i personally visited guantanamo in 2006. i left with a feeling of pride and admiration for the soldiers and sailors i had met who were working hard in a very difficult assignment. they are doing a great job. but they are asked to carry out a heavy burden created by a previous administration's policies. it is no favor to the men and women serving their to have them continue their service at guantanamo if in fact it is a recruiting tool for terrorists who are putting the lives of other servicemen and women of america at risk around the world. president obama is closing guantanamo because it would make america and our troops savored. what is a slap in the face is to continue policies from the previous administration that recruit more terrorists and put our troops at risk. senator kyl said and i quote, serious concern about the safety of americans, and of quote, if guantanamo is closed and detainee's are transferred to the united states to be held in super maximum prisons. now, i would just refer senator kyl to his colleague, se

no one's ever escaped from guantanamo. why should we feel pressure to support president obama's arbitrary deadline to close the facility when the administration has yet to offer a plan about where to relocate the terrorists? and where i would submit a case has not been made for closing this facility and locating those prisoners elsewhere. in fact, other countries told us they don't want them, with the exception of france, which offered to take one prisoner. and a new june 2 "usa today" poll that i talked about before shows that americans by a measure of 3-1 rejected bringing those terrorists to the united states. in his speech, senator durbin also made reference to the torture of prisons held -- of prisoners held by the united states and the treatment of some prisoners at guantanamo. regarding the treatment of guantanamo detainees, i think the record needs to reflect the following: the living conditions at the facility are safe and humane. this is a $200 million state-of-the-art facility that meets or exceeds standards of

i think guantÁnamo is a good facility.nistration made a mistake, i think, of the present issuing an order that he wanted to close it within a year and did not have a clue as to how to proceed, and now, they are having trouble, because they have to come up with a plan of some kind to allow them to achieve that objective. it is going to be hard. >> you mentioned the people at guantanamo bay right now as the worst of the worst. it is true that there are people who are the worst of the really, really really bad better already serving on u.s. soil. understanding the rationale that -- congressional delegations do not always get what they want. there is, obviously, and hearts and mind element to a war on terror, as such, and it would clearly be very unpopular among allies to close guantanamo bay, and i am wondering if you see any value as a benefit of closing its, and whether it is really impossible, given that we do have terrorists on u.s. soil who are serving in federal prison? >> well, i would not want to deal with that. i thi

within guantanamo. the mckhra which i newspapers did an -- the mcclatchey newspaper says guantanamo often produces more terrorists by rounding up low-level foot soldiers and men with no allegiance to radical islam. this newspaper found that -- quote -- "guantanamo became a school for jihad and an american madras. rear admiral mark bugsby said i must make the assumption there is a fully functioning al qaeda cell at guantanamo. senator kyl continues to claim that no one was abused at guantanamo and there is no connection between the abuses at abu ghraib and guantanamo. i would commend for his reading the senate armed services committee bipartisan report which reached a different conclusion. senator levin, the democratic chairman of the committee. senator mccain, the ranking republican of the committee found -- and i quote -- "secretary of defense donald rumsfeld's authorization of aggressive interrogation techniques at guantanamo bay was a direct cause of detainee abuse there. end of quote. they also conc

he believes guantanamo should be closed. they aren't alone.obert gates, secretary of defense under president bush and now under president obama, believes it should be closed. senator mccain on your side of the aisle has stated publicly that guantanamo should be closed. senator lindsey graham, on your side of the aisle, has stated publicly it should be closed. former secretaries of state have made the same statements. now, he is entitled to his point of view. i respect him for holding that point of view even if he doesn't have the support from the security and military leaders that i just mentioned. but to come to this floor and repeatedly say to the american people that we are in danger because we are trying terrorists in the coforts america -- in the courts of america i think goes too far. i think the president has done the right thing. i think they man, ahmed ghailani, should stand trial. if 12 innocent americans died -- and they did -- among 224 people, this man should be on trial. and i think the president was right to bring him to the cou

the guantanamo bay prison facility is closing. since the president has made that decision, we must know the facts to make informed decisions on the next step, my own view is that any trials or military commissions should be held on a military base far away from civilian population centers. madam speaker, much of the recent debate surrounding the closing of guantanamo bay has centered on a group of detainees from china who are members of the al qaeda-affiliated terrorist group known as etim. last month, i became aware eric holder, was planning on allowing these trained terrorists into the united states without, without informing this congress or the american people. "newsweek" magazine reported on june 1, quote, administration officials were poised in late april to make a bold steggetty move. they instructed the u.s. marshal service to prepare an aircraft and a special group to fly the detainees on flights from gitmo to northern virginia for resettlement. quote, in a conference call overseen by the national security council, justic

