Are Your Senators or Congressman Trying to Have it Both Ways on Gitmo?

Ben Lerner

The Center for Security Policy recently released its ninth National Security Scorecard for the 111th Congress, 2009-2010. We’ve already identified in previous posts which legislators were “Champions of National Security” (scoring 100%) and which legislators were “national security failures” (scoring less than 25%).

Now it’s time to identify those legislators that tried to have it both ways on a critical national security question: whether to close the detention/interrogation facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. For reasons outlined in a letter from the Coalition for Security, Liberty and the Law last year, the Center strongly opposes closing Gitmo or bringing detainees to the United States, and scored the relevant votes accordingly.

Scorecard_2010_img

From the Scorecard:

“Members first voted on language in the Homeland Security Appropriations Bill that would have prohibited Gitmo inmates from being transferred into the United States for any reason. In a subsequent vote two weeks later, Members again voted on specific language in the Homeland Security Bill that would have prevented any such transfer, but this time 60 Members changed their position.”


  1. Giffords, Gabrielle (D-AZ-8)

  2. Ross, Mike (D-AR-4)

  3. Cardoza, Dennis (D-CA-18)

  4. Costa, Jim (D-CA-20)

  5. Sanchez, Loretta (D-CA-47)

  6. Markey, Betsy (D-CO-4)

  7. Perlmutter, Ed (D-CO-7)

  8. Himes, James (D-CT-4)

  9. Grayson, Alan (D-FL-8)

  10. Klein, Ron (D-FL-22)

  11. Kosmas, Suzanna (D-FL-24)

  12. Meek, Kendrick (D-FL-17)

  13. Bishop, Sanford (D-GA-2)

  14. Marshall, Jim (D-GA-8)

  15. Bean, Melissa (D-IL-8)

  16. Costello, Jerry (D-IL-12)

  17. Halvorson, Deborah (D-IL-11)

  18. Lipinski, Daniel (D-IL-3)

  19. Rush, Bobby (D-IL-1)

  20. Ellsworth, Brad (D-IN-8)

  21. Hill Baron (D-IN-9)

  22. Moore, Dennis (D-KS-3)

  23. Chandler, Ben (D-KY-6)

  24. Yarmuth, John (D-KY-3)

  25. Michaud, Michael (D-ME-2)

  26. Lynch, Stephen (D-MA-9)

  27. Schauer, Mark (D-MI-7)

  28. Peterson, Collin (D-MN-7)

  29. Carnahan, Russ (D-MO-3)

  30. Skelton, Ike (D-MO-4)

  31. Titus, Dina (D-NV-3)

  32. Heinrich, Martin (D-NM-1)

  33. Arcuri, Michael (D-NY-24)

  34. Bishop, Timothy (D-NY-1)

  35. Higgins, Brian (D-NY-27)

  36. Maffei, Daniel (D-NY-25)

  37. Massa, Eric (D-NY-29)

  38. Murphy, Scott (D-NY-20)

  39. Kissell, Larry (D-NC-8)

  40. Shuler, Heath (D-NC-11)

  41. Pomeroy, Earl (D-ND-1)

  42. Boccieri, John D-OH-16)

  43. Kaptur, Marcy (D-OH-9)

  44. Wilson, Charles (D-OH-6)

  45. DeFazio, Peter (D-OR-4)

  46. Schrader, Kurt (D-OR-5)

  47. Dahlkemper, Kathleen (D-PA-3)

  48. Kanjorski, Paul (D-PA-11)

  49. Murphy, Patrick (D-PA-8)

  50. Schwartz, Allyson (D-PA-13)

  51. Davis, Lincoln (D-TN-4)

  52. Gordon, Bart (D-TN-6)

  53. Tanner, John (D-TN-8)

  54. Cuellar, Henry (D-TX-28)

  55. Matheson, Jim (D-UT-2)

  56. Boucher, Frederick (D-VA-9)

  57. Nye, Glenn (D-VA-2)

  58. Perriello, Thomas (D-VA-5)

  59. Inslee, Jay (D-WA-1)

  60. Smith, Adam (D-WA-9)

“Similarly, the U.S. Senate voted on an amendment offered by Sen. James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) to the Military Construction Appropriations Bill, which would have prohibited the bill from funding the construction or modification of any facility in the United States to hold Gitmo detainees. Last summer, the Senate voted on whether to provide supplemental appropriations funding for the closure of Gitmo–a measure that the Senate almost unanimously rejected. Of the 90 Senators who voted last summer to deny funding for closing Gitmo, 47 later voted to allow the military construction funding to be used to house Gitmo detainees in the United States.”

  1. Akaka (D-HI)

  2. Baucus (D-MT)

  3. Bayh (D-IN)

  4. Begich (D-AK)

  5. Bennet (D-CO)

  6. Bingaman (D-NM)

  7. Boxer (D-CA)

  8. Brown (D-OH)

  9. Burris (D-IL)

  10. Cantwell (D-WA)

  11. Cardin (D-MD)

  12. Carper (D-DE)

  13. Casey (D-PA)

  14. Conrad (D-ND)

  15. Dodd (D-CT)

  16. Dorgan (D-ND)

  17. Feingold (D-WI)

  18. Feinstein (D-CA)

  19. Gillibrand (D-NY)

  20. Hagan (D-NC)

  21. Inouye (D-HI)

  22. Johnson (D-SD)

  23. Kaufman (D-DE)

  24. Kerry (D-MA)

  25. Klobuchar (D-MN)

  26. Kohl (D-WI)

  27. Landrieu (D-LA)

  28. Lautenberg (D-NJ)

  29. McCaskill (D-MO)

  30. Menendez (D-NJ)

  31. Merkley (D-OR)

  32. Mikulski (D-MD)

  33. Murray (D-WA)

  34. Nelson (D-FL)

  35. Nelson (D-NE)

  36. Reid (D-NV)

  37. Sanders (I-VT)

  38. Schumer (D-NY)

  39. Shaheen (D-NH)

  40. Specter (D-PA)

  41. Stabenow (D-MI)

  42. Tester (D-MT)

  43. Udall (D-CO)

  44. Udall (D-NM)

  45. Warner (D-VA)

  46. Webb (D-VA)

  47. Wyden (D-OR)

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