There is much good in a defense spending bill approved overwhelmingly by the U.S. Senate on Tuesday. For example, the measure specifically bars President Barack Obama from closing the prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

At the same time, the bill, approved 85-13, is one more example of how politicians make spending balloon – while reducing the military’s effectiveness.

One stipulation in the bill is a blanket rejection of the Pentagon’s proposal to close more military bases. Why? No one in Congress wants to explain to the folks back home why a base in their state, possibly providing a substantial number of civilian jobs and a boost to the local economy, is going away.

But it happens – and in most situations, it should. The Navy’s decision a few years back to close its communications center at Sugar Grove, W.Va., is an example. The facility no longer served the purpose for which it was built.

Trimming unnecessary defense spending for everything from unneeded bases to superfluous weapons systems is difficult enough without politics in the picture. Senators should reconsider that section of the bill before sending it to the president for his signature.