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A Vote Against FY 2012 Defense Reauthorization Bill
Posted by
on
December 16, 2011
On Wednesday, December 14, 2011, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1540, FY 2012 Defense Authorization Bill. As a member of the Committee on Homeland Security, I am well aware of the threats that face this nation from home and abroad. We must remember the very values and basic rights that set us apart from those who would seek to destroy us. H.R. 1540 contains an indefinite detention provision, which allows our military to detain suspected terrorists, foreign and domestic, indefinitely and with limited ability for redress. It has been reported that if enacted, the detention provisions would codify authority for indefinite detention without charge and mandatory military detention, authorizing their application on the basis of suspicion to virtually anyone picked up in the anti-terrorism efforts; including those arrested on U.S. soil. These provisions undermine the right of Habeas Corpus, which has been a part of our legal tradition since the Magna Carta. This bill does fulfill the promise of American democracy. I could not support this bill.
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