Congress on Tuesday approved the 7 billion defense bill, with the Senate voting to pass the funding measure 91-3, following a 370-58 vote in the House last week.
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The president plans to send Congress a blueprint for fulfilling his campaign pledge to close the U.S. prison in Cuba. There were 240 prisoners at the prison, all accused or convicted of terrorist-related activities, at the start of Barack Obama’s presidency; 112 remain, 53 of whom are eligible for transfer to other countries if security conditions can be achieved. That has raised the ire of lawmakers, particularly these from the three states. Tim Scott (R-S.C.). “This is nothing short of gambling national security to keep a campaign promise”. Tim Scott, R-S.C., a opponent of closing the facility.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Obama would sign the bill because it includes provisions critical to protecting the United States.
“At this point, I would not take anything off the table in terms of the president doing everything that he can to achieve this critically important national security objective”, said Earnest, when asked whether Obama would act unilaterally. “That’s why I would expect that you would see the president sign the NDAA when it comes to his desk”, Earnest said.
In August, the Defense Department said it was checking out two military prisons in the country, one in Kansas and the other in SC, where prisoners not accepted by third countries could be sent.
Previous suggestions were that a few in the Senate wanted to revise the bill to open up more avenues for releasing Gitmo detainees, though this ultimately did not happen, and the White House seems to be totally fine with it, despite complaining for months about those restrictions.
Prisoners who have not had charges brought against them “should be released”, Fisher stated.
They argue that while the Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war, it gives the commander in chief the “exclusive authority to make tactical military decisions”.
Roberts isn’t convinced. “This isn’t a tactical option”. “As one of the oldest democracies, the United States of America should lead by example, by making it crystal clear that everyone has the right to a fair trial”.
Two Republicans who supported the measure to move terror suspects to the US from Guantanamo Bay were Kansas Representatives Mike Pompeo and Lynn Jenkins, who wanted Leavenworth prison guards to learn how to deal with terror suspects.
The Pentagon’s plan is expected to detail potential USA sites for the detainees including the Centennial Correctional Facility, a state prison in Canon City, Colorado, according to a U.S. official.
“The only argument we’ve heard from them is that they don’t want to face their constituents and they don’t want to be on the receiving end of a disingenuous, politically motivated attack ad”, said Earnest.
That bill also contains a provision prohibiting construction of any prison in the U.S.to house detainees.
The defense bill was trimmed by $5 billion to align it with the budget agreement.
-Authorizes $300 million for Ukraine forces fighting Russian-backed rebels, including $50 million for lethal assistance and counter-artillery radars.
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-Extends a ban on torture to the Central Intelligence Agency.
