Citizen detention, Iran bank sanctions coming up in Defense bill Thursday

The amendment from Sens. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Mark Kirk
(R-Ill.) would toughen U.S. sanctions against Iran’s central bank in an effort
to prevent the country from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Two amendments from Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) are
designed to change the Defense legislation’s mandate of military custody for terror
suspects, an issue that’s drawn a veto threat from the White House.

{mosads}One of Feinstein’s amendments would bar the military from
indefinitely detaining U.S. citizens, an issue that sparked contentious debate Wednesday on the Senate floor.

It’s unclear whether Feinstein’s amendments will be successful: An
attempt by Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) to strip the detainee provisions from the
bill was defeated Tuesday in a 38-60 vote.