JURIST - Paper Chase: Congress sends military commissions bill to White House

[JURIST] The US Congress sent its final version of the military commissions bill [JURIST news archive] to President Bush late Friday after the House voted 250-170 [roll call] to approve the Senate's version of the legislation [text, PDF]. The House of Representatives [official website] had approved [JURIST report] its own version of the bill [HR 6166 text] Wednesday by a vote of 253-168 [roll call], but House leaders decided to forego the process of reconciling the two nearly-identical sets of legislation in the interests of getting the measure passed before Congress adjourned. The president is expected to sign the measure soon.

The Administration views the passage of the military commissions legislation, based on a draft initially proposed by the White House [JURIST report] earlier this month, as a major election-year victory, especially following the Senate's rejection of several proposed amendments [JURIST report] to its version of the bill, including one that would have eliminated a highly-controversial provision stripping detainees of the right to file habeas corpus petitions in federal court, sponsored by Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) [official website; JURIST news archive]. AP has more.

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