Armed Services Committee Approves Ayotte Provision to Prohibit Funding for Construction of Terrorist Detention Facilities in the U.S.

Press Release

During debate Thursday in the Armed Services Committee on the National Defense Authorization Act, U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) successfully worked to include a provision that indefinitely prohibits the use of funds to construct or modify facilities in the United States to house detainees transferred from the Guantanamo Bay terrorist detention facility. An earlier version of the bill would have only put in place such restrictions for Fiscal Year 2012.

"Bringing terrorist detainees to the United States poses an unjustifiable security threat, and I'm pleased that the Committee has agreed to indefinitely block funding for construction projects for terrorist detention facilities on US soil," said Ayotte. "Because I believe Guantanamo Bay is the appropriate place to detain and try terrorists, I will continue my legislative efforts to keep the facility open for current and future terrorist detainees."

As a member of the Armed Services Committee, Senator Ayotte has worked to advance efforts to keep open the Guantanamo Bay terrorist detention facility. She authored the bi-partisan "Detaining Terrorists to Secure America Act," which reaffirms Guantanamo Bay as a location for detaining unprivileged enemy belligerents held by the Department of Defense, directing the Defense Secretary to take actions to maintain GITMO as an operating facility for the detention of current and future terrorists. The legislation also permanently limits the transfer of detainees to foreign countries, and prohibits funding for the construction of terrorist detention facilities within the United States (a provision Ayotte successfully worked to include in the Senate Armed Services version of the National Defense Authorization Act).

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