The administration would be denied the money until it came up with a detailed plan on how to close the Guantanamo detention facility and how to deal with the 240 or so detainees being held there, according to Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, the architect of the funding measure and a supporter of the Pentagon request.

Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Inouye told him that the measure would not allow money to be spent to bring accused terrorists to the U.S. before the end of the budget year on Oct. 1.

The move by Inouye is sure to spark a lively debate within the ranks of Senate Democrats, some of whom have spoken strongly against bringing Guantanamo detainees to the United States.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has called the $50 million request merely a "plug in the budget" that was just "a hedge that would allow us to get started if some construction is needed to be able to accommodate those detainees."

Gates has testified that about 50 to 100 detainees would be shipped to the U.S.

Republicans are on the offensive in daily attacks on the idea of closing the prison and in criticizing the administration for moving ahead without a plan.

"Closing this facility by an arbitrary deadline without any alternative is irresponsible and dangerous," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. "It is unacceptable to the American people and it is unacceptable to an increasing number of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle."

Underlying the Guantanamo debate is the suggestion that holding terror detainees in the United States would represent a security threat. Also at issue is what to do with them if they are acquitted at trial.
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