The Senate’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 has been introduced and placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar, but leadership has not yet scheduled time for floor debate and votes, Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) said Tuesday.
Levin filed the bill on Monday after it was marked up and agreed to by SASC two weeks ago, but he told Defense Daily on Tuesday that he had not spoken with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) about the timing.
“He knows I want it as soon as possible. I’ve spoken to him, but not recently,” Levin said.
Asked whether the defense authorization bill could be affected by the flurry of concerns surrounding the release of five prisoners from Guantanamo Bay in exchange for the Taliban returning prisoner of war Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, Levin said “it may depend when the bill comes up; the later it comes up, probably the less impact” in terms of amendments and delays.
Emotions are running high on the Hill after the Obama administration announced the prisoner swap over the weekend. Lawmakers are happy to see the soldier, held in Taliban custody for five years, returned back to the United States. But many accuse the White House of breaking the law by not providing 30 days notice before transferring detainees out of Guantanamo Bay, of negotiating with terrorists, and of endangering troops currently in Afghanistan by setting a precedent that the United States will release dangerous prisoners in exchange for kidnapped service members.
Levin, however, said he would reserve judgment until he had all the facts. The full Senate will receive a briefing from the administration on Wednesday, and SASC will hold its own briefing with three Defense Department officials on June 10. Levin said the big issue he hopes to sort out in his briefing is, “what risks we would have incurred if the secretary of defense had decided to wait 30 days after completing negotiations and providing the required notice to Congress, rather than acting immediately?”
He also expressed great confidence in Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Martin Dempsey.
“I’m going to listen to Dempsey and give him a lot of, he has a lot of impact on my thinking as the chief, the top military officer in the country,” Levin said. “He’s taken a position on this, and that’s the position which has huge impact on me. And I hope all of our colleagues, and I hope the American people will listen to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and at least listen to him, even if they disagree with him.”
Levin said the president faced an “excruciating decision” in agreeing to the prisoner swap, but he said he agreed with Dempsey’s line of thinking: “Our first goal, we get him back. Then we sort out the facts. We’re not going to prejudge them.”