Press Release - Statement Of Congresswoman Lowey On Military Commissions Bill

STATEMENT OF CONGRESSWOMAN LOWEY ON MILITARY COMMISSIONS BILL

WASHINGTON, DC - Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey (D-Westchester/Rockland) issued the following statement on the Military Commissions bill the U.S. House of Representatives passed this evening.

"I support providing our military and law enforcement officials with the tools they need to catch terrorists and bring them to justice. It is an outrage that, five years after 9/11, not one person responsible for the attacks on our country has been brought to justice. Unfortunately, the Military Commissions bill passed by the House of Representatives today will not speed up this process.

"The Military Commissions bill endangers U.S. troops in the field by allowing the President to single-handedly reinterpret the Geneva Conventions, strips detainees of the basic right to have their cases heard in court, and creates an entirely new and untested appeals process for military commission cases.

"I supported a motion to provide expedited judicial review of the provisions in the Military Commissions bill to ensure terrorist prosecutions are not delayed further by endless legal challenges and to require reauthorization of the bill after three years. These were common-sense provisions, and I am disappointed that my Republican colleagues did not support them.

"This bill will not make us safer. It will undermine U.S. efforts to promote freedom and democracy around the world and may not pass constitutional muster."

http://www.house.gov/list/press/ny18_lowey/milcom092706.html