Lawmakers on Capitol Hill, faced with a deadlock on the massive 2020 defense policy bill, are weighing a stripped-down version of the measure that would punt on some of the most divisive issues, including money for President Trump’s Mexico border wall.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman James M. Inhofe, Oklahoma Republican, confirmed Thursday that he is preparing a “skinny” version of the National Defense Authorization Act. The temporary military budget agreement is set to expire next month.

The National Defense Authorization Act is traditionally the vehicle for Congress to weigh in on a host of military and security-related issues while setting the budget guidelines for the year ahead. Mr. Inhofe said in a statement that top Democrats and Republicans on the House and Senate armed services panels have made “good progress” but “haven’t yet reached a final agreement.”

“A skinny bill is not a substitute for a full bill, but it might be a necessary next step if we don’t reach an agreement soon,” Mr. Inhofe said.

But Rep. Adam Smith, the Washington Democrat who chairs the House Armed Services Committee, criticized the idea of a skinny 코인카지노 bill and said there was no reason the two chambers couldn’t produce a bill, aside from Mr. Trump’s effort to tap Defense Department funds for the wall.