Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time. Three quick points. I think the difference here and the reason that I drafted my amendment to say ``just in the U.S.,'' I think is a legitimate point. Overseas we do not have the same control over the investigatory process that we have here domestically. There's a clear difference between dealing with someone here domestically. That's why in the last 10 years we haven't done anything other than try people here in the U.S. under Article III courts. We haven't needed military commissions. That's why I think we should take that power away from the President because it's an extraordinary amount of power to give him that isn't necessary. Overseas they are, in fact, taking away the options in this amendment and saying it has to be military tribunals. They are also saying that Article III courts are inadequate to do that when, in fact, they've done it repeatedly. The people who committed the bombing against the World Trade Towers in 1993 were captured overseas, brought back, and tried here in domestic courts. Article III courts work sometimes in these incidents. Their amendment takes those options away completely. I also point out that Guantanamo Bay is not an enormous facility. They already have 40 people waiting in line for military tribunals. Many more will backlog that. But I want to come back to my amendment that will come up later. Domestically, we have proven that Article III courts are more than adequate.…”