[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 30 (Thursday, February 25, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S1046]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          PLAN TO CLOSE THE GUANTANAMO BAY DETENTION FACILITY

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, for years, I have consistently opposed 
efforts by Congress to restrict the Obama administration's ability to 
close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. The indefinite 
detention without trial of detainees at Guantanamo contradicts our most 
basic principles of justice, degrades our international standing, and 
harms our national security. The mere existence of this facility serves 
as a recruitment tool for terrorists, and the facility costs American 
taxpayers more than $4 million per detainee each year--an astonishing 
amount of money that could be repurposed to keep our men and women in 
uniform safe.
  I recently received a letter from former Marine Corps Commandant 
Charles Krulak, co-signed by an additional 60 retired generals and 
admirals that noted ``closing Guantanamo is not just a national 
security imperative, it is about reestablishing the core values of who 
we are as a nation.'' I could not agree more. I ask unanimous consent 
that General Krulak's letter be printed in the Record at the conclusion 
of my remarks.
  Last May, I wrote a letter to President Obama urging him to expedite 
the transfer of cleared detainees to foreign countries and accelerate 
the periodic review board process to determine if additional detainees 
could be transferred. Since that time, the President has made progress 
toward closing the Guantanamo detention facility. To date, only 91 
detainees remain, and top national security officials have already 
cleared 35 of those detainees for transfer to foreign countries. I am 
encouraged that the plan unveiled by the administration yesterday 
morning calls for accelerating the review process to determine if 
additional detainees can be transferred, as I urged, and for completing 
that process by the fall.
  Now that President Obama has delivered a plan, Congress must do its 
part and lift the unnecessary and counterproductive restrictions on 
transferring detainees to the United States, so that we can finally 
shutter Guantanamo once and for all. We should all want to see 
additional detainees finally brought to justice in our Federal court 
system, which has a long and proven track record in terrorism 
prosecutions--unlike the military commission system that has been 
bogged down in legal challenges and procedural hurdles.
  The detention facility at Guantanamo Bay has been a stain on our 
national reputation for more than 14 years. Closing Guantanamo is the 
morally and fiscally responsible thing to do, and it is long past time 
to stop the fear-mongering so we can work together to close it down.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                                February 23, 2016.
       Dear Senator Leahy: I represent a coalition of more than 60 
     retired generals and admirals of the United States Armed 
     Forces who have for years advocated the responsible closure 
     of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. I write to urge 
     you to give serious consideration to the recently submitted 
     Department of Defense plan to close the detention facility at 
     Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Closing Guantanamo is in our national 
     security interest, and with the submission of the DOD plan, 
     there is a unique opportunity for Congress to lift the 
     remaining restrictions on transferring detainees so that 
     Guantanamo can be closed.
       Guantanamo continues to impose significant costs to our 
     national security. As an offshore detention facility that--
     rightly or wrongly--represents to the world an image of 
     detainee abuse and violations of the rule of law, Guantanamo 
     undermines counterterrorism cooperation with allies and 
     unnecessarily bolsters the propaganda and recruiting 
     narratives that terrorists seek to advance. It is a travesty 
     that the trial of the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks 
     remains bogged down at Guantanamo nearly 15 years after 9/11.
       The issue of what to do with Guantanamo is not a political 
     issue. There is near unanimous agreement from our nation's 
     top military, intelligence, and law enforcement leaders that 
     Guantanamo should be closed. Even President George W. Bush, 
     who opened Guantanamo after the 9/11 attacks, tried to close 
     it, noting that ``the detention facility had become a 
     propaganda tool for our enemies and a distraction for our 
     allies.''
       We understand that some fear bringing even a small number 
     of detainees to the United States as part of the plan to 
     close Guantanamo. However, we are confident that those 
     detainees can be held safely and securely stateside. Hundreds 
     of terrorists are already being held in U.S. prisons--
     including one former Guantanamo detainee who is serving a 
     life sentence. Rather than trying to invoke fear, we should 
     applaud these communities that have successfully and safely 
     detained society's worst without incident. In any event, the 
     risks of keeping Guantanamo open far outweigh any risks 
     associated with closing it.
       In the coming days and weeks, we plan on more closely 
     studying the Department of Defense's plan to close 
     Guantanamo, and we hope you will do the same. Closing 
     Guantanamo is not just a national security imperative, it is 
     about reestablishing the core values of who we are as a 
     nation, and we believe strongly that there must be a bi-
     partisan approach to achieving that objective.
           Semper Fidelis,
                                                Charles C. Krulak,
                                General, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.).

  (At the request of Mr. Reid, the following statement was ordered to 
be printed in the Record.)


                            vote explanation

 Mrs. McCASKILL. Mr. President, I was necessarily absent for 
today's vote on S. Res. 374, a resolution relating to the death of 
Antonin Scalia, Associate Judge of the Supreme Court of the United 
States. I would have voted yea.

                          ____________________