House Democrats Push NDAA Amendment to Transfer GITMO Terrorists to U.S. Soil

As House Republicans move to pass the Fiscal Year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which will fund programs critical to our military and national defense, House Democrats are pushing an amendment to close the terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo Bay (GITMO) and bring the dangerous terrorists detained there to U.S. soil. Will House Democrats break with the Obama administration and vote against this dangerous amendment? Or will they stand in support of President Obama’s plan to bring dangerous terrorists to America?

• President Obama has been pushing to close the terrorist detention facility at GITMO since his 2008 primary fight against Hillary Clinton. The administration’s latest plan calls for the relocation to U.S. soil of nearly 60 terrorists who face trial by military commission or have been deemed too dangerous to release.
  • The list of terrorists remaining at GITMO includes some of the most dangerous captured by U.S. forces, including 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed.
• An Obama administration official has confirmed that prisoner transfers from GITMO have already resulted in the deaths of Americans.
• A recent poll showed that 56% of Americans oppose President Obama’s plan to close the facility.
• The NDAA contains a prohibition for the use of funds to transfer terrorists housed at GITMO to the United States, or to construct or modify facilities in the U.S. to house detainees transferred from GITMO.
• But an amendment offered by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) would strip this prohibition from the bill, allowing the Obama administration to close GITMO and move the dangerous terrorists being detained there to facilities on U.S. soil.
• House Democrats will have to choose whether to stand with President Obama as he tries to fulfill a promise to his liberal base, or with the American people who oppose Obama’s dangerous plan to bring terrorists to the United States.

Background:

Pentagon’s Guantanamo closing plan lays out costs, savings. “The plan, which will be delivered to Congress Tuesday, is the administration’s last-ditch effort to make good on President Barack Obama’s campaign vow to close Guantanamo and convince lawmakers to allow the Defense Department to move nearly 60 detainees to the U.S…There are currently 91 detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Of those, 35 are expected to be transferred out by this summer. The rest are either facing trial by military commission or have been determined to be too dangerous to release but are not facing charges.” (Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press, 2/23/16)

Who is Left at Guantanamo? “Seven inmates have been charged with war crimes in Guantanamo’s military commissions, the judicial system set up by the Bush administration and tweaked by the Obama administration. They include Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the alleged organizer of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and his four alleged co-conspirators.” (Marina Koren, The Atlantic, 5/12/16)

Americans ‘Died Because of’ Released Gitmo Detainees: Pentagon Official. “Americans ‘have died because of’ detainees released from the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, a Defense Department official said Wednesday. The comments, from special envoy Paul Lewis, came during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, and may provide more fuel for critics of President Obama’s long-anticipated plan to shutter the prison, which he announced last month. During the hearing, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., asked Lewis how many people had died because of ‘terrorists who went back to their terrorist activity.’ When Lewis responded that he would prefer to discuss the matter in a ‘classified setting,’ Rohrabacher pressed him, asking if it was ‘over 10.’ ‘Sir, what I can tell you is unfortunately there have been Americans that have died because of Gitmo detainees,’ Lewis said.” (Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 3/23/16)

CNN/ORC poll: Americans oppose plan to close Guantanamo Bay prison. “Americans oppose President Barack Obama’s efforts to close the detention center for enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to the results of a CNN/ORC poll released Friday. The poll found that 56% oppose shutting the center, while 40% support the idea.” (Tom LoBianco, CNN, 3/4/16)

H.R. 4909 – National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017

Amendment to Rules Committee Print 114-51 – Nadler Amendment