the release of transfer of detainees from guantanamo bay? >> yeah. i think i bear responsibility along with my other -- of the other cabinet members that makes up the principals committee but i think irme' primarily responsible, yes. >> they are looking at you to coordinate, at least, and file the consensus, set the agenda. the administration has released transfers from controversial figures already without any form of military commission or criminal trial. for example, on friday, the administration transferred zuhair to saudi arabia. he's allegedly responsible for the murder of william jefferson, a u.s. citizen and diplomat in 1995 planning a -- planting a car bomb in bosnia in 1997, and the involvement with the attack on the u.s.s. cole. do you a-- did you approve the release of zuhair to saudi arabia? >> i did as did the former administration. he was approved for release by the bush administration. the determination that we made was there was not sufficient proof to bring a case against him. and he was transferred, not released. transferr

guantanamo -- i think the president, as everyone here knows, cares very deeply about closing guantanamo, about ending torture. when you think of what he did when he came into office in terms of the early executive orders on saying no torture, closing guantanamo, looking at each of the detainees and figure out who could be transferred in released. what he has said very clearly is where practicable, he wants to try people in article 3 courts. that presumption on its own is a big change, and is working with the justice department very hard. there's a task force evaluating each detainee at guantanamo and determining who can be tried in an article 3 court, who can be transferred to another country, who can be released and transferred. there's a huge amount thought going into this. military commissions, he feels there is a place, and narrow place for them, but a legitimate role for military commissions in a time of war, but he has also made very clear that they need to be improved upon. there are a number of administrative changes that he has ordered that involve no introduction of evidence o

there's a dropdead deadline, would err going to close guantanamo bay, this is it. so this time next year we won't even need the guantanamo closure czar because it will be closed. and very clearly we're going to draw down our soldiers in the war in iraq. the president's shown leadership, whether you agree or disagree with him is for other times, but he's certainly become one who says there should be a dropdead date, an exit strategy. you i think it's important that this congress -- i think it's important that this congress, when you look at this massive increase in the executive department and we say to ourselves, they are not answerable to us except through the appropriations process, we can cut off the money, but other than that, they're answerable to the president. we had nothing to say about who got hired, we got nothing to say about what the duties were. this was the creation of the executive department and that would be the president of the united states and his staff. they owe this nation in some of these areas a time to get out. they say they don't want to u

not closing down guantanamo bay is the right thing to do. but i also wanted to talk about the points mr. lungren made about the miranda rights of prisoners. prior to 9/11, america generally treated acts of terrorism as breaking the law. the case in point, the 1993 bombing of the world trade center or the u.s.s. cole. these were not seen as act of war. therefore the perpetrator of those crimes got lawyers. they had miranda rights. they had all the courtesies of the u.s. government, the u.s. justice system. that is not what we need to be doing right now. after 9/11 we realized that these acts of terrorism weren't just technical but strategic acts of war and therefore we have moved over to let's treat soldiers as they are. war criminals. mr. lungren mentioned the assassins of abraham lincoln were tried by a military tribunal. it's the same situation when president roosevelt was president. we found six nazi spies onlyly -- on long island. and i believe five of them were executed, a sixth one cooperated. it was all through a military tribunal. wh

guantanamo, the president i think everybody here knows here's a very, very deeply about closing guantÁnamoout ending torture. i mean, when you think what he did when he came into office in terms of the early executive orders on saying no torture, i'm closing guantÁnamo. we are going to look at each of the detainees and figure out who can be transferred, who can be released. we want to try people on article three courts heard what he said very clearly is where practicable he wants to be trying people on article courts. and that presumption on its own is a big change and is working with the justice department is working very hard. there's a passport now that is evaluating each detainee at guantÁnamo and determining who can be tried in a article three court, who can be transferred to another country, can be released in transferred. and there's a huge amount of thought that is going into this. military commission's, he feels, is that there is a place, and now plays for them but there is a legitimate role for military commissions in a time of war, but he has also made very clear that they need

