WASHINGTON — Republicans in the House will take on President Barack Obama with a Nov. 5 vote on overriding his veto of an annual defense budget bill that includes military pay and benefits.
An outraged GOP majority set the date Thursday, immediately after Obama made good on a promise to reject the National Defense Authorization Act, despite their warnings that the veto would put politics over the needs of troops.
It is the latest move in a protracted and increasingly bitter budget battle in Washington. Congressional Republicans, on one side, will not lift federal spending caps on defense and non-defense spending called sequestration. The Obama administration and Democrats, on the other side, have opposed any budget bill until sequestration is repealed.
Without a solution, the DOD could be without a new budget in December and be forced to freeze pay for troops and furlough about 350,000 civilian workers.
“By placing domestic politics ahead of our troops, President Obama has put America’s national security at risk. This indefensible veto blocks pay and vital tools for our troops while Iranian terrorists prepare to gain billions under the president’s nuclear deal,” House Speaker John Boehner said in a statement following the veto. “Congress should not allow this veto to stand.”
There was a torrent of similar Republican criticism of the veto, with many of the lawmakers hammering the president for standing between troops and needed resources. The NDAA has been vetoed as recently as 2007 – then by President George W. Bush — but typically such vetoes are due to measures included in the bill and not as part of a larger political fight.
