Chattanooga Times Free Press
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration faces a number of hurdles in its effort to buy Illinois’ Thomson prison and use it to house terrorism suspects from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Among them: Agreeing on a sale price, renovating the prison and getting Congress to change U.S. law so some detainees can be held on American soil without facing trial.
Then there’s another hurdle: Paying for it.
Last week, President Barack Obama directed the attorney general and defense secretary to act “as expeditiously as possible” to acquire the largely vacant prison in northwestern Illinois.
But then it emerged the White House had fallen short in a bid for rapid-fire funding. An administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Wednesday that after the president’s announcement, “informal conversations” requesting the money were held with House Appropriations Committee staffers. The goal: to see if the money could be set aside in the $636 billion military spending bill approved last Saturday.
That money will be spent in the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. The administration asked for roughly $200 million for Thomson, says a House official familiar with the discussion who also spoke on condition of anonymity.
But when appropriations staffers balked, the White House changed course. “Instead it was determined to pursue the funding through the more traditional appropriations process next year,” the administration official said.
Obama, during his first week in office, ordered the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention center by Jan. 22, 2010, but White House officials long have acknowledged the deadline won’t be met.
House Democrat David Obey of Wisconsin, who chairs the Appropriations Committee, was not available for comment Wednesday, said Ellis Brachman, his spokesman. Obey supports closing Guantanamo, but in October, while lauding the administration’s “credible goal” of shutting it down, said the White House had “not thought through how to get there.”
The House official said the White House ultimately opted for a go-slow approach to funding because of public disagreements over the plan for Thomson.
“The administration determined that with something that has this much controversy attached to it, they would rather not rush the process,” he said.
Heightening the drama next year will be midterm congressional elections, which already have Democrats fearful about losing seats. One option for Obama is pushing for money for Thomson in a supplemental war spending bill. Another is waiting until appropriation decisions are made for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2011.
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