Another Republican President, Another Recession.

JoeBlow5823 said:

Just as Biden will claim Trump's economy as his in 2020.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Gripped by the accelerating viral outbreak, the U.S. economy is under pressure from persistent layoffs, diminished income and nervous consumers, whose spending is needed to drive a recovery from the pandemic.

A flurry of data released Wednesday suggested that the spread of the virus is intensifying the threats to an economy still struggling to recover from the deep recession that struck in early spring.

The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid rose last week for a second straight week to 778,000, evidence that many employers are still slashing jobs more than eight months after the virus hit. Before the pandemic, weekly jobless claims typically amounted to only about 225,000. Layoffs are still historically high, with many businesses unable to fully reopen and some, especially restaurants and bars, facing tightened restrictions.

Consumers increased their spending last month by just 0.5%, the weakest rise since the pandemic erupted. The tepid figure suggested that on the eve of the crucial holiday shopping season, Americans remain anxious with the virus spreading and Congress failing to enact any further aid for struggling individuals, businesses, cities and states. At the same time, the government said Wednesday that income, which provides the fuel for consumer spending, fell 0.7% in October.

The spike in virus cases is heightening pressure on companies and individuals, with fear growing that the economy could suffer a “double-dip” recession as states and cities reimpose curbs on businesses. The economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, is expected to eke out a modest gain this quarter before weakening — and perhaps shrinking — early next year. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, predicts annual GDP growth of around 2% in the October-December quarter, with the possibility of GDP turning negative in the first quarter of 2021.

Economists at JPMorgan Chase have slashed their forecast for the first quarter to a negative 1% annual GDP rate.

“This winter will be grim,” they wrote in a research note.

Zandi warned that until Congress agrees on a new stimulus plan to replace a now-expired multi-trillion-dollar aid package enacted in the spring, the threat to the economy will grow.

“The economy is going to be very uncomfortable between now and when we get the next fiscal rescue package,” Zandi said. “If lawmakers can’t get it together, it will be very difficult for the economy to avoid going back into a recession.”

Some corners of the economy still show strength, or at least resilience. Manufacturing is one. The government said Wednesday that orders for durable goods rose 1.3% in October, a sign that purchases of goods remain solid even while the economy’s much larger service sector — everything from restaurants, hotels and airlines to gyms, hair salons and entertainment venues — is still struggling. But economists caution that factories, too, remain at risk from the surge in coronavirus cases, which could throttle demand in coming months.

And sales of new homes remained steady in October, the latest sign that ultra-low mortgage rates and a paucity of properties for sale have spurred demand and made the housing market a rare economic bright spot.

But at the heart of the economy are the job market and consumer spending, which remain especially vulnerable to the spike in virus cases. Most economists say the distribution of an effective vaccine would likely reinvigorate growth next year. Yet they warn that any sustained recovery will also hinge on whether Congress can agree soon on a sizable aid package to carry the economy through what could be a bleak winter.

“With infections continuing to rise at an elevated pace and curbs on business operations widening, layoffs are likely to pick up over coming weeks,″ said Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics.

The government said he total number of people who are continuing to receive traditional state unemployment benefits dropped to 6.1 million from 6.4 million the previous week. That figure has been declining for months. It shows that more Americans are finding jobs and no longer receiving unemployment aid. But it also indicates that many jobless people have used up their state unemployment aid — which typically expires after six months.

More Americans are collecting benefits under programs that were set up to cushion the economic pain from the pandemic. For the week of Nov. 7, the number of people collecting benefits under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program — which offers coverage to gig workers and others who don’t qualify for traditional aid — rose by 466,000 to 9.1 million.

And the number of people receiving aid under the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program — which offers 13 weeks of federal benefits to those who have exhausted state jobless aid — rose by 132,000 to 4.5 million.

The data firm Womply says that 21% of small businesses were shuttered at the start of this month, reflecting a steady increase from June’s 16% rate. Consumer spending at local businesses is down 27% this month from a year ago, marking a deterioration from a 20% year-over-year drop in October, Womply found.

