[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10999]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1045
                        SUPPORT THE PROTECT ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Lummis). The Chair recognizes the 
gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn) for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam Speaker, today, I am rising in support of H.R. 
4836, the Providing Rigorous Oversight to Terminate Extreme Criminal 
Transfers, or PROTECT, Act.
  The PROTECT Act is a piece of legislation I have introduced with 
Congressman Wolf of Virginia. It will ensure that Guantanamo Bay 
detainees do not ever end up on American soil. The PROTECT Act will 
prevent the transfer to the United States of Gitmo detainees or any 
other unprivileged enemy belligerents captured overseas. Current 
transfer prohibitions are tied to annual funding bills. The PROTECT Act 
is a long-term solution to the detainee issue and punishes unlawful 
transfers by up to 5 years in prison. It is supported by the 9/11 
Families for a Safe and Strong America.
  We do need the PROTECT Act. Why do we need it? Because of 
lawlessness. This administration has demonstrated a pattern of lawless 
behavior that is creating a constitutional crisis in our Nation. The 
most recent example of this was the President's failure to notify 
Congress about the release of the Taliban Five.
  Make no mistake. The administration fully intends to bring Gitmo 
detainees to American soil, read them their Miranda rights, and give 
them access to our civilian courts. Gitmo detainees do not belong here. 
Their presence would endanger our local communities. We need a solution 
that will deter this administration from looking for ways around the 
law. It is important to consider the administration's actions regarding 
this detainee issue.
  First, President Obama signed Executive Order No. 13492 on January 
22, 2009, to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center.
  Second, in November 2009, the administration announced 9/11 
mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed would be tried in New York. It later 
abandoned the idea.
  Third, on December 15, 2009, a letter signed by Hillary Clinton and 
several other administration officials was sent to Illinois Governor 
Pat Quinn, stating the administration's intent to bring Gitmo detainees 
to the Thomson Correctional Center in Illinois.
  These actions triggered an avalanche of opposition and forced the 
President to temporarily abandon his plan to bring these Gitmo 
detainees to the U.S.
  However, in this year's State of the Union address, the President 
renewed his pledge to close Gitmo by stating:

       And, with the Afghan war ending, this needs to be the year 
     Congress lifts the remaining restrictions on detainee 
     transfers and we close the prison at Guantanamo Bay.

  Cliff Sloan, an administration special envoy for the closure of 
Guantanamo Bay, recently told ABC that the administration would have to 
work with Congress on changing the law so that detainees could be 
brought here.
  He stated:

       For detention and trial and prosecution, we think people 
     should be allowed to be brought to the United States. Our 
     supermax facilities are very secure, and we have hundreds of 
     people convicted of terrorist offenses in our supermax 
     prisons.

  The President may not like having three branches of government, and 
he may not like checks and balances, but this system of checks and 
balances has served our Nation well. His lawless actions are creating a 
constitutional crisis, and it must stop. Gitmo detainees are coming to 
American soil unless we pass the PROTECT Act. Its criminal penalties 
will ensure that the President respects the law.
  I encourage my colleagues to join me on the PROTECT Act, which 
includes a transfer prohibition, provides a long-term solution, enacts 
criminal penalties, and provides an exception for American citizens.

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