Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said lawmakers have “spoken” on whether Guantanamo Bay detainees should be brought to the United States by passing two bills Tuesday that prohibit the move.
But the Nevada Democrat declined to say whether he would endorse an executive action by Obama to close the prison and transfer the terror suspects to the United States.
“Congress has done their job,” Reid told reporters who asked him about Obama’s possible decision this week to use executive authority to close the prison. “They have spoken on Guantanamo, and so, the president will do what he has to do. He has been sent a bill. He’ll determine whether he has any administrative authority to do anything different.”
The Senate voted 91-3 to pass the National Defense Authorization Act, which sets military policy and spending levels. The policy bill included a clause that prohibits the transfer of Guantanamo prisoners to the United States.
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The Senate also unanimously passed a second bill appropriating funds for military construction and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The measure includes a provision blocking “funding to construct, renovate or expand any facility in the United States to house terrorists currently detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.” Prison upgrades would be necessary in order to transfer any Guantanamo terror suspect to the United States, lawmakers said Tuesday.
President Obama signaled Tuesday that despite the Guantanamo Bay language, he’ll sign the Defense Authorization bill, which has now cleared Congress.
Obama has not announced plans to transfer Guantanamo Bay prisoners, but Republicans said such a move would counter polls that show the public overwhelmingly opposed to moving prisoners to the United States. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said such a move would be “completely out of step with the American people.”
Closing the prison, however, was a top 2008 campaign promise Obama said he wants to fulfill before leaving office. He’s so far not consulting Democrats on Capitol Hill, however.
“I think we are getting way beyond anything I have heard,” Reid said, when asked about Obama’s plans. “I talked to President Obama as late as yesterday and he never mentioned anything about Guantanamo.”
