[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 370 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 370

To prohibit the use of funds to transfer detainees of the United States 
 at Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to any facility in the United 
 States or to construct any facility for such detainees in the United 
                    States, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 3, 2009

 Mr. Inhofe (for himself, Mr. DeMint, Mr. Thune, Mr. Roberts, and Mr. 
    Coburn) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
              referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To prohibit the use of funds to transfer detainees of the United States 
 at Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to any facility in the United 
 States or to construct any facility for such detainees in the United 
                    States, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility 
Safe Closure Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Senate makes the following findings:
            (1) Since the United States began its Global War on 
        Terrorism, terrorists have been captured by the United States 
        and their allies and detained in facilities at Guantanamo Bay 
        Detention Facility (GTMO), Cuba.
            (2) The detainee complex at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is the 
        only complex in the world that can safely and humanely hold 
        individuals that pose a high-security risk to the United 
        States. It 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.
            (3) GTMO is the single greatest repository of human 
        intelligence in the war on terror. This intelligence has 
        prevented terrorist attacks and saved lives in the past and 
        continues to do so today.
            (4) New intelligence being collected from detainees at GTMO 
        is being used to fight terrorists in Iraq, Afghanistan, and 
        around the globe.
            (5) Intelligence information obtained from questioning 
        detainees includes--
                    (A) the organizational structure of al-Qaida and 
                other terrorist groups;
                    (B) the extent of terrorist presence in Europe, the 
                United States, and the Middle East;
                    (C) al-Qaida's pursuit of weapons of mass 
                destruction;
                    (D) methods of recruitment and locations of 
                recruitment centers;
                    (E) terrorist skill sets, including general and 
                specialized operative training; and
                    (F) how legitimate financial activities are used to 
                hide terrorist operations.
            (6) The Expeditionary Legal Complex (ELC) located at GTMO 
        is the only one of its kind in the world. It provides a secure 
        location to secure and try detainees charged by the United 
        States Government, full access to sensitive and classified 
        information, full access to defense lawyers and prosecution, 
        and full media access by the press.
            (7) There are on average two lawyers for every detainee 
        that has been charged or had charges preferred against them at 
        GTMO.
            (8) There are 127 doctors, nurses, and medical technicians 
        dedicated to caring for and maintaining the health of each 
        detainee--a ratio of 1:2 (one health care professional for 
        every two detainees).
            (9) GTMO is operated by the Department of Defense and only 
        interrogation techniques approved by the Secretary of Defense 
        have been used.
            (10) Detainees are being treated humanely.
            (11) There are no solitary confinement facilities at 
        Guantanamo.
            (12) Water boarding has never occurred at GTMO.
            (13) Current treatment and oversight exceed any maximum-
        security prison in the world.
            (14) Since 2002, more than 520 detainees have departed 
        Guantanamo for other countries, including Albania, Afghanistan, 
        Australia, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Belgium, Denmark, Egypt, 
        France, Great Britain, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, 
        Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, 
        Spain, Sweden, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uganda, the United 
        Kingdom, and Yemen.
            (15) There are approximately 245 detainees from over 30 
        countries remaining at GTMO. These detainees include terrorist 
        trainers, terrorist financiers, bomb makers, Osama bin Laden 
        bodyguards, recruiters and facilitators, and would-be suicide 
        bombers. Detainees remaining at GTMO fall into three 
        categories:
                    (A) Detainees who have been cleared for release but 
                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.
                    (C) Detainees who are either of high threat to the 
                United States or are from countries where the United 
                States is unable to get sufficient assurances that the 
                country will mitigate their threat if transferred.
            (16) The Pentagon claims that 61 of released GTMO detainees 
        have ``returned to the fight''.
            (17) Said Ali al-Shihri, suspected of involvement in the 
        bombing of the United States Embassy in Yemen on 17 September 
        2008, was released to Saudi Arabia in 2007, passed through a 
        Saudi rehabilitation program, and has resurfaced as the new 
        deputy leader of al-Qaida in Yemen.
            (18) In 2007, the Senate passed a resolution, 94-3, 
        stating, ``detainees housed at Guantanamo should not be 
        released into American society, nor should they be transferred 
        stateside into facilities in American communities and 
        neighborhoods.''.
            (19) On January 20, 2009, President Obama instructed 
        military prosecutors to seek a 120-day suspension of legal 
        proceedings at GTMO or what administration officials called ``a 
        continuance of the proceedings''.
            (20) On January 22, 2009, President Obama ordered the 
        closing of the GTMO prisons within a year.
            (21) The United States is still in a global war on terror, 
        engaged in armed conflict with terrorist organizations, and 
        will, in all probability, continue to capture terrorists who 
        will be detained in a facility.
            (22) If the detention facility at GTMO is closed, some 
        United States domestic or overseas prison will have to house 
        these detainees while they await disposition.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS TO TRANSFER DETAINEES AT NAVAL 
              STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA, TO ANY FACILITY IN THE 
              UNITED STATES OR CONSTRUCT ANY FACILITY FOR SUCH 
              DETAINEES IN THE UNITED STATES.

    None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available to any 
department or agency of the United States Government may be obligated 
or expended for a purpose as follows:
            (1) To transfer any detainee of the United States housed at 
        Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to any facility in the 
        United States or its territories.
            (2) To construct, improve, modify, or otherwise enhance any 
        facility in the United States or its territories for the 
        purpose of housing any detainee described in paragraph (1).
            (3) To house or otherwise incarcerate any detainee 
        described in paragraph (1) in the United States or its 
        territories.
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