Lawmakers are not likely to finalize a conference report for the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) this week, CQ reported Tuesday.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman James Inhofe (R-Okla.) acknowledged the delay to the mandatory defense policy legislation, meaning the earliest lawmakers will finalize the bill would be mid-October, according to the report.
“It was my intention to do it this week,” Inhofe said. “But as slow as things are going, I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
Last week, Inhofe anticipated that conference committee negotiators would be able to reconcile differences in the House and Senate versions of the bill before the end of the week when lawmakers depart for a two-week October recess.
The report didn’t specify the issues holding up the bill, but did quote Inhofe saying, “it’s slow.” However, a Senate GOP aide said that progressive provisions in the House bill are prolonging negotiations, according to the report.
A House Armed Services Committee aide, however, said that it is not House provisions that are delaying negotiations, but an unspecified procedural error at the start of the discussions that delayed the talks by eight days, the report said.