Beyond the debate over the 1872 law is the question of whether a measure blocking the Administration's decision belongs in an emergency spending bill.
Senators completed work last week on an emergency spending bill, but it is vastly different from the House legislation approved today.
Nearly half, or $14 billion, of the $27 billion emergency spending bill would go to the Pentagon.
The emergency spending bill, once it makes its way through the Senate and is signed by the President, would make money available immediately.
The measure, an amendment to an emergency spending bill, would require the Navy to commit the money within 30 days.
The Democrats were trying to attach their proposals as amendments to an emergency spending bill.
He emphasized that the next emergency spending bill must be one "to end the war."
Congress approved an emergency spending bill to keep the Government in business through midnight on Monday.
Two years ago, he won changes in a vehicle-emissions law by attaching the amendments to an emergency spending bill.
It was the biggest emergency spending bill ever sought by a president.