A House-approved bill to fund the U.S. military during the ongoing federal government shutdown failed to pass the Senate in a procedural vote Thursday.
Because of the House filibuster rules, the House bill needed at least 60 votes in the 100-member Senate to pass.
The final vote was 50-44, with most Republicans and three Democrats voting yes.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R.S.D., voted against the bill only as a tactic to allow Pentagon funding to resume quickly during the government shutdown.
The vote came hours after a Senate bill that would have provided funding for the entire government failed.
When the defense funding bill was voted on in July, most House Democrats opposed it.
Minnesota Rep. Betty McCollum, the top Democrat on the House committee that oversees military funding, opposed the bill, saying it would eliminate aid to Ukraine, roll back vaccination requirements and limit access to abortions for service members.
Thune on Thursday criticized Senate Democrats who opposed the bill.
“The filibustered defense spending bill, as I said, is a bill that should get at least 80 votes on the floor, which suggests a level of dysfunction on their part at this point that I can’t explain,” Thune said.
“Certainly the government shutdown is one aspect of it. But you know, we’re trying to keep business going here.”
But Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said, “I’ll vote for a military spending bill that pays our soldiers in uniform, but I’ll vote against it if it includes all the poison pills in the House.”
“I believe it is important for the Senate and Congress to return to a bipartisan spending approach and begin to restore trust,” said New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who voted for the bill.
“This vote allows us to consider the Senate spending bill that passed out of committee with overwhelming bipartisan support,” Shaheen said.
“The bipartisan Senate Appropriations and Defense Act will protect our national security and ensure that our men and women in uniform receive their pay and benefits,” she said.
“We can and should work to advance a bipartisan spending process while working to prevent tens of millions of Americans from seeing their health insurance premiums skyrocket in the coming days.”
