Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2009

Floor Speech

SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2009 -- (Senate - May 20, 2009)

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Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I rise to express my strong support for the Inouye-Inhofe amendment and suggest to my colleagues that this should not be a controversial amendment. In fact, I commend my colleagues on the Democratic side for recognizing the futility of trying to put funding in the bill that we are debating here without having a plan with which to close Guantanamo Bay.

It seems to me, at least, that a lot have gotten up and argued that having Guantanamo Bay open as a detention facility makes our country less safe. I argue the contrary. That didn't exist prior to 9/11, and we were attacked anyway. The people who want to attack us don't need an excuse; they are going to attack us anyway. They are going to attack us because they hate us and they hate our way of life and the things we stand for and because that is what they do. They have hate in their hearts. I believe we need to have a place where we can detain people like that. It seems to me at least that the Guantanamo Bay facility fits perfectly within the definition of what makes sense. It is a state-of-the-art facility, a $200 million facility. Nobody has ever escaped from it. It is a very secure facility. It is hundreds of miles away from American communities.

One thing I point out to my colleagues is that we have already expressed our view here in the Senate about whether these detainees ought to be transferred somewhere here into American society and into facilities in American communities and neighborhoods. In July of 2007, we took a vote in the Senate, and by a vote of 94 to 3, the Senators voted in favor of a resolution that would prevent these detainees from coming here--being released into American society or transferred into facilities in American communities and neighborhoods. Those in favor of that resolution at the time included both the current Vice President of the United States and the current Secretary of State.

My hope would be that this amendment offered by the Senator from Oklahoma and the Senator from Hawaii will receive that same measure of support that was accorded to the amendment adopted in the Senate in July of 2007 by a vote of 94 to 3. This amendment should receive that same measure of support.

As I noted last week in a speech on the floor, President Obama told us, when he issued his January 22 Executive order to close Guantanamo, that he would work with Congress on any legislation that might be appropriate. Instead of consulting Congress, the President asked for $80 million to close Guantanamo, with no justification or indication of any plan.

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 here into our communities.

It is deeply troubling that not only does the Obama administration wish to hold open the possibility that some detainees might be transferred to facilities in American communities, it is even considering freeing some of them into American society. These are the 17 Chinese Uighers whose Combat Status Review Tribunal records were deemed insufficient to support the conclusion that they are enemy combatants but who 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, said this:

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

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.

The American people don't want these detainees held in a military base or a Federal prison in their backyard either. These are not common criminals; these are hardened killers bent on the destruction of the United States. They are resourceful, these people are innovative, and they understand the strategic vulnerabilities of the United States and how to exploit those very vulnerabilities. Who would have predicted that this group of people would basically be able to steal a fleet of planes and cause death and destruction on the scale and magnitude of Pearl Harbor? It is hard to imagine a more dangerous set of circumstances to put upon an American community.

Since President Obama seems set on a course to bring terrorists into the United States, I strongly support the efforts of Senators Inhofe and Inouye to introduce this amendment. The amendment would prevent any funding in the bill from being used to transfer detainees held at Guantanamo Bay to any facility in the United States or to construct, improve, modify, or otherwise enhance any facility in the United States for the purpose of housing any Guantanamo detainees.

If we must close Guantanamo Bay, it should not result in Americans being less safe. Bringing these detainees to the United States would make Americans less safe, and we should not do it.

Transferring these detainees would also stress the civilian governments in the communities where the detainees would be placed. They would be faced with overwhelming demands, from roadblocks to identification checks, along with having the increased security personnel necessary to deal with what is an obvious threat. The value of homes and businesses would decline.

I can tell you that South Dakotans definitely don't want these detainees in their State. I hope my support of the Inouye-Inhofe amendment will help to ensure that they will not be transferred to South Dakota or to anywhere else in the United States.

My view is that no Guantanamo detainee should be brought to this country to be incarcerated and certainly should not be brought into the United States and freed. The Senate has clearly spoken on that front, as I said, by a vote of 94 to 3 on a resolution, in July 2007, that detainees housed at Guantanamo Bay should not be released into American society and not transferred stateside into facilities in American communities and neighborhoods.

Guantanamo is secure. The facility is a $200 million state-of-the-art prison. No one has ever escaped, and the location makes it extremely difficult to attack. Best of all, it is located hundreds of miles from American communities. If the President wants to close Guantanamo, he must do so in a way that keeps America safe. In my view, America is less safe if Guantanamo detainees are brought into the United States.

I appreciate the hard work of Senator Inhofe and Senator Inouye on this issue. I hope when we have the vote today, my colleagues will adopt this amendment with the same level of support that we adopted the resolution back in July of 2007 by a vote of 94 to 3, stating very clearly that it is the view of the Senate that these detainees should not be brought into American communities, into American neighborhoods. I would argue they ought to be held right where they are, in a place that is safe, that is secure, that is state of the art, where they receive the very best of treatment, where no one has ever escaped, hundreds of miles away from American communities and neighborhoods.

I hope my colleagues will support this amendment.

I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum, and I ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be charged equally to both sides.

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