Kelly Ayotte: “Senator McCain is absolutely right. It is outrageous that one provision that was a bipartisan provision is holding up…”

“Senator McCain is absolutely right. It is outrageous that one provision that was a bipartisan provision is holding up the authorization from coming forward when it addresses things such as pay raises for our military. It addresses services for our wounded warriors. It addresses military construction that is needed for our soldiers. Those are very important issues. To hold this up at a time when we are at war, at a time when our soldiers need to know we are fully behind them, does a huge disservice to our country. This is an issue that, if there are problems with the detainee issues, should be debated on the floor. The American people deserve to know. Guantanamo Director Clapper testified before the Intelligence Committee that the recidivism rate now is 27 percent for those reengaging in the battle, detainees whom we have released who are encountering our soldiers and our coalition partners, trying to harm Americans. So to not bring forward the Defense authorization bill, A, to help our soldiers and, most importantly, to do what is right for them, but also, B, to have a rigorous debate over this very important issue of protecting our soldiers from those detainees who have gone back and making sure we are protecting them and that we have a place to put those who are captured now, seems to me to be a disservice to this body and to our country. Mr. McCAIN.…”