US Senate Approves US$ 585 Billion Defense Bill
ANGLO AMERICA, 15 Dec 2014
Xinhua – TRANSCEND Media Service
The U.S. Senate on Friday [12 Dec 2014] passed a sweeping 585-billion-U.S.dollar defense policy bill that will pay for the Pentagon’s activities in fiscal 2015, and give President Barack Obama authority to expand the campaign against the Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq and Syria.
The bill passed on a 89-11 vote, and now heads to Obama’s desk to be signed into law.
The bill provides 521.3 billion dollars for the Pentagon’s base budget and 63.7 billion dollars in funding for military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
It includes 5 billion dollars for the fight against the IS forces in Iraq and Syria. The bill also extends for two years a program to train and equip moderate Syrian rebels to take on IS, which Congress approved in September.
The bill maintains a prohibition on transferring detainees from the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba detention facility. The White House opposes that provision, with Obama still seeking to close the prison before leaving office.
The bill also contains changes to the way the military justice system deals with sexual assault, including eliminating the consideration of a defendant’s good military career in ruling cases.
Failure to pass the legislation would have gone against Senate tradition. The annual defense bill is one of the few pieces of legislation that has always been renewed on time. Friday’s vote marks the 53rd consecutive year it has passed ahead of the deadline.
DISCLAIMER: The statements, views and opinions expressed in pieces republished here are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of TMS. In accordance with title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. TMS has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is TMS endorsed or sponsored by the originator. “GO TO ORIGINAL” links are provided as a convenience to our readers and allow for verification of authenticity. However, as originating pages are often updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted may not match the versions our readers view when clicking the “GO TO ORIGINAL” links. This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.