[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4464 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4464
To prohibit the release or transfer of an individual detained at Naval
Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, into or to the custody of any country or
region that is recognized by the Department of State or the Department
of Defense as a haven for terrorist activity or that has been
classified as a state sponsor of terrorism.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 19, 2010
Mr. Gingrey of Georgia (for himself, Mr. Linder, Mr. Broun of Georgia,
Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mr. Olson, Mr. Posey, and Mr. Coble) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed
Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit the release or transfer of an individual detained at Naval
Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, into or to the custody of any country or
region that is recognized by the Department of State or the Department
of Defense as a haven for terrorist activity or that has been
classified as a state sponsor of terrorism.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Prevent Terrorists from Reuniting
with Terrorist Cells Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Congress passed the Authorization to use Military Force
in the wake of the devastating attacks on United States soil on
September 11, 2001.
(2) Many persons captured during Operation Enduring Freedom
and otherwise were transferred to Naval Station, Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba (hereinafter in this section referred to as
``Guantanamo Bay'').
(3) The detention facility at Guantanamo Bay is the only
complex in the world that can safely hold individuals that pose
a high-security risk to the United States.
(4) Such facility is a secure location away from population
centers, provides maximum security required to prevent escape,
provides multiple levels of confinement opportunities based on
compliance of the detainee, and provides medical care not
available to a majority of the population of the world.
(5) As of the date of the enactment of this Act, there are
198 individuals detained at Guantanamo Bay.
(6) These detainees include terrorist trainers, terrorist
financiers, bomb makers, Osama bin Laden's bodyguards,
terrorist recruiters and facilitators, and would-be suicide
bombers.
(7) Detainees remaining at Guantanamo Bay fall into the
following three categories:
(A) Detainees who have been cleared for release,
but for whom the United States has not been able to
find a foreign country willing to accept them.
(B) Detainees who have been tried, had charges
referred to trial, or are awaiting for referral to
trial, including for alleged violations of the law of
war.
(C) Detainees who either pose a high threat to the
United States or who have been placed in preventive
detention to stop them from returning to the
battlefield.
(8) Although 779 individuals have been transferred to
Guantanamo Bay since early 2002, the substantial majority of
Guantanamo Bay detainees have ultimately been transferred to a
third country for continued detention or release.
(9) Since 2002, of the 779 total detainees, more than 550
have departed Guantanamo Bay for other countries, including
Albania, Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Belgium,
Denmark, Egypt, France, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Kazakhstan,
Libya, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia,
Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uganda,
the United Kingdom, United States, and Yemen.
(10) In the Department of State publication entitled
``Country Reports on Terrorism 2008'', printed on April 30,
2009, there are listed 22 nations and regions that are
considered to be terrorist safe havens and 4 nations considered
to be state sponsors of terrorism.
(11) As of the date of the enactment of this Act,
individuals who were detained at Guantanamo Bay have been
transferred for detention or release to 4 of the 22 regions or
nations considered terrorist safe havens and 2 of the 4 nations
listed as State Sponsors of terrorism.
(12) Iraq is recognized as a nation with terrorist activity
by the Department of State, and at least 7 individuals who were
detained at Guantanamo Bay have been transferred to or released
into Iraq.
(13) Afghanistan is recognized as a terrorist safe haven by
the Department of State, and at least 199 individuals who were
detained at Guantanamo Bay have been transferred to or released
into Afghanistan.
(14) Pakistan is recognized as a terrorist safe haven by
the Department of State, and at least 63 individuals who were
detained at Guantanamo Bay have been transferred to or released
into Pakistan.
(15) Iran is recognized as ``the most active state sponsor
of terrorism'' by the Department of State, and at least 2
individuals who were detained at Guantanamo Bay have been
transferred to or released into Iran.
(16) Sudan is recognized as a state sponsor of terrorism by
the Department of State, and at least 9 individuals who were
detained at Guantanamo Bay have been transferred to or released
into Sudan.
(17) Yemen is recognized as a terrorist safe haven by the
Department of State, and at least 21 individuals who were
detained at Guantanamo Bay have been transferred to or released
into Yemen.
(18) There are approximately 90 Yemeni nationals who are
detained at Guantanamo Bay as of the date of the enactment of
this Act, approximately 45 of which have been qualified for
repatriation.
(19) Said Ali al-Shihri, who is suspected of involvement in
the bombing of the United States Embassy in Yemen on September
17, 2008, was released from detention at Guantanamo Bay to
Saudi Arabia in 2007, passed through a Saudi rehabilitation
program, and has resurfaced as the new deputy leader of al
Qaeda in Yemen.
(20) On December 25, 2009, there was an attempted terrorist
attack on American soil when Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab
detonated an explosive device that fortunately malfunctioned.
(21) Al Qaeda in Yemen has declared that it trained
Abdulmutallab, who now has sworn charges against him, in
terrorist activity.
(22) Although President Obama has temporarily halted the
transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees to Yemen, detainees are
still permitted to be transferred to other nations recognized
by the Department of State as being complicit in terrorist
activity, being that they are terrorist safe havens or state
sponsors of terrorism.
(23) According to the Department of Defense special report
entitled ``Ex-Guantanamo Detainees Who Have Returned to the
Fight'' published on April 7, 2009, 14 percent of the former
Guantanamo Bay detainees have been confirmed or suspected of
reengaging in terrorist activities.
(24) The special report also says ``of the more than 530
Guantanamo detainees transferred from Department of Defense
custody at Guantanamo Bay, 27 were confirmed and 47 were
suspected of reengaging in terrorist activity. Between December
2008 and March 2009, nine detainees were added to the confirmed
list, six of whom were previously on the suspected list.''.
(25) It has been reported that the recidivism rate for
Guantanamo Bay detainees that have been transferred or released
from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has risen
from 14 percent to 20 percent since the special report was
published.
(26) The threat to the national security interests of the
United States and the welfare of its people is at a greater
risk when Guantanamo Bay detainees are transferred or released
into nations recognized as terrorist safe havens or state
sponsors of terrorism.
(27) The world is globally connected and mobile and allows
for the transport of individuals across national and
international boundaries with minimal or no supervision.
SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON TRANSFER AND RELEASE OF INDIVIDUALS DETAINED AT
NAVAL STATION, GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA.
No individual who is detained at Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba, as of the date of the enactment of this Act, may be transferred
or repatriated, for the purposes of release or detention, into a nation
or region that is recognized by the Department of State or the
Department of Defense as a haven of any manner, kind, or fashion for
terrorist activity or that has been classified as a state sponsor of
terrorism.
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