Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Senate Sends Trump Defense Bill He Has Vowed to Veto

Associated Press

   WASHINGTON - The Senate approved a wide-ranging defense policy bill
   Friday, sending it to President Donald Trump, despite his threat to
   veto the bill because it does not clamp down on big tech companies he
   claims were biased during the election.

   The final vote was 84-13, mirroring a similarly overwhelming margin in
   the House that, if maintained in both chambers, would be enough to
   override a potential veto.

   The Senate vote had been expected Thursday but was delayed after
   Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky objected to the measure,
   saying it could limit Trump's ability to draw down U.S. troops from
   Afghanistan and Germany.

   Paul's actions had raised the specter of a brief government shutdown if
   a short-term spending bill caught up in the dispute was not approved by
   midnight Friday, but that possibility faded Friday afternoon.

   Pay raises, military construction

   Congress has approved the bill, known as the National Defense
   Authorization Act, for nearly 60 years in a row. The current version
   affirms 3% pay raises for U.S. troops and authorizes more than $740
   billion in military programs and construction.

   Trump has vowed to veto the bill unless lawmakers impose limits on
   social media companies he claims were biased against him during the
   election. Trump has also said he wants Congress to strip out a
   provision of the bill that allows renaming of military bases that now
   honor Confederate leaders.

   Paul said Friday that his main point in filibustering the bill "was to
   point out that the president should have the prerogative to end a war,
   not just to start wars."

   Paul said that "neoconservatives" such as Representative Liz Cheney,
   R-Wyo., "are inconsistent in saying they want ... to give the
   commander-in-chief powers to begin war, but then they want to restrain
   and hamstring a president from ending a war. I think it's a pretty
   important principle to discuss, so we did hold things up for a day.''

.