The heart of the problem is an untamed virus: The number of confirmed infections in the United States has shot up to more than 170,000 a day, from fewer than 35,000 in early September. The arrival of cold weather in much of the country could further worsen the health crisis.

Meanwhile, another economic threat looms: The impending expiration of the two supplemental federal unemployment programs the day after Christmas could end benefits completely for 9.1 million jobless people. Congress has failed for months to agree on any new stimulus aid for jobless individuals and struggling businesses after the expiration of a multi-trillion dollar rescue package it enacted in March.

The expiration of benefits will make it harder for the unemployed to make rent payments, afford food or keep up with utility bills. Most economists agree that because unemployed people tend to quickly spend their benefits, such aid is effective in boosting the economy.

When the viral outbreak struck in early spring, employers slashed 22 million jobs in March and April, sending the unemployment rate rocketing to 14.7%, the highest rate since the Great Depression. Since then, the economy has regained more than 12 million jobs. Yet the nation still has about 10 million fewer jobs than it did before the pandemic erupted.

All of which has left many Americans anxious and uncertain. The Conference Board, a business research group, reported Tuesday that consumer confidence weakened in November, pulled down by lowered expectations for the next six months.

And the University of Michigan’s Surveys of Consumers reported Wednesday that sentiment declined slightly this month, and remained far below where it was before the pandemic struck. With the resurgence of the virus depressing the outlook of consumers, the sentiment index fell to its lowest point since August.

“Gloomier consumer expectations will weigh on spending as the holidays approach,” cautioned Kathy Bostjancic, chief U.S. financial economist at Oxford Economics.

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Littypitty87 said:

• Economic growth last quarter hit 4.2 percent.
• New unemployment claims recently hit a 49-year low.
• Median household income has hit highest level ever recorded.
• African-American unemployment has recently achieved the lowest rate ever recorded.
• Hispanic-American unemployment is at the lowest rate ever recorded.
• Asian-American unemployment recently achieved the lowest rate ever recorded.
• Women’s unemployment recently reached the lowest rate in 65 years.
• Youth unemployment has recently hit the lowest rate in nearly half a century.
• Lowest unemployment rate ever recorded for Americans without a high school diploma.
• Under my Administration, veterans’ unemployment recently reached its lowest rate in nearly 20 years.
• Almost 3.9 million Americans have been lifted off food stamps since the election.
• The Pledge to America’s Workers has resulted in employers committing to train more than 4 million Americans. We are committed to VOCATIONAL education.
• 95 percent of U.S. manufacturers are optimistic about the future—the highest ever.
• Retail sales surged last month, up another 6 percent over last year.
• Signed the biggest package of tax cuts and reforms in history. After tax cuts, over $300 billion poured back in to the U.S. in the first quarter alone.
• As a result of our tax bill, small businesses will have the lowest top marginal tax rate in more than 80 years.
• Helped win U.S. bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
• Helped win U.S.-Mexico-Canada’s united bid for 2026 World Cup.
• Opened ANWR and approved Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipelines.
• Record number of regulations eliminated.
• Enacted regulatory relief for community banks and credit unions.
• Obamacare individual mandate penalty GONE.
• My Administration is providing more affordable healthcare options for Americans through association health plans and short-term duration plans.
• Last month, the FDA approved more affordable generic drugs than ever before in history. And thanks to our efforts, many drug companies are freezing or reversing planned price increases.
• We reformed the Medicare program to stop hospitals from overcharging low-income seniors on their drugs—saving seniors hundreds of millions of dollars this year alone.
• Signed Right-To-Try legislation.
• Secured $6 billion in NEW funding to fight the opioid epidemic.
• We have reduced high-dose opioid prescriptions by 16 percent during my first year in office.
• Signed VA Choice Act and VA Accountability Act, expanded VA telehealth services, walk-in-clinics, and same-day urgent primary and mental health care.
• Increased our coal exports by 60 percent; U.S. oil production recently reached all-time high.
• United States is a net natural gas exporter for the first time since 1957.
• Withdrew the United States from the job-killing Paris Climate Accord.
• Cancelled the illegal, anti-coal, so-called Clean Power Plan.
• Secured record $700 billion in military funding; $716 billion next year.
• NATO allies are spending $69 billion more on defense since 2016.
• Process has begun to make the Space Force the 6th branch of the Armed Forces.
• Confirmed more circuit court judges than any other new administration.
• Confirmed Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh.
• Withdrew from the horrible, one-sided Iran Deal.
• Moved U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.
• Protecting Americans from terrorists with the Travel Ban, upheld by Supreme Court.
• Issued Executive Order to keep open Guantanamo Bay.
• Concluded a historic U.S.-Mexico Trade Deal to replace NAFTA. And negotiations with Canada are underway as we speak.
• Reached a breakthrough agreement with the E.U. to increase U.S. exports.
• Imposed tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum to protect our national security.
• Imposed tariffs on China in response to China’s forced technology transfer, intellectual property theft, and their chronically abusive trade practices.
• Net exports are on track to increase by $59 billion this year.
• Improved vetting and screening for refugees, and switched focus to overseas resettlement.
• We have begun BUILDING THE WALL. Republicans want STRONG BORDERS and NO CRIME. Democrats want OPEN BORDERS which equals MASSIVE CRIME.

