NBC: Senate, House to Clash Over Military Bill

Kinda interesting how almost all of the Senate voted for this ... I
wonder what will happen in the house ... I hope McCain doesn't cave in
on this .. it will be interesting to see if Hastert has guts .. or not
... I know Joe must be real happy with this




http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051006/ap_on_go_co/congress_detainees


By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer

48 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The Senate faces a confrontation with the House over a
$440 billion military spending bill that, despite White House
opposition, would impose restrictions on the treatment of terrorism
suspects.

Delivering a rare wartime slap at Pentagon authority and
President Bush, the GOP-controlled Senate voted 90-9 on Wednesday to
back an amendment that would prohibit the use of "cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment" against anyone in U.S. government
custody, regardless of where they are held.

Sponsored by Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record), R-Ariz., the
proposal also would require all service members to follow procedures in
the Army Field Manual when they detain and interrogate terrorism
suspects.

"This amendment strives to establish uniform standards for the
interrogation of prisoners and detainees as a means for helping ensure
our service men and women are well trained, well briefed, knowledgeable
of their legal, professional and moral duties and obligations," said
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn.

The Senate was expected to vote on the overall spending bill by week's
end. The House-approved version of it does not include the detainee
provision. It is unclear how much support the measure has in the
GOP-run House.

However, Rep. John Murtha (news, bio, voting record) of Pennsylvania,
the top Democrat on the House Appropriations subcommittee on defense
and a supporter of the measure, could prove a powerful ally when House
and Senate negotiators meet to reconcile differences in their bills.

And the House could face immense pressure after such a mandate by the
Senate. All but nine Republicans voted in favor of the legislation.

Sen. Ted Stevens (news, bio, voting record), R-Alaska, said he was
concerned that McCain's legislation could inadvertently endanger the
lives of people who work in classified roles, and he hoped to fix the
potential problems in the final bill.

"There are some changes that have to be made if we are going to be
faithful to those people who live in the classified world," Stevens
said.

The rebuke by members of the president's own party shows how reluctant
some lawmakers are to give him unchecked wartime power as the conflict
in Iraq drags on and U.S. casualties mount. It also comes as Bush
seeks to show strength after weeks in which his approval rating
plummeted as Americans questioned the direction of the war, the
sluggish federal response to Hurricane Katrina and the surge in gas
prices.

Bush administration officials say the legislation would limit the
president's authority and flexibility in war, and advisers say they
would recommend a veto of the spending bill if the prisoner provision
is included in the version that goes to his desk.

However, Bush has never vetoed a bill, despite threats, and scrapping a
measure that provides money for pay raises, benefits, equipment and
weapons for troops while the country is fighting wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan would open the president to a flood of criticism.

The Senate also approved, by voice vote, an amendment by Sen. Lindsey
Graham (news, bio, voting record), R-S.C., that would distinguish
between a "lawful enemy combatant" and an "unlawful enemy combatant,"
and put into law the procedures for prosecuting them at the Navy's
Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba.

Lawmakers increasingly started calling for Congress to provide U.S.
troops with clear standards for detaining, interrogating and
prosecuting terrorism suspects after allegations surfaced of
mistreatment at Guantanamo Bay and the abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib
prison in Iraq.

"We demanded intelligence without ever clearly telling our troops what
was permitted and what was forbidden. And when things went wrong, we
blamed them and we punished them," said McCain, a prisoner of war in
Vietnam.

Republican supporters say U.S. troops interrogating terrorism suspects
do not know which techniques are allowed. "We have let the troops down
when it comes to trying to give them guidance in very stressful
situations," said Graham, an Air Force judge for 20 years.

But Sen. Jeff Sessions (news, bio, voting record), R-Ala., called the
legislation unnecessary. "We do not have ... systematic abuse of
prisoners going on by our United States military," he said.

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