National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019

Floor Speech

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Mr. LEE. Mr. President, I wish to speak for a moment about an amendment I offered, the Due Process Guarantee Act amendment. This is based on a bill Senator Feinstein and I have introduced together. It has one purpose: to protect American citizens and lawful permanent residents on U.S. soil from being apprehended here and indefinitely detained.

In Federalist No. 84, Alexander Hamilton appropriately referred to arbitrary unlawful imprisonment as one of the favorite and most formidable instruments of tyrants. If our country is to make sure that it avoids this mistake, our country needs to undo a decision that was made in section 1021 of the National Defense Authorization Act passed by this body for fiscal year 2012, which is still in effect today.

This amendment does one thing, and it is very simple. It simply says that if you are a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident, you may not be indefinitely detained on U.S. soil without trial, without charge, without access to a jury or to counsel. These are not radical concepts. These are simply fundamental American concepts. These are concepts required by the Constitution itself.

It is not too much to ask to suggest that we should have a vote on this year's National Defense Authorization Act, given that it was a National Defense Authorization Act passed 7 years ago that put this in place to begin with. In the following Congress, a virtually identical version passed by a supermajority vote of 67 votes. For reasons I have never been able to understand, it was stripped out in the conference committee later.

Today we have the opportunity to undo the wrong that was placed into law then. We must prohibit indefinite detention of American citizens apprehended on U.S. soil. That is what this amendment does.

We should be voting on it. We should not be blocked from getting a vote. I, therefore, implore you, with all the energy I am capable of conveying, to vote no on this motion to table.

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Mr. LEE. Mr. President, this bill does not apply to people apprehended outside the United States. It does not apply to you at all if you are not a U.S. citizen or a lawful resident on U.S. soil at the time of your apprehension. This should not be controversial. This, in fact, is made noncontroversial by the Constitution itself.

I urge you to vote no on this motion to table.

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