The Senate on Tuesday blocked an amendment that would have allowed the Obama administration to send direct aid to Kurdish peshmerga forces in Iraq.



Senators voted 54-45 on the amendment, from Sens. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Barbara Boxer Barbara Levy BoxerThe Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Facebook - Biden, Harris launch Trump offensive in first joint appearance Bottom line Polls show big bounce to Biden ahead of Super Tuesday MORE (D-Calif.), to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA.) The amendment faced a 60-vote threshold to be attached to the defense policy bill.



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Ernst and Boxer also introduced their measure as a separate bill earlier this year.

The proposal would have granted a temporary authorization for President Obama to give weapons and training directly to the Kurdish forces rather than having to work through the Iraqi government in Baghdad.Ernst suggested that the measure was a necessary step to help defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS.)"ISIS is deadly and determined, and Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga forces in the fight against ISIS need weapons as quickly as possible," she said on Monday afternoon. "We simply cannot afford future delays at this critical moment in the battle."Ernst added that her amendment didn't force the president to directly aid the Kurdish peshmerga forces, but gave him the option to do so.