House Armed Services Committee Kills Amendments on Gitmo Closure, Military Justice Reform

As the appropriations process moves ahead, the Armed Services Committee had its markup of the FY2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) last Thursday.

I wanted to highlight a few amendments in particular.

Guantanamo Bay Prison

Adam Smith (WA-09) offered an amendment to strike sections 1032 and 1033 of the NDAA.
Section 1032 prohibits the use of funds to construct a facility in the US to house the detainees at Guantanamo Bay prison.

Section 1032—Prohibition on Use of Funds to Construct or Modify Facilities in the
United States to House Detainees Transferred from United States Naval Station,
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba This section would prohibit the Secretary of Defense from using any of the funds available to the Department of Defense during the period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act and ending on December 31, 2015, to modify or construct any facility in the United States, its territories, or possessions to house any detainee transferred from U.S. Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for the purposes of detention or imprisonment in the custody or under the effective control of the Department of Defense.

Section 1033 prohibits the use of funds for the transfer or release of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay to the US or its territories.

Section 1033—Prohibition on the Use of Funds for the Transfer or Release of Individuals Detained at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba This section would prohibit the use of any amounts authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made available to the Department of Defense to be used during the period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act and ending on December 31, 2015, to transfer or release detainees at U.S. Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to or within the United States, its territories, or possessions.

The Committee killed the amendment 38-23. The NDAA will continue to block the use of funds for closure.

Only 1 Republican voted for it: Walter Jones (NC-03).
Six Democrats opposed it: Ron Barber (AZ-02), Pete Gallego (TX-23), Dan Maffei (NY-24), Mike McIntyre (NC-07), Loretta Sanchez (CA-46), and Shea-Porter (NH-01).
Tar Sands and Other Dirty Fuels

Mike Conway (TX-11) offered an amendment to exempt DOD from Section 526 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

Here is Section 526:

SEC. 526. PROCUREMENT AND ACQUISITION OF ALTERNATIVE FUELS.
No Federal agency shall enter into a contract for procurement  of an alternative or synthetic fuel, including a fuel produced from nonconventional petroleum sources, for any mobility-related use, other than for research or testing, unless the contract specifies that the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production and combustion of the fuel supplied under the contract must, on an ongoing basis, be less than or equal to such emissions from the equivalent conventional fuel produced from conventional petroleum sources.

Basically, the amendment is authorizing the use of tar sands oil and other carbon-intensive fuels by the Department of Defense.

It passed 33 to 28. The vote was party line with two exceptions. Republican Chris Gibson (NY-19) voted no, and Democrat Pete Gallego (TX-23) voted yes.

Military Justice

Jackie Speier (CA-14) offered two amendments.

The first amendment would give authority for prosecuting all serious non-military offenses to the Chief Prosecutor of the respective service, taking it outside the chain of command. This purpose mimics that of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s Military Justice Improvement Act.
It failed 13 to 49.

12 Democrats and 1 Republican supported it.

That one Republican was Walter Jones (NC-03).

The 12 Democrats were the following:

Ron Barber (AZ-02)
Andre Carson (IN-07)
Joe Courtney (CT-02)
Bill Enyart (IL-12)
Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02)
John Garamendi (CA-03)
Colleen Hanabusa (HI-01)
Hank Johnson (GA-04)
David Loebsack (IA-02)
Jackie Speier (CA-14)
Niki Tsongas (MA-03)
Marc Veasey (TX-33)

16 Democrats opposed it:

Madeleine Bordallo (Guam)
Bob Brady (PA-01)
Joaquin Castro (TX-20)
Jim Cooper (TN-05)
Susan Davis (CA-53)
Tammy Duckworth (IL-08)
Pete Gallego (TX-23)
Derek Kilmer (WA-06)
Jim Langevin (RI-02)
Rick Larsen (WA-02)
Dan Maffei (NY-24)
Mike McInTtyre (NC-07)
Scott Peters (CA-52)
Loretta Sanchez (CA-46)
Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01)
Adam Smith (WA-09)

The second amendment would give authority for prosecuting sexual assault-related offenses to the Chief Prosecutor of the respective service. This narrows the former amendment to cover only sexual assault, rather than all non-military offenses. It failed 28 to 34.

Three Democrats voted no: Susan Davis (CA-53), Loretta Sanchez (CA-46), and Adam Smith (WA-09).

Three Republicans voted for it: Mike Coffman (CO-06), Chris Gibson (NY-19), and Walter Jones (NC-03).

Final Passage

The Armed Services Committee being what it is, the final bill passed unanimously, 61 to 0, with a recommendation that the full House do so as well.