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Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the conference report for H.R. 1540, the National Defense Authorization Act. While this legislation is not without problems, it still provides the necessary resources and support to our men and women in uniform. As our nation winds down one war and continues to fight another, giving the troops the resources they need to succeed should be a top national priority. The legislation before us today accomplishes this important goal.
H.R. 1540 does the right thing and gives our service members a pay raise of 1.6 percent. It also ensures that we are taking adequate measures to protect our troops which are still in the theatre of combat by authorizing $2.7 billion for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicles, which protect our troops from improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Additionally, the legislation provides $3 billion for directly combating IEDs in Afghanistan, and increases the Abrams tank program by $255 million. All of these important increases will have a real impact on the safety and wellbeing of out troops overseas, and it would be irresponsible to not support this legislation because of that fact.
The provisions relating to military detention for foreign al-Qaeda terrorists has generated much discussion, and rightfully so. Any effort which deals with civil liberties and constitutional rights must be taken very seriously. H.R 1540 simply restates what has become law on this issue through court decisions and executive actions over the last 10 years. It provides for military custody for foreigners who are members of, or substantially supporting, al-Qaeda, but gives the president wide latitude to try any such suspect in civilian courts. Specifically, the president is granted the authority to issue a national security waiver to authorize a trial in civilian courts. The legislation also explicitly states that U.S. citizens are not subject to military detention, which is a vitally important safeguard. Finally, H.R. 1540 includes language to ensure that the FBI can continue with their investigations of terrorists on U.S. soil. While this language is certainly not perfect, I believe it strikes a fair compromise between national security and civil liberties as it simply restates what our policy has been over the last decade.
Decisions about war and our national defense should never be taken lightly, and this is especially true in this instance. This legislation makes the necessary investments to keep our troops safe and deserves to be supported.
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