October 17, 2006—Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02), member of the House Committees on Armed Services and Judiciary, today issued the following statement after President Bush signed the Military Commissions Act:

 “We are in the midst of a war for information against an enemy that neither represents a state nor abides by the laws of civilization.  We must arm our intelligence operatives with the tools they need to acquire information that our enemy ruthlessly hides from us.  Although it is my belief that the Supreme Court made an error when they determined that the terrorist detainee program could not continue without Congress creating new judicial system for terrorists, Republicans dutifully passed this bill and our President signed it into law.  This will allow our intelligence operatives to effectively glean information from those who wish to destroy us and will inevitably save innocent lives.”

 The House passed the bill by a final vote of 250 to 170.  This law creates a new judicial system to effectively prosecute terrorists while protecting sensitive information, and also includes provisions regarding interrogations. 162 Democrats voted against the bill.

 Trent Franks is the Congressman from the 2nd Congressional District of Arizona.  He is a member of the House Armed Services Committee, the House Judiciary Committee and Vice Chairman of the Constitution Subcommittee