Senate leaders have given up on a plan to move a standalone bill containing 71 amendments that failed to make it into the chamber’s version of the Fiscal Year 2012 Defense Authorization Act, including a provision that would allow the Department of Defense to transfer $125 million to the National Nuclear Security Administration’s weapons program. But Senate aides remain hopeful that language from the amendment, that was drafted by Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), might be included in the bill during conference negotiations between House and Senate leaders.
The amendment package was scuttled due to a procedural objection from Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), but Senate aides say support remains for the package, specifically the one dealing with adding funds to NNSA’s budget. Part of that optimism comes from support for the amendment from Democratic and Republican leaders on the Senate Armed Services Committee as well as from Pentagon leaders—which specifically suggested that the transfer authority be limited to $125 million—and Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio), the chairman of the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee who has lobbied hard for full funding for the NNSA’s modernization plan. Senate appropriators, however, are not thrilled with the language due to concerns that it would supersede their authority.
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