[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 391 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 391

 Expressing the sense of the Senate to oppose the transfer of foreign 
 enemy combatants from the detention facilities at United States Naval 
     Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the United States homeland.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 8, 2016

 Mr. Roberts (for himself, Mr. Gardner, Mr. Scott, Mr. Blunt, and Mr. 
 Moran) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the Senate to oppose the transfer of foreign 
 enemy combatants from the detention facilities at United States Naval 
     Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the United States homeland.

Whereas, on January 22, 2009, President Barack Obama issued Executive Order 
        13492, requiring that the detention facilities housing foreign enemy 
        combatants at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, ``shall 
        be closed as soon as practicable, and no later than 1 year from the date 
        of this order'';
Whereas Executive Order 13492 states that ``[t]his order shall be implemented 
        consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of 
        appropriations'';
Whereas the Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 
        2011 (Public Law 112-10), the Consolidated and Further Continuing 
        Appropriations Act, 2012 (Public Law 112-55), the Consolidated 
        Appropriations Act, 2012 (Public Law 112-74), the Consolidated and 
        Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013 (Public Law 113-6), the 
        Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014 (Public Law 113-76), the 
        Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2015 (Public Law 113-164), the 
        Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (Public Law 
        113-235), the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2015 
        (Public Law 114-4), and the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2016 (Public 
        Law 114-53) explicitly prohibit the transfer, release, or assisting in 
        the transfer or release, of detainees at United States Naval Station, 
        Guantanamo Bay, to the United States homeland;
Whereas the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (Public Law 
        112-239), the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 
        (Public Law 113-66), the Carl Levin and Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon 
        National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 (Public Law 113-
        291), and the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 
        (Public Law 114-92) explicitly prohibit the transfer, release, or 
        assisting in the transfer or release, of detainees at United States 
        Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, to the United States homeland;
Whereas the detention facilities at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, 
        are legal, safe, and humane, and have been found consistent with 
        international conventions regarding the laws of war;
Whereas, on February 23, 2009, a Department of Defense review found that the 
        detention facilities at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, 
        complied with the requirements of Common Article 3 of the Geneva 
        Conventions of 1949 regarding the treatment of prisoners of war;
Whereas in 2015, teams from the Department of Defense visited Federal, military, 
        and State-owned prisons in Kansas, Colorado, and South Carolina for the 
        express purpose of relocating detainees at United States Naval Station, 
        Guantanamo Bay, to the United States homeland;
Whereas Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, serves as the intellectual center of the 
        United States Army as home to the Army University, the Command and 
        General Staff College, and the Combined Arms Center;
Whereas Fort Leavenworth operates the United States Disciplinary Barracks and 
        Midwest Joint Regional Corrections Facility, which holds convicted 
        members of the Armed Forces;
Whereas section 812 of title 10, United States Code (article 12 of the Uniform 
        Code of Military Justice), states that ``[n]o member of the armed forces 
        may be placed in confinement in immediate association with enemy 
        prisoners or other foreign nationals not members of the armed forces'';
Whereas the facilities at Fort Leavenworth do not provide a legal alternative 
        for detainment of enemy combatants currently held at United States Naval 
        Station, Guantanamo Bay;
Whereas the sites visited by the Department of Defense teams in Colorado are in 
        close proximity to the densely populated civilian areas of Pueblo and 
        Colorado Springs, Colorado;
Whereas Colorado Springs is home to the United States Air Force Academy, 
        Peterson Air Force Base, Schriever Air Force Base, and Fort Carson Army 
        Post;
Whereas Peterson Air Force Base hosts the United States Northern Command 
        (NORTHCOM) and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), 
        which are strategic military installations, vital to our national 
        defense and military readiness;
Whereas Pueblo is home to the United States Army Pueblo Chemical Weapons Depot;
Whereas the Consolidated Naval Brig, Hanahan, South Carolina, has been visited 
        by Department of Defense teams for consideration as a potential site to 
        relocate dangerous international terrorists currently held in the 
        detention facilities at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay;
Whereas the Consolidated Naval Brig is located less than a mile from an 
        elementary school, and is near other schools and residential 
        neighborhoods;
Whereas the Consolidated Naval Brig is also in close proximity to one of the 
        busiest ports in the United States, the Port of Charleston, as well as 
        the City of Charleston, one of the most popular tourist destinations in 
        the country;
Whereas the Consolidated Naval Brig is also located near the Space and Naval 
        Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) Systems Center Atlantic and the Navy 
        Nuclear Power Training Command, which are strategic military 
        installations, vital to our national defense and military readiness;
Whereas Department of Defense efforts to scout locations for the express purpose 
        of transferring detainees at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo 
        Bay, to the States of Kansas, Colorado, or South Carolina are in 
        violation of current law, which explicitly prohibit the transfer, 
        release, or assisting in the transfer or release, of such detainees to 
        the United States homeland;
Whereas, on November 17, 2015, Attorney General Loretta Lynch stated to Congress 
        that ``[w]ith respect to individuals being transferred to the United 
        States, the law currently does not allow that'';
Whereas, on January 26, 2016, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter stated in an 
        interview that ``it's against the law now to establish another detention 
        facility [in the U.S.], so therefore we have to get the support of 
        Congress'';
Whereas, on February 23, 2016, the Department of Defense issued a report 
        pursuant to section 1035 of the National Defense Authorization Act for 
        Fiscal Year 2016, entitled ``Plan for Closing of the Guantanamo Bay 
        Detention Facility'';
Whereas the report states that ``the Administration will work with Congress to 
        relocate [detainees] from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility to a 
        secure detention facility in the United States''; and
Whereas the report does not address or attempt to mitigate the risks posed to 
        local communities by the potential transfer of foreign enemy combatants 
        from United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, to United States soil, 
        including to communities in Kansas, Colorado, and South Carolina: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) rejects the ``Plan to Close Guantanamo Bay Detention 
        Facility'', presented by the President on February 23, 2016, to 
        transfer, release, or assist in the transfer or release of 
        detainees at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, 
        to the United States homeland;
            (2) determines that any attempt by the President to 
        transfer, release, or assist in the transfer or release of 
        detainees at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, to 
        the United States homeland is in direct violation of the 
        Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations 
        Act, 2011 (Public Law 112-10), the Consolidated and Further 
        Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012 (Public Law 112-55), the 
        Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012 (Public Law 112-74), the 
        Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013 
        (Public Law 113-6), the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014 
        (Public Law 113-76), the Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 
        2015 (Public Law 113-164), the Consolidated and Further 
        Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (Public Law 113-235), the 
        Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2015 
        (Public Law 114-4), and the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2016 
        (Public Law 114-53);
            (3) finds that the detention facility at United States 
        Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, is the optimal location to house 
        dangerous foreign enemy combatants and should not be closed;
            (4) asserts that any potential transfer or release of 
        detainees at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, to 
        the United States homeland represents a threat to United States 
        national security due to the risk of providing law of war 
        detainees with rights and protections under the United States 
        Constitution, including the potential for release into the 
        United States, and, particularly, a threat to the safety and 
        security of local communities in the States of Kansas, 
        Colorado, and South Carolina; and
            (5) demands that the President immediately abandon any ill-
        conceived and illegal plans to transfer detainees at United 
        States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, to the United States 
        homeland without explicit authorization from Congress.
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