[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 28 (Tuesday, February 23, 2016)]
[House]
[Page H838]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             GUANTANAMO BAY

  (Mr. ROONEY of Florida asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. ROONEY of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in response to 
President Obama's announcement of his plans to close the Guantanamo Bay 
detention facility and transfer the detainees to the United States.
  We, as a Congress, made our position on the closing of Guantanamo Bay 
clear when we passed--and the President signed--the defense 
authorization and appropriations bills for 2016, which explicitly 
prohibit the President from closing the facility or transferring any of 
the detainees to the United States.
  Additionally, on October 1, I joined 15 of my House colleagues who 
have served or continue to serve in the military in sending a letter to 
the Joint Chiefs of Staff requesting that they acknowledge that the 
execution of any proposal put forth by the President to close GTMO 
would be in violation of Federal law.
  In response to the letter, the Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed that 
the ``current law prohibits the use of funds to `transfer, release, or 
assist in the transfer or release' of detainees from Guantanamo Bay to 
or within the United States'' and that they ``will not take any action 
contrary to those restrictions.''
  Mr. Speaker, the President's primary function is to enforce the law, 
not break it. Moving KSM to the United States and availing him to our 
courts to fulfill personal, political goals is not only irresponsible, 
but potentially extremely reckless.

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