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WASHINGTON — Utah Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee were on opposite sides of a $700 billion defense spending bill the Senate passed Monday.
Hatch voted for the bill, while Lee voted against it. The measure passed 89-8.
Hatch said he has “dutifully” supported military troops and their families, the civilian workforce and national security during his time in office.
“While many discuss our national defense spending bills as dollars and cents on a page, I view them as our duty to support military service members, their families and our country," he said in a statement.
Lee said while there's no higher federal priority than defense, he had to vote no on the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act. The 1,200-plus page bill came with little debate or votes on amendments while continuing to fund military activities in Eastern Europe, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, he said.
"We owe it to the men and women serving our nation to debate these policies separately, in full, in front of the American people," Lee said.
Related
Senate backs bill to pump $700 billion into military
The Senate has overwhelmingly approved a sweeping defense policy bill that would pump $700 billion into the military, putting the U.S. armed forces on track for a budget greater than at any time during the decade-plus wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.Hatch proposed several provisions specific to Utah that passed in the bill, including $28 million for a new mission control center at the Utah Test and Training Range.
The House earlier passed its own defense spending measure. The House and Senate must resolve the differences before sending the legislation to President Donald Trump.
