Republicans To Push For Changes In Authorization Measure
National Desk
June 17, 2009
Democrats and Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee are likely to fight today when they mark up an annual authorization bill for the nation's intelligence community -- possibly over provisions related to congressional notification of intelligence activities and the transfer of detainees from the military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the United States.
Republicans were huddling late Tuesday to review a mainly Democratic-drafted version of the FY10 intelligence authorization bill and to plot their strategy for offering amendments during a closed-door markup today.
Intelligence ranking member Pete Hoekstra said he expects a series of GOP amendments, adding that "development of the bill has been a very partisan process."
"Right now, it's a mark that we probably can't support," Hoekstra said. "Hey, it's a partisan bill."
Republicans are upset over language in the bill dealing with how intelligence agencies and the White House brief congressional intelligence committees, a GOP aide said.
Republicans argue that Democrats are trying to give political cover to House Speaker Pelosi by writing procedures under which all members of the Intelligence committees would be briefed.
GOP lawmakers instead want language put in the bill that would better guarantee that all committee members are briefed. They say such language was put in the FY09 intelligence authorization bill and should be resurrected. The FY09 bill never passed Congress.
But Republicans argue that Democrats are writing new notification language so they can claim they are acting in response to a recent blow-up involving the CIA and Pelosi, when she was the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee.
Pelosi said she was not briefed in the fall of 2002 that a terrorism suspect in CIA custody had been waterboarded.
Pelosi said the CIA informed her that it planned to use other harsh interrogation techniques, but she was prevented from informing other Intelligence Committee members.
Hoekstra said Republicans also were discussing offering amendments placing restrictions on the ability of the Obama administration to bring detainees at Guantanamo Bay to the United States. He declined to offer details.
"We're going through that right now and I don't want to get out in front of my members," he said.
Republicans have gained traction in recent weeks over the detainee issue. The issue has been a contentious point of negotiations in the FY09 war supplemental bill in Congress.
And House Republicans successfully amended the FY10 Homeland Security spending bill to prevent detainees from being brought to the United States until an assessment is done on whether doing so would create any risks.
Asked for comment, a spokeswoman for Intelligence Chairman Silvestre Reyes said, "The committee isn't going to comment on leaked information pending a markup."
Republicans were huddling late Tuesday to review a mainly Democratic-drafted version of the FY10 intelligence authorization bill and to plot their strategy for offering amendments during a closed-door markup today.
Intelligence ranking member Pete Hoekstra said he expects a series of GOP amendments, adding that "development of the bill has been a very partisan process."
"Right now, it's a mark that we probably can't support," Hoekstra said. "Hey, it's a partisan bill."
Republicans are upset over language in the bill dealing with how intelligence agencies and the White House brief congressional intelligence committees, a GOP aide said.
Republicans argue that Democrats are trying to give political cover to House Speaker Pelosi by writing procedures under which all members of the Intelligence committees would be briefed.
GOP lawmakers instead want language put in the bill that would better guarantee that all committee members are briefed. They say such language was put in the FY09 intelligence authorization bill and should be resurrected. The FY09 bill never passed Congress.
But Republicans argue that Democrats are writing new notification language so they can claim they are acting in response to a recent blow-up involving the CIA and Pelosi, when she was the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee.
Pelosi said she was not briefed in the fall of 2002 that a terrorism suspect in CIA custody had been waterboarded.
Pelosi said the CIA informed her that it planned to use other harsh interrogation techniques, but she was prevented from informing other Intelligence Committee members.
Hoekstra said Republicans also were discussing offering amendments placing restrictions on the ability of the Obama administration to bring detainees at Guantanamo Bay to the United States. He declined to offer details.
"We're going through that right now and I don't want to get out in front of my members," he said.
Republicans have gained traction in recent weeks over the detainee issue. The issue has been a contentious point of negotiations in the FY09 war supplemental bill in Congress.
And House Republicans successfully amended the FY10 Homeland Security spending bill to prevent detainees from being brought to the United States until an assessment is done on whether doing so would create any risks.
Asked for comment, a spokeswoman for Intelligence Chairman Silvestre Reyes said, "The committee isn't going to comment on leaked information pending a markup."
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