By JOSH GERSTEIN
The National Defense Authorization Act and its controversial provisions regarding detention of terror suspects passed the House of Representatives Wednesday night, 283-136.
The measure split Democrats right down the middle, with 93 voting in favor and 93 against legislation that President Barack Obama tactily endorsed earlier in the day by retreating from a veto threat. Though the bill passed handily just before 7:00 PM, there was a surprising amount of opposition from Tea Party faithful and other conservative GOP members, 43 of whom opposed the legislation. (A full roll call is posted here.)
"We have ensured that as we fight terrorists around the world, we also protect the civil liberties of Americans at home," House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) said in a statement issued minutes after the vote. The measure goes on to the Senate, where an earlier version of the legislation passed 93-7.
Meanwhile, civil liberties and human rights groups were in a furor Wednesday night over Obama's decision to drop his veto threat following changes made to the detainee-related sections of the bill.
"By signing this defense spending bill, President Obama will go down in history as the president who enshrined indefinite detention without trial in US law,” Kenneth Roth of Human Rights Watch said in a statement. “In the past, Obama has lauded the importance of being on the right side of history, but today he is definitely on the wrong side.”
(with Charles Hoskinson)
Read more about: Terrorism, House, Human Rights, Detainees, Civil Liberties, Indefinite Detention, Buck McKeon, Authorization For Use Of Military Force, National Defense Authorization Act, Law-Of-War Detention
The measure split Democrats right down the middle, with 93 voting in favor and 93 against legislation that President Barack Obama tactily endorsed earlier in the day by retreating from a veto threat. Though the bill passed handily just before 7:00 PM, there was a surprising amount of opposition from Tea Party faithful and other conservative GOP members, 43 of whom opposed the legislation. (A full roll call is posted here.)
"We have ensured that as we fight terrorists around the world, we also protect the civil liberties of Americans at home," House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) said in a statement issued minutes after the vote. The measure goes on to the Senate, where an earlier version of the legislation passed 93-7.
Meanwhile, civil liberties and human rights groups were in a furor Wednesday night over Obama's decision to drop his veto threat following changes made to the detainee-related sections of the bill.
"By signing this defense spending bill, President Obama will go down in history as the president who enshrined indefinite detention without trial in US law,” Kenneth Roth of Human Rights Watch said in a statement. “In the past, Obama has lauded the importance of being on the right side of history, but today he is definitely on the wrong side.”
(with Charles Hoskinson)
Read more about: Terrorism, House, Human Rights, Detainees, Civil Liberties, Indefinite Detention, Buck McKeon, Authorization For Use Of Military Force, National Defense Authorization Act, Law-Of-War Detention
