Sen. Lee Calls for Passage of Due Process Guarantee Act
WASHINGTON – Today, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) addressed the need to pass the Due Process Guarantee Act from the Senator floor. The bipartisan act has been offered as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. The speech reads, in part:
“The Constitution includes safeguards against this form of tyranny, including the right of habeas corpus and the guarantee that American citizens will not be “deprived of life, liberty, or property” by the government ‘without due process of law.’
Our commitment to these rights is tested in times of crisis. We have not always passed these tests. During the Second World War, President Franklin Roosevelt unilaterally authorized the internment of over 100,000 Japanese-Americans for fear they would spy against the United States. …And more recently, in the post-9/11 era there has been renewed pressure to diminish our constitutional protections in the name of security. Lawmakers from both parties have authorized the detention of Americans suspected of terrorism without charge, without trial, and without meeting the evidentiary standard required for every other crime—potentially for life.
Congress can make [a] stand for the Constitution by allowing a vote on the Due Process Guarantee Act…and protecting Americans from indefinite detention by the government.”
The full speech and text can be found here.
