Via AP:
President Barack Obama is pushing to overcome obstacles to closing the Guantanamo Bay prison, an elusive goal which has frustrated him since he took office. That is setting the White House on a collision course with Congress in its bid to loosen restrictions for moving out detainees.
Administration officials say a Senate defense policy bill, coming up for debate within days, would allow them to move out prisoners who have long been cleared for transfer overseas but are still held, in part because of a complicated Pentagon certification process. The bill would ease those restrictions and lift a ban on bringing suspected terrorist prisoners from Guantanamo to the United States for detention, trial or emergency medical treatment.
The White House effort faces dogged resistance, with opponents pointing out that some former detainees have joined terrorist efforts after being released from the remote U.S. naval prison in Cuba.
“Why would you want to reduce the standard?” asked Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., who along with Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., is working on amendments to preserve the current high bar for transfers.
Even if the Senate passes the White House-backed legislation, the House earlier this year approved a measure that further restricts transfers, including an outright ban on sending detainees to Yemen. Yemen is a particular challenge since more than half of the 164 detainees are from there. It’s also home to the world’s most active al-Qaida branch.