Congress overrides 9/11 veto - Politico

With Zach Montellaro, Connor O'Brien and Ellen Mitchell

ADIOS, CONGRESS — LAWMAKERS CLEAR THE DECKS AND HEAD HOME TO CAMPAIGN: The House and Senate on Wednesday showed how quickly Congress can move when all parties are on the same page to get something done. A spending bill was passed and a veto was overridden Wednesday, and now lawmakers have fled Washington, returning to their states for the campaign homestretch. Here's where things stand — and what's on deck when they come back after the Nov. 8 elections:

Story Continued Below

— CONGRESS OVERRIDES AN OBAMA VETO FOR FIRST TIME, easily hitting the two-thirds requirement to override President Barack Obama's veto of the Saudi 9/11 bill in both the Senate and House. Our colleague Seung Min Kim has more here^[1]: "Congress overwhelmingly rejected President Barack Obama's bid to derail legislation allowing families of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to sue the government of Saudi Arabia, handing him the first veto override of his presidency during his final year in office.

"The Senate took the first step Wednesday, voting 97-1 to override Obama's veto of the 9/11 bill. The House quickly followed with a 348-77 vote. The sweeping popularity of the legislation — known as the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act — made it basically inevitable that the measure would ultimately become law, despite fierce objections from the Obama administration. The bill, known informally as JASTA, sailed through the Senate with no objections in the spring and was voice-voted in the House earlier this month."

— THORNBERRY LEADS HOUSE OPPOSITION: House Armed Services Chairman Mac Thornberry of Texas was one of 18 Republicans to vote to sustain the veto. Thornberry opposed the bill over concerns it would put U.S. troops at risk of legal action down the road, echoing the statements in opposition from Defense Secretary Ash Carter, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joe Dunford and others. "It was obvious from the beginning that sympathies for the 9/11 families, as well as the desire to override the president's veto on something, was going to be a very strong attraction for members to override the veto," Thornberry told reporters Wednesday.

— SENATE IS NEAR UNANIMOUS, DESPITE CONCERNS: The Senate voted overwhelmingly, 97-1, to override Obama's veto, with only Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) voting to sustain it. A last rebuke^[2] to the Obama White House's frosty congressional relations, the near unanimous vote came despite concerns raised by a number of senators, and an effort from Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) to tweak the bill. Now, they're looking to the post-election lame-duck session — 28 senators sent a letter^[3] after the vote to the bill's sponsors, Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), asking to work together to "appropriately mitigate those unintended consequences."

— OBAMA COMPLAINS OF A 'POLITICAL' VOTE, telling^[4] CNN's Jake Tapper at a military town hall Thursday that Congress avoided taking a difficult vote: "It's an example of why sometimes you have to do what's hard. And, frankly, I wish Congress here had done what's hard," he said. "If you're perceived as voting against 9/11 families right before an election, not surprisingly, that's a hard vote for people to take. But it would have been the right thing to do ... And it was, you know, basically a political vote."

CONGRESS PASSES SPENDING BILL — SETTING UP LAME-DUCK SPENDING SHOWDOWN, writes^[5] our colleagues Rachael Bade, Kim and Ben Weyl: "Congress hit the exits Wednesday night, with the House and Senate passing legislation to avoid a government shutdown and lawmakers skipping town until after Election Day. The weeks-long funding fight was resolved rapidly after a bipartisan deal was hatched by House Speaker Paul Ryan and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to ensure that Flint, Michigan's water crisis is addressed in the lame-duck session.

"The bill flew through Capitol Hill — first being passed by the Senate, 72-26, and hours later by the House, 342-85. The legislation, which had White House backing, would fund the federal government through Dec. 9, provide $1.1 billion to combat the Zika virus and send $500 million to Louisiana and other states facing natural disasters."

— THORNBERRY UPBEAT ON THE NDAA: In addition to a spending agreement for the rest of fiscal 2017, the National Defense Authorization Act is also on the post-election agenda. House and Senate negotiators were unable to finish a final defense policy bill this month, but Thornberry offered an upbeat assessment for post-election action. "I think we're at a very good place with Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate, with just some small exceptions," he said Wednesday.

