Sen Reid:Money To Close Guantanamo Seen Added To War Funding Bill
By Corey Boles, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The U.S. Senate is likely to include funding for the
closure of Guantanamo military prison in a bill to fund the wars in Afghanistan
and Iraq, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Monday, but the use of
the money will be contingent on the Obama administration spelling out its policy
toward the inmates held there.
Reid said that while final details were still being ironed out, Senate
Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, had told him this was
how he intends to proceed.
In order to access the money, the administration would have to make clear what
it intends to do over the prisoners currently incarcerated at the prison,
located at a U.S. military base in Cuba.
Reid said that as part of the probable Senate policy, none of the prisoners
would be brought onto U.S. soil in the current federal government fiscal year,
which expires on Sept. 30.
Obama requested $80 million to pay for the costs related to closing the
facility last month. The amount of money isn't significant in the context of the
cost of the wars, but has proven to be a politically charged issue.
He asked for $100 million for the same purposes in his detailed budget
released last week.
Congressional Democrats support the president's goal of closing the camp,
reversing one of the most controversial policies of the Bush administration. But
the exact future of the inmates is a point of contention.
The funding is likely to be included in a bill to fund the wars in Afghanistan
and Iraq as well as other international assistance programs. Details of the bill
are expected to be released by the Senate this week.
Last week, the House Appropriations Committee approved its $96.7 billion war
funding bill that didn't include money for the closing of the military prison.
It added a requirement that the administration report back to Congress as to
what its policy will be for the relocation of the inmates at Guantanamo.
The House and Senate would have to iron out the differences between the two
bills in a conference after both chambers complete their considerations of the
legislation.
The Guantanamo funding issue has provoked considerable ire by Republicans who
have attempted to score points of the issue.
-By Corey Boles, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6601; corey.boles@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
05-11-091558ET
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