11/17/2009 4:28 PM
ET
(RTTNews) -
The Senate Tuesday unanimously approved a $133.9 billion measure providing for military construction and veterans' benefits.
The bill includes $76.7 billion in discretionary funding, $1.4 billion in overseas contingency operations, and $55.8 billion in mandatory funding.
"We have done our best to address both the needs of the military and our veterans in this legislation," said Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D. "I remain committed to keeping our promises to our veterans and honoring them by ensuring they receive the care they deserve and require."
Though there was little doubt the measure would pass, Democrats were able to beat back a Republican attempt to insert language into the bill barring any of the funds from being spent to build a facility to house detainees now being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
That amendment failed by a vote of 43 to 57.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a long-time advocate of closing the Guantanamo prison, said the amendment was a transparent attempt to block the Obama Administration's efforts to close the facility.
"I find it shameful that Congress is being asked to help keep open a facility that has been a stain on our reputation throughout the world and has given ammunition to our enemies," Leahy said. "General Colin Powell was correct when he said, 'Guantanamo has become a major problem for America's perception as it's seen; the way the world perceives America.'"
He added, "These amendments undermine the good work the President is doing, and they make us less safe, not safer."
Arguing against the amendment on the Senate floor, Leahy said that adopting the amendment would send an ominous message to the world.
"This amendment would say to the world that we refuse to face what we did at Guantanamo and instead would continue the legacy of a place that was created in an effort to lock people up for years without charge and not face the consequences," he said. "This amendment would say to the world that we are not strong enough, that our over 200 year old superior legal tradition is not flexible enough, to allow us to deal with those who attack us."
Speaking separately, Attorney General Eric Holder Tuesday confirmed that a federal team had been dispatched to inspect an Illinois prison to see if it might be suitable for housing the detainees, although he said that he had not seen their report, nor had any decision been made.
A separate amendment offered by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., to strip funding for military construction projects to add funds for caregivers for disabled veterans was also defeated by a vote of 24 to 69.
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