President Barack Obama has signed a bill authorizing a $607 billion budget for the Defense Department‘s military operations and reform efforts in fiscal 2016, USA Today reported Wednesday.David Jackson writes the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act provides funds to help DoD operate globally and improve the department’s retirement and compensation programs for service members.
Obama said an NDAA provision that restricts the transfer of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to U.S.-based detention facilities will affect national security initiatives, the newspaper reports.
He also believes the ban violates the Constitution’s principle of separation of powers, according to a separate report by Jordan Fabian of The Hill.
“The executive branch must have the flexibility, with regard to the detainees who remain at Guantanamo, to determine when and where to prosecute them… and when and where to transfer them consistent with our national security and our humane treatment policy,” Obama added.
