Military funding and debt measures pass the House

Plus, Tokyo will recognize same-sex marriage. The NDAA and a measure to allow Democrats to raise the debt ceiling pass the House; Tokyo's governor says the city will recognize same-sex marriages. Tonight's Sentences was written by Ellen Ioanes TOP NEWS Congress gets closer on debt ceiling, NDAA Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images - Two essential pieces of legislation have come closer to passing Congress, with only weeks to go before the holiday break and the end of the year. However, both the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, and a plan to raise the debt ceiling must pass the Senate before President Joe Biden can sign them into law. [[Axios / Alayna Treene](] - Both bills have struggled to make their way in a sharply divided Congress, particularly the debt ceiling bill, which will set up a simple majority, filibuster-free vote to increase the debt limit and prevent the US from defaulting on its financial obligations. Republicans in the Senate have said for months that they would not support an increase in the debt limit without certain conditions — like a defined amount of increase — Democrats considered anathema. [[Politico / Burgess Everett and Olivia Beavers](] - But a provision in a bill preventing cuts to Medicare and other social programs allows the Senate to vote on whether it will allow a simple majority vote on the debt ceiling limit, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has expressed optimism that at least 10 Republican senators will vote in favor. Should it pass, Democrats have a clear path forward to raise the debt limit and keep the US from defaulting on its payments. [[WSJ / Andrew Duehren and Eliza Collins](] - “This is in the best interest of the country, by avoiding default,” McConnell said, adding that his chamber would vote on the measure Thursday. Should Congress not approve a measure to raise the $28.9 trillion debt ceiling, the Treasury has said that it will run out out of funds December 15. [[Reuters / Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell](] - As for the NDAA, which effectively outlines Department of Defense policy (funding will be approved in the annual omnibus spending bill), it has gone through months of delays, disagreements over amendments, and behind-the-scenes negotiations. The House version of the bill includes a pay bump for members of the military. [[NPR / Caitlyn Kim](] - An amendment requiring women to register for the draft was omitted, and another proposal outlining a major overhaul to the military justice system was greatly scaled back in the final version of the House bill. The bill also omits a repeal of that authorization for the use of military force that permitted the war in Iraq. [[Washington Post / Karoun Demirjian](] - The legislation includes a provision to create a commission investigating the failures of the war in Afghanistan. The bill is expected to pass the Senate without changes. [[WSJ / Lindsay Wise]](  [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Tokyo to introduce same-sex partnership system - Tokyo, Japan’s capital city, will introduce a system to recognize same-sex partnerships sometime in the next fiscal year, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike announced on Tuesday. The Japanese wire service Kyodo reported that the Tokyo local assembly unanimously voted in favor of the change. [[Reuters](] - Over 100 local governments have recognized same-sex marriage in Japan, and Tokyo will be the largest city to do so. Japan, as a nation, doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage, the only Group of 7 nation not to do so. [[France24](] - Koike did not offer details when she announced the decision at an assembly meeting on Tuesday. However, recognizing same-sex partnerships falls far short of full legal status, and it doesn’t offer legal protections like next-of-kin status for inheritance or access to government benefits. [[Bloomberg / Isabel Reynolds](] - This past March, a court in Sapporo declared it unconstitutional to bar same-sex marriage, saying that the constitutional definition of marriage as being between two people of opposite sexes infringes on LGBTQI’s constitutionally protected right to equality. However, [Prime Minister Fumio Kishida]( does not support same-sex marriage and has urged caution on the issue. [[BBC](] We write for the people Help keep Vox free by making your first-time contribution today to help us keep Vox free for all. [Give]( MISCELLANEOUS The January 6 House committee says it has “no choice” but to vote to hold former Trump aide Mark Meadows in contempt of Congress due his refusal to appear for a scheduled deposition. [[NYT / Luke Broadwater](] - 4.2 million Americans — about 2.8 percent of the workforce — quit their jobs in October. [[Washington Post / Eli Rosenberg](] - The US has announced an arms embargo on Cambodia due to China’s military influence on the Southeast Asian nation. [[Reuters / Simon Lewis and Doina Chiacu](] - Two Japanese self-paying tourists, fashion mogul Yusaku Maezawa and producer Yozo Hirano, reached the International Space Station Wednesday. [[AP](] VERBATIM “I will look you in the eye and tell you, as President Biden looked Putin in the eye and told him today, that things we did not do in 2014 we are prepared to do now.” [[National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Biden’s call with Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the threat of Russia invading Ukraine, as it did in 2014](] WATCH THIS How thousands of stranded migrants became a political weapon between Belarus's authoritarian president and the European Union. [[YouTube](] Read more from Vox [How much control should Apple have over your iPhone?]( [Germany’s new government has big plans. It might be a shock after Merkel.]( [What Amy Coney Barrett doesn’t get about adoption — and abortion]( [The hideous legal obstacles facing DOJ’s new anti-gerrymandering lawsuit in Texas]( [T]([h]([e enduring pop cultural obsession with nuns](  [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Manage your [email preferences]( or [unsubscribe](param=sentences). If you value Vox’s unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring [contribution](. View our [Privacy Notice]( and our [Terms of Service](. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Floor 11, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2021. All rights reserved.