Do I need to continue?

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hanimmal said:

recent history

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JoeBlow5823 said:

recent history is unprecedented and is affecting the entire world the same as us.

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JoeBlow5823 said:

recent history is unprecedented and is affecting the entire world the same as us.

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More than two dozen federal stimulus programs crafted to help cash-strapped workers and businesses weather the coronavirus pandemic are set to expire in a matter of weeks, adding urgency to congressional negotiations over a new $908 billion relief package that might help break months of political deadlock.

Without the new aid, the end of a series of key stimulus programs threatens to push the country closer to the financial cliff. Millions of Americans are set to lose unemployment benefits, access to paid sick leave and protections against evictions. Businesses no longer may be able to count on a handful of key tax credits to help their bottom lines, and state and local governments run the risk of having to return millions of dollars they had hoped to spend on the public-health crisis and the financial carnage it has wrought.

“If we let things that are going to expire [actually] expire in December, you are truly going to have widespread hardship,” warned Maya MacGuineas, the president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, which estimated 25 aid programs from Congress and the White House are set to expire without Washington action. That’s on top of a slew of other annual tax and spending provisions that still have not been renewed in 2020.

“All the bad things we were worried would happen — but were successfully addressed in the first round of bills — could hit at once,” she said. “It would be blatant neglect to allow all these things to expire.”

The looming deadlines have grown all the more pressing amid fresh signs that the U.S. economy is backsliding as the pandemic continues to worsen. The country added only 245,000 jobs in November, according to new federal data released Friday, marking the slowest month of growth since the recovery started this summer. The dour figures arrived as states including California started instituting new restrictions on businesses and public gatherings last week amid a meteoric rise in coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

The new decline has galvanized Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill in recent days, resulting in the first major bipartisan stimulus compromise in months. The new $908 billion package outlined in the Senate includes some of Democrats’ long-sought priorities, including enhanced unemployment aid and a fresh injection of cash for cities and states that are suffering financially. It also puts new money behind Republicans’ push to bolster small businesses’ bottom lines and protect a wide array of corporate entities from coronavirus-related lawsuits.

The bipartisan deal has managed to unite the two parties in rare, early accord. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) spoke about the matter last week, and McConnell exited the conversation expressing a belief that both sides are “interested in getting an outcome” — though he has also proposed a more scaled-back stimulus plan of his own.
President-elect Joe Biden also has encouraged lawmakers to broker the deal, stressing in a speech Friday that the “future will be very bleak” unless Congress acts swiftly.

