CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS
Nov. 17, 2011 – 11:07 p.m.
Detainee Issue to Dominate Defense Debate
By Megan Scully, CQ Staff
Divisions over detainee policy set a contentious tone in the debate over the fiscal 2012 defense authorization bill, as Senate Armed Services Committee leaders shrugged off a vaguely worded veto threat and opposed Democratic efforts to strike or revise the terrorism-related language in the measure.
Armed Services Chairman
Detainee policy is one of many topics teed up for the floor debate on the authorization bill (
Amid calls for more debate on the detainee issue, the Senate pushed off roll call votes on the language and other amendments until the chamber returns the week of Nov. 28.
In anticipation of the floor fight over the detainee provisions, Armed Services Committee members have been locked in a back-and-forth with administration officials for weeks. On Nov. 15, the panel signed off on a revised bill that addresses some, but not all, of the White House’s concerns.
But administration officials remained unsatisfied and on Thursday threatened to veto any measure that “challenges or constrains the president’s critical authorities to collect intelligence, incapacitate dangerous terrorists, and protect the nation.”
In its Statement of Administration Policy, the White House charged that the detainee provisions “micromanage the work of our experienced counterterrorism professionals, including our military commanders, intelligence professionals, seasoned counterterrorism prosecutors or other operatives in the field.”
Administration officials remain particularly opposed to language that would require members of al Qaeda and its affiliates to be held in military rather than civilian custody, even though the bill allows for a waiver on national security grounds. During floor debate, Sen.
The administration’s primary concern is requiring military custody for terrorists captured within the United States — a move that the White House argued “would raise serious and unsettled legal questions and would be inconsistent with the fundamental American principle that our military does not patrol our streets.” The revision, the White House said, “merely directs the president to develop procedures to ensure the myriad problems that would result from such a requirement do not come to fruition.”
Levin and McCain defended the language in the bill and said they will continue to work with the White House on the matter. They also implored senators to read the language, calling into question statements made by Feinstein and other opponents of the provisions.
“We’ve gone a long way to address their concerns,” Levin said.
But opponents, such as Feinstein and Senate Majority Whip
Feinstein, who said the language amounted to an attack on the executive powers of the president, has drafted three amendments to address the matter, including one that makes clear the military cannot detain a U.S. citizen without trial until the end of hostilities. Feinstein said she still is working with the administration on a larger amendment that would strike the detention provisions and replace them with proposals from the executive branch.
Detainee Issue to Dominate Defense Debate
Sen.
To address another core White House concern, Feinstein and Udall proposed separate amendments applying the military custody requirement in the bill to only those terrorism suspects captured overseas.
F-35 Fight Recedes
On the expected F-35 amendment, McCain said he was still awaiting a briefing from the Defense Department on the stealth fighter before finalizing language to address the problems with the program, which will replace older aircraft in the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps fleets.
But McCain said he is considering offering an amendment to the Pentagon policy bill that would require Defense officials to report back to Congress on the Marine Corps variant of the fighter, which has been placed on a two-year probation because of cost and schedule problems.
Should McCain take that route, he would significantly walk back his early attempts to kill the program if its price tag remained 10 percent or more above the target cost after Dec. 31, 2012. That amendment was rejected in a tie vote during the committee’s closed-door markup in June.
The F-35 program, which has jobs spread across more than 40 states, enjoys widespread support on Capitol Hill, making any effort to put restrictions on it that could ultimately lead to its termination a difficult legislative battle.
In its statement, the White House also objected to the committee’s decision to not authorize any funding for the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS), an international program with Germany and Italy. The lack of an authorization could cause the United States to withdraw from the MEADS memorandum of understanding with those countries, which could force the Defense Department to pay all contract costs.
The administration also opposes the committee’s decision to add $240 million to the M-1 Abrams tank program for “unneeded upgrades” and $200 million to the Rapid Innovation Program.
“The administration believes the amounts appropriated in FY 2011 and requested in FY 2012 fully fund DoD’s requirements in these areas,” according to the statement.
Amendment on Chaplains, Marriage
The defense authorization bill also was expected to provide a vehicle for a debate on gay marriage. But at least one amendment filed so far appears to signal that Senate Republicans may not push too hard on the issue.
The amendment, sponsored by Sen.
Detainee Issue to Dominate Defense Debate
The Pentagon recently changed its policy to allow, but not require, military chaplains to perform gay marriages, an outgrowth of the repeal (PL 111-321) of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law (PL 103-160) that banned openly gay people from serving in the military.
Leahy and Sen.
The language has the backing of at least 67 senators, but it has drawn opposition from Levin and McCain, as well as the six current members of the Joint Chiefs.
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader
Frank Oliveri, Eugene Mulero and Niels Lesniewski contributed to this story.