Disapproval of the Administration's Failure to Notify Congress Before Releasing Individuals from Guantanamo Bay
Floor Speech
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong concern regarding President Obama's failure to notify Congress at least 30 days in advance of exchanging five Taliban prisoners held at U.S. Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, for U.S. Army Sergeant Bowie Bergdahl, who was held by the Taliban as a Prisoner of War (POW).
However, this resolution is a clear example of partisan overreach by the House Majority and does not appropriately address these issues. Nor does it advance this debate in a constructive way. In the words of the Dissenting Views of the House Armed Services Committee members, this resolution is ``an overstated and unnecessary product of a rhetorical exercise fueled by over partisanship.''
We, as a nation, have an obligation to the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces to do everything in our power as a nation to bring them home. Americans do not leave our soldiers behind.
Section 8111, of the Department of Defense (DOD) Appropriations Act of 2014, prohibits the President from using any Congressionally appropriated funds to transfer any individuals detained at Guantanamo Bay, unless Congress is notified 30 days in advance. This is the law, and the President is required to comply with the law.
The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) concluded that ``DOD violated section 8111 because it did not notify the relevant congressional committees at least 30 days in advance of the transfer.'' Additionally, GAO concluded that DOD violated the Antideficiency Act ``because DOD used appropriated funds to carry out the transfer when no money was available for that purpose.''
While I agree with the GAO findings, I cannot vote for a purely partisan measure written under the pretense of addressing a violation of the law.
This is a serious matter that requires deliberative debate in Congress. The President should have followed the law, as laid out in section 8111, and notified Congress 30 days in advance of this release. However, the American peo deserve better than this highly politicized resolution.
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