[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 196 (Monday, December 19, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2316]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 1540, NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR 
                            FISCAL YEAR 2012

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. HENRY A. WAXMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 14, 2011

  Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I will vote for H.R. 1540, the National 
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, because it contains a 
number of important advancements. I am extremely disappointed, however, 
that we were unable to achieve more in our effort to change U.S. policy 
on the treatment of detainees.
  H.R. 1540 contains a number of areas of progress, including a pay 
increase for our troops, important new protections for military 
personnel who are victims of sexual assault, concrete requirements for 
the Department of Defense to strengthen its audit-readiness, and 
increased cooperation with Israel on ballistic missile defense. In 
addition, it contains the toughest sanctions yet on the Central Bank of 
Iran to pressure the Iranian regime from continuing its pursuit of 
nuclear weapons. And, it blunts the defense spending increases of past 
years with significant cuts that are consistent with the end of the war 
in Iraq and the winding down of our involvement in Afghanistan.
  When the House first considered H.R. 1540 earlier this year, I voted 
against it because of its misguided language on detainees. The bill's 
provision for military detention of American citizens was simply 
antithetical to American values. I joined with nearly three dozen 
Members of Congress in urging that the language on detainees be removed 
from the final version of the legislation.
  I commend President Obama for insisting on a number of improvements, 
including a prohibition on military detention of U.S. citizens and 
lawful residents, the removal of language that would have banned the 
use of civilian courts to prosecute Qaeda suspects, and the elimination 
of language that would have provided an expanded authorization for the 
use of military force.
  For these reasons I will vote for H.R. 1540. I will closely monitor 
the law's implementation, however, and press for further changes that 
are needed to protect our civil liberties and the rule of law, which 
Americans have fought to preserve at such great cost.

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