Political Quotes

“I have none. Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the remaining time. Mr. Speaker, at the end of my remarks I will insert in the Record a Statement of Administration Policy on this bill, but first I would just highlight a couple of points. {time} 1245 The administration strongly opposes House passage of H.R. 4870, as it now stands--and so do I--for a number of reasons. I want to highlight one. There are provisions in this bill that make it difficult, if not impossible, for the President to close down Guantanamo. Let me read from the administration's statement in reference to some of these restrictive provisions that prevent them from shutting down something that I think does nothing to enhance our security: Operating the detention facility at Guantanamo weakens our national security by draining resources, damaging our relationships with key allies and partners, and emboldening violent extremists. These provisions are unwarranted and threaten to interfere with the executive branch's ability to determine the appropriate disposition of detainees and its flexibility to determine when and where to prosecute Guantanamo detainees based on the facts and circumstances of each case and our national security interests. There are other issues as well, but that is something that Members ought to know. This bill does contain these extraneous provisions.…”