Press Release of Senator Cantwell

Cantwell Statement on Military Commissions Bill

Thursday, September 28,2006

WASHINGTON, DC – Thursday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) issued the following statement after the Senate’s approval of the Military Commissions bill (S. 3930). Cantwell voted against the bill.

“We must win the war on terrorism by being smarter and tougher, and by passing legislation that makes our troops more secure. I believe the bill passed by the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this month met this test. The legislation voted on tonight still has critical flaws.

“The legislation voted on by the full Senate will permit the Bush Administration to undermine the Geneva Conventions, broadly expand the definition of enemy combatants, allow for coerced and secret evidence and abandon habeus corpus. For more than three years, our ability to try terrorists has been hampered by the Administration’s refusal to abide by U.S. law. The provisions in this legislation may be once again deemed unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court, only further delaying our goal of bringing the terrorists to justice. “Short-term political goals should never come ahead of America’s long-term success in the war on terror.”