US President Barack Obama has signed a bipartisan two-year budget bill to avoid the risk of another government shutdown in January.
The bill, which included a budget deal with Congress and a defense authorization bill that address the problem of sexual assaults in the military, had been drafted by a budget committee set up after Octoberâ„¢s government shutdown.
The US president signed the measure on Thursday while vacationing in Hawaii.
President Obama also signed into law a major bill that sets military spending and policy for the next year. The bill included provisions to relax some restrictions on transferring detainees of Guantanamo to foreign countries.
In a statement, Obama pointed to the provisions on military sexual assaults, as well as the fact that the legislation funds pay and bonuses for service members, while voicing concerns three pieces of the bill that touch on operations at Guantanamo prison.
Obama said the new law does not eliminate all the restrictions on foreign transfers that he could like to see come to an end.
Section 1035 does not Å“eliminate all of the unwarranted limitations on foreign transfers and, in certain circumstances, would violate constitutional separation of powers principles.”
The president also objects to section 1033 of the law, which continues to block the use of appropriated funds to build or modify facilities in the United States that would house Guantanamo detainees, and to section 1034, which bars the use of appropriated funds to transfer detainees into the United States for any purpose.
Å“I oppose these provisions, as I have in years past, and will continue to work with the Congress to remove these restrictions. The executive branch must have the authority to determine when and where to prosecute Guantanamo detainees, based on the facts and circumstances of each case and our national security interests,” he said.
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Source: Press TV