the is ministration -- you said guantanamo would be closed. the administration is moving to do this. president obama has indicated that some detainees may have to be have a -- may have to have prolonged detention. some cannot be tried for their crimes. are we meeting the goals beyond closing guantanamo if we bring detainees to the united states for what could be in definite retention? >> we are trying to make individualize determinations about what should happen to the people at guantanamo. some will be tried. some will be transferred. the possibility exists that some will be detained in a way that we think is consistent with due process to determine if they should be detained and how long the detention should occur should they continue to pose a threat to the united states. the president indicated the possibility that people could be placed in that category. it would only happen pursuant to a pretty robust to process procedure. >> there are some who might be retained indefinitely without due process? >> with the due process consistent with th

use the guantanamo bay would be closed. those who are cleared for release -- this is a good project -- good progress. the president has indicated some detainees may have to be held for prolonged detention because some detainee's to post significant threats cannot be tried for their crimes. are we really meeting to go -- the goals behind closing guantanamo bay if we simply bring detainee's to the united states for what could be indefinite retention? >> we are trying to make individualized determination about what should happen to the people presently held at guantanamo. some we think will go into a category where they will be tried in article 3 quarts or military commissions. some could be transferred or released. some could be in a third category where they will be detained in a way we think is consistent with due process, both in the determination as to whether or not they should be detained and with regard to periodic reviews. they continue to pose a danger to the united states. it's not clear there will be people in the

but you can't say that all 240 of the terrorists at guantanamo qualify for that. very few of them do as the president said in his remarks. but let me note some of these cases, the famous case of ramzi yousef. here is a case by michael mukasey, the former attorney general and i quote -- "-- this is quotation from "the wall street journal". the mastermind of the world trade center bombing and apparently testimony in a public courtroom about delivery of a cellphone battery was enough to tip-off terrorists still at-large that one of their communication links had been compromised. that link which had been in fact monitored by the government and provided enormously valuable intelligence was immediately shut down and further information lost. i'm not going to read the entire quotations here, but just some headlines. i mentioned the head line of gla moussaoui where sensitive material was leaked. here is the headline from a cnbc story, the said that, whoops, we gave moussaoui some downlts he should -- documents that he shouldn't have had. documents that government said sho

we treat people humanely and properly at guantanamo. people were mistreated in another prison called abu ghraib. they are not the same. and abu ghraib, therefore, does not represent the example of what we should be doing with respect to guantanamo. we'll have more debate on this subject. i note that the time is very short and i meant to leave time for my colleague from texas and i hope to engeaj my colleagues in further -- engage my colleagues in further conversation about this. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: i ask unanimous consent to speak as if in morning business for up to 15 minutes. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. corn con actually, madam president, i intend to speak on the underlying bill but because the bill manager is not here i think my remarks are just as appropriate here in morning business. madam president, i want to rise to offer my support as a cosponsor of the family smoking prevention and tobacco control act, the so-called f.d.a. regulation of tobacco bill that's current

i do not think the world is inflamed over the few detainees we have in guantanamo. i think that we need to be focused on the money we give israel and other issues i think are inflaming the muslim world, much more than guantanamo. host: glen falls, n.y., next up on the democrats' line. caller: this is the perfect segue to the previous caller. i would suggest viewers who are interested in why obama cannot follow through on his promise to put these people on trial revoke "the dark side," by jane mayer. i believe you had her on "q &a" one evening. we cannot put them on trial because the information we got was elicited by torture which is not illegal to use as evidence. obama came in with this great idea that he would be able to process these people. they cannot be processed because if they are what happens to them will be revealed. then they will not be able to be held accountable because illegal tactics were used to get the information from them. host: the underlying question is how much he should work for congress to implement his policies, and how much should he use

ensign: i recently had the privilege of visiting guantanamo bay. i went down there with senators barrasso, brownback and johanns. i would like to start out by saying how proud i am of the job of the men and women in uniform who are stationedded down there are doing. admiral dave thomas and his staff are doing an outstanding job and their efforts need to be recognized much these are the kind of individuals who make america great and who keep us safe. this was the type of facility where you don't have a true understanding of how well run it is until you go down there and see it in person for yourself. i would actually encourage our president to go down and see firsthand what guantanamo bay is really like, what the facility is like, how the prisoners are treated down there. as we are all aware, six months ago president obama set an a an arbitrary timeline of january of 2010 to close gitmo. it is now june and it appears he is no closer now than he was in this year's january in identifying what his plan is. we have still seen little more than political

