Washington, Jul 15 (V7N)- Democrats in the US Senate have blocked the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), citing concerns over the Trump administration's military operations against Iran and proposals to expand US military and intelligence cooperation with Israel.
The Senate voted 50-46 on Tuesday (July 14) against a procedural motion to begin debate on the bill. Republicans fell short of the 60 votes required in the 100-member Senate to advance the legislation.
The NDAA, traditionally regarded as one of Congress' most significant annual bills, would authorize a substantial portion of President Donald Trump's proposed $1.15 trillion defense budget. Its progress has now been halted following unified Democratic opposition.
Democrats argued that Congress should not advance such a major defense bill while US military operations involving Iran continue without what they described as sufficient congressional oversight. They also objected to the Pentagon's proposed record budget and provisions that would deepen military and intelligence cooperation with Israel.
Ahead of the vote, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer urged members of his party to oppose the legislation.
"Republicans want the Senate to debate the nation's most important national security bill while ignoring the country's biggest national security crisis—the Iran war. We cannot do that," Schumer said, arguing that the legislation would effectively give the administration broad authority to continue military operations against Iran.
Outside Congress, a coalition of 14 civil rights, foreign policy and anti-war organizations also opposed the bill, including the American Civil Liberties Union, J Street, CODEPINK and Win Without War.
The groups called for lawmakers to prohibit federal funding for any military action against Iran that has not been explicitly authorized by Congress, arguing that Congress should exercise its constitutional authority over decisions involving war.
Democratic lawmakers also raised concerns over provisions in the draft legislation designed to strengthen US-Israel defense cooperation. One proposal would require the US Department of Defense to appoint a senior Pentagon official responsible for coordinating defense technology cooperation with Israel, including joint weapons research, development and integration of military technologies.
The bill also contains provisions on "data fusion," aimed at integrating intelligence collected from multiple sources into a unified targeting system. Human rights advocates have expressed concern that such cooperation could involve intelligence gathered through controversial surveillance programs.
Separately, provisions in the Intelligence Authorization Act—which is typically considered alongside the NDAA—would further expand intelligence-sharing between the United States and Israel.
Last week, Senators Chris Van Hollen, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey, Jeff Merkley and Peter Welch jointly urged fellow Democrats not to support the legislation in its current form.
In a public statement, the senators argued that Democrats should not approve legislation that would allow the Trump administration to deepen military cooperation with the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu without greater congressional scrutiny.
Political analysts say the debate also reflects changing attitudes within the Democratic Party, where public support for Israel has declined in recent years ahead of the November midterm elections.
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