Defense Budget Raises Military Pay By 3.4 Percent; Allows Gitmo Detainees Into U.S. For Trial

October 23, 2009 7:57 a.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The Senate on Thursday passed the final version of the 2010 Defense budget, legislation that provides the military with a pay raise and funds to procure, despite the Pentagon recommendation not to do so, an alternate engine for the F-35 program. Two controversial measures are attached to the sweeping legislation: an expansion of federal hate crimes to include attacks on gays, and a measure prohibiting the release of Guantanamo Bay detainees to the U.S. except for trial.

The 2010 National Defense Authorization Act was approved and sent to the White House by a vote of 68-29. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) was the lone Democrat to join Republicans in opposing the bill.

Ten Republicans voted in support, including Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), John Ensign (R-NV), Judd Gregg (R-NH), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Richard Lugar (R-IN) and George Voinovich (R-OH).

Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Kit Bond (R-MO), National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn (R-TX) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), the top Republican in the Armed Services Committee, also supported the bill.

Sens. Robert Byrd (D-WV), Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) did not vote.

The $680 billion defense bill provides uniformed military with a pay raise of 3.4 percent, half percent more than what the Pentagon requested as well as the annual inflation rate. It includes $560 million for the initial procurement of an alternate engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Force program despite a veto threat from the White House and a recommendation from Defense Sec. Robert Gates that an alternate engine is unnecessary.

Lawmakers, however, complied with the request of Gates to cap the number of F-22s to the 187 the Pentagon already has, so money could be used to buy more F-35s, which are newer model jets. They also agreed to terminate funds for VH-71 presidential helicopters, which the White House said "have no mission equipment and would require in excess of $2 billion to complete and to operate."

Democrats ensured the passage of two controversial measures by incorporating these to the broader legislation.

One is a bill expanding federal hate crimes to include attacks based on a person's actual or perceived gender, gender identity or disability or sexual orientation. The original 1969 hate crimes law gives the federal government the authority to pursue criminal investigations for crimes committed because of a person's race, color, religion or national origin, and only while the victim is engaging in federally-protected activity.

Democrats and gay advocates had been pushing for expanding the law since 2007, but had failed to do so with a Republican in the White House.

The updated law is named after two murder victims: Matthew Shepard, a gay Wyoming university student who died in 1998 after being tortured, and James Byrd, Jr., a black man who was dragged to death by white supremacists the same year as Shepard's murder.

The second measure attached to the defense budget is the Military Commissions Act of 2009.

Immediately after taking office, President Barack Obama had halted the use of military tribunals on Guantanamo prisoners. But in May, he announced that he would resume military commissions under new rules to ensure detainee rights.

The measure passed by the Senate on Thursday changes the system of military tribunals used by the Bush administration by prohibiting the use of prisoner testimony gained from coercion or torture. It also bans the release of Guantanamo detainees to the United States but allows prisoners to be transferred for trial 45 days after the administration submits an assessment to Congress of the risks involved in doing so.

Republicans decried the attachment of the hate crimes and the military commissions bills, saying Democrats were using the nation's troops to push their agenda.

"This [bill] allows the President to fulfill his obsession to close Gitmo and bring detainees to American soil." Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) said in a floor speech.

"Besides having nothing to do with our military or national security, Hate Crimes legislation is inherently unfair because it creates a special class of victims, thereby ignoring the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. All victims of crime should have equal justice under the law, and all crimes should be prosecuted fervently regardless of the motivation."

Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) in a statement focused on the hate crimes measure.

"I support providing states and local authorities with federal assistance to enforce their own laws," said Alexander said. "But the changes in this legislation go too far. It's a shame that this piece of legislation was added to a bill that's supposed to be about supporting our troops."

Armed Services panel Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) argued, "Hate Crimes legislation includes a provision making it a federal crime to attack a member of the United States Armed Forces on account of his or her military service - a hate crime that is of particular interest to the Armed Services Committee."

Levin also cited FBI statistics showing a 6 percent increase in hate crimes against gays and transgenders. "This category of hate crimes would be covered, for the first time, by this bill," he said.

Feingold, meanwhile, explained his reason for bucking his party and joining the GOP.

"I oppose this legislation because it does nothing to bring our open-ended and disproportionate military commitment in Afghanistan to an end and or to ensure that our troops are safely and expeditiously redeployed from Iraq," Feingold said. "This bill includes several important provisions, including provisions I authored that will help improve care for wounded warriors, and the hate crimes legislation that was first introduced over eight years ago. But I cannot support a bill that does not do enough to protect our country from our top national security threat, al Qaeda."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said he was "pleased" about progress of the defense bill, but "disappointed that Senate Republicans have decided that defeating hate crimes legislation takes precedent over supporting our troops."

"It is outrageous and unacceptable that Senate Republicans would vote against pay raises for our troops, battlefield equipment upgrades and increased funding for veterans' health care as we continue to fight two wars," Reid added. "And they decided to do this all for the sake of stopping passage of landmark legislation that will bring justice to those who commit violent crimes based on bigotry and prejudice."