WASHINGTON, DC—Rep. Darin LaHood voted today to prohibit the transfer of any more detainees from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, releasing the following statement:
“In the midst of a global war on terror, President Obama is determined to release confirmed and suspected terrorists from Guantanamo Bay. It is illegal for the President to transfer Guantanamo Bay detainees onto U.S. soil, so in order to fulfill his campaign promise he has been transferring them to other countries. However, the President knows that the countries these terrorists are headed to cannot assure us that they will not end up back on the battlefield. In fact, we know through prior transfers that 30% of them will return to terrorism or the battlefield. Today the House passed a measure to block the transfer of any more detainees from Guantanamo Bay. We cannot release the world’s most dangerous terrorists back onto the battlefield. That’s just common sense.”
According to the Director of National Intelligence, nearly one-third of released detainees return to terrorism. Just last month the President transferred 15 detainees out of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to United Arab Emirates –the single-largest transfer since President Barack Obama took office. The Administration has also already cleared 20 of the remaining 61 detainees at Gitmo for release.
H.R. 5351 prohibits the transfer of any more detainees from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.The ban on detainee transfers would extend through Jan. 1 or the date the new National Defense Authorization Act is signed into law, whichever comes first. The measure passed the House today on a vote of 244—174.
