National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017

Floor Speech

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Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, this amendment would strike sections 1032 and 1033 of the bill, which prohibit the use of funds to transfer detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the United States or to construct or expand any facility in the U.S. to house any individual currently detained at Guantanamo.

Simply put, the section is designed to prevent the closure of the detention facility at Guantanamo and to make it as difficult as possible to transfer detainees to a different facility. My amendment is intended to do the opposite and to finally bring to a close a shameful chapter of American history.

The President's Statement of Administration Policy says the following: ``The administration strongly objects to several provisions of the bill that relate to the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. As the administration has said many times before, operating this facility weakens our national security by draining resources, damaging our relationships with key allies and partners, and emboldening violent extremists. In February, the administration submitted a comprehensive plan to safely and responsibly close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and to bring this chapter of our history to a close. Rather than taking steps to close the facility, this bill aims to extend its operation. Sections 1032 and 1033 would continue to prohibit the use of funds to transfer Guantanamo detainees to the United States or even to construct or modify any facility in the United States to house detainees. These restrictions would limit the ability of the executive branch to take the steps necessary to develop alternative locations for a detention facility, and from fulfilling its commitment to close the facility at Guantanamo.''

Mr. Chairman, it is truly astonishing that in 2016 the United States continues to hold people indefinitely who have not been charged, let alone convicted, of any crime and who, in some cases, have been judged not to pose any threat to the United States. By continuing to hold prisoners indefinitely without charging them and without trial is inconsistent with our professed support of liberty.

Now, I know some will say the detainees are dangerous terrorists, and some undoubtedly are. But some of them are not. They are merely people who were captured in some way but who have not been charged or judged as terrorists. Some of them are simply victims of the fact that the United States paid bounties to people in Afghanistan years ago to turn in people who they said were terrorists. The Hatfields turned in the McCoys because--why not? We were giving them a bounty of a few thousand dollars a head.

For the truly dangerous, we ought to prosecute them and, if convicted, punish them appropriately. We have, for those who need it, supermax prisons in the United States from which no one has ever escaped. There is no reason to spend so much money in Guantanamo and have this continuing shame on the reputation of the United States.

Speaking of money, GTMO is the world's most expensive prison by far. We are spending about $2.9 million annually per prisoner. It costs us less than $35,000 per prisoner to hold someone in a supermax facility in the United States. Frankly, they don't deserve the spending. We should be spending that money here in the United States, not on terrorists, but on teachers or maybe on defense. No one will argue that that money could not be spent better somewhere else.

Finally, Mr. Chairman, I include in the Record a letter signed by more than 30 retired generals urging the Congress to responsibly close the detention facility at Guantanamo. They quote President George Bush when he said that the facility had become a ``propaganda tool for our enemies.'' March 1, 2016. Senator John McCain, Chairman, Senate Armed Services Committee, Russell Senate Building, Washington, DC. Senator Jack Reed, Ranking Member, Senate Armed Service Committee, Russell Senate Building, Washington, DC. Representative Mac Thornberry, Chairman, House Armed Services Committee, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC. Representative Adam Smith, Ranking Member, House Armed Services Committee, Rayburn House Office Building. Washington, DC.

Dear Chairmen and Ranking Members: For over seven years we, a group of retired flag and general officers of the United States Armed Forces, have advocated the responsible closure of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. We have done this because it is what is best for our country. It is in our national security interests, and above all, it is about reestablishing who we are as a country.

Last week the administration presented its plan for closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. As the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate Armed Service Committees, yours is a solemn responsibility. We write to encourage you to use this plan as a foundation to come together and find a path to finally shutter the detention facility. This should not be a political issue. Former President George W. Bush determined that Guantanamo should be closed because, in his words, ``. . . the detention facility had become a propaganda tool for our enemies and a distraction for our allies. I worked to find a way to close the prison without compromising security.'' The current plan similarly seeks to achieve that objective, following the advice of our nation's top military, intelligence, and law enforcement leaders.

