AP Photo Senate sends defense bill to Obama — again

The Senate on Tuesday sent a revised $607 billion defense policy bill back to President Barack Obama, who vetoed a previous version over budget concerns and provisions he said would make it harder to achieve his pledge to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The House-passed bill, approved by the Senate 91-3, was revised to conform to the budget deal forged last month between Congress and the White House — allaying Obama’s concerns about the earlier version’s endorsement of a Republican budget plan that boosted defense spending without corresponding increases for domestic federal agencies.


The new National Defense Authorization Act, however, maintains restrictions on transferring Guantanamo prisoners to the United States, among other limitations — provisions designed to block Obama from moving some detainees to federal prisons.

One of Obama’s first acts as president was signing an executive order to shutter the Guantanamo prison, a goal that’s proved elusive. But the president is now gearing up for a final push to achieve his goal before he leaves office in January 2017, with the administration expected soon to deliver a plan to Congress.

The White House, though, has signaled that Obama will sign the defense bill despite the Guantanamo restrictions — and has suggested there are still ways to move forward on closing the prison.

"I would expect that you would see the president sign the NDAA," White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Tuesday, expressing "disappointment" with the Guantanamo restrictions.

On Capitol Hill, members of both parties have heralded the annual defense policy bill — passed each year for more than half a century — as one of the few bipartisan achievements of the current Congress. The measure overhauls the military retirement system and includes a number of reforms to the Pentagon’s long-troubled acquisition system.

The bill strips substantial authority for acquiring new weapons from Pentagon leaders and empowers the military branches to oversee their own programs.

"We're going to put the service chiefs in charge," said Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.). “We think that one of the biggest problems in the past is that no one has been held accountable for cost overruns.”

The bill establishes a new 401(k)-style retirement benefit for all service members, authorizes some lethal assistance to Ukraine and blocks the Air Force from carrying out a plan to retire its fleet of A-10 Warthog attack jets.

Congress has yet to send the president a defense appropriations bill for this fiscal year. Republicans and Democrats are now discussing a possible omnibus spending deal that would include appropriations for the Defense Department and other federal agencies. The current continuing spending resolution runs out on Dec. 11.