Contact: Josh Holly (202) 225-2539
Washington, D.C. --- Recognizing the fifth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks on America, U.S. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-CA) today unveiled the Military Commissions Act of 2006, legislation designed to bring terrorists who are intent on destroying America and its ideals to justice. Hunter’s legislation creates a new judicial process for the fair and effective prosecution of terrorists captured in the ongoing Global War on Terrorism.
Chairman Hunter’s statement follows:
“The war on terror has produced a new type of battlefield and a new type of enemy. Acknowledging this fact, we worked with the Bush Administration and the military’s top lawyers to create a full and fair process to prosecute terrorists, while preserving the ability of our warfighters to operate effectively on the battlefield.
“Our foremost consideration in writing this legislation was to protect American troops and American citizens from harm.
“The Military Commissions Act creates a fair judicial process that pays special attention to the rules of evidence and includes procedures used in previous military commissions. We also include rules and procedures adopted directly from the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
“We met our two guiding principles for achieving a fair process to try terrorists.
“First, the government will be able to prosecute its case fully without compromising its intelligence sources or compromising national military necessity. We remain firm in our resolve that terrorists cannot and will not be granted access to classified information that can be used to harm American troops or citizens if released.
“Second, the prosecutorial process will be fair, swift and conclusive. Terrorists will be able to mount a full defense and are granted access to the U.S. federal judicial system for appellate purposes.
“I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House and Senate as we work to create a process that ensures terrorists are brought to justice.”
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A fact sheet outlining the major provisions of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 is attached.