HR 3326

H.R.3326, Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010

(Also note, 8/3/2009: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Appropriations.)

Sec. 8119. (a) None of the funds made available in this or any prior Act may be used to release an individual who is detained, as of April 30, 2009, at Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, into the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, the District of Columbia, or any of the United States territories of Guam, American Samoa (AS), the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).

(b) None of the funds made available in this or any prior Act may be used to transfer an individual who is detained, as of April 30, 2009, at the Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, into the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, the District of Columbia, or any of the United States territories of Guam, American Samoa (AS), the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), for the purposes of detaining or prosecuting such individual until 2 months after the plan detailed in subsection (c) is received.

(c) The President shall submit to the Congress, in writing, a comprehensive plan regarding the proposed disposition of each individual who is detained, as of April 30, 2009, at Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, who is not covered under subsection (d). Such plan shall include, at a minimum, each of the following for each such individual:

(1) The findings of an analysis regarding any risk to the national security of the United States that is posed by the transfer of the individual.

(2) The costs associated with not transferring the individual in question.

(3) The legal rationale and associated court demands for transfer.

(4) A certification by the President that any risk described in paragraph (1) has been mitigated, together with a full description of the plan for such mitigation.

(5) A certification by the President that the President has submitted to the Governor and legislature of the State or territory (or, in the case of the District of Columbia, to the Mayor of the District of Columbia) to which the President intends to transfer the individual a certification in writing at least 30 days prior to such transfer (together with supporting documentation and justification) that the individual does not pose a security risk to the United States.

(d) None of the funds made available in this or any prior Act may be used to transfer or release an individual detained at Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as of April 30, 2009, to the country of such individual's nationality or last habitual residence or to the freely associated States of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), or the Republic of Palau, or to any other country other than the United States, unless the President submits to the Congress, in writing, at least 30 days prior to such transfer or release, the following information:

(1) The name of any individual to be transferred or released and the country to which such individual is to be transferred or released.

(2) An assessment of any risk to the national security of the United States or its citizens, including members of the Armed Services or the United States, that is posed by such transfer or release and the actions taken to mitigate such risk.

(3) The terms of any agreement with another country for acceptance of such individual, including the amount of any financial assistance related to such agreement.

FYI, from 111-230 DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS BILL, 2010 REPORT of the COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS [to accompany H.R. 3326]:

The Committee on Appropriations submits the following report in explanation of the accompanying bill making appropriations for the Department of Defense, and for other purposes, for fiscal year ending September 30, 2010.

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE

The Committee has not provided the $100,000,000 requested to support the relocation and disposition of individuals detained at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. The Department of Defense is still awaiting a decision by the Administration on the future of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, and these funds are not needed at this time...

ADDITIONAL VIEWS OF REPRESENTATIVES JERRY LEWIS AND C.W. BILL YOUNG ON THE FISCAL YEAR 2010 DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS BILL

GUANTANAMO BAY

This January, the President signed the executive order to close the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility. More than five months later there is still no evidence of a plan to carry out this order, and there has been no consultation with the Congress. In fact, just this week the Administration announced that they are extending their Detention Policy Task Force for another six months, because they were not able to sort it all out within the President’s timetable. Despite these difficulties, the suspected plotter of the 1998 Embassy bombings in Africa has already been moved to New York to face trial. The Government of Palau has announced that they will accept some Uighur detainees, and press accounts linked that action to a $200 million payoff by the U.S. Government that the State Department will not confirm or deny. Finally, four Uighur detainees have already been released to Bermuda. Congress and the American public found out about these actions and diplomatic efforts after the fact.

And there is more—detainee transfers have also been made to Saudi Arabia, Chad, and Iraq. We have heard rumors about deals with Yemen, Italy, and Albania. All of this is being done without an assessment of the risks to American people at home and abroad, or an assessment of risk to our U.S. forces, especially since the detainees at Guantanamo include the perpetrators of some of the most horrific terrorist acts against Americans, including 9/11, the USS Cole bombing, and the Embassy bombings in Africa.

Director Mueller of the FBI testified to Congress that bringing these detainees to the U.S. poses risks to national security, including providing financing, radicalizing others, and undertaking attacks in the U.S. Additionally, the Department of Defense has reported that at least 14 percent of former Guantanamo detainees have returned to terrorist activity. This Administration is ignoring or disregarding those risks, and they continue to stonewall the Congress. We need to stop the Administration from rushing to transfer or resettle detainees simply to fulfill a campaign promise.

We commend Chairman Murtha for the inclusion of Ranking Member Lewis’s Guantanamo language in the Managers Amendment. This language, which contains the same requirements in the Commerce/Justice/Science bill that prohibits release or permanent transfer of detainees to the U.S. and requires a risk assessment prior to any transfer for purposes of prosecution, and the language in the Interior bill that expands those restrictions to U.S. territories, has enjoyed bipartisanship support during the Fiscal Year 2010 Appropriations Process. It ensures that the Administration cannot act unilaterally and ignore the concerns of the Congress on such an important matter.

Language re: Guantanamo Detainees in H.R.2847, the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 (Passed by House - the Senate version does not include this language)

Sec. 532. (a) None of the funds made available in this or any prior Act may be used to release an individual who is detained, as of April 30, 2009, at Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, into the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, or the District of Columbia.

(b) None of the funds made available in this or any prior Act may be used to transfer an individual who is detained, as of April 30, 2009, at the Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, into the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, or the District of Columbia, for the purposes of detaining or prosecuting such individual until 2 months after the plan detailed in subsection (c) is received.

(c) The President shall submit to the Congress, in writing, a comprehensive plan regarding the proposed disposition of each individual who is detained, as of April 30, 2009, at Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, who is not covered under subsection (d). Such plan shall include, at a minimum, each of the following for each such individual:

(1) The findings of an analysis regarding any risk to the national security of the United States that is posed by the transfer of the individual.

(2) The costs associated with not transferring the individual in question.

(3) The legal rationale and associated court demands for transfer.

(4) A certification by the President that any risk described in paragraph (1) has been mitigated, together with a full description of the plan for such mitigation.

(5) A certification by the President that the President has submitted to the Governor and legislature of the State to which the President intends to transfer the individual a certification in writing at least 30 days prior to such transfer (together with supporting documentation and justification) that the individual does not pose a security risk tot he United States.

(d) None of the funds made available in this or any prior Act may be used to transfer or release an individual detained at Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as of April 30, 2009, to the country of such individual's nationality or last habitual residence or to any other country other than the United States, unless the President submits to the Congress, in writing, at least 30 days prior to such transfer or release, the following information:

(1) The name of any individual to be transferred or released and the country to which such individual is to be transferred or released.

(2) An assessment of any risk to the national security of the United States or its citizens, including members of the Armed Services or the United States, that is posed by such transfer or released and the actions taken to mitigate such risk.

(3) The terms of any agreement with another country for acceptance of such individual, including the amount of any financial assistance related to such agreement.