[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 63 (Tuesday, April 28, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S4766]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             GUANTANAMO BAY

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, tomorrow night in Berlin, Attorney 
General Holder is scheduled to deliver a speech about the 
administration's plan to shut down the detention facility at Guantanamo 
Bay by the arbitrary deadline of January 2010.
  Many Americans are skeptical of the administration's decision to 
close Guantanamo before it has a plan to deal with the 240 terrorists 
who are currently housed there. And Americans were rightly alarmed by 
recent news reports that the administration is considering releasing 
some Guantanamo detainees into the U.S.--not to detention facilities, 
but directly into our neighborhoods.
  Aside from the question of why the Attorney General thinks a German 
audience should hear about the administration's plans for Guantanamo 
before the American people do, there are a number of questions about 
the administration's plan for releasing terrorists into the United 
States that I hope the Attorney General will address tomorrow night.
  Queston No. 1: What is the legal basis for bringing these terrorist-
trained detainees to the United States, given that Federal law 
specifically forbids the entry of anyone who endorses or espouses 
terrorism, has received terrorist training, or belongs to a terrorist 
group? That is U.S. law.
  Question No. 2: Can the administration guarantee the safety of the 
American people, particularly in the neighborhoods where these terror-
trained detainees will live?
  Question No. 3: Will the residents of the communities where these men 
will be released be made aware of it?
  Question No. 4: Will these trained terrorists be allowed to travel 
freely anywhere in the United States?
  Question No. 5: What will their status be? Will they be allowed to 
stay here permanently? Will they be eligible for citizenship? Will they 
receive or be eligible to receive taxpayer funding? Why did no other 
country agree to accept them? What threat do these men pose of 
returning to terrorist activities and what threat assessments have been 
conducted to evaluate whether these men will attack U.S. troops on the 
battlefield or Americans at Embassies abroad?
  There are now less than 300 days until the President's Executive 
order mandates the closure of the secure detention facility at 
Guantanamo and the transfer or release of its remaining detainees. I 
recognize the difficulty of the challenge these detainees present, but 
we shouldn't let an arbitrary deadline and a desire to appease critics 
overseas lead to decisions that make American citizens less safe.
  I yield the floor.

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