Page 8A
NATION/WORLD
East Oregonian
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Both Sens. Merkley,
Wyden vote against bill
White House press secretary Josh
Earnest said Obama would sign the bill
because it includes provisions critical
to protecting the United States. But he
said the president’s signature does not
Associated Press
change his position about the need to
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress close the prison.
To do so, however, Obama would
sent President Barack Obama a $607
billion defense policy bill that he have to ignore the will of Congress.
Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., said if
is expected to sign even though he
Obama
issued an executive order on
adamantly opposes its ban on moving
some Guantanamo Bay detainees to Guantanamo it “clearly would violate
the law.”
U.S. prisons.
“This is not something the American
The
Senate
overwhelmingly
approved the bill, 91-3, on Tuesday people want to see happen with Guan-
just days after the House passed the tanamo, and so the president needs to
bipartisan measure, 370-58. The legis- follow the law and the law is very clear
lation authorizes Pentagon spending on on this,” she said.
The bill imposes restrictions on
military personnel, ships, aircraft and
transferring any of the 112 remaining
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Three senators — Jeff Merkley and detainees to the United States or a
Ron Wyden, both Democrats from foreign country. Loudest in congres-
Oregon, and Bernie Sanders, an inde- sional opposition have been the
pendent from Vermont — voted against Republican senators from Colorado,
Kansas and South Carolina — three
the defense bill.
The president plans to send Congress states which have facilities reviewed
D EOXHSULQW IRU IXO¿OOLQJ KLV FDPSDLJQ by a Pentagon assessment team.
Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook
pledge to close the U.S. prison in Cuba.
said,
“Let’s wait to see what the plan
But the plan is widely expected to be
¿QDOO\
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dead on arrival on Capitol Hill, with
Republicans and some Democrats crafting that plan have been working
opposed to any move to detain some of very hard on this for months. ... This is
not going to deter the department from
the terror subjects on U.S. soil.
The congressional decision to retain moving forward.”
The Senate also passed legislation
a ban on transferring detainees to the
U.S. has prompted debate on whether by 93-0 that provides money to the
the president will try to bypass Congress Defense Department for military
and close the prison through executive construction, military family housing,
action. “We know he’s contemplating base closures and the Department of
it,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch Veterans Affairs. Like the defense
bill, the measure prohibits the admin-
McConnell, R-Ky.
istration from renovating, expanding
or constructing facilities in the United
States to house detainees from Guanta-
namo Bay.
The facilities reviewed by a
Pentagon assessment team were
the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks and
Midwest Joint Regional Corrections
Facility at Leavenworth, Kansas; the
Consolidated Naval Brig, Charleston,
South Carolina; the Federal Correc-
tional Complex, which includes the
medium, maximum and supermax
facilities in Florence, Colorado; and
the Colorado State Penitentiary II in
Canon City, Colorado, also known as
the Centennial Correctional Facility.
Obama vetoed an earlier version of
the defense policy bill over a dispute,
later resolved, about whether defense
spending increases should be accom-
panied by boosts in domestic programs.
Among other things, the revised bill:
• Provides a 1.3 percent pay increase
to service members and a new retire-
ment option for troops.
• Authorizes $300 million for
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rebels, including $50 million for lethal
assistance and counter-artillery radars.
• Extends a ban on torture to the
CIA.
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aircraft, shipbuilding and strengthening
cyber defense.
• Authorizes $3.8 billion for the
Afghan national security forces.
Republican candidates jab again in another debate
MILWAUKEE
(AP)
— Republicans Jeb Bush
and Ben Carson sought to
steady their presidential
campaigns in Tuesday
night’s GOP debate, with
Bush taking advantage of
a policy-focused contest
to detail positions on the
economy and immigration
while Carson swatted away
PRXQWLQJ TXHVWLRQV DERXW
the veracity of his celebrated
biography.
“I have no problem with
being vetted,” said Carson, a
TXLHWVSRNHQ UHWLUHG QHXUR-
surgeon. “What I do have a
problem with is being lied
about.”
