In between threats of a possible government shutdown this fall, lawmakers still hope to pass the annual defense authorization bill as a sign of common ground.

The military budget measure stalled in recent days amid a week of Senate floor debate and amendments, during which Republicans attempted to include new cybersecurity provisions in the bill.

That effort failed, but did not dampen lawmakers' expectations that the policy measure will clear the chamber before the end of June, barring a new political snag.

That would give House and Senate conference committee staff most of the summer to iron out the differences in the two drafts, which includes an overhaul of the military retirement system, sweeping defense acquisition reform provisions, and authorities for pay raises, family benefits and a host of other military compensation issues.

Both Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and his House counterpart Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, have predicted relatively calm negotiations once the conference work begins.

However, Senate efforts to finalize the authorization draft this month has been overshadowed by Democrat promises to block any budget bills that leave in place the spending caps known as sequestration, mandated under the 2011 Budget Control Act.

President Obama has threatened to veto any bill that does not repeal sequestration concerns and raise spending for numerous government agencies.

Republican leaders have instead kept the spending limits in place for all agencies except defense, where they plan to use overseas contingency funds to get around the caps. Democratic leaders in the House have pledged to vote against that plan, and Democrats in the Senate have promised to stall any such budget bills.

On Wednesday, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the Senate minority leader, predicted the summer-long fight ultimately will end without Republicans submitting a workable plan, leading to a government shutdown.

"They did it once, they're going to do it again," Reid said. "They want to wait until the fiscal year ends and then close up government."

The defense appropriations bill could be the first showdown in the political fight, and Republicans have already accused their opponents of putting political interests ahead of troops' pay.

That appropriations bill is expected to be brought before the Senate after the authorization measure, but the lines blurred frequently during floor debate last week.

An amendment from Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., senior Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, meant to fence off about $38 billion in the temporary war funds failed along party lines.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and other party leaders would not rule out delaying the authorization bill as well.

Congress has adopted an annual defense authorization bill in each of the last 53 years, a measure of success and bipartisanship unmatched by any other piece of legislation. But in the past two years, most of the debate on the measure in the Senate has been late in the year and limited, with no real open amendment process.

Republican leaders vowed to change that this year, bringing up the measure earlier in the calendar and allowing more time for floor debate.

Now, they're sorting through more than 500 amendments to attempt to follow through with that promise, one that has so far proved time-consuming and problematic.

If the Senate can move ahead with its measure, and if the two chambers can reach compromise before the end of September, it would be the first time since 1997 that the authorization bill has become law before the start of the new fiscal year on Oct. 1.

Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.

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