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A closed-off area at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. - Source: Reuters -
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American lawmakers have reached an agreement that will allow the Obama administration to continue bringing foreign terrorism suspects from the Guantanamo Bay prison to the United States to face trial.
Negotiators from the House of Representatives and the Senate included the agreement in a $US42.8 billion bill that would fund the Homeland Security Department for the current fiscal year.
Both chambers still must pass the bill before President Barack Obama can sign it into law.
The Obama administration hopes to bring some of the 223 detainees remaining in the facility to the US to face charges in American courtrooms.
Republicans and some Democrats have worried that housing the suspects on US soil could create security risks.
Democratic leaders in Congress face a potentially tough vote in the House, which last week voted overwhelmingly to prohibit the administration from bringing detainees from the internationally condemned prison to the US for any reason.
Democratic Representative David Obey, who chairs the committee that oversees spending, says leaders are weighing various strategies to ensure that it passes.
