Senate sends defense policy bill to Obama, again

[mystery-ak]

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/senate-sends-defense-policy-bill-to-obama-again/article/2576006


Senate sends defense policy bill to Obama, again
By Charles Hoskinson (@cehoskinson) • 11/10/15 11:41 AM

The Senate on Tuesday sent the annual defense policy bill back to President Obama amid a dispute over closing the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, that may determine its fate.

The House passed the revised legislation on Thursday.

Obama vetoed the bill Oct. 22 in a dispute over Pentagon funding that was resolved by a budget deal late last month. But the White House continues to object to language that would effectively bar him from closing the prison before he leaves office, as he has vowed to do.

The budget deal left the Pentagon with $5 billion less than Obama requested and Congress voted to authorize, which military officials had said was the bare minimum they needed to keep up with operational needs and many lawmakers had said was the least they would accept.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest has stopped short of delivering a new veto threat over the Guantanamo issue. Instead, officials are hinting that Obama may use executive action to close the prison if Congress balks.

The "focus of our efforts right now is on Congress," he said Monday, but added: "I'm not aware of any ongoing effort to devise a strategy using only the president's executive authority to accomplish this goal. But I certainly wouldn't, as I mentioned last week, take that option off the table."

The bill, which must be enacted every fiscal year, authorizes defense programs, including a 1.3 percent increase in military pay. It also contains important policy changes that have broad bipartisan support, such as provisions to overhaul military retirement, benefits and acquisition practices, along with an outright legal ban on torture in detainee interrogations.

It also requires the president to submit a plan to Congress for the closure of the prison and the safe handling of its remaining 112 detainees, which Earnest said would be presented "relatively soon."

[mystery-ak]

http://thehill.com/policy/defense/259680-white-house-expects-obama-to-sign-defense-bill

White House expects Obama to sign defense bill

 By Jordan Fabian - 11/10/15 01:22 PM EST

President Obama is expected to sign an annual defense policy bill even though he opposes language that hampers the closure of the Guantanamo Bay military prison, an aide said Tuesday.

“There are a number of provisions in the [National Defense Authorization Act] that are important to running and protecting the country,” press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters. “That’s why I would expect you will see the president sign the NDAA when it comes to his desk.”

Obama’s decision to sign the $607 billion legislation “does not reflect a change in our position” on closing the Guantanamo Bay prison, Earnest said.

“We have long expressed our disappointment at the repeated effort by Congress to impede the closing of the prison at Guantanamo Bay,” he added. “The president believes closing that prison is a national security priority.”

The Senate passed a revised version of the NDAA on Tuesday with a veto-proof majority.

Obama vetoed the original bill, largely over concerns it used an extra $38 billion in war funding to skirt spending caps. But the president signed a bipartisan, two-year budget deal last month that resolved the spending fight by raising both defense and non-defense funding.

Some observers, however, believed the president could veto the latest version of the measure over restrictions on transferring detainees out of Guantanamo Bay.

The White House is expected to present a plan to Congress in the coming days to close the facility, a long-unfulfilled Obama campaign pledge.