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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, issued the following statement regarding the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released today, which found that veterans experienced unacceptable wait times, and some newly enrolled veterans weren’t able to access care at all. The VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System in Leavenworth, Kan., was one of the facilities included in the study.
“GAO placed the VA Health Care System on the ‘High Risk List’ in 2015 for its inability to provide timely, quality care to our nation’s veterans, and GAO’s latest report demonstrates the VA’s unwillingness to make drastic changes to make certain veterans have access to health care,” Sen. Moran said. “Worse yet, Congress provided VA with the tools to provide veterans with timely care through the Choice Program. It is past time for the VA to address these systemic failures and put the veteran first. I’ve called on GAO to learn more about findings related to the Kansas VA Facilities in this study, and will continue to push for answers to make certain those who have served our country have access to the care they earned.”
The report states: “Sixty of the 180 newly enrolled veterans in GAO’s review had not been seen by providers at the time of the review; nearly half were unable to access primary care because VA medical center staff did not schedule appointments for these veterans in accordance with VHA policy. The 120 newly enrolled veterans in GAO's review who were seen by providers waited from 22 days to 71 days from their requests that VA contact them to schedule appointments to when they were seen, according to GAO's analysis. These time frames were impacted by limited appointment availability and weaknesses in medical center scheduling practices, which contributed to unnecessary delays.”
Sen. Moran has called on GAO to provide specific findings regarding the VA medical facilities in Kansas that were assessed in their report.
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Sen. Moran Successful in Securing Toxic Exposure Research Study and Extending Veteran Access to Care
Apr 15 2016
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) – member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Senate Appropriations Defense Committee, and Co-Chair of both the Senate Defense Communities Caucus and Senate Aerospace Caucus – took action during this week’s mark-up of the Fiscal Year 2017 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill. The bill, which passed unanimously, will fund the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for FY17, and prioritizes funds for various projects and programs carried out by the VA. The full committee supported Sen. Moran’s call for the VA to commit to studying toxic exposure and related health conditions affecting veterans and potentially their children and grandchildren.
“I’m pleased the committee approved critical bill and report language taking important steps to push the VA to resolve systemic problems and toward doing what is in the best interest of veterans, including addressing the impact of toxic exposure on our military members and their families,” Sen. Moran said. “Additionally, the full committee agreed to a two-year extension for Project ARCH to make certain veterans within the program have continuity in their health care.”
The committee unanimously approved Sen. Moran’s amendment to prohibit use of funds for the VA’s Appraised Value Offer (AVO) Program, which assists in relocations of Senior Executive Service (SES) employees and has been abused by several VA employees for personal gain. This language mirrors a prohibition included in the FY16 appropriations bill.
Numerous Sen. Moran priorities in the FY2017 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill and accompanying report include:
• National Academy of Medicine Study on Toxic ExposureRequires the VA to enter into a contract with the National Academy of Medicine to conduct a study and assessment on the current research available regarding the health conditions related to exposure to toxic substances, and to provide recommendations for further research opportunities relating to toxic exposures and potential health conditions that result from those exposures.
• Access Received Closer to Home
A two-year extension for Project ARCH until the VA can consolidate their community care programs into one program.
• Veteran Farming
Urges the VA to coordinate with USDA and the Department of Defense to promote and provide educational or vocational training in agriculture related fields, behavioral health services on site through licensed providers and a pathway to employment in agriculture related fields.
• Choice Program
Directs the VA to survey community healthcare providers in rural areas to assess the struggles the face in using the program.
• Copayments for Opioid Antagonists and Education on the Use of Opioid Antagonists: Eliminates copayments for opioid healthcare resources and increase education on opioid use and rescue kit use.
• Rural Veterans Health
Directs the VA to explain how the agency will improve recruitment and retention of healthcare practitioners in rural areas, especially in those who specialize in mental health access.
• Encouraging Public-Private Partnerships
Encourages the VA to utilize public-private partnerships to fill gaps and solve problems, which are valuable to communities, save taxpayer money and create efficiencies that are otherwise caught in bureaucratic red tape.
• Burn Pits
Encourages the VA to continue further research and medical trials into the treatment of health conditions resulting from burn pit exposure.
• Curing Hepatitis C Within the Veteran Population
Directs the VA to continue providing treatment for Hepatitis C aggressively with the objective of treating and curing as many veterans as possible, as soon as possible. The VA requested billions for Hepatitis C medication for veterans and then rationed the medication to veterans in need.
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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) – member of the Senate Appropriations Committee an – took action during this week’s mark-up of the Fiscal Year 2017 Energy & Water Development Appropriations Bill to secure $8 million in funding for the Kansas River Levee Project in Topeka, Kan.
“I led the effort as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee to make certain this vital project received the funding it deserves,” Sen. Moran said. “Investing now in this long overdue project will help protect thousands of Kansans and Topeka-area residents from future flooding events while providing additional opportunities for economic development in the area. I am pleased that the committee shares my commitment to ensuring that the federal government fulfils its obligation to the residents of the Topeka area, and I will continue fighting to support important projects that directly impact Kansans.”
This $30 million construction project, led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and City of Topeka, will provide flood protection to thousands of Topeka residents. The levee will be modernized to 21st Century standards and improve future efforts to redevelop the river corridor.
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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), member of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, today blocked an attempt to change the law in fiscal year 2017 to prohibit the transfer of GITMO detainees to the United States and took action to increase transparency of GITMO transfers.
“I remain opposed to closing GITMO and bringing detainees to Kansas or anywhere else in the United States,” Sen. Moran said. “The full appropriations committee joined me in reiterating this message today by blocking an attempt to change the law in fiscal year 2017. Additionally, the White House should be transparent with Congress and the American people about the detainees they transfer to foreign countries and the risk they pose to our national security.”
During today’s mark-up of the Fiscal Year 2017 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, Sen. Moran blocked an attempt to change the law in fiscal year 2017 to prohibit the transfer of transfer of GITMO detainees to the United States.
Sen. Moran also joined U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) to introduce the Detainee Transfer Transparency Act (S. 2788). The legislation would require the Secretary of Defense to make available to the public the intended transfer or release of detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, at least 21 days in advance.
The Detainee Transfer Transparency Act would require the public notice from the Secretary of Defense to include: the name of the individual, the location to which the individual will be transferred or released, and the current and past risk profile of the individual. If the detainee is being transferred to another location, then the notice must also include a summary of the agreement made with that location and list actions being taken to mitigate risk of another transfer or the release of the detainee.
Background
Sen. Moran has long advocated against relocating Guantanamo Bay detainees. Sen. Moran and Sen. Daines sponsor legislation (S.2559) to prevent President Obama from giving the GITMO back to Cuba without proper Congressional approval.
Sen. Moran also sponsors the Detaining Terrorists to Protect America Act (S. 165), which prohibits the transfer to the United States of detainees designated medium- or high-risk for two years. S. 165 would also ban transfers to Yemen, where dozens of the remaining Guantanamo detainees are from.
Additionally, Sen. Moran introduced a resolution to detain Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and introduced legislation (S.2780) to provide Congressional oversight of the transfer or release of GITMO detainees.
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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) – member of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee and Co-Chair of the Senate Defense Communities Caucus and Senate Aerospace Caucus – took action during today’s mark-up of the Fiscal Year 2017 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill to secure $48 million in funding for critical projects at McConnell Air Force Base and Fort Leavenworth. The bill received unanimous support and will now move forward to the full Senate for consideration.
“I led the effort through the Senate appropriations process to make certain these critical military construction projects at McConnell Air Force Base – for the arrival of the KC-46A – and Fort Leavenworth – in training our National Guard – were fully funded,” Sen. Moran said. “These investments underscore the importance of Kansas’ military installations to the Armed Forces, and I will continue working to prioritize funding that supports our Kansas servicemen and women.”
The bill includes funding for a number of military construction projects in Kansas including:
- National Guard Readiness Center, Fort Leavenworth: $29 million for construction of the 35th Infantry Division Readiness Center for the Army National Guard;
- Air Traffic Control Tower, McConnell Air Force Base: $11.2 million for construction of a new air traffic control tower;
- KC-46A Alter Flight Simulator Buildings, McConnell Air Force Base: $3 million for construction of flight simulator buildings in preparation for the KC-46A tankers; and
- KC-46A ADAL Taxiway Delta, McConnell Air Force Base: $5.6 million for construction of a new taxiway in preparation for the KC-46A tankers.
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Sens. Moran and Ernst Introduce Legislation to Encourage New Generation of Agriculture Producers
Apr 13 2016
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee, and U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) this week introduced the Agriculture Students Encourage, Acknowledge, Reward, Nurture (EARN) Act (S. 2774). The legislation amends the tax code to exclude from gross income the first $5,000 earned by students who are 18 years old or younger on agricultural projects completed under the supervision of 4-H or FFA.
“For agriculture and our rural way of life to thrive, it is essential for a new generation of young people to return to rural America to live, work and raise their families,” Sen. Moran said. “Our policies, including the tax code, should encourage this goal by fostering student interest in pursuing a career in agriculture, and I’m proud to have Senator Ernst join me in introducing the Agriculture Students Earn Act.”
“It is so important that we encourage our students to stay engaged in vocational and agricultural education programs, particularly as the demand for young farmers continues to grow. I’m proud to support the Agriculture Students EARN Act, which would promote our youth’s involvement in programs that serve as an introduction to careers in agriculture,” said Sen. Ernst, a former member of the 4-H. “Alleviating some of the tax burden these hardworking students face on the income they earn from 4-H or FFA projects is a step in the right direction to help bridge the generational gap, and ensure our youth is ready to take the reins when their time comes.”
Agricultural projects completed by students under the supervision of 4-H clubs and FFA chapters may include showing animals at local and state fairs, growing and harvesting crops, building agricultural mechanic projects, and many other possibilities. The projects encourage personal growth and responsibility, while also providing the opportunity for students to generate modest revenues. The money earned by a student is often used to finance future agricultural projects, deposited in savings, or used to fund a college education. S. 2774 would protect students involved in 4-H and FFA and the money they earn from the IRS by lowering or eliminating the tax burden on the students.
According to the latest agricultural census, the average age of the U.S. farmer is over 58 years old and trending upward. By lowering the tax burden on projects, S. 2774 would encourage more students to complete agricultural projects under 4-H and FFA. The hands-on experience that supervised agricultural projects provide aims to inspire a new generation of farmers and ranchers.
Supporters of the legislation include National FFA Organization, National 4-H Council, American Farm Bureau Federation, National Farmers Union, and National Young Farmers Coalition.
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Sens. Moran, Booker Introduce Bill Empowering Taxpayers to Defer Refund for Rainy Day Savings
Bill would allow taxpayers to utilize their tax refund to create greater financial security
Apr 13 2016
WASHINGTON – As millions of Americans hurry to file their taxes before the April 18 deadline, today U.S. Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) introduced The Refund to Rainy Day Savings Act, a first-of-its-kