WASHINGTON, July 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate passed a sweeping bill setting policy for the Department of Defense on Thursday, setting up a showdown with legislation passed by the Republican-led House of Representatives with "culture war" amendments eliminating abortion rights and diversity protections.
The Democratic-controlled Senate passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, by 86 to 11, with strong support from both Democrats and Republicans.
The Senate's Democratic majority leader, Chuck Schumer, said the hard-right provisions in the House bill would not become law.
Democrats control only a narrow 51-49 seat majority in the Senate, but senators from both parties have said they do not want social issues to stand in the way of the defense bill becoming law.
The Senate passed dozens of its own amendments, including some addressing competition with China.
Persons:
Chuck Schumer, Schumer, Joe Biden, Patricia Zengerle, Sandra Maler, Diane Craft
Organizations:
U.S, Senate, Department of Defense, Republican, Democratic, National Defense, Republicans, Ukraine, White House, Thomson
Locations:
China