WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) this week encouraged the president to assess the future operations and detention of detainees held at the Joint Task Force Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (GITMO) in a letter also signed by U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). 

“Congress has continuously opposed and prohibited the closure of GTMO as well as the transfer of GTMO detainees to U.S. soil since 2010 in response to the previous administration’s attempt to fulfill a campaign promise,” the senators wrote. “Despite the growing number of threats to our nation from terrorists around the globe, the Obama administration demonstrated a serious disregard for the safety of the American people and the will of Congress by dramatically reducing the number of detainees housed at GTMO to justify those remaining to be transferred to the U.S.”

Sen. Moran added, “I am encouraged by the president’s acknowledgement that terrorists captured on the battlefield who threaten Americans and the United States should be housed at GITMO, and I look forward to working with him to reinforce the critical mission the detention facility serves in putting the safety of Americans first. My Senate colleagues and I have requested an immediate hold on detainee transfers and suspension of the Periodic Review Board, which has been allowed to make determinations about detainee releases with no congressional oversight or sharing of their analysis with Congress. In the face of the growing number of threats against our nation and the troubling recidivism rate of detainee terrorists, the previous administration’s reckless practice of releasing detainees must end.”

In the letter, Sen. Moran and his colleagues shared with President Trump a number of recommendations for the future of the detention facility as the president and Congress work to ensure the safety of the American people. They requested an immediate hold on transferring detainees approved for release by the Periodic Review Board (PRB) and the suspension of the PRB itself – which was established in 2011 to assess and determine the transfer of detainees – along with a full and judicious review of the PRB’s role and responsibilities. They also requested the consideration of military value analysis and recommendations of the nation’s most senior military leaders.

Click here to read the full letter. 

Background

• According to the Director of National Intelligence, the recidivism rate of those who have reengaged in terrorist or insurgent activities is more than 30 percent.  
• In February 2016, Sen. Moran led a congressional visit to GITMO with Sens. Gardner and Daines and spoke with military leaders including Joint Task Force Guantanamo (JTF-GITMO) Commander Rear Admiral Peter J. Clarke. 

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