The committee voted 11-8, with one Republican vote in favor, to send the bill to the Senate floor for a vote. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., the ranking member and former chairman of the committee, co-sponsored the measure with Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the current chairman.

Committee members did not debate the bill. But Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said that "doesn't mean we'll not have people speaking out," The Miami Herald reported.

The Military Commissions Act set up a procedure to try foreign nationals held in Guantanamo Bay and denied them the right to challenge their detention in the U.S. federal courts.