Yesterday, Nov. 29, 2012, at 10:05 p.m. (EST), the United States Senate passed an amendment to address the most repugnant part of the notorious National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2013 — the authorization of the federal government to arrest and indefinitely detain U.S. citizens without charge or trial.
The purpose of Amendment No. 3018 to S. 3254 is “To clarify that an authorization to use military force, a declaration of war, or any similar authority shall not authorize the detention without charge or trial of a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States.”
Towards that purpose, a section is added at the end of subtitle D of title X of the NDAA law, to read:
Section 1032. Prohibition of the Indefinite Detention of Citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents
Section 4001 of title 18, United States Code, is amended … by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
“(b)(1) An authorization to use military force, a declaration of war, or any similar authority shall not authorize the detention without cause or trial of a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States, unless an Act of Congress expressly authorizes such detention.
“(b)(2) Paragraph (1) applies to an authorization to use military force, a declaration of war, or any similar authority enacted before, on, or after the date of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013.
“(b)(3) Paragraph (1) shall not be construed to authorize the detention of a citizen of the United States, a lawful permanent resident of the United States, or any other person who is apprehended in the United States.”
[Source: Amendment No. 3018, in PDF]
The amendment was sponsored by Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif), and has 17 co-sponsors:
- 9 Democrats: Chris Coons, Frank Lautenberg, Kirsten Gillibrand, Jon Tester, Tim Johnson, Sheldon Whitehouse, Max Baucus, Mark Begich, John D. Rockefeller.
- 7 Republicans: Susan Collins, Mike Lee, Rand Paul, Mark Kirk, Dean Heller, Jim DeMint, Jim Webb.
- 1 Independent: Bernie Sanders.
The amendment passed 67-29 (4 not voting).
Can you believe that 29 senators (25 Republicans; 3 Democrats; 1 Independent) actually voted “no” on this amendment? That means these 29 senators actually are in favor of the arrest and detention of U.S. citizens without charge or trial!!!!
Here’s a list of the senators who voted “Nay” or “No,” followed by a list of those who voted “Yea” or “Yes”. Republicans are colored red; Democrats are colored blue. [Source: United States Senate]
Nay (25 Republicans, 3 Democrats, 1 Independent):
- Ayotte (R-NH)
- Brown (R-MA)
- Burr (R-NC)
- Chambliss (R-GA)
- Coats (R-IN)
- Cochran (R-MS)
- Cornyn (R-TX)
- Grassley (R-IA)
- Hatch (R-UT)
- Hutchison (R-TX)
- Isakson (R-GA)
- Johanns (R-NE)
- Johnson (R-WI)
- Kyl (R-AZ)
- Lieberman (ID-CT)
- Lugar (R-IN)
- Manchin (D-WV)
- McConnell (R-KY)
- Nelson (D-NE)
- Portman (R-OH)
- Pryor (D-AR)
- Roberts (R-KS)
- Rubio (R-FL)
- Sessions (R-AL)
- Shelby (R-AL)
- Thune (R-SD)
- Toomey (R-PA)
- Vitter (R-LA)
- Wicker (R-MS)
Yeas (46 Democrats, 20 Republicans, 1 Independent):
- Akaka (D-HI)
- Alexander (R-TN)
- Barrasso (R-WY)
- Baucus (D-MT)
- Begich (D-AK)
- Bennet (D-CO)
- Bingaman (D-NM)
- Blumenthal (D-CT)
- Blunt (R-MO)
- Boozman (R-AR)
- Boxer (D-CA)
- Brown (D-OH)
- Cantwell (D-WA)
- Cardin (D-MD)
- Carper (D-DE)
- Casey (D-PA)
- Coburn (R-OK)
- Collins (R-ME)
- Conrad (D-ND)
- Coons (D-DE)
- Corker (R-TN)
- Crapo (R-ID)
- DeMint (R-SC)
- Durbin (D-IL)
- Enzi (R-WY)
- Feinstein (D-CA)
- Franken (D-MN)
- Gillibrand (D-NY)
- Graham (R-SC)
- Hagan (D-NC)
- Harkin (D-IA)
- Hoeven (R-ND)
- Inhofe (R-OK)
- Inouye (D-HI)
- Johnson (D-SD)
- Kerry (D-MA)
- Klobuchar (D-MN)
- Kohl (D-WI)
- Landrieu (D-LA)
- Lautenberg (D-NJ)
- Leahy (D-VT)
- Lee (R-UT)
- Levin (D-MI)
- McCain (R-AZ)
- McCaskill (D-MO)
- Menendez (D-NJ)
- Merkley (D-OR)
- Mikulski (D-MD)
- Moran (R-KS)
- Murkowski (R-AK)
- Murray (D-WA)
- Nelson (D-FL)
- Rand Paul (R-KY)
- Reed (D-RI)
- Reid (D-NV)
- Risch (R-ID)
- Sanders (I-VT)
- Schumer (D-NY)
- Shaheen (D-NH)
- Snowe (R-ME)
- Stabenow (D-MI)
- Tester (D-MT)
- Udall (D-CO)
- Udall (D-NM)
- Warner (D-VA)
- Webb (D-VA)
- Whitehouse (D-RI)
Note that more Republican senators voted AGAINST than FOR the amendment (25 v. 20), whereas more Democrat senators voted FOR than AGAINST the amendment (46 v. 3).
The GOP truly is dead.
See also:
- “Why the GOP won’t challenge vote fraud” on the Consent Decree or agreement the Republican National Committee made in 1982 with the Democratic National Committee, which obliged the RNC to neither prevent nor rectify vote fraud in districts with a substantial racial minority population.
- “Rubio opposes independent investigation of Benghazi.”
UPDATE (Dec. 1, 2012):
The Senate’s passage of this amendment is generating a lot of buzz on the Internet, with some being troubled by the qualifying phrase “unless an Act of Congress expressly authorizes such detention” in what some call the amendment’s key sentence, (b)(1):
(b)(1) An authorization to use military force, a declaration of war, or any similar authority shall not authorize the detention without cause or trial of a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States, unless an Act of Congress expressly authorizes such detention.
However, the amendment qualifies (b)(1) with (b)(3), which leaves out the phrase “unless an Act of Congress expressly authorizes such detention”:
(b)(3) Paragraph (1) shall not be construed to authorize the detention of a citizen of the United States, a lawful permanent resident of the United States, or any other person who is apprehended in the United States.
This, however, begs the question of why have (b)(1) in the first place, if (b)(3) then qualifies it by leaving out the “unless an Act of Congress” phrase? Why not strike out (b)(1) altogether?
To further confuse matters, Michael Kelly of Business Insider contends that the amendment actually makes it EASIER for government to detain U.S. citizens indefinitely.
H/t Sage_brush for the Business Insider tip.
~Eowyn
