A senior Senate Democrat said he will support an amendment to the 2016 defense policy bill that would fence off $38 billion in extra war funding until a deal is reached to lift the budget caps under sequestration.
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) said it’s too early to tell how he will vote on the bill but that he will definitely support the amendment by Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
“I have a lot of concerns. I hope I have a chance to improve the bill. It starts with Sen. Reed’s amendment that deals with the [war] fund,” Cardin, ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee told The Hill on Thursday.
{mosads}The White House had asked Democrats to filibuster the bill, which authorizes funding for the military, because it adheres to the budget caps for domestic programs but boosts defense spending through the war fund.
Although the bill authorizes the same amount the president has requested, the White House wants to lift the caps for both defense and nondefense spending, and put the $38 billion in the Pentagon’s base budget.
Still, Democrats are leery of filibustering a bill that authorizes funding for the military, which would jeopardize the usual bipartisanship on an annual bill that’s passed for 53 years in a row.
Reed’s amendment could give those Democrats a way to express opposition to using the war fund to skirt budget caps, while still voting for the bill. It passed the Senate Armed Services Committee 22-4, with eight Democrats voting in favor and four, including Reed, against.
A Senate aide said all Democrats on the committee, including Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), who caucuses with Democrats, voted in favor of Reed’s amendment, and all Republicans voted against it.
Senate Democrats on Thursday said, while a filibuster is unlikely, they would block the defense appropriations bill from receiving a vote until Republicans begin discussions.