WASHINGTON D.C. – Sen. John Kerry issued the following statement today, after a majority of Senate Republicans blocked a final vote on a measure to expand the rights of prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay. The measure received 56 votes, but Republican leaders used a filibuster to insist it reach 60.

“The roadblock Republicans today stopped the Senate from demonstrating that we can keep our values and keep America safe at the same time. Only these rubberstamp Senators for George Bush believe you can’t detain enemy combatants while honoring habeas corpus,” Kerry said.

“We all want to stop terrorist attacks. We all want to effectively gather as much intelligence as possible. We all want to bring those who attacked us to justice. But, we weaken our ability to do that when we undermine our own Constitution, when we throw away our system of checks and balances or when we hold detainees indefinitely without trial. We endanger our moral authority at great peril. The United States should send a signal to the rest of the world that America stands for the rule of law.”