The Senate on Friday voted for a continuing resolution to fund the government for six months, passed a non-binding resolution asserting America’s right to pursue more aggressive policies to deter Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, and rejected Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)’s bill to ban foreign aid to Egypt, Pakistan, and Libya.
The votes, which were cast late Friday evening, allowed the senators to take the weekend off and go back to their states to campaign for reelection even though the Senate has not adopted a budget. The Senate has also not laid the groundwork for how to avoid the looming fiscal cliff.
The stopgap funding bill passed in a 62-30 vote.
Senators rejected Paul’s bill to end foreign aid Egypt, Pakistan, and Libya in a 81 to 10 vote.
Paul had forced the Senate to vote on his bill by threatening for weeks to filibuster all pending legislation.
His bill would have denied aid to Pakistan unless the country released Dr. Shakil Afridi, who helped the CIA identify Osama bin Laden’s location in Pakistan, and to Egypt and Libya unless those countries released to U.S. authorities the Islamists who attacked the U.S. interests in those countries. by threatening for weeks to filibuster all pending legislation. His bill would have
Paul was also the only Senator to vote against the non-binding resolution on Iran.
The text of the resolution said, “nothing in this resolution shall be construed as an authorization for the use of force or a declaration of war,” But Paul voted against it anyway, saying “a vote for this resolution is a vote for the concept of preemptive war.”