A new threat looms for the fiscal 2016 defense policy bill, which goes back to the House on Thursday after a budget deal shaved authorized spending below what the Pentagon and lawmakers said was the bare minimum.
The White House hinted Wednesday that a simmering dispute over the fate of the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, may draw a second presidential veto of the legislation.
“We’ll have to take a look at exactly what passes Congress before making a determination about what the president will sign,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters, stopping short of threatening another veto.
But he added: “What I’m simply doing is suggesting we would like to work with Congress where we can, but if Congress continues to refuse, I wouldn’t rule out the president using every element of his authority to make progress in the same way that he’s done that in other areas where Congress has refused to work constructively with the administration.”
Language in the must-pass legislation would effectively prevent Obama from closing the prison before leaving office, as he has vowed to do, without presenting a detailed plan to Congress for how it would be done. It’s similar to language in previous years’ bills that Obama has allowed to stand.
The dispute over Guantanamo has always existed but was overshadowed by a larger one over the use of a war funding account meant to get around budget caps established during sequestration. The bill also adds $38 billion to Pentagon spending, which caused Obama to veto the legislation on Oct. 22. Thursday’s House vote was originally scheduled as a veto override attempt.
A two-year budget deal resolved the spending dispute, but left the Pentagon with $5 billion less than Congress had originally authorized, which military officials had said was the bare minimum they needed to keep up with operational needs and many lawmakers had said was the least they would accept.
To meet the requirements of the new budget, House and Senate negotiators had to shave nearly $1 billion off hoped-for spending increases in Army and Army National Guard readiness, along with other programs, and make $713 billion in further cuts to existing programs.
The reductions also include a $250 million cut to the $1 billion Counterterrorism Partnership Fund and a $125 million decrease in the controversial program to aid Syrian rebels.
Lawmakers also are counting on saving more than $1 billion on fuel costs, and $453 million by accelerating the streamlining of Pentagon bureaucracy.
Other large cuts include:
- $230 million from the Air Force’s Long Range Strike-Bomber program (this realigns it with the contract award delay). Northrop Grumman won the contract to build the bombers last week.
- $150 million from the Navy’s DDG 51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyer program
- $100 million from the Technology Offset Initiative
- $100 million for Lockheed Martin Patriot missile segment enhancements.
