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WASHINGTON: The Republican-controlled House on Tuesday pushed a resolution condemning President Barack Obama for failing to give 30-day notice to Congress about the exchange in May of American prisoner Bowe Bergdahl for five Taliban leaders held at the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The vote castigating Obama came at a crucial moment for the administration as it sought to rally international and congressional support for steps to combat the rising threat of Islamic state militants in Iraq and Syria. The debate and vote scheduled for late afternoon coincided with a White House meeting in which the president was to discuss his strategy with House and Senate leaders. It also came on the eve of Obama's address to the nation.

"What poor timing for a resolution," said Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee.

Rep. Alcee Hastings, also Democrat, suggested that the House vote on the measure less than two months before the election was simply an effort to appease core Republican voters.

Republicans insisted that Obama clearly violated the law, underscored by a Government Accountability Office report last month that reached that conclusion, and his disregard for Congress could not be ignored.

Rep. Doug Collins, a Republican, said Obama's attitude was "I don't care what the law says. I'm going to do it anyway."

Five senior Taliban were released from the US prison at Guantanamo in exchange for Bergdahl, who had disappeared from his post in Paktika province in eastern Afghanistan on June 30, 2009. The five Taliban are to remain in Qatar for a year.

Republican lawmakers and some Democrats were angry with Obama and members of the administration for failing to notify them about the swap even as 80 to 90 members of the government knew of the exchange. The administration has offered a number of explanations for keeping Congress in the dark, saying concern about Bergdahl's health and safety required speedy action.

The administration also expressed concern that lawmakers would divulge details of the deal, scuttling it.

Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on Armed Services, said the president should have notified Congress, but Obama has said his constitutional authority as commander in chief superseded the law to apprise lawmakers.

Originally posted here:
Republican-controlled House pushes resolution condemning Obama for prisoner swap