Rep. Alcee L. Hastings, D-Fla., has introduced to the House of
Representatives a new bill, H.R. 645, calling for the secretary of
homeland security to establish no fewer than six national emergency
centers for corralling civilians on military installations.
The proposed bill, which has received little mainstream media
attention, appears designed to create the type of detention center that
those concerned about use of the military in domestic affairs fear
could be used as concentration camps for political dissidents, such as
occurred in Nazi Germany.
The bill also appears to expand the president's emergency power, much
as the executive order signed by President Bush on May 9, 2007, that,
as
WNDreported, gave the president the authority to declare an emergency and
take over the direction of all federal, state, local, territorial and
tribal governments without even consulting Congress.
According to the text of the proposed bill, the
purpose of the National Emergency Centers is "to provide temporary
housing, medical, and humanitarian assistance to individuals and
families dislocated due to an emergency or
major disaster."
Three additional purposes are specified in the text of the proposed legislation:
To provide centralized locations for the purposes of training and
ensuring the coordination of federal, state and local first responders;
To provide centralized locations to improve the coordination
of preparedness, response and recovery efforts of government, private,
not-for-profit entities and faith-based organizations;
To meet other appropriate needs, as defined by the secretary of homeland security.
The broad specifications of the bill's language, however,
contribute to concern that the "national emergency" purpose could be
utilized by the secretary of homeland security to include
any kind of situation the government wants to contain or otherwise control.
Rep. Hastings created controversy during the 2008 presidential campaign
with his provocative comments concerning Republican vice presidential
candidate Sarah Palin.
"If Sarah Palin isn't enough of a reason for you to get over whatever
your problem is with Barack Obama, then you damn well had better pay
attention," Hastings said, as reported by ABC News. "Anybody toting
guns and stripping moose don't care too much about what they do with
Jews and blacks. So, you just think this through."
H.R. 645, which seeks to allocate $360 million for developing the
emergency centers, has been referred to the House Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure and to the Committee on Armed
Services.