What’s in the $908 billion economic relief proposal

As the talks have progressed, a wide array of groups representing restaurants, retailers, airlines, hotels and local governments lent their voices to the last-minute push. Roughly 300 associations — belonging to the Covid Relief Now Coalition — wrote Congress on Friday to call on them to adopt a compromise before the end of the year and build on their progress later, warning the economic consequences of continued inaction could be vast.

“Our country can’t wait until 2021,” they wrote.

The economy’s recent contraction has presented the greatest risks to an estimated 12 million Americanswho stand to lose their unemployment benefits before the end of the month if Congress does not act.

The government’s $2 trillion stimulus plan, the Cares Act, greatly boosted jobless assistance: It authorized an extra 13 weeks of aid, increased federal funding for benefits, and offered new help to millions of Americans who drive for Uber, deliver for Grubhub or work for other so-called “gig economy” companies. Without a new stimulus bill, though, some workers are set to run out the clock on their unemployment insurance before they are able to return to the workforce at a time when hiring may be slowing.

Many Americans who have been out of a job for months are set to receive their last checks for the week ending a day after Christmas, according to Michele Evermore, a senior policy analyst at the National Employment Law Project, which advocates for workers’ rights.

The expiration of that aid threatens to reverberate throughout the economy. “People don’t fully comprehend how somebody else’s pain is going to affect them,” she said. “It’s not just 12 million people losing benefits; it’s what those 12 million people would have done with those benefits. It’s the landlords not getting rent. It’s the financial services companies not getting mortgages and car payments. Belt tightening is real.”

Six days after the aid expires, millions of Americans could face an additional economic blow: Federal protections against evictions are set to expire as well. The Trump administration announced the moratorium in September, arguing that removing renters from their homes threatened to force families into unsafe, cramped living conditions, contributing to the spread of the coronavirus. But the government’s order — enacted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — is slated to end after Dec. 31.

Entering January, renters may owe “anywhere between $30 billion and $70 billion in back rent and have no ability to pay,” said Diane Yentel, the president of the National Low Income Housing Coalition. She said that an estimated 30-to-40 million people, in 17 million households, could soon face the threat of eviction.

Some landlords initiated eviction proceedings against their tenants even while the CDC order was in place, seeking to capitalize on the Trump administration’s confusing policy and a wave of lawsuits filed by organizations representing owners. The result could be a swift opening of the spigot starting in a matter of weeks, as landlords file a new wave of evictions or seek to enforce the proceedings that already have been started.

“The only thing that remains between the renter and being kicked out on the streets is expiring on December 31,” Yentel said.

Landlords, lobbyists launch legal war against Trump’s eviction moratorium, aiming to unwind renter protections

Businesses, meanwhile, could lose access to employee-retention credits and other tax benefits at the end of December, months after the Paycheck Protection Program, totaling billions of dollars in forgivable federal loans, ran its course. The aid helped protect businesses’ bottom lines after many closed or limited their operations as a result of the coronavirus, cutting into their revenue and forcing them to slash their workforce.

Cities and states are set to face their own cash crunch, as a $150 billion program that covers coronavirus-related expenses is set to lapse at the end of the month. Any dollars they don’t spend — including those that aid workers, renters, businesses and even doctors and testing sites — must be returned to the U.S. Treasury even if they have a use for the funds. Many governors have called on Washington to extend the deadline.

“It’s going to be a pretty big transition point at the end of the year,” said Garrett Watson, a senior policy analyst for the Tax Foundation, “given the sheer scope of what the Cares Act was doing for individuals and businesses beginning in the spring.”

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insomnia65 said:

Wasn't Eisenhower a Republican.

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insomnia65 said:

Just managed to escape the politics section it was like Dante's hell I tell you, phew that's a tough negative place.

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hanimmal said:

I love these lists, they are basically nonsense mixed in with some random facts that ignore recent history.

Obama's last three years were better than Trump's first 3 economically.

And it is not a shocker that the further we get away from the racist suppression of minority and women late last millennia that their UE rates would be steadily decreasing. I also wonder how that trend has held up the last year.

Moving the US embassy to Jerusalem for absolutely nothing in return was a garbage business move by Trump.

Nancy had to to do the heavy lifting of fixing the mess of the new-NAFTA trade agreement that Trump was too sloppy to do.

Those tariffs you listed actually cost our economy about $1.4 trillion.

China trade deal (after hammering our farmers and raising taxes on our citizens) got us back to less than we would have been if we had our allies in the region backing our play, when Trump shortsightedly pulled us from the trade deal.

And that is just a sampling of your ridiculous cut and pasted list. If you want to discuss anything particular on it I am all in.

Nice to meet you.

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Mr_X said:

Remember when we thought Bush's tax cut and security spending was a good idea, then the national debt increased? Yeah. I think its happening again.

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hanimmal said:

Unless that was sarcasm, then i apologize.

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insomnia65 said:

Politicians screw people, I'm an old fogey now, "Every nation gets the government it deserves." Is I suppose a cop out for lazy People, but unfortunately people vote these idiots in.

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RosinNikko said:

You mean Biden recession with locking the country down again? Lol
Gonna have 50 employee's living of goverment wages once that happens. not to happy about it and either are they.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — An emerging $900 billion COVID-19 aid package from a bipartisan group of lawmakers has all but collapsed after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Republican senators won’t support $160 billion in state and local funds as part of a potential trade-off in the deal.

McConnell’s staff conveyed to top negotiators Thursday that the GOP leader sees no path to an agreement on a key aspect of the lawmakers’ existing proposal — a slimmed-down version of the liability shield he is seeking for companies and organizations facing potential COVID-19 lawsuits — in exchange for the state and local funds that Democrats want.

The GOP leader criticized “controversial state bailouts” during a speech in the Senate, as he insists on a more targeted aid package.

The hardened stance from McConnell, who does not appear to have enough votes from his Republican majority for a far-reaching compromise, creates a new stalemate over the $900-billion-plus package, despite days of toiling by a bipartisan group of lawmakers to strike compromise.

Other legislative pile-ups now threaten Friday’s related business — a must-pass government funding bill. If it doesn’t clear Congress, that would trigger a federal government shutdown on Saturday.

McConnell’s staff conveyed to other negotiators it’s “unlikely” the trade-off proposed by the bipartisan group would be acceptable, as COVID aid talks continue, according to a person granted anonymity to discuss the talks. A senior Democrat first shared the Republican leader’s views after being granted anonymity to discuss the private conversations, which were first reported by Politico.



Deadlines, real and perceived, haven’t been sufficient to drive Washington’s factions to an agreement, despite the U.S. breaking a record-high 3,000 daily COVID fatalities, and hospitals straining at capacity from soaring caseloads nationwide.

The House recessed for a few days, with leaders warning members to be prepared to return to Washington to vote on the year-end deals, while the Senate was planning a rare Friday session.

The breakdown over the COVID aid package, after days of behind-the-scenes talks by a group of lawmakers fed up with inaction, comes as President Donald Trump has taken the talks in another direction — insisting on a fresh round of $600 stimulus checks for Americans.

Sending direct cash payments to households was not included in the bipartisan proposal, but has been embraced by some of the president’s fiercest critics — including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N,Y., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont Independent who introduced an amendment to include the checks with Trump ally Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo.

Sanders said the unprecedented moment facing the nation with the pandemic and its economic fallout requires Congress to “take unprecedented action.”

Trump’s top negotiator on COVID-19 financial aid, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reported headway Thursday, before the package from the bipartisan senators’ group fell apart.

“I think we’re making a lot of progress,” Mnuchin said.

A one-week stop-gap measure to prevent a federal shutdown appears to have sapped some urgency from the talks. The short-term government-wide funding bill, approved by the House on Wednesday, needs to clear the Senate before Friday at midnight to avert a partial closure.

The next deadline would be Dec. 18, but both House and Senate leaders say they won’t adjourn without passing an aid measure.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Congress would keep working up to or even after Christmas to get an agreement. The new Congress is being sworn in on Jan. 3.

“Now if we need more time then we take more time, but we have to have a bill and we cannot go home without it,” Pelosi said. She also gave an upbeat assessment on the talks.

The bipartisan lawmakers held another virtual “dinner group” meeting late Thursday to try to prop up the deal. They have been working furiously to try to bridge the stalemate over COVID aid.

The $900 billion-plus proposal provides sweeping new funds for vaccines, small businesses, health care providers, schools and families suffering from the virus crisis and the economic shutdowns.

A key hold up has been the standoff over more money for the states, that Democrats - and some Republicans - want and the liability shield that is McConnell’s top GOP priority but that most Democrats oppose.

The partisan group tried to marry those two provisions as a compromise.

McConnell had initially proposed a five-year liability shield from virus lawsuits, retroactive to December 2019, but the bipartisan group was eyeing a scaled-back shield of six months to a year. Labor and civil rights groups oppose any shield, which they say strips essential workers of potential legal recourse as they take risks during the pandemic.

Democratic leaders had wanted far more in state and local aid, but were accepting of the lower $160 billion.

But many Republicans have long viewed the state and local aid as a bailout they would have trouble supporting, despite the pleas for funds coming from governors and mayors nationwide.

Late Thursday, Sen. Dick Durbin and other Democrats pitched another liability proposal to the bipartisan group, but it was rejected by Republicans, according to a Senate aide granted anonymity to discuss the private session.

The Trump administration is back in the middle of the negotiations with a $916 billion plan. It would send a $600 direct payment to most Americans but eliminate a $300-per-week employment benefit favored by the bipartisan group of Senate negotiators.

The White House offer has the endorsement of the top House Republican and apparent backing from McConnell, who had previously favored a $519 billion GOP plan that has already failed twice. But Democrats immediately blasted the plan over the administration’s refusal to back the partial restoration, to $300 per week, of bonus pandemic jobless benefits that lapsed in August.

President-elect Joe Biden is pressing for as much pandemic relief as possible, though he’s not directly involved in the talks. McConnell, like Pelosi, says Congress will not adjourn without providing the long-overdue COVID-19 relief.

Republicans say the right people to handle final negotiations are the four leaders of Congress and the Trump administration, with the focus on the streamlined proposal from McConnell, R-Ky.

The bipartisan negotiating group — led by Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, among others — was seeking to rally lawmakers behind the $908 billion framework that includes the $300-per-week pandemic jobless benefit and $160 billion for states and local governments.

It also includes a four-month extension of jobless benefits set to expire at the end of the month, $300 billion for “paycheck protection” subsidiesfor struggling businesses, funding for vaccines and testing, and a host of smaller items such as aid to transit systems, the U.S. Postal Service and health care providers.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Friday approved a wide-ranging defense policy bill, sending it to President Donald Trump, despite his threat to veto the bill because it does not clamp down on big tech companies he claims were biased during the election.

The final vote was 84-13, mirroring a similarly overwhelming margin in the House that, if maintained in both chambers, would be enough to override a potential veto.

The Senate vote had been expected Thursday but was delayed after Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky objected to the measure, saying it could limit Trump’s ability to draw down U.S. troops from Afghanistan and Germany.

Congress has approved the bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, for nearly 60 years in a row. The current version affirms 3% pay raises for U.S. troops and authorizes more than $740 billion in military programs and construction.

Trump has vowed to veto the bill unless lawmakers impose limits on social media companies he claims were biased against him during the election. Trump has also said he wants Congress to strip out a provision of the bill that allows renaming of military bases such as Fort Benning and Fort Hood that now honor Confederate leaders.

Paul said Friday that his main point in filibustering the bill “was to point out that the president should have the prerogative to end a war, not just to start wars.″

Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, hailed the bill’s passage, calling it “the most important bill we’ll do all year.”

The defense authorization law “is what the Constitution tells us we have to do″ in Congress, Inhofe said. ”We must protect freedom, democracy and peace, and support our troops. This is the heart of the National Defense Authorization Act, and I look forward to it becoming law before the end of the year.”

The bill’s approval was never in doubt, although Paul’s actions cast uncertainty on the timing. Paul said Friday that “neoconservatives” such as Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., “are inconsistent in saying they want ... to give the commander-in-chief powers to begin war, but then they want to restrain and hamstring a president from ending a war. I think it’s a pretty important principle to discuss so we did hold things up for a day.″

Two amendments addressing troop deployment could create “535 commanders-in-chief in Congress,” Paul said, hampering the president’s ability to draw down troops in Afghanistan and Germany. Democrats support the measure because they oppose Trump, Paul said, but the amendment would also apply to future presidents, including President-elect Joe Biden.

One amendment, co-sponsored by Cheney and Democratic Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, an Afghanistan veteran, would block troop withdrawals in Afghanistan unless the Pentagon submits inter-agency reports certifying that the drawdowns would not jeopardize national security. A separate provision pushed by Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney and other lawmakers would limit planned troop withdrawals in Germany.

Paul singled out Cheney by name in a floor speech, saying she and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, share a neoconservative belief in “perpetual war.”

“The philosophy of these people is about war and substantiating war and making sure that it becomes and is perpetual war,″ Paul said.

Cheney called Paul’s actions “inexcusable” and charged that he delayed hazardous duty pay to hundreds of thousands of service members and their families and kept Congress from completing its greatest duty: providing for the nation’s defense.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, in a rare break with Trump, urged passage of the measure despite Trump’s threat to veto it. McConnell, R-Ky., said it was important for Congress to continue a nearly 60-year streak of passing the National Defense Authorization Act.

“This NDAA will unlock more than $740 billion for the training, tools and cutting-edge equipment that our service members and civilian employees need to defend American lives and American interests,″ McConnell said. “It will give our troops the 3% pay raise they deserve. It’ll keep our forces ready to deter China and stand strong in the Indo-Pacific.″

The Democratic-controlled House overwhelmingly approved the defense bill on Tuesday, defying Trump’s veto threat and setting up a possible showdown with the Republican president in the waning days of his administration.

A total of 140 Republicans joined 195 Democrats in backing the bill, which received support from more than 80% of the House — well above the two-thirds support required to override a potential veto.

Trump tweeted Tuesday that he will veto “the very weak” defense bill unless it repeals Section 230, a part of the communications code that shields Twitter, Facebook and other tech giants from content liability.

The White House said in a policy statement that “Section 230 facilitates the spread of disinformation online and is a serious threat to our national security and election integrity. It should be repealed.″

The dispute over social media content — a battle cry of conservatives who say the social media giants treat them unfairly — interjects an unrelated but complicated issue into a bill that Congress takes pride in having passed unfailingly for nearly 60 years. It follows Trump’s bid over the summer to sabotage the package with a veto threat over Confederate base names.

“Over the course of United States history, these locations have taken on significance to the American story and those who have helped write it that far transcends their namesakes,″ the White House statement said. “The administration respects the legacy of the millions of American servicemen and women who have served with honor at these military bases, and who, from these locations, have fought, bled and died for their country.″

If he does veto the defense bill, Congress could cut short its Christmas recess to hold override vote.

“I think we can override the veto, if in fact he vetoes,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said Tuesday. “I hope he does not veto. I hope he reconsiders. And I think he will get substantial pressure (from Republicans) that, you know, you don’t want to put the defense bill at risk.″

The defense measure guides Pentagon policy and cements decisions about troop levels, new weapons systems and military readiness, military personnel policy and other military goals. Many programs can only go into effect if the bill is approved, including military construction.

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