Published on Tuesday, November 29, 2011 by the Associated Press
Senate Keeps Controversial Detainee Policy in Defense Bill
How did your Senators vote? Roll call below...
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Tuesday rejected an effort to strip divisive provisions from a defense bill that deal with the capture and handling of suspected terrorists, setting up a showdown with the White House.
A US Army guard opens the gate at Camp Delta at Guantanamo Naval Base in Guantanamo (AFP/Mark Wilson) The resounding 61-37 vote sent a strong message to the Obama administration, which has threatened a veto of the bill over the requirement of military custody for captured terror suspects and limitations on the ability to transfer detainees from the naval prison at
It also exposed deep divisions within Senate Democratic ranks.
“The provisions would dramatically change broad counterterrorism efforts by requiring law enforcement officials to step aside and ask the Department of Defense to take on a new role they are not fully equipped for and do not want,” said Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., who added that the legislation would make the military “police, judge and jailer.”
His amendment would have taken out the sections on detainees and instead called for congressional hearings with Pentagon and administration officials on the issue.
Defending the provisions, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin argued that they contain a national security waiver for the administration. The issue has pitted Levin against other senior Democratic senators, including the chairmen of the Intelligence and Judiciary committees.
“Should somebody when it’s been determined ... to be a member of an enemy force who has come to this nation or is in this nation to attack us as a member of a foreign enemy, should that person be treated according to the laws of war? And the answer is yes,” said Levin, D-Mich.
The bill would require military custody of a suspect deemed to be a member of al-Qaida or its affiliates and involved in plotting or committing attacks on the
“We’re fighting a war, not a crime,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and FBI Director Robert Mueller have spelled out their opposition in letters to lawmakers. Mueller said Monday that because the legislation applies to people detained in the
Mueller also described the waiver as too cumbersome, requiring that it be obtained from the defense secretary in consultation with the secretary of state and the director of National Intelligence with a certification to Congress.
The vote came shortly after the weekly Republican and Democratic policy luncheons. A guest at the Republican session was former Vice President Dick Cheney, an advocate for harsh interrogation tactics against suspected
The sweeping defense bill would authorize $662 billion for military personnel, weapons systems, the wars in
Earlier this month, Armed Services Committee investigators found about 1,800 cases of suspect counterfeit electronic parts being sold to the Pentagon, with lawmakers blaming
The Senate also rejected an amendment by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., that would have ended the authority for using force in
After nearly nine years of war, some 13,000
| Question: On the Amendment (Udall (CO) Amdt. No. 1107 ) | |||
| Vote Number: | 210 | Vote Date: | November 29, 2011, 02:35 PM |
| Required For Majority: | 1/2 | Vote Result: | Amendment Rejected |
| Amendment Number: | S.Amdt. 1107 to S. 1867 (National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012) | | |
| Statement of Purpose: | To revise the provisions relating to detainee matters. | | |
| Vote Counts: | YEAs | 38 |
| | NAYs | 60 |
| | Not Voting | 2 |
| YEAs ---38 | | |
| Akaka (D-HI) | Franken (D-MN) | Nelson (D-FL) |
| NAYs ---60 | | |
| Alexander (R-TN) | Grassley (R-IA) | McCaskill (D-MO) |
| Not Voting - 2 | | |
| Begich (D-AK) | Murkowski (R-AK) | |
© 2011 Associated Press
Source URL: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/11/29-8
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