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Observers are criticizing what’s being called more political brinksmanship by the GOP after Speaker of the House John Boehner indicated House Republicans will not accept the Senate’s version of a $1 trillion omnibus spending bill. Approved by the Senate on Saturday, the bill would cut the payroll tax and fund the government for two months. Boehner wants more spending cuts and a year-long version. He said the Senate merely, “[kicked] the can down the road.” However last week Congress easily approved a $670 billion Defense Authorization Bill, a chunk of the 2012 budget being negotiated. In a reversal President Obama dropped a veto threat late last week. Andrew Rosenthal at the New York Times decried the move as more “mumbling and fumbling” from the Obama administration. The Defense Authorization bill is laden with controversial provisions designed to advance the conservative agenda on foreign and domestic policy on everything from the National Guard Bureau to relations with Iran. The most hotly contested provisions of the legislation, however, are those that opponents say allow US citizens to be detained and jailed indefinitely as enemy combatants if arrested in the US on charges of supporting terrorism. President Obama said his reversal on the veto threat came in part from an amendment to language regarding the rights of citizens. Specifically the bill includes the caveat that nothing in it, “[be] construed to affect existing law or authorities relating to the detention of United States citizens, lawful resident aliens of the United States, or any other persons who are captured or arrested in the United States.” Appearing before the House, Republican Representative from California Tom McClintock argued that this language was meaningless. Despite opposition to its final form by some Democrats and Republicans, votes in both chambers of Congress show bi-partisan support. The House approved it on a vote of 283 – 136 and the Senate by a vote of 86 – 13.

GUEST: Shahid Buttar, Executive Director Bill of Rights Defense Committee

Visit www.bordc.org for more information.