On the recordOctober 18, 2011
The minority leader is absolutely right. I would add to my good friend from Kentucky, it is even more. It is not just about us. What we are denying General Petraeus, the new CIA Director, is new authorization language that he needs to fight the war. What we are denying men and women in uniform is pay raises, health care benefits they desperately need because of the detention policy driven by, I think, the most liberal people in this country, and 25 out of 26 Senators blessed this package. Senator McConnell is absolutely right. Not only does the Senate not have a say on what would be the way forward for our detainees, the men and women in uniform, the CIA operatives taking the fight to the enemy do not have the tools they need because of one area of this legislation. It would be a national tragedy if we could not pass this bill, which is sound to its core in all areas, because the ACLU doesn't like what we have done on detention.
