WASHINGTON – Whether a frantic day Thursday on Capitol Hill turns chaotic depends largely on one senator and whether he releases his hostage: a defense policy bill.
Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., forced Senate leaders on Tuesday evening to start a 30-hour debate clock on the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). It is set up to run out Thursday evening, forcing a final vote likely on Friday.
Normally, the chamber could simply wait out the retiring fiscal hawk. But the defense bill needs to be cleared before the Senate can take up a government shutdown-averting measure expected to pass the House by Thursday afternoon.
If both chambers don’t pass that $1 trillion government-wide spending bill by midnight, the government will run out of money and be forced to shut down.
Coburn objected to quick passage of the defense bill Tuesday because of a list of land bills stuffed inside by House and Senate negotiators.
“Congress locks up swaths of federal lands and pays a $75M bonus to counties that can’t collect taxes on unproductive lands. #SecretSanta,” Coburn’s office tweeted Dec. 3, just after a compromise version of the defense bill was made public.
A Coburn spokeswoman had not responded to questions at time of publication.
Because no floor amendments were allowed to the defense bill to allow for swift movement at the end of the legislative session, Coburn is objecting that he can’t force a vote on the land measures.
He told reporters Tuesday that he just wants the ability to offer an amendment targeting those provisions.
He did not relent on Wednesday, refusing to allow the debate clock to be run faster.
At risk is a government shutdown, even if it’s just one day long.
Earlier this week, there was talk of the House and Senate passing two- or three-day continuing resolutions to avoid shuttering the government by giving the upper chamber more time to do its work. But that talk seem to evaporate on Wednesday.
Coburn told Politico if Senate leaders want to safely pass the massive spending bill coming from the House, they could simply pull the defense bill.
But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., earlier this week called the defense bill “very important legislation.” ■
Editor’s Note: The Senate voted 85-14 on Thursday morning to end debate on the NDAA, signalling Coburn had stood aside. A final vote could occur as soon as later Thursday.
