As his panel prepares to mark up the FY09 defense authorization bill next week, Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin signaled Tuesday that he will not shy away from supporting amendments that will likely trigger a presidential veto.
Levin said he hopes to attach hate crimes language to the defense bill either during the committee’s closed-door markup or as an amendment offered during floor debate on the bill.
Language addressing hate crimes is a “very appropriate” amendment to the annual defense policy measure because it represents “one of the values of this country” that the military fights to protect, Levin told reporters.
Last year, Senate Democrats narrowly succeeded in passing an amendment to the Senate’s FY08 authorization bill that would have extended the definition of hate crimes to include sexual orientation and provided federal assistance to state and local authorities investigating and prosecuting hate crimes.
But they set off a prolonged confrontation with the House, where lawmakers from both parties were concerned that its inclusion could jeopardize passage of the bill. Even if it passed both chambers, House Democrats feared President Bush would veto the bill.
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