Final Senate vote looming on war supplemental

The Senate on Thursday voted 69-29 to cut off debate on a $59 billion emergency war supplemental after defeating six amendments, including proposals from Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, that sought to beef up border security.

Votes on other amendments are still possible, but a final vote on the package could come as soon as Thursday if Republicans agree not to use all of the remaining 30 hours of debate time.

McCain's amendment would have provided funding for an additional 6,000 National Guard troops for the U.S.-Mexico border, which would have been offset with unobligated funds from the 2009 stimulus package. Kyl's proposal would have provided $200 million to the Justice Department to jail illegal immigrants for up to a month caught crossing the border in the Tucson, Ariz., area. Cornyn's amendment would have provided $2 billion for border programs, also offset by unused stimulus funds.

The amendments came after the White House announced Tuesday that it supports sending an additional 1,200 National Guard troops to the border and backs the additional $500 million in spending.

But Cornyn said that the White House proposal won't do the job.

"Visit the border, senators, and see for yourselves. Talk to law enforcement. It's not enough," Cornyn said. "My amendment gives law enforcement the tools and technology they need to meet this threat."

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., called the border amendments "a grab bag of enormous spending" that take away from job creation. He said the White House-endorsed plan is targeted and will help secure the border.

While the Senate bill does not include any border-security funding, it will likely be an issue in an anticipated conference with the House. The House version of the supplemental includes the $500 million of border funding.

The Senate tabled two amendments from Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., that sought to offset the bills' cost by, among other things, rescinding unobligated funding and cutting the budgets for members of Congress. They also defeated an amendment, 80-18, from Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., that would have required the president to submit to Congress by the end of the year a plan for redeployment of the armed forces from Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, House Appropriations Chairman Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., postponed a markup of his $84 billion supplemental spending package as the House struggles to try to extend a raft of expiring programs, including unemployment insurance.

Obey "decided he did not want to force members to focus on the supplemental when there is so much left on the floor for them to focus on," a committee spokesman said.