[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 148 (Thursday, October 8, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H6898]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       GTMO TRANSFERS TO COLORADO

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Colorado (Mr. Coffman) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the Obama 
administration's announcement last week that the President is 
considering transferring detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, into 
my home State of Colorado.
  Closing Guantanamo Bay was an ill-advised campaign promise in 2007 
made by the President, a promise made before he began receiving 
classified intelligence updates.
  In fact, as of March 2015, the Director of National Intelligence 
reported that 29 percent of detainees released from Guantanamo have 
engaged in or were suspected of engaging in terrorist or insurgent 
activity. Those who remain in Guantanamo are ``worst of the worst.'' So 
it is safe to presume that, if released, an even higher percentage of 
them will remain a threat to our national security.
  I struggle to understand why we would close the Guantanamo Bay 
detention camp only to finance the incarceration of enemy combatants 
within the United States.
  Ever since 2012, Congress has passed and President Obama has signed 
annual restrictions against the transfer of prisoners at GTMO to the 
United States. The same restrictions are found in the FY 2016 National 
Defense Authorization Act passed by the House last week, despite 
President Obama's promise to veto that bill.
  There is broad bipartisan opposition to President Obama's plans to 
transfer GTMO prisoners into the United States, both among Members of 
Congress and the American people.
  For our Nation's security, I implore President Obama to sign the 
National Defense Authorization Act when it reaches his desk and halt 
his reckless plan to place many of the world's worst terrorists on U.S. 
soil, where they will have all of the due process protections provided 
to the American people and, thus, could be released through our court 
system.

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