Senate clears bill removing Confederate names from military bases

[Belsnickel]

Trump has threatened to veto such a measure, but the Senate has passed the legislation with a veto-proof majority.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/23/senate-defense-bill-ndaa-bases-trump-380362

Quote:The Senate overwhelmingly passed its $741 billion defense policy legislation on Thursday, with the Republican-led body defying a threat from President Donald Trump to veto legislation that would force the removal of Confederate names from Army bases.

Senators approved the National Defense Authorization Act in a 86-14 blowout. Both the House and Senate have passed bills this week with majorities large enough to overcome a veto from Trump.

Senate and House Armed Services Committee leaders will soon begin negotiations to hammer out the differences in their competing bills.


The measure would kick off a process forcing the Pentagon to scrub names, monuments and paraphernalia honoring the Confederacy and its leaders from military bases and assets over the next three years. The House defense bill passed Tuesday, would force the renaming of bases within a year.

The effort, sponsored by former presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), comes amid protests over systemic racism and police brutality across the country. Ten Army bases are named for Confederate military leaders.

Trump has said his administration won't consider renaming bases — labeling it an attempt to rewrite U.S. history — contradicting Pentagon leaders who've said base names should be reviewed. The president has also warned he'd veto defense legislation that would rename bases.

But with similar renaming provisions in both bills, Trump is likely to be handed bipartisan defense legislation that forces the issue.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), whose state is home to three Army bases that bear the names of Confederates, defended the proposal on the Senate floor Wednesday. He argued the proposal was revised to accommodate both Republicans and Democrats and allow input from communities.

"Do you really expect us to believe that a society that continues to honor those who tried to destroy our country to save slavery will be serious about ending the racial disparities that exist today?" Kaine said.

The measure was adopted by voice vote during the Armed Services Committee markup last month, though not all senators agreed with the move. Senate Armed Services Chair Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) expressed consternation about the provision after its adoption, and argued local communities should have power to halt decisions to rename the federal installations.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who opposed the provision in committee, filed an amendment that would have undone the provision. But the amendment was not granted a vote on the Senate floor.