction-Veterans’ Administration (VA) Bill
ORIGINAL CONGRESSIONAL RECESS SCHEDULE IN 2020
[Thursday, April 30 – Tuesday, May 12: House recess]
Thursday, May 21 – Monday, June 1: House and Senate recess
Friday June 26 – Tuesday, July 7: House recess
Thursday, July 2 – Monday, July 20: Senate recess
Friday, July 10 – Tuesday, July 21: House recess
Friday, July 31 – Tuesday, September 8: House recess
Friday, August 7 – Tuesday, September 8: Senate recess
Friday, October 2 – Monday, November 16: House schedule
Friday October 9 -Monday, November 9: Senate schedule
Friday, November 20 – Tuesday, December 1: House & Senate recess