questions included the future of the detention center at guantanamo bay. this is three hours. >> good morning, and i was talking with senator sessions just a couple minutes ago. like so many of us, he has to vote and another committee -- in another committee. i told him for a traditional opening, once we rise, we will yield to him. but he had no objection to was going ahead. i do welcome senator -- i do welcome attorney general eric holder back. i want to commend you, mr. attorney general, and your team for your hard work and your commitment to the task, the vital task of this country to restore the department of justice back to being the department of justice. we have all talked, both sides of the aisle, about the political manipulation that had occurred previously within the department of justice, particularly in its law enforcement civil-rights functions, that struck a devastating blow to the credibility of federal law enforcement. actually undermine the people's faith in our system of justice, something that if that happens in a democracy, it can be al

i believe that the closing of guantanamo is the right policy decision. the president believes that and the president has acted on that. it's an embarrassment to the country, it's a symbol that has really foemented a lot of opposition to the united states around the world. the continued existence of gitmo is a basic assault on our values and it undermines the success in our counterterrorism programs. president obama and i are not the only ones that believe this. secretary gates, admiral merl, the top defense officials agree that it should be closed as both president bush's secretaries of state and a variety of other bipartisan political officials. so this is a bipartisan position. we've already clearly communicated to the white house that they must submit a plan showing how they intend to proceed. the white house has agreed and i'm confident that their plan will show a reasonable path forward. the bill for us today -- before you today, mr. chairman, includes provisions to ensure that the congress will have sufficient opportunity to weigh in on that plan w

. >> let's move on to guantanamo. i agree with the analysis that's been made about that process. i chaired some subcommittees, and the chairman has authorized us to have some hearings on this, and senator feingold has already had hearings on long -standing detainees. as senator graham said, we need a fresh start in how we will deal with detainees. it is going to be an ongoing process. we need to engage the international community. we need to have better understanding from the international community as to what america is doing with regard to its detension policies as we try to lead internationally on human rights issues. so i would urge you as part of this process to be open and go beyond just our country in trying to get better understanding as to what we intend to do and the reasons why we are pursuing these policies. >> i think you are right, senator. i have made two trips to europe so far, and i have spent a good portion of both of those trips talking about the issue of guantanamo with our allies. the state department has a gentleman literally traveling the world to talk abou

. >> let me weigh in on the guantanamo bay issues. i must tell you i thank you very much for your comments as it relates placing due process in regards to those that are going to be detained and i agree with the analysis that was made by senator graham and others about that process. i chaired the terrorism subcommittee and we intend to have some hearings the chairman has authorized us to have some hearings in this -- and senator feingold has already had hearings in regards to the long term detainees. as you start -- as senator graham said, a fresh start in how we are going to with detainees, it is important that it be an open process and i would just urge us -- we need to develop what's right for america. but we also need to engage the international community 'cause we need to have better understanding from the international community as to what america doing in regards to its detention policies as we tried to lead internationally on human rights issues. i would urge you as part of this process to be open and go beyond just our countr

the detainees held at guantanamo bay are affiliated with the group. according to the detainees' sworn statement, many acknowledge they had trained at an etim training camp from june to november, 2001 and several confirm that the camp was run by abdul. . following the u.s. invasion of afghanistan in 2001, it's clear that involvement between etim and taliban increased. the leader was hasan mossam who led his men to support taliban and fight alongside them against the u.s. and coalition forces. on october 2, 2003, hasan mossam was killed by a pakistani army raid in south waziristan area of pakistan. additionally in 2008 al qaeda in afghanistan publication titled, quote, martyrs in times of alienation, end of quote, identified 120 martyrs, including five members who trained in tora bora who fought with the taliban in afghanistan against u.s. troops. one is reported to have been killed fighting u.s. forces in 2001 and hasan mossam confirmed prior to his death in 2003 that e tim members trained and fought with forces in afghanistan. in addition to their des

