Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act of 2009

Floor Speech

CREDIT CARDHOLDERS' BILL OF RIGHTS ACT OF 2009 -- (Senate - May 14, 2009)

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GUANTANAMO BAY

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I have sought recognition to make a few observations on President Obama's request in the emergency war supplemental for $80 million in funding to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. Shortly after taking office in January, President Obama announced, with much fanfare, the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. At the same time, he also said he would work with Congress on any legislation that might be appropriate.

But instead of consulting Congress, President Obama is asking for $80 million to close Guantanamo, with no justification or indication of a plan. The House Appropriations Committee has already refused to provide the funding because, in the words of the chairman of the committee, the President has no plan in place on what to do about the detainees housed there. We are now hearing reports that the Senate Appropriations Committee will be providing funding for Guantanamo and its version in the emergency war supplemental, but that it will be ``fenced off'' until the President provides a plan on disposition of the detainees held at Guantanamo Bay. I believe any plan to close Guantanamo that includes bringing these terrorists into the United States is a mistake. We don't want the killers who are held there to be brought into this country.

The administration is actively seeking to circumvent a Senate resolution which passed by a vote of 94 to 3 in July of 2007. That resolution stated the detainees housed at Guantanamo Bay should not be released into American society and not transferred stateside into facilities in American communities and neighborhoods.

In fact, not only does the Obama administration wish to hold open the possibility that some of these detainees may be transferred to facilities in American communities, it is even considering freeing some of them into American society. These are the 17 Chinese Uighurs whose combat status review tribunal records were deemed insufficient to support the conclusion that they are enemy combatants but cannot be returned to China because of fear that the Chinese Government will torture or kill them. At a press conference on March 26, ADM Dennis Blair, the Director of National Intelligence, went so far as to say:

If we are to release them [the Uighurs] in the United States, we need some sort of assistance for them to start a new life.

However, the Uighur detainees are not simply unfortunate souls who happened to be scooped up on the battlefields of Afghanistan because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. They took firearms training at camps run by the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement, which has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States. They were at Tora Bora when we were heavily bombing that area and seeking to capture Osama bin Laden. The leader and chief instructor at these camps was Abdul Haq. In a Treasury Department advisory issued only a few weeks ago, the Obama administration labeled this man a ``brutal terrorist'' with ties to al-Qaida.

It is hard to believe that this administration is seriously considering freeing these men inside the United States, and, most outrageous of all, paying them to live freely within American communities and neighborhoods. The American people don't want these men walking the streets of America's neighborhoods.

Aside from the issue of turning loose into the United States people who have trained in terrorist camps, the American people don't want the Guantanamo detainees to be transferred to the United States and held in their backyards, either, whether at a military base or in a Federal prison. That is easy to understand when one looks at the details of the killers who are held at Guantanamo.

Guantanamo is home to some of the world's most dangerous terrorists. There are 27 members of al-Qaida's leadership held there, along with 95 lower level al-Qaida operatives, 9 members of the Taliban's leadership, 92 foreign fighters, and 12 Taliban fighters. Americans don't want these killers brought into the United States, but President Obama's January 22 of 2009 Executive order reads, in relevant part, that a review of all Guantanamo detentions:

Shall identify and consider legal, logistical, and security issues relating to the potential transfer of individuals currently detained at Guantanamo to facilities within the United States.

In my view, President Obama is willfully ignoring the views of the Senate and its resolution passed, as I said earlier, by a bipartisan 94-to-3 votes. The detainees housed at Guantanamo should not be released into American society, nor should they be transferred to facilities in American communities and neighborhoods.

Since President Obama seems set on a course to bring these terrorists into the United States, I have worked with my colleague in the Senate, Senator Inhofe from Oklahoma, to introduce a bill that would prevent any taxpayer dollars from being used to transfer detainees held at Guantanamo to any facility in the United States or construct, improve, modify, or otherwise enhance any facility in the United States for the purpose of housing any Guantanamo detainees.

Transferring these terrorists held at Guantanamo to facilities in or near American communities could make those communities terrorist targets. I had the opportunity to question ADM Dennis Blair, the Director of National Intelligence, on the potential security threat of relocating the Guantanamo detainees to facilities in the United States during an Armed Services Committee hearing on current and future worldwide threats to the national security of the United States. Admiral Blair acknowledged that moving those detainees to the United States ``does somewhat raise the threat level'' and ``does raise the concern somewhat.'' That does not give me comfort. If we must close Guantanamo Bay, it should not result in Americans being less safe.

Transferring these detainees would also stress the civilian governments in the communities where these detainees would be placed. These communities would be faced with overwhelming demand from roadblocks to identification checks, along with having increased security personnel necessary to deal with what is an obvious threat. The value of homes and businesses would decline. South Dakotans definitely don't want these detainees, and my support of the Guantanamo Detention Facility Safe Closure Act will help to ensure that these detainees will not be transferred to my home State of South Dakota or other States in the United States.

In conclusion, my view is that no Guantanamo detainee should be brought into the United States to be incarcerated, and certainly should not be brought into the United States and freed. Americans don't want these killers brought into their communities and neighborhoods, period. The Senate has clearly spoken on that front by a 94-to-3 vote on a resolution that we adopted in July of 2007 that detainees housed at Guantanamo Bay should not be released into American society and not transferred stateside to facilities in American communities and neighborhoods.

These detainees are hardened, trained terrorists who are very smart and extremely dangerous, who understand the strategic vulnerabilities of this country, and who are capable of exploiting any situation and any vulnerability to inflict death and destruction on the United States. These are not common criminals locked up in State or Federal prisons.

Guantanamo is secure. The facility is a $200 million, state-of-the-art prison. No one has ever escaped, and its location makes it extremely difficult to attack. Best of all, it is located hundreds of miles away from American communities. If President Obama wishes to close Guantanamo, he must do so in a way that keeps America safe.

In my view, America will be less safe if the Guantanamo detainees are brought into the United States. I will do everything I can to make certain that does not happen.

I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

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