GOP Accuses Democrats of Delaying Spending Bill Over Guantánamo Fears
Roll Call Staff
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House Republicans are charging Democrats with delaying a conference committee on a spending bill out of fears of a GOP attempt to stop the transfer of prisoners from Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.), ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, said in a statement late Monday that conference committee negotiations on the Commerce, Justice and science appropriations bill had been delayed because Democrats were afraid of a Republican motion to ban the transfer of Guantánamo Bay prisoners to the United States for trial.
“The transfer of Guantanamo detainees into the U.S. is a dangerous, expensive, and unnecessary risk that the American people are not willing to take,” Lewis said. “By postponing the CJS conference negotiations today, Democrat leaders are disregarding the will of American citizens who do not want hardened terrorists housed in U.S. prisons and tried in civilian courts.”
Democrats called the charge “ridiculous.”
“To say that it was delayed over anything is ridiculous because it was never scheduled,” a Democratic aide said. “The House has not appointed conferees.”
The Republican move comes days after the Obama administration announced plans to bring suspected terrorists to New York City for trial.
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