Democrats thwart GOP bid to stop Gitmo transfers

House Democrats Thursday gave the Obama administration some wiggle room in how to deal with foreign combatants and suspected terrorists housed at the military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Democrats pushed through the final version of the fiscal 2010 Homeland Security spending bill, which allows detainees to be brought to the United States for trial. In a procedural move, Republicans offered a motion to recommit the conference bill in an effort to block detainees from being brought to the country for prosecution.

House Appropriations Committee ranking member Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., said the detainee language in the bill was a "last-minute mystery insert" by Democrats.

Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman David Price, D-N.C., led opposition to the GOP move. "This motion to recommit will dissolve our conference and kill the bill," he asserted.

Democrats defeated the GOP motion, 224-193, even though 88 Democrats voted for similar language two weeks ago.

Under the bill, detainees could be brought to the United States for trial "only after Congress receives a plan detailing: risks involved and a plan for mitigating such risk; cost of the transfer; legal rationale and court demands; and a copy of the notification provided to the governor of the receiving state 14 days before a transfer with a certification by the Attorney General that the individual poses little or no security risk."

The language would prevent detainees from receiving any immigration benefits. It would place their names on the U.S. no-fly list.

Notably, the bill, which was approved 307-114, would allow the Defense Department to prevent the release of detainee photos. The department could exempt photos from Freedom of Information Act disclosure requests.

The House-Senate conference version of the spending bill includes several immigration-related provisions. It rejected language approved by the Senate that would have required the Homeland Security Department to build 700 miles of double-layered reinforced fencing along the Southwest border.

The conference bill dropped Senate-passed language requiring employers to take action against employees if there was a discrepancy between the information they provided and Social Security databases.

But the legislation does extend for three years the E-Verify program that enables employers to verify the legal status of their workers. The agreement allocates $137 million for the program.

And it allocates $1.5 billion specifically for Homeland Security to find and deport illegal immigrants who have committed serious crimes.

On other matters, the bill authorizes Homeland Security to continue its security regulations for chemical security plants for one year.

Regarding major operating components, the bill allocates $10.1 billion for Customs and Border Protection, $5.4 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and $7.7 billion for the Transportation Security Administration.

The department would dole out about $4.2 billion in state and local grants in fiscal 2010, nearly $300 million more than requested by the administration.

Other highlights include: $800 million for border security fencing, infrastructure and technology; more than $1 billion to buy and install explosives detection systems at airports nationwide; and about $400 million for cybersecurity activities.

Senate passage of the bill is expected as early as Thursday; it would then go to President Obama for signing.