DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has passed a $612 billion defense policy bill that President Barack Obama has threatened to veto.

The vote was 71 to 25.

The bill includes a 2.3 percent pay increase for U.S. servicemen and -women. It also calls for arming Ukraine forces fighting Russian-backed separatists, prevents another round of base closures and makes it harder for Obama to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The White House opposes the way the bill skirts congressional spending limits and increases money for defense by padding an emergency war-fighting account that is exempt from the caps. The Obama administration argues that if Republicans want to break through spending caps on defense, they should do so for nondefense spending, too.