Democrats eye cutting funds for Guantanamo

WASHINGTON, March 16 (UPI) -- Suspected terrorists now held in the prison at Guantanamo in Cuba could be transferred to military brigs in the United States, a report says.

Some Democrats in Congress are considering removing funding for the Guantanamo prison camp, the Lawrence, Kan., Journal-World reports.

"One thought is to put them in military brigs," said Austin Durrer, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va. "There were some names thrown out there just as examples, but there are no plans to bring them there."

Possible destinations include the military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., and brigs in Quantico, Va., and Charleston, S.C., where suspected terrorist Jose Padilla had been held as an "enemy combatant" for more than two years. The only maximum-security military prison is at Fort Leavenworth.

Moran heads a congressional investigation into Guantanamo.

"We're working on a policy proposal to shut down Guantanamo Bay through a defense appropriations bill, and then we'd ask the president and the Department of Defense to come up with a plan as to where to house those detainees," his spokesman said.