[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 72 (Friday, May 18, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E848]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2013

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                               speech of

                           HON. JIM McDERMOTT

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 17, 2012

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4310) to 
     authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2013 for military 
     activities of the Department of Defense, to prescribe 
     military personnel strengths for fiscal year 2013, and for 
     other purposes:

  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Chair, last year, Congress passed the National 
Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2012 that granted 
unprecedented powers to the president, including ability to 
indefinitely detain without trial American citizens suspected of 
terrorism. I strongly opposed this provision and voted against passage 
of the entire Act.
  On December 15, 2011, after the bill had passed, I spoke on the House 
floor condemning these dangerous and unnecessary measures. I was 
concerned that our civil liberties would erode if we leave the 
interpretation of the law to the commander-in-chief. As we continue our 
counter-terrorism efforts at home and abroad, we are leaving enormous 
leeway to the current president, the next president, and the president 
after that to gather intelligence and detain individuals without charge 
or trial.
  Today, government surveillance is more intrusive than ever. Congress, 
which once seemed poised to shut Guantanamo Bay, has instead passed 
bipartisan law after law ensuring its indefinite operations. In my 
district, the Seattle Police Department recently acquired surveillance 
drones, but no policies have yet been drafted to guide their use. It is 
not clear whether these drones will be used only to collect evidence on 
specific crimes or become an invasive, all-encompassing surveillance 
operation without proper oversight.
  This week, we're voting on the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013, and the 
House had an opportunity to challenge some of these far-reaching 
provisions in current law.
  Earlier this morning, I voted for the Smith-Amash amendment to the 
FY13 NDAA, which would strike Section 1022 of the FY12 NDAA and amend 
Section 1021 to eliminate indefinite military detention of those 
detained in the United States. In short, this amendment would 
explicitly ban any president or government official from ordering the 
military to place anyone in the country into indefinite detention 
without charge or trial. It also reaffirms due process protections for 
all persons within the United States.
  I am deeply disappointed that this bipartisan amendment did not get 
enough votes to be adopted into the FY13 NDAA.

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