just last week, the president approved having a guantanamo detainee transferred to new york city and ordered the release and transfer of four uighurs to bermuda. the president appears to be racing to move these detainees to their new homes before congress can act substantively on the issue of closing guantanamo. during last week's conference meeting, mr. young, ms. granger and i offered several amendments. the first offered by ms. granger sought approval of the senate provision prohibiting the release of detainee photos. the second motion offered by mr. young insisted upon the higher house funding level for d.o.d. and milcon spending in this conference agreement. and the third motion, which i offered, insisted upon agreeing to section 202a and section 315 of the senate bill prohibiting the transferor release of guantanamo detainees. all three amendments were defeated in a party-line vote by the house conferees. as i prepare to close, let me make one additional point. much has been made about the total cost of this emergency supplemental. i note for the record that the final conferenc

get better understanding as to what good portion of both those trips talking about the issue of guantanamo with our allies. the state department has the gentleman did, literally traveling the world, to talk about this issue with other countries, so what we are trying to do is to make the world understand that we are trying a different approach. an approach i think is consistent with who we are as a nation and then i think will stop the ability of our adversaries to use guantanamo as a recruiting tool and i think rehabilitate some of the relationships with other countryings that have been frayed. >> i think you're off to a good start there. some of the things you already announced are helpful. we want to be supportive. as has been indicated on both sides of the aisle, there is support for which you are trying to do. the last point i want to bring up is some of my colleagues have already brought up that's the surveillance statutes. let me focus on the three that expire at the end of this year. again the terrorism subcommittee is going to do some work here. we have the loan wolf provisions, r

and the american people have remained in limbo whether the detainees from guantanamo will be transferred to the united states, and we got a letter last night finally on that. and the solutions that i think are dangerous. in march you said some detainees could be released in the united states. and a few days later the director of national intelligence expanded that some sort of public assistance is needed for them to start a new life. the american people need to know the plan and how you will protect the national security. i think you should have laid in the state's secret act and the media shield's law that is opposed by your predecessors and stood silent on bills such as the reauthorization of the patriot act. i think you need to take an action on many areas. mr. holder, i am disappointed and i am worried, i don't think that the american people are happy with the agendas we are seeing. i think these are serious matters and the office of legal counsel told you something that is not constitutional, and i am not happy you ignored that. and when told to keep these confidential, you said no.

issue would not be before us if the current president would commit to his closing guantanamo. that's creating this horrendous problem. setting all that aside, as i close, madam speaker, the bill before us or the item before us is an item that involves the conference that's about to take place between the senate and the house, having to do with the supplemental funding that was designed originally to give support to our efforts in afghanistan and iraq. . my consternation is that it appears as though we have setaside that bipartisan support for the convenience of the leadership. indeed we'll have a conference with the senate that involves two things. a significant reduction of about $5 million in the money available to support our troops. and above and beyond that for all intents and purposes, about that sum of money is transferred for foreign aid, for funding for i.m.f. providing access to all kinds of countries who are not friendly to the united states by way of funding that would be supported by our taxpayers. with that, madam speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the

do you agree that this guantanamo task force bears responsibility or the release of transfer from guantanamo bay? >> i think that i bear responsibility, along with others. i think that i have been responsible for it. >> the administration has released a controversial figures already. without any form of military commission or criminal trial. on friday there was a transfer of one detainee to saudi arabia, who is responsible for the death of william jefferson, planting a car bomb in 1997. >> it was approved for release by the bush administration, the determination was that there had not been sufficient proof. he was transferred, not released, where he was going to be subject to additional review and the re-education program that they have. >> was that based on a question of evidence that could not be utilized? in the stand that military intelligence showed that they were responsible for the death of william jefferson. was there evidence that you felt was inadmissible in terms of making this case? >> the determination that we made was that there was insufficient proof to tie him to those seriou

they've used watered-down language for the detainees at guantanamo bay.this is an issue that will continue to be of great concern to many of us as well as the american people. just last week, the president approved of having the guantanamo detainees transferred to new york city. the president appears to be racing to live -- to move these detainees to their new homes. during last week's conference hearing, i offered several amendments along with my colleagues. the first sought approval prohibiting the release detainees photos. the second insisted upon the funding level for dod spending. the third i offered to help with the prohibit -- prohibition of releasing the detainees. much has been made up the total cost of this emergency supplemental. the final conference agreement is $106 billion, which is $14 billion more than the president's request, $9 billion and the house bill and $50 billion more than the senate passed level. we have increased funding for everything in this bill except for the troops. arguments about maintaining some level of fiscal responsib

