HR 4600 IHCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To prohibit the use of funds to transfer or release an individual detained at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base to the custody of another country.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

February 4, 2010CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN (for herself, Mr. BOEHNER, Mr. MCKEON, Mr. SMITH of Texas, Mr. KING of New York, Mr. HOEKSTRA, Mr. LEWIS of California, Ms. GRANGER, and Mr. PENCE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign AffairsCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To prohibit the use of funds to transfer or release an individual detained at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base to the custody of another country.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) On January 22, 2009, President Obama signed Executive Order 13492, requiring the detention facilities at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base (Guantanamo) to be closed ‘as soon as practicable’, but not later than one year from the date of the order.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) A task force of United States Government agencies, including the Departments of Homeland Security, Defense, State, and Justice and the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has reportedly concluded that large numbers of the detainees held at the United States military facility at Guantanamo pose a severe and permanent threat United States national security and thus should be held indefinitely without trial under the laws of war.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) Despite this conclusion by United States national security and intelligence agencies, the Obama Administration continues to plan for additional transfers of detainees to other countries.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) According to a report by the Government Accountability Office, as of March 2009, the principal ‘rehabilitation center’ in Saudi Arabia used to rehabilitate 250 former Guantanamo detainees in order to prevent such detainees from resuming their war on the United States had a recidivism rate of 20 percent.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) In July 2007, a Department of Defense spokesman stated that, ‘Our reports indicate that at least 30 former Guantanamo detainees have taken part in anti-coalition militant activities after leaving United States detention. Some have been killed in combat in Afghanistan and Pakistan.’. According to the Department of Defense, the recidivism rate of all former Guantanamo detainees was 14 percent in May 2009.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(6) In some instances, countries and organizations have expressed strong reluctance to accept any or additional former Guantanamo detainees, citing security as their primary concern, such as:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) Australia: ‘Assessing those requests from a case-by-case basis, they had not met our stringent national security and immigration criteria and have been rejected.’, stated Julia Gillard, Acting Australian Prime Minister, on January 3, 2009.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) Hungary: ‘Hungary is likely to take one or two former detainees provided they get the green light from parliament after a national security check-up. . . . We are going to study each case, taking the safety of Hungary and of Hungarians as our first priority.’, announced Hungarian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Zsuzsanna Matrai on June 19, 2009.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) Switzerland: On January 12, 2010, in a 15-10 vote, a Swiss Parliamentary Security Committee voted against accepting any more detainees from Guantanamo, citing ‘heightened’ security concerns due to the Christmas Detroit bombing attempt.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(D) European Parliament: ‘Many of the detainees, for example, who went to Afghanistan after September 11, [2001,] have attended training camps for terrorists. And those who did so were no tourists wanting to admire the beauty of the country, but remain potential terrorists.’, stated Harthmuth Nassauer, a German member of the European Parliament, on February 4, 2009.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS FOR TRANSFER OR RELEASE OF INDIVIDUALS DETAINED AT GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE.

(a) In General- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no funds made available to any relevant executive branch agency may be used to encourage, facilitate, or otherwise effect the transfer or release of any individual currently detained at Guantanamo to the custody of the individual’s country of origin or a third country unless the President makes the certification described in subsection (b).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Presidential Certification- The certification described in this subsection is a written certification that the President submits to the appropriate congressional committees that contains each of the following with respect to an individual currently detained at Guantanamo or an individual covered by this section who is proposed to be transferred or released into the custody of another country:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) A certification that the government of the country--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) exercises effective control over all of its territory;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) does not allow any area of its territory to be used as a safe haven or sanctuary by terrorists or insurgent groups, including Al Qaeda; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) has effectively and verifiably tracked the movements and activities of all individuals who had been detained at Guantanamo who are transferred or released into its custody, including any individual who may have subsequently left the country, and has provided the United States Government with all relevant information relating thereto.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) A certification that there is no confirmed case of any individual who had been detained at Guantanamo who reengaged in any actual or planned act of terrorism or threat to United States citizens or members of the United States Armed Forces subsequent to being transferred or released to such country.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Additional Prohibition-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no funds made available to the Department of State may be used to provide assistance to the government of a country to which an individual currently detained at Guantanamo is to be transferred or released for use by the security forces of such country unless the President makes the certification described in subsection (b).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) WAIVER- The President may waive the prohibition of paragraph (1) if the President determines that--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) it is vital to the national security of the United States to do so; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) the government of the country has taken effective action to meet the requirements of subsection (b).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 3. REPORT.

(a) In General- Accompanying each certification submitted pursuant to section 2(b), and every 90 days thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that describes--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) the ability and willingness of the government of the country to which an individual currently detained at Guantanamo is to be transferred or released to continuously track the movements and activities of all individuals who have been detained at Guantanamo who have been transferred or released to such country, including any such individuals who have subsequently left the country;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) any activity by any individual who had been detained at Guantanamo who has been transferred or released to such country that has contributed to any actual or planned act of terrorism or threat to United States citizens or members of the United States Armed Forces subsequent to being transferred or released to such country;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) the extent to which the government of the country has provided the information described in paragraphs (1) and (2) to United States Government authorities; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) the steps taken by the government of the country to comply with the requirements in this Act.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Form- The report required by subsection (a) shall be submitted in an unclassified form, but may contain a classified annex.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES- The term ‘appropriate congressional committees’ means--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) INDIVIDUAL CURRENTLY DETAINED AT GUANTANAMO- The term ‘individual currently detained at Guantanamo’ has the meaning given the term under section 1(c) of Executive Order 13492.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) RELEVANT EXECUTIVE BRANCH AGENCY- The term ‘relevant executive branch agency’ means--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) the Department of State;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) the United States Agency for International Development; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) any other United States Government department, agency, instrumentality, or representative carrying out any provision of law that is classified under Budget Function 150 (International Affairs).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) SANCTUARY- The term ‘sanctuary’ has the meaning given the term in section 140(d)(5) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 (22 U.S.C. 2656f(d)(5)).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink