The Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY2013 by unanimous vote Tuesday. The bill includes an amendment by Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R., N.H.) that would stop the transfer or release Guantanamo detainees. President Barack Obama has threatened to veto the bill if the amendment was included.
Obama also promised to veto the NDAA in 2011 for containing a provision banning the prisoner transfer but failed to follow through.
A bipartisan majority, including nine Democratic Senators and all but three Republican senators, passed the amendment prohibiting the use of funds for the transfer of prisoners out of Guantanamo Bay.
Forty Democratic senators voted against the amendment, including fifteen who will be up for reelection in 2014. Sens. Mark Begich (D., Alaska), Al Franken (D., Minn.), Tim Johnson (D., S.D.), Jeanne Shaheen (D., N.H.), and Tom Udall (D., N.M.) voted against the amendment despite the prospect of a tough reelection in 2014.
Other Democratic senators up for reelection who voted against the amendment include Sens. Chris Coons (D., Del.), Dick Durbin (D., Ill.), Tom Harkin (D., Iowa), John Kerry (D., Mass.), Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.), Carl Levin (D., Mich.), Jeff Merkley (D., Ore.), Jack Reed (D., R.I.), Mark Udall (D., Colo.), and Mark Warner (D., Va.).