HAPPY THURSDAY AND WELCOME TO MORNING DEFENSE, where we're always amused when Congress decides to have a very productive 24 hours after days of inaction. Keep tips, pitches and quorum calls coming at jherb@politico.com^[6], and follow on Twitter @jeremyherb^[7], @morningdefense^[8] and @politicopro^[9].

HAPPENING TODAY — CARTER PIVOTS TO THE PACIFIC: The defense secretary is in San Diego today for a speech on the U.S. rebalance in the Asia-Pacific region and the ongoing security issues there. Afterward, he heads to Honolulu to host the U.S.-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defense Informal.

U.S. SENDING 600 MORE TROOPS TO IRAQ, our colleague Connor O'Brien has more here^[10]: "Some 600 additional U.S. troops are headed to Iraq ahead of a major offensive to retake the city of Mosul from the Islamic State, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced Wednesday. The troop increase was approved by President Barack Obama, Carter said in a statement, at his and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joe Dunford's recommendation and "with the support and approval" of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

"Carter said the additional troops would 'further enable Iraqi forces.' 'The troops, in close coordination with the government of Iraq, will provide specific capabilities including logistics and maintenance support; train, advise and assist teams for Iraqi Security Forces and Kurdish Peshmerga for the upcoming Mosul operation; and expanded intelligence resources to help disrupt ISIL's terrorist network in Iraq and beyond,' Carter said. The current cap for U.S. troops in Iraq is over 4,600, meaning the new deployment will push the troop level there to well over 5,200."

** A message from BAE Systems: At BAE Systems, protecting those who serve is always the top priority. To meet the amphibious mission, we bring vehicles with full amphibious capability for at-sea launch and recovery. Learn more at www.baesystems.com/ACV^[11]. **

KERRY THREATENS TO CUT OFF COOPERATION WITH RUSSIA IN SYRIA, writes^[12] The Washington Post: "The Obama administration threatened Wednesday to suspend plans for coordinating counter terrorism strikes in Syria with Russia unless Moscow moves to stop its assault^[13] on the city of Aleppo and restore a collapsed cease-fire. Secretary of State John F. Kerry, in a telephone call to his Russian counterpart, 'made clear the United States and its partners hold Russia responsible for this situation,' including the 'drastic escalation' of its military actions in recent days and its refusal to ensure the safe passage of humanitarian aid to government-besieged areas, the State Department said."

— AND HIS REPUBLICAN CRITICS POUNCE: Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) issued a statement Wednesday mocking the secretary of state, whose diplomatic overtures have long been a source of scorn for the Republican hawks. "Finally, a real power move in American diplomacy," the two wrote with more than a dash of sarcasm, reports^[14] POLITICO's Nahal Toosi. "Secretary of State John 'Not Delusional' Kerry has made the one threat the Russians feared most — the suspension of U.S.-Russia bilateral talks about Syria. … After all, butchering the Syrian people to save the Assad regime is an important Russian goal. But not if it comes a t the unthinkable price of dialogue with Secretary Kerry."

— HOSPITALS ATTACKED IN ALEPPO 'SLAUGHTERHOUSE,' via The Associated Press^[15]: "Government shelling and airstrikes in Syria's Aleppo landed near a bread distribution center and two hospitals Wednesday, killing seven people and putting at least one of the medical facilities completely out of service, activists and medics said. U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon described the conditions in eastern, rebel-held Aleppo as worse than a 'slaughterhouse' at a Security Council meeting. 'Those using ever more destructive weapons know exactly what they are doing — they know they are committing war crimes,' Ban said, without na ming any countries."

INDUSTRY INTEL — BAE SYSTEMS, SAIC SHOW OFF AMPHIBIOUS COMBAT VEHICLE PROTOTYPES: BAE Systems and SAIC this week touted their respective offerings for the Marine Corps' Amphibious Combat Vehicle program, showing off prototypes across the aisle from each other at the Modern Day Marine industry event. BAE on Tuesday unveiled the first production model of its vehicle, based on the design of the SuperAV, made by Fiat subsidiary IVECO. And on Wednesday, SAIC gave the media an inside look at their ACV, a vehicle that borrows nearly 90 percent of its design from Singapore Technologies Kinetic's Terrex vehicle, according to Tom Watson, the senior vice president of SAIC's Navy and Marine Corps customer group.

