National Security Legislative Wrap-up, July 16-20 2007

After the Senate voted 52 - 47 for cloture on the Levin - Reed amendment (with 60 votes required to close debate), Majority Leader Harry Reid removed the Fiscal Year 2008 Defense Authorization bill from the Senate floor. The bill may not be reconsidered until September. The House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to take up the Fiscal Year 2008 Defense Appropriations bill on Wednesday, with the full House to consider the bill next week. In the meantime, there could be additional Iraq votes in the House this week and next.

KEY NATIONAL SECURITY BILLS IN 2007

- DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION BILL:

After the Senate voted 52 – 47 for cloture on the Levin (D-MI) - Reed (D-RI) amendment (with 60 votes required to close debate), Majority Leader Harry Reid pulled the Defense Authorization Bill from the Senate floor. The bill may not be reconsidered until September after the report of General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker. In reality, the cloture vote was 53 - 46; Majority Leader Harry Reid changed his vote at the last minute so that he could move to reconsider the motion. Thus, the pending motion when the bill is brought up again will be the Reid motion to reconsider the cloture vote on Levin-Reed.

- DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS BILL:

In full committee mark-up scheduled for July 25, amendments are possible to mandate withdrawing troops from Iraq, close the Guanatanmo Bay detention center and bar permanent bases in Iraq. The bill is then scheduled to be considered by the full House the week of July 30, the last week before the summer recess.

- ENERGY AND WATER APPROPRIATIONS BILL:

On June 20, the House completed action on all but the earmarks portion of the bill. While doing so, it rejected 121 - 312 a Udall (D-NM) amendment to transfer $192 million to the Los Alamos National Laboratory for nuclear weapons work. After considering the earmarks portion of the bill on July 17, the House approved the bill by a vote of 312 - 112.