Heinrich, Lujan Vote NO on Defense Authorization Act

Martin Heinrich

Yesterday Representatives Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan voted against H.R. 1540, the National Defense Authorization Act. Congressman Steve Pearce voted for the bill. This is the legislation that authorizes appropriations for the fiscal year 2012.  Lujan made no mention of the vote on his website while Congressman Heinrich objected to a requirement that suspected foreign terrorists would be taken into custody by the military instead of civilian law enforcement authorities. Heinrich said, "This would deny civilian law enforcement authorities the flexibility necessary to conduct effective interrogation, detention, and prosecution." 

Steve Pearce

Congressman Steve Pearce had a different take on the bill. “The National Defense Authorization Act funds our military and extends support to our troops,” said Pearce. “There has been some confusion about the terms of this legislation. The bill does not, in fact, give the military the right to detain U.S. citizens indefinitely. Instead, the language of the bill explicitly states that U.S. citizens do not fit the criteria for who can be detained by the military. In the event that a U.S. citizen was arrested on suspicion of terrorist activities within the U.S. or on the battlefield in Afghanistan, they would go to civilian court, and face criminal charges.

Ben Ray Lujan

However, if an al-Qaeda member is detained on the battlefield in Afghanistan, then they can be held by the military indefinitely as an enemy combatant, or until they go before a military tribunal.” H.R. 1540 passed the House of Representatives yesterday despite opposition from Lujan and Heinrich.

Heinrich, Lujan Vote NO on Defense Authorization Act