The debate, the last for
the GOP until mid-De-
cember, could help shape
the course of the campaign
into the winter as voters
begin to pay more attention
to the White House race.
After a furor over modera-
tors’ aggressive tone in the
last debate, Tuesday’s hosts
from Fox Business News
allowed the eight candidates
to deliver lengthy, uninter-
rupted answers and avoided
attempts to get them to
said Bush, the former
Florida governor.
Bush avoided tangling
with fellow Floridian Marco
Rubio, a shift in strategy
after his poor performance
in the last debate. Rubio had
another strong performance,
sticking to his strategy of
weaving his own compel-
ling personal story into
his policy discussions and
taking an aggressive stance
on foreign policy.
Still, Rubio faced criti-
AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps
cism from some rivals, most
Republican presidential candidates take the stage notably Kentucky Sen. Rand
before the Republican presidential debate at the Paul, about whether he’s a
Milwaukee Theatre on Tuesday.
true conservative given his
engage with one another.
general election.
calls for a child tax care
Bush entered the debate
In one of the night’s credit and increased military
in a precarious position, notable exchanges, Bush spending.
desperate to ease the stood by his call for allowing
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz
anxiety of donors and other some people living in the repeatedly
played
the
supporters.
86LOOHJDOO\WR¿QGDSDWK populist. He railed against
While it’s unclear if to legal status, criticizing the “Washington cartel,” big
his
competent
perfor- billionaire Donald Trump’s government and even big
mance Tuesday night will call for mass deportations banks.
be enough to reset his as an impractical plan that
But in moment reminis-
campaign, he highlighted his would hand Democrats a cent of a former Texas Gov.
ÀXHQF\ RQ GRPHVWLF SROLF\ talking point as they seek to Rick Perry’s “oops” debate
issues and described himself appeal to Hispanic voters.
debacle, Cruz blanked
as best prepared to take on
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Democratic
front-runner in the Clinton campaign ¿YH GHSDUWPHQWV KH ZRXOG
Hillary Rodham Clinton in a when they’re hearing this,” eliminate.
BRIEFLY
Jimmy Carter says
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ATLANTA (AP) —
Doctors have found Jimmy
Carter is responding well
to treatment for cancer
and report no evidence of
new tumors, according to
a statement released by the
former U.S. president’s
spokeswoman on Tuesday.
Doctors at Emory
University’s Winship Cancer
Institute told Carter “that
recent tests have shown
there is no evidence of new
malignancy, and his original
problem is responding well
to treatment,” spokeswoman
Deanna Congileo said in the
statement.
Carter, 91, revealed in
August that doctors had
removed melanoma from
his liver and discovered four
small tumors on his brain.
He received a radiation
treatment targeted at those
tumors and four doses of
Keytruda, a newly approved
drug to help his immune
system seek out cancer cells
appearing anywhere else.
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OLATHE, Kan.
(AP) — A judge followed
a jury’s recommendation
and sentenced an avowed
anti-Semite to death Tuesday
for the fatal shootings of
three people at Kansas
Jewish sites.
Johnson County District
Judge Thomas Kelly Ryan
imposed the sentence for
Frazier Glenn Miller Jr., who
was convicted of one count
of capital murder, three
counts of attempted murder,
and assault and weapons
charges for the April 2014
shootings in suburban
Kansas City. The same jury
that convicted him in August
recommended that Miller be
sentenced to death.
“Your attempt to bring
hate to this community,
to bring terror to this
community, has failed,”
Ryan said sternly before
sentencing Miller to die by
lethal injection. “You have
failed, Mr. Miller.”
Upon Ryan’s
announcement, Miller
yelled “Heil Hitler” and
was removed from the
courtroom.
Miller said he shot his
victims because he wanted
to kill Jewish people before
he dies. He suffers from
chronic emphysema and has
said he doesn’t have long to
OLYH$GRFWRUWHVWL¿HGGXULQJ
trial that Miller is ill and
likely has years to live.
Thirteen people addressed
the court Tuesday afternoon
either in person or through
written statements, including
family members of victims.
