House Approves Terrorist Tribunal Legislation
"We are staying on the offense to prevent attacks and bring terrorists to justice."

September 27, 2006

WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman David Dreier (R-San Dimas, CA), Chairman of the House Rules Committee, voted today to approve procedures for interrogating and trying terrorist detainees. The Military Commissions Act of 2006, H.R. 6166, approved with bipartisan support 253-168.

"We are staying on the offense to prevent attacks and bring terrorists to justice. For terrorist detainees in our custody, like the alleged mastermind to 9/11, justice cannot come soon enough. And if a terrorist detainee has information that can save American lives, we need to know it," said Dreier. "Our moral foundations and judicial traditions compel us to uphold to basic human rights and fairness in these efforts. With this bill, we have struck the right balance between protecting human life and upholding human rights, even though our enemies make no such distinction whatsoever."

The Military Commissions Act establishes a system of military tribunals to try foreign enemy combatants who have engaged in or supported terrorist activities. The Act ensures that terrorists have basic legal rights, including the right to counsel, the right to obtain evidence and witnesses, and the right to appeal a guilty verdict. Suspected terrorists have the right to be present at all legal proceedings, and no evidence may be presented to the jury unless it is also provided to the accused terrorist. The substantive findings of classified evidence will be admissible in an unclassified form, but the classified evidence itself is protected and is privileged from disclosure to accused terrorists—as well as the panel of jurists—if the disclosure of the information would be detrimental to national security.

The act also protects our military and intelligence personnel by codifying violations of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention. Currently, the article’s vague provisions are open to a variety of interpretations, potentially rendering American personnel liable to prosecution without just cause.

"We want to handcuff the terrorists, not our men and women on the front lines. This bill protects our troops with clear interrogation standards, and it prevents them from being exposed to frivolous lawsuits brought by accused terrorists," said Dreier.

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