Today in Washington D. C. - May 12, 2009

Senate will resumes consideration of H.R. 627 - a bill to place restrictions on credit card companies.

The NRCC will be airing an ad linking Arkansas Rep. Vic. Snyder to supporting of the funding for Rep. John Murtha's pork ladened John Mutha Airport in Pennsylvania. What did Arkansas or Vic Synder get in return? "ABC News says 800,000 of Snyder’s wasteful spending went to re-pave a runway at a Pennsylvania airport that only has three flights a day. The airport averages just 20 passengers a day, but one of those customers happens to be powerful Democrat John Murtha." This is the same airport that has been mentioned by MSNBC and CBS and related news on FBI investigations of Rep. Murtha. The NRCC ad identifies that "Snyder’s voted for Nancy Pelosi’s wasteful 787 billion dollar spending plan. Snyder’s been voting with Pelosi 97% of the time. It's unbridled power with no accountability."

National Security / GITMO: It’s been almost four months since President Obama’s hasty order to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, but the administration still does not have any plans for what to do with the dangerous detainees housed there. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid seemed to acknowledge that even Democrats believe this to be the case, saying on the floor yesterday that money to close Guantanamo would be included in this year’s supplemental appropriations bill, but “it wouldn’t be available until the president came up with a plan.”

Yet Americans have gotten nothing but “vague assurances” from the administration that whatever "they" plan to do with these detainees will "not" make Americans “less safe,” as National Security Advisor Jim Jones said on Sunday. Even some democrats also seem frustrated with this approach. A “knowledgeable Senate Democratic aide” told Roll Call, “The White House completely dropped the ball on this, has given us no cover, and Members don’t know what to say.” This comes on the heels of Democrats in the House simply stripping funding to close Guantanamo from the appropriations bill.

Though Attorney General Eric Holder has spent more time discussing the issue with leaders of foreign governments than members of Congress, even those government don’t feel like the Obama administration has given them enough information about the detainees or the legal questions surrounding them. Stars and Stripes reports, “Germany’s interior minister says the United States must answer some key legal questions before his country considers accepting detainees from Guantanamo Bay.” The German interior minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, had some familiar questions for the administration: “‘First of all, can it definitely be ruled out that these people are not a security threat?’ he asked. ‘Secondly, why can the U.S. not take on these people? And, thirdly, do these people have any relation to Germany at all?’”

Speaking on the floor today, Sen. McConnell said, “I can’t think of a congressional district in America that would welcome terrorists. Local communities want the administration to explain how transferring or releasing detainees won’t make them ‘less safe’. And the American people want the administration to explain its plans to their elected representatives in Congress.” Are there any Congressman out there wanting these prisoners? Well there is Rep John Murtha (D-PA) who could use them to sweep his John Murtha Airport. Murtha has said that he would be willing to house the enemy combatants in his Pennsylvannia congressional district (PA-12): "Sure, I'd take 'em," Murtha told a reporter. "They're no more dangerous in my district than in Guantanamo." What do your constituents want Murtha?

Holder has yet to respond to two letters sent to him by the ranking member on the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), asking whether he has the legal authority to release some detainees into the United States. Nor has Holder responded to letters from Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) asking about potential transfers of detainees to Alexandria, Virginia. The administration has not explained itself in any of these areas, but it continues to press ahead with an arbitrary deadline for closing Guantanamo when Democrats, Republicans, and even foreign government officials can see there are no plans on what to do with the terrorists housed there.

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Tags: Arkansas, Barack Obama, Gitmo, John Murtha, Nancy Pelosi, national security, Pennsylvania, US Congress, US House, US Senate, Vic Snyder, Washington D.C. To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!