MAKING MOVES — SENATE CONFIRMS HYTEN TO LEAD STRATCOM: Before leaving town last night, the Senate confirmed by voice vote Air Force Gen. John Hyten to lead the U.S. Strategic Command, along with over 40 other military nominations.

SPEED READ

— Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) says the White House has approved fighter jet sales to Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait: Defense News^[16]

— The confusing picture of the U.S.-led airstrike that hit Syrian government soldiers: The Washington Post^[17]

— U.S. officials are increasingly confident that hackers targeting U.S. political institutions have ties to Russia: The Wall Street Journal^[18]

— Donald Trump's stance on nuclear restraint and the "first-use" policy is ambiguous: AP

— Former Senate Armed Services Chairman John Warner (R-Va.) endorses Clinton and slams Trump: POLITICO^[19]

— Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) eyes more money for a new icebreaker in any omnibus spending bill: POLITICO Pro^[20]

— Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte says joint military exercises and joint patrols with the U.S. in the South China Sea are ending: WSJ^[21]

— Afghanistan's often shaky unity government approaches its second anniversary, with a power-sharing agreement expected to remain: The Washington Post^[22]

— Afghanistan signs a peace treaty with a notorious warlord: AP

— The EU wants an investment of 90 million euros for joint defense and security research: Reuters^[23]

— U.S. personnel throughout the Pacific were double charged at multiple base facilities: Stars and Stripes^[24]

— A 41-year-old Army chaplain completes Ranger School: Columbus Ledger-Enquirer^[25]

— The president asks San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick to think about the pain his decision not to stand for the National Anthem causes military families: POLITICO^[26]

— The Navy is investigating a sailor who didn't salute during the National Anthem: Fox News^[27]

** A message from BAE Systems: At BAE Systems, we work relentlessly to stay ahead of any challenge our customers may face. Our passion and dedication shows in everything we do—from advanced electronic systems to cyber operations and intelligence analysis, from combat vehicles to naval weapons, and from ship maintenance and modernization to vehicle upgrades and services. Knowing that our work makes a difference inspires us to push ourselves and the technologies we create to new levels. That's BAE Systems. That's Inspired Work. Learn more about our technologies, systems and services: www.baesystems.com/US^[28]. **

References

1. ^{^} here (www.politico.com)
2. ^{^} last rebuke (www.politico.com)
3. ^{^} letter (www.corker.senate.gov)< /small>
4. ^{^} telling (www.cnn.com)
5. ^{^} writes (www.politico.com)
6. ^{^} jherb@politico.com (www.politico.com)
7. ^{^} @jeremyherb (go.politicoemail.com)
8. ^{^} @morningdefense (go.politicoemail.com)
9. ^{^} @politicopro (go.politicoemail.com)
10. ^{^} here (www.politicopro.com)
11. ^{^} www.baesystems.com/ACV (bit.ly)
12. ^{^} writes (www.washingtonpost.com)
13. ^{^} www.washingtonpost.com (www.washingtonpost.com)
14. ^{^} reports (www.politico.com)
15. ^{^} via The Associated Press (bigstory.ap.org)
16. ^{^} Defense News (www.defensenews.com)
17. ^{^} The Washington Post (www.washingtonpost.com)
18. ^{^} The Wall Street Journal (www.wsj.com)
19. ^{^} POLITICO (www.politico.com)
20. ^{^} POLITICO Pro (www.politicopro.com)
21. ^{^} WSJ (www.wsj.com)
22. ^{^} The Washington Post (www.washingtonpost.com)
23. ^{^} Reuters (www.reuters.com)
24. ^{^} Stars and Stripes (www.stripes.com)
25. ^{^} Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (www.ledger-enquirer.com)
26. ^{^} POLITICO (www.politico.com)
27. ^{^} Fox News (www.foxnews.com)
28. ^{^} www.baesystems.com/US (bit.ly)