In a late afternoon vote that garnered very little attention in the corporate media--and predictably didn't spark any of the handwringing about costs that pundits typically apply to social programs for the poor and working class--40 Democrats and Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) joined nearly every Senate Republican on Wednesday to send a $717 billion military spending bill to President Donald Trump's desk.
"Not one op-ed or editorial or talking head on cable news will ask 'how will we pay for it?'"
--Adam JohnsonThe legislation--formally titled the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2019--is now "on track to become law before the start of the fiscal year for the first time since the fiscal 1997 bill," The Hillreported. Trump is expected to sign the measure before the end of the week.
The final Senate vote tally was 87-10 (view the full roll call below).
As the Washington Post's Jeff Stein noted on Twitter, the legislation will hit Trump's desk at a time when "military spending, adjusted for inflation, is higher than at any point outside the Iraq War."
"Not one op-ed or editorial or talking head on cable news will ask 'how will we pay for it?'" media analyst Adam Johnson noted following the Senate's vote. "Funding for bombs, guns, military bases, warships, fighter jets is simply factored in. Like gravity or entropy, it just is."
Overall, the 2019 NDAA will hike military spending by $82 billion. The Intercept's Alex Emmons has noted that with $80 billion a year, you could make public colleges and universities in the U.S. tuition-free."
Here are the ten senators who voted against the spending measure: Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Mike Lee (R-Utah.), and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.).
In addition to Sen. Angus King, who caucuses with the Democrats, here are the 40 Democrats who voted to send the NDAA to Trump's desk:
