The Senate on Tuesday approved the $612 billion Fiscal 2016 defense authorization bill with a vote of 70-26, sending the measure to President Obama for signature, reported Roll Call. Obama has vowed to veto the bill over $38 billion in overseas contingency operations funds, which were included as a means to bypass Budget Control Act caps. Although the Senate had a veto-proof majority, the House did not when it passed the bill last week. Speaking on the Senate floor Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said vetoing the bill would be “another grave foreign policy miscalculation from this Administration, something our country can no longer afford.” The annual defense authorization has only been vetoed four times in history, with President George W. Bush being the last President to veto the legislation in 2008, according to the publication. The legislation once again prohibits the Air Force from divesting its A-10 fleet and includes extensive overhauls to the Defense Department’s acquisition system, which could impact the Long-Range Strike Bo?mber program.
Multiple U.S. Air Force F-15 fighters have deployed to the strategic outpost of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to protect the myriad of assets deployed there, including strategic bombers.