Hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee - Executive Business Meeting, Victims of Child Abuse Act Reauthorization, OLC Memos on Detainee Transfer

Hearing

Mr. Chairman, there's only one legislative item on the agenda, S. 1799, the Victims of Child Abuse Act. I believe we can report it today by a voice vote. But before we do, I'd like to make a few points.

This program has been effective in preventing vulnerable crime victims. Child advocacy centers reduce the likelihood of exposing victims of child abuse to further trauma. They also assist law enforcement in developing a case against perpetrators of these terrible crimes.

I am pleased that the sponsors have included four measures to enhance accountability to the taxpayer by the recipients of these funds. I have authored these provisions in each of the recent grant reauthorization bills the Committee has taken up in recent years. I will continue to insist on ensuring that taxpayer funds are not wasted or misused.

I will support reauthorization of the program.

Next, Mr. Chairman, I'd like to take a couple minutes to speak about a letter I sent to the Attorney General last week regarding the White House's disregard for its legal obligations before it released the Taliban detainees.

I'm going to speak at greater length on the floor regarding my letter, and regarding the Kadzic nomination, but I want to summarize some concerns this morning.

In short, this administration's approach to fulfilling its obligations regarding congressional oversight has been abysmal. And, in my view, the administration's fidelity to the law has been just as lacking, as we've most recently seen when it totally ignored its legal obligations under Section 1035 of the National Defense Authorization Act before they released five of the worst Taliban detainees being held at Guantanamo.

So, on June 5, I wrote to Attorney General Holder and requested that he provide all opinions, analyses, and legal conclusions that it reached regarding the lawfulness of the release of the five senior-level Taliban fighters.

We need to know what legal justification the Justice Department formulated that authorized this administration to proceed with an action that so clearly violated Section 1035 of the NDAA.

I'm also very troubled by the shifting justifications that the White House has offered publicly since the releases. We know that the administration sought legal advice from the Justice Department prior to moving forward with this plan. That was one of the first public disclosures the administration made. And yesterday, Secretary Hagel confirmed this fact in his testimony before the House Armed Services Committee when he said that the Defense Department had received legal advice from OLC.

So, I want my colleagues to understand how crucial I think it is that the administration provide Senators with the legal justification it received from the Justice Department. It needs to provide any OLC opinions, memos, or analyses it depended on to justify breaking the law and ignoring Section 1035.

So, as I stated, I'm going to be speaking at greater length about our need for this OLC advice, and the Kadzik nomination. But I wanted my colleagues to know that in my view, the Kadzik nomination embodies this administration's approach to its obligations to Congress. And it would be inappropriate for the full Senate to proceed with the Kadzik nomination before the Justice Department produces the relevant OLC materials.

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