House rejects allowing Gitmo transfers

The House on Wednesday defeated a proposal to do away with the current prohibition on transferring Guantanamo Bay detainees to the U.S.

Rep. Jerry Nadler’s (D-N.Y.) amendment to the annual appropriations bill for the Justice Department went down on a vote of 170-256.

The spending measure, which is expected to pass Wednesday evening, contains a provision that prohibits the use of funds for transferring or releasing prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. 

{mosads}Nadler also offered an amendment to strip a separate provision that bans funds from going toward constructing or modifying any facility in the U.S. to house Guantanamo Bay detainees. But it was rejected on a voice vote.

The New York Democrat said that the detainees – who have not been formally convicted of terrorism charges – should be tried in the American judicial system for their crimes, noting that all kinds of criminals have gotten due process in the U.S.

“This leads me to believe that some of my colleagues do not believe in the American system of justice. They do not trust our American courts to do justice. I do not understand why,” Nadler said.

“The only thing my friends who oppose closing Guantanamo have on their side is fear,” he added. 

But Republicans said that foreign terrorists detained at the Guantanamo Bay facility don’t deserve legal rights offered by the Constitution.

“Mr. Nadler wants to extend the protections of this Constitution to the killers and psychopaths who have killed so many Americans overseas,” said Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas).

President Obama first pledged to close Guantanamo upon taking office in 2009, but has encountered opposition on Capitol Hill. 

Obama has threatened to veto the underlying bill due to what it views as insufficient funding levels. The White House also cited the Guantanamo Bay provisions in detailing its opposition to the measure.

Tuesday’s vote marks the second time in a month that the House has turned down proposals to move toward closing Gitmo. In May, lawmakers rejected an amendment to the annual defense authorization to close the Guantanamo Bay facility by the end of 2017.