After the victim
statements, Miller became
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an hour talking about how
Jewish people were running
the government, media and
Federal Reserve. Family
members and supporters of
the victims walked out of the
courtroom as he spoke. He
said his conscience forced
him to do what he did, and
he would attack more people
if he ever got out of prison.
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
9(T(RAN6 4,200
homeless in Los Angeles
“If you don’t meet
number of employees disci- your goals, it doesn’t
plined.
necessarily mean
The VA’s reputation
suffered another blow earlier
failure. You have to
this month after two high-
think big if you’re
UDQNLQJ RI¿FLDOV UHIXVHG WR
testify at a congressional
going to do big.”
hearing on allegations that
Continued from 1A
they manipulated the agen-
cy’s hiring system for their
own gain. Investigators say
they forced lower-ranking
regional managers to accept
job transfers against their
will and then stepped into
those vacant positions,
keeping their pay while
reducing their responsibili-
ties.
Veterans groups have
always viewed the twin
goals of ending homeless
and the disability claim
backlog with a healthy dose
of reality. They’re generally
encouraged by the trend
lines.
“If you don’t meet your
goals, it doesn’t necessarily
mean failure,” said Joe
Davis, a spokesman at
Veterans of Foreign Wars.
“You have to think big if
you’re going to do big.”
The VA has been focused
on getting the homeless into
housing immediately and
paying for it with a voucher
that subsidizes most or all of
the rent. The VA then works
to provide the veterans with
counseling, health care and
RWKHUEHQH¿WV
In August, Connecticut
EHFDPH WKH ¿UVW VWDWH WR
announce it had ended
chronic
homelessness
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said that means any veterans
who had been homeless for
more than a year or had four
separate bouts of homeless-
ness in recent years were
either in permanent housing
or on an immediate path to
it. New Orleans, Houston
and a few others have also
made such declarations.
McDonald said last week
that the end of the year was
still the goal for ending
veteran
homelessness.
The survey verifying that
outcome won’t take place
until January and takes
almost a year to tabulate.
McDonald said his focus is
now on Los Angeles with an
estimated 4,200 homeless
veterans.
Earlier this year, the VA
agreed to settle a lawsuit
WKDWUHTXLUHVLWWRGHYHORSD
long-term master plan for
turning a sprawling West
Los Angeles VA campus into
housing for homeless vets.
“For some ways for me,
the clock didn’t start until
we got that lawsuit settled,
— Joe Davis,
spokesman at Veterans of
Foreign Wars
and we’re making a lot of
good progress out there,”
said McDonald, who was
FRQ¿UPHGLQ-XO\
Rep. Jeff Miller, the
Republican chairman of
the House Committee on
Veterans’ Affairs, has been
critical of the VA’s goal-set-
ting strategy, which was
driven by former Secretary
Eric Shinseki’s belief that
big goals were necessary to
drive big changes.
The committee’s staff
estimates that the VA’s
spending on homelessness
jumped from about $376
million in 2009 to about $1.5
billion last year.
“The fact that VA
increases in spending on
homeless initiatives are
growing every year and
far outpacing reductions in
veteran homelessness calls
LQWRTXHVWLRQWKHHI¿FDF\RI
VA’s efforts,” Miller said.
Progress on the disability
claims backlog has been
much more of a roller coaster.
The backlog exploded in
2010 after the VA expanded
the list of illnesses presumed
to have been caused by
Agent Orange.
That decision pumped
about 260,000 claims into
the system. The overall
bottleneck grew exponen-
tially when combined with
other factors, such as the
latest generation of veterans
IURP ,UDT DQG $IJKDQLVWDQ
returning from war.
In March 2013, with
the backlog peaking and a
political crisis in full bloom,
the VA ordered more than
10,000 workers to put in at
least 20 hours of overtime
each month.
McDonald
said
the
agency
completed
1.4
PLOOLRQFODLPVWKLVSDVW¿VFDO
year, the most in its history.
The budget for the VA
has consistently increased
in recent years. On Tuesday,
the Senate passed a measure
that contains funding to hire
770 additional VA claims
processors to ease the claims
backlog.
————
Associated Press writer
Matthew Daly contributed
to this report.