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Reid: Senate Democrats Still Undecided on Gitmo

Barely an hour before the Senate Appropriations Committee is set to mark up a nearly $92 billion supplemental war spending bill, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters that Democrats have not yet decided whether to fund the closing of the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

Reid held out the possibility that the Senate would follow the House’s lead. The House is withholding funds to close the detention center until President Barack Obama presents a plan for transferring suspected terrorists out of the facility.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) had proposed including $50 million for Guantánamo’s closure in the supplemental, but walling it off until Obama came up with a plan for relocating the prisoners. Reid said if that proposal is ultimately included, no money would be permitted for transporting prisoners during this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.

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