Closing Guantanamo will not be easy, but it is the right thing to do, and we call on you to work together to accomplish it. We take heart that our nation has elected people who will exercise their conscientious judgment, but who will not allow politics to obscure courage. Compromise for the common good is the true exercise of leadership and courage. Sincerely,

General Charles Krulak, USMC (Ret); Vice Admiral Richard H. Carmona, USPHS (Ret.); Lieutenant General Robert G. Gard, Jr., USA (Ret.); Lieutenant General Richard L. Kelly, USMC (Ret.); Lieutenant General Charles Otstott, USA (Ret.); Lieutenant General Keith J. Stalder, USMC (Ret.); Major General Eugene Fox, USA (Ret.); Rear Admiral John D. Hutson, JAGC, USN (Ret.); Major General Michael R. Lehnert, USMC (Ret.); Major General Eric T. Olson, USA (Ret.); Major General Walter L. Stewart, Jr., USA (Ret.); Major General Margaret Woodward, USAF (Ret.); Brigadier General David M. Brahms, USMC (Ret.); Brigadier General James P. Cullen, USA (Ret.).

General David M. Maddox, USA (Ret.); Lieutenant General John Castellaw, USMC (Ret.); Vice Admiral Lee F. Gunn, USN (Ret.); Lieutenant General Claudia J. Kennedy, USA (Ret.); Lieutenant General Norman R. Seip, USAF (Ret.); Major General Paul D. Eaton, USA (Ret.); Rear Admiral Don Guter, JAGC, USN (Ret.); Major General Carl B. Jensen, USMC (Ret.); Major General William L. Nash, USA (Ret.); Major General Thomas J. Romig, USA (Ret.); Major General Antonio M. Taguba, USA (Ret.); Brigadier General John Adams, USA (Ret.); Brigadier General Stephen A. Cheney, USMC (Ret.); Brigadier General Evelyn P. Foote, USA (Ret.).

Brigadier General Alan K. Fry, USA (Ret.); Brigadier General David R. Irvine, USA (Ret.); Brigadier General Richard O'Meara, USA (Ret.); Brigadier General Daniel P. Woodward, USAF (Ret.); Brigadier General Leif H. Hendrickson, USMC (Ret.); Brigadier General John H. Johns, USA (Ret.); Brigadier General Murray G. Sagsveen, USA (Ret.); Brigadier General Stephen N. Xenakis, USA (Ret.).

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Mr. NADLER. So, again, for all these reasons--it weakens our security, it drains our resources, it emboldens our enemies, and it is contrary to liberty and everything that we stand for--I urge my colleagues to support this amendment and to lift these restrictions on closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. If people must be kept in prison, then they can be kept here a heck of a lot more cheaply and without subjecting us to the continued propaganda against Guantanamo.

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Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chairman, how much time do I have remaining?

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Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, we have heard again the mantra from the other side: These people are the worst of the worst. They have American blood on their hands.

Some of them may, but many of them don't. They have not been tried. I don't know with what authority you say they are the worst of the worst; they have American blood on their hands. True of some, not of others.

What kind of system is it for the United States to simply take people, not try them, not accuse them, and hold them indefinitely because somebody says that they are the worst of the worst? On what authority and on what proof?

As for the funding, it costs between $3 million and $5 million--$2.9 million here in 2013, closer to $5 million now--per person per year. It costs $35,000 to hold someone in a supermax facility. I don't know why we have to build new supermax facilities, but if we do, we should. The point is it is incredibly expensive to keep them there for no reason.

Again, some of those people ought to be tried and sentenced to life imprisonment or whatever, some of them ought to be freed. Some of them have been judged not to be, have already been found not to be a danger to the United States. Simply repeating over and over again that they are all the worst of the worst, they all have American blood on their hands, when it is simply not true--some of them yes, some of them no-- does not make the case.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

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