National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012

Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I wish to thank my colleagues, Senators Graham and Levin, and particularly Senator Feinstein for working so hard to come to an agreement on section 1031. I was concerned that the United States would, for the first time in the history of this country, with the original language, authorize indefinite detention in the United States. But we have agreed to include language in this bill with the latter amendment that makes it clear that this bill does not change existing detention authority in any way.

It means the Supreme Court will ultimately decide who can and cannot be detained indefinitely without a trial. To this day, the Supreme Court has never ruled on the question of whether it is constitutional to indefinitely detain a U.S. citizen captured in the United States. Some of my colleagues see this differently, but the language we have agreed on makes it clear that section 1031 will not change that law in any way. The Supreme Court will decide who will be detained; the Senate will not.

I ask unanimous consent to be added as a cosponsor to the second pending amendment by Senator Feinstein.

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