earlier this week, the president approved having a guantanamo detainee transfered to new york city. it's my understanding that that individual is in a facility around manhattanning and there are serious questions about the security of the facility. it's an inkling of the difficulties we have. i don't know how the courts will handle that case in new york. courts and the justice department have been known to do strange things from time to time. just this morning, the president ordered the release and transfer to have four uighurs to bermuda. bermuda is still part of the british empire. it would appear, i understand that that took place without discussion with the chinese and the chinese are a bit upset about this. it could lead to a trades problem between those two countries because of the circumstance. the president appears to be racing to move these detainees before congress should enact anything into law, including this bill, but indeed, the uighur problem is a reflection of the guantanamo commitment. before we can conclude today's conference, my house minority colleagues and i wou

as we all know, the montana signed the executive order to close guantanamo in january. more than four months later, there is still no evidence of a plan to carry out this order and no consultation with the congress. the senate bill included language which put in place a strict prohibition on transfers and releases of guantanamo detainees in the united states which passed by a vote, as i understand it, of 90-6. both the house bill and the current proposed conference language significantly weaken that restriction and would allow dangerous individuals to be brought to the united states. meanwhile, the administration is withholding information from the congress and the public and racing to move detainees before the will of congress can be put into law. on tuesday, ea suspected plotter of the bombings in africa arrived in new york for a trial. there's some indication he's being held somewhere near manhattan in a facility some people are concerned about, relative to its security. yesterday, the government of palau, announced it would accept some of the uighur detainees. press

we know the difficulty in commitment that the president has made in commitment to guantanamo. there have been problems implementing his commitment. i'm not sure of anybody who has real answers how we get through that. the earlier this week the president approved having a guantanamo detainee transfered to new york city. it is my understanding that that individual is at a facility somewhere around manhattan and there are some serious questions about this security of that facility. just an inkling of some of the difficulties we have as we go forward. i don't know how the courts are going to handle that case as we go forward in new york. the courts and justice department have been known to do strange things from time to time. just this morning the president ordered the relief of four uighers to bermuda. part of the british empire. it would appear i understand that took place without any discussion with the chinese and the chinese are just a bit upset about this and it could lead to a tre trades problem between those two problems because of the circumstance. the president appears t

they discussed the situation in iran, the future of guantanamo bay detainees and global climate change. the two leaders spoke for about 35 minutes. . . . . >> we had a very productive discussion in the oval office. chancellor merkel's does it is the latest chapter in the long partnership between our two countries. the service of our men and women in uniform is together during the long cold war and served today in afghanistan, the innovation of our entrepreneurs that helped sustain our economies, and the balance of friendship and trust between our people that are unbreakable. in recent months, i have come to appreciate these bonds. we have worked closely together at the g-20 summit in london, the nato summit, and the eu u.s. summit in prague. i admire her leadership and pragmatic approach to getting things done. she had the german people have welcomed me twice, during the day of summit, and again this month. i am pleased to return the hospitality today. the chancellor shows -- agrees with my belief that no nation can meet the challenges of today alone. the united states and germany will

guantanamo did not exist before 9/11. their work the african embassy bombings, the first world trade center bombings. terrorists have all kinds of reasons they do not like the united states. every time you say something is a recruiting tool, we say we will stop doing it. will we stop having been voting in this country? the culture where we take away women's rights? those radical islamists to not like those things about us. are we going to change our way of life to take away recruiting tool for them? >> it has been an issue among leaders in europe. >> big deal. the fact that some european leader -- they did not like the fact we invaded iraq and replaced saddam hussein. we decided it was in our best interest to do it, so we did. i don't think just because somebody in france says we think it's a bad thing you have a prison in guantanamo, my answer is what would you do with them question -- what would you do with them? france is willing to take one prisoner. >> on health care, republicans are talking about competition and mar

we are a better nation than the demagoguery we have been subjected to over guantanamo bay. thank you, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. towns: thank you, madam speaker. i would like to talk about the financial emergency facing the postal service. we must act now to correct this problem. the postal service lost nearly $2 billion in the second quarter. and expects to lose more than $6.5 billion in 2009. despite cutting billions in costs, it faces an unprecedented decline in mail volume due to the recession and the diversion of mail to electronic communications. uniquely, the postal service is supposed to pay $5 billion annually into the retirement benefits trust fund which is overfunded compared to similar companies. and law requires the postal service to shell out billions of dollars to pre-fund retirement benefits regardless

and reflects a bipartisan backlash against the idea of announcing a date for guantanamo while failing to provide a plan for what comes next. well, as i said at the beginning of my remarks, madam president, i ask unanimous consent the supplemental earmarks and unrequested congressional add-ons be made part of the record at this time. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. mccain: so in what the american people believe was a time of change, the american people now should know that it's business as usual. a combination of lobbyists, industry, campaign contributions, unnecessary spending is continuing completely out-of-control. this was a piece of legislation that was supposed to fund the wars in iraq and afghanistan. so now we add billions of dollars to things like cash for clunkers, unneeded and unnecessary and unwanted military equipment that are made in certain powerful members of congresses home state. it's not good. sooner other later, the american people will demand it comes to an end. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from california. mrs. bo

he spent seven and half years in guantanamo. he is considering suing the united states government for that time. does the obama administration think that people who have been freed from guantanamo deserve any kind of compensation? >> i would have to ask somebody at nsc what that involves. that has not been part of the discussions the have taken place here as it relates to the issues around the closure of guantanamo. >> on north korea, as the president or anyone been in touch with the former vice- president or about taking a role in helping to try to secure the release of the rich journalists? >> i can check. i have seen discussions about the news -- news reports, i should say, about different people that may or may not go, but i do not have anything to add. >> has the president talked about judge sotomayor? >> i do not think he has talked about her. i know that as a result of a tripping at la guardia, broke a small bone in her ankle. she flew to d.c. it was look at when she got here and she was advised to get x- rays, which she

i very much look forward to our future cooperation on guantanamo. germany has always come out in favor for closing down this facility. this has been a longstanding issue. we very purposefully at the time excepted one person who has in relation to germany. we also said that when there is a solution we will constructively contribute to it. there are talks going on with the minister of the interior with the american side. very intense discussions which we wish to continue. i am confident we will find a common solution. i believe a question from the american side may be. >> should i just pick on somebody? should i pick on somebody? jennifer got the microphone. >> it was handed to me so i will keep it. thank you, mr. president. he challenged on middle east peace. he challenged the parties today and yesterday to take actions, the israelis and palestinians, things that have been asked to do for years. they agreed to do but still today remain even more unwilling or unable to do them. what are your specific next steps to try to break the stalemate? why do yo

and initial review someone was brought into guantanamo, and we give them an annual status review. i'm not sure what else you're going to add to that. i'm willing to hear. but we are doing those things as senator graham has worked on to try to make them effective and appropriate under the case law and statutes of our country. you think with regard to the firearms question that the right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental right under the constitution? >> it's the second amendment right. >> it's a fundamental right. >> yes. the supreme court has indicated such. >> actually they haven't. it's a matter of some significance that in the heller case they simply held that the second amendment applied to the federal government. they footnoted that they weren't saying whether or not it applied and apparently the test is to whether it applies to the states is a question of whether it's a fundamental right. >> that's a good point. i need to go back to law school. you raise a very good point. >> second amendment will be eviscerated if it's not considered to be a fundamental right and made a

. >> with regard to guantanamo, we do give them now initial review, a throw initial review. we give them an annual status review. i am not sure what tells you are going to add to that. we are doing those things to try to make them effective and appropriate under case law and statutes of our country. with regard to this firearms' question, do you think that the right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental right under the constitution? >> it is the second amendment right. >> and it is a fundamental right? >> the supreme court has indicated as such. >> actually, they haven't. >> i'm sorry? >> they have not. it is a matter of some significance that in the heller case, they simply held that the second amendment applied to the federal government. the ft noted they were not saying whether or not it applied. the test is to whether it applies to the states and whether it is a fundamental right. >> it is a good point. i need to go back to law school. you raise a good point. >> the second amendment will be eviscerated if it is not considered to be a fundamental right and made applicabl

-- you said that the subject with the chancellor was guantanamo. [unintelligible] [unintelligible] >> i do not have it all in front of me. i think the european union put out a statement on this within the last 10 days. obviously, italy came here and said they are going to take three chinese. i think spain said that i think portugal has said that. i think there has been a lot of progress on this issue. some of it may not quite be getting out there to everybody. >> on health care, the president made it a point -- while he maintains it is still not his choice, would you say that he has an appreciation for the possibility that it is increasing? do you think it is totally up in there? >> the president said last night that it is the wrong way for us to go. he believes it is not the best way to do it. the president has outlined $950 billion in savings that he believes is a better way to go about it. part of the question was explaining what had been proposed in the campaign and what congress was talking about. but i think he is very clear about what he thi

attorney-general, at your confirmation hearing, he said at guantanamo would be closed. the administration has been making progress to accept the detainees that have been cleared for release. the recently began court proceedings for one detainee in new york. this is good progress. the president has indicated that some detainees may add -- may have to be held for prolonged detention because they cannot be tried for their crimes. are we really meeting the goals behind closed in guantanamo and simply bring detainees for what could be indefinite detention? >> what we try to do is make individualized determinations of what should happen to prisoners at guantanamo. some will be tried in federal courts are military commissions. some can be transferred or released. some will be in the third category were there will be detained in a way that is consistent with due process. the determination is not whether they should be detained, but also periodic reviews. they continue to pose a danger to the united states. the president indicated that people could be placed in that category but

they discuss the future of guantanamo and global china -- climate change. it is my pleasure to welcome angela merkel to the white house. we had a very productive discussion in the oval office. our country serve together in afghanistan. in recent months i have come to appreciate our partnership with chancellor angela merkel. i value her wisdom and her can or. i admire her for her leadership and pragmatic approach to getting things done. she and the german people have welcomed me to germany twice, during the nato summit and in dresden. today, i returned the hospitality. angela merkel shares my belief that soap -- no single nation can meet the challenges alone. the united states and germany, one of our closest allies an indispensable partner will continue to play a leadership role across a range of challenges. we are building on the steps we took at the g-20 summit. i underscore our commitment for strengthening financial regulations and i welcome the chancellor angela merkel. as we prepare for the g-8 summit in italy and look ahead to pittsburgh, we agree on t

he was captured by our forces, and others, in pakistan, in 2004 and transported to guantanamo. he is being charged with his involvement in the 1998 bombings of u.s. embassies in east africa which killed 224 people, including 12 americans. the position being taken by the republicans in the senate is that this man should not be brought to the united states for trial. i think they're wrong. i think it's time that he answer for the crimes that are being charged against him. 12 americans died. as a result of what we believe was his conduct. he needs to be held accountable. this argument that he can't be brought to the united states and tried would virtually allow this map to escape the punishment for the crime that we believe he committed. republicans' position that he should not be brought to the united states because somehow if he is being held in a prison in the united states it's a danger to the rest of us? that just cannot be supported in fact. there are 327 convicted terrorists presently being held in u.s. prisons and not one has escaped. in super max facilities, no one has ev

we are leading the work set up by the president to close guantanamo and to ensure that policies going forward for detention, interrogation and transfer of detainees live up to our nation's values. congress has expressed strong views on this subject in the supplemental appropriations bills an elsewhere. we will continue to work with the legislative branch to ensure that the appropriate disposition of individuals currently detained at the guantanamo naval base occurs. the department has developed and begun to implement a multipronged approach to confront the threat posed by the excan cartels and to continue the protection of our southwest border. addressing the southwest border threat has two basic elements. intradict and deter the crossing of contraband goods and confronting the largest organizations on the border. our strategy involves using federal prosecutor led task force that brings together federal, state and local law enforcements to identify, disrupt and dismantle the mexican drug cartels through investigation, prosecution and extradiction of their key leaders and facilitators

the president of the united states has indicated he thinks guantanamo ought to be closed. there is disagreement on that i understand that. but if it's going to be closed, a plan has to be affected for the purpose ever dealing with those who are at guantanamo. and the president is working on such a plan. the congress in both bodies made a determination until we have such plan we are not going to take action to facilitate that. that's what i think the conference agreement sets forth. and i think it sets forth the protections that can give the american people a confidence level. let me say something additional to the gentleman. i'm older than the gentleman. when i was a child approximately four or five years of age, i was living in texas. mexia, texas. my father, born in denmark, served in the u.s. army. he was in his 40's and went sent overseas. he was the finance officer at a p.o.w. camp in mexia, texas. it's a town of about 7,500 people. apparently then and now, i asked somebody about it just recently there, were 4,000 nazi troops in a p.o.w. campp there. they were kept th