May 20 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Senate, in a victory for Republicans, rejected President Barack Obama’s request for funds to start shutting down the prison for suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The chamber voted 90-6 to strip $80 million for closing the center from a war-spending bill. Lawmakers also backed, 92-3, a proposal to require the administration to provide Congress with a classified assessment of the threat posed by each of the prisoners held there.

The votes came after weeks of complaints by Republicans that the administration hasn’t spelled out what it will do with the about 240 prisoners at Guantanamo. Transferring them to civilian prisons in the U.S. would endanger public safety, Republicans said.

“For months, we’ve been saying what Senate Democrats now acknowledge: that because the administration has no plan for what to do with the 240 detainees at Guantanamo, it would be irresponsible and dangerous for the Senate to appropriate the money to close it,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican.

Some Democrats scoffed at the claims, saying terrorists could be safely held in the U.S. Still, they acknowledged the Republican complaints put them in a politically awkward position.

No Escapes

“The reality is that we are holding some of the most dangerous terrorists in the world right now in our federal prisons” and “no prisoner has ever escaped from a federal Supermaximum facility,” said Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, the chamber’s second-ranking Democrat. He said federal prisons currently hold 347 convicted terrorists.

Some Democrats said they agreed with Republicans that the White House hasn’t adequately explained its plans for Guantanamo. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye, a Hawaii Democrat, called the decision to drop the funding “rather easy” because “the administration has not yet forwarded a coherent plan for closing this prison.”

Obama is scheduled to discuss Guantanamo tomorrow in a speech that will outline what needs to be done to wind down the detention center’s operations, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. Obama has ordered the drafting of a plan to close the prison by Jan. 22, 2010.

May Pose Threats

Robert Mueller, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, told the House Judiciary Committee that terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo may pose threats if released in the U.S. The detainees could “support” terrorism, provide financing for attacks or radicalize others, Mueller said. He didn’t comment on specific detainees and said he was speaking in general terms.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates told a Senate committee last month that 50 to 100 inmates who can’t be sent to foreign countries or be tried in U.S. courts may be brought to the U.S. for detention.

The $91 billion war-spending bill would fund Obama’s troop buildup in Afghanistan, war operations in Iraq and aid to the International Monetary Fund, among other provisions. The Senate is considering other amendments with an eye to completing the measure this week.

Senator Jim DeMint, a South Carolina Republican, is demanding a vote on his amendment to strip provisions granting Obama’s request to boost the nation’s contributions to the IMF by $108 billion to help fight the global financial crisis.

‘Not Moneybags’

“It doesn’t make any sense to borrow $100 billion from China, put it in the International Monetary Fund and lend it to countries that have less debt than we do -- we’re not moneybags any more,” said DeMint.

The House last week also rejected the administration’s Guantanamo funding request when it approved its draft of the war-funding bill. The House version would allow Obama to use other funds to bring Guantanamo detainees to the U.S. for prosecution and continued incarceration.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, said it is “possible” the chamber would accept the Senate version of the measure if Democrats defeat Republican attempts to put more restrictions on Obama’s plans to close Guantanamo.

“We are waiting to see” what the Senate produces, Hoyer said. “We’d like to pass it this week if we can.”

Attorney General Eric Holder said today at a news conference in Washington that he expects the administration, working with Congress, to meet the January deadline for closing the Guantanamo prison. He also said plans for shutting it would be based on protecting the safety of U.S. citizens.

To contact the reporters on this story: Brian Faler at bfaler@bloomberg.net; James Rowley in Washington at jarowley@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 20, 2009 20:32 EDT