Dems, GOP craft backup for stalled defense bill

Facing a standoff in the Senate, the top Democrats and Republicans on Congress’ military panels are working on a backup plan to ensure that they complete a far-reaching defense policy bill before year’s end.

Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon, R-Calif., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and the panel’s top Democrat, Rep. Adam Smith of Washington state, expressed optimism on Thursday that they could agree with their Senate counterparts on a pared-back bill that would cover a pay raise for troops, buy new ships and aircraft and address the epidemic of sexual assault in the military.