Reid: Senate Dems still want to close Guantanamo

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Tuesday reiterated the desire of Senate Democrats to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, dismissing any funding conflict with the House.

Reid (D-Nev.) downplayed the significance of Monday’s decision by House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) against including $80 million in a $94 billion supplemental spending bill to close the prison in Cuba.

{mosads}Reid said Obey is only insisting on details from the Obama administration — a position with which he agrees. The majority leader said he is consulting with Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on how to proceed before the Senate marks up the supplemental next week.

“As I read Chairman Obey’s comments, he said before that money would be forthcoming, there had to be some specifics as to what the money would be spent on,” Reid said. “I agree it would be better if we had specifics.”

The White House has requested $50 million for the Pentagon and $30 million for the Department of Justice to assess the cases of the approximately 250 detainees currently at Guantanamo. But House and Senate appropriators are concerned about a lack of plans to relocate the prisoners.

But Reid distinguished the funding conflict from any disagreement over whether to close the prison, reminding reporters that 2008 GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has also expressed a desire to close the facility.

“Let President Obama execute his plan,” Reid said. “We believe, like Sen. McCain, that it should be closed. Sen. McCain said that and we agree with [him].”

Reid was more skeptical about the timeline announced by President Obama in January: that the prison would close by January 2010.

“I think it’s very possible, but let’s just wait and see,” he said.

Reid also announced Tuesday that the Senate will have a busy month — before the Memorial Day recess, he said the chamber will finish a defense procurement bill, credit card reform, the war supplemental and various nominations. Legislation to bring tobacco under Food and Drug Administration control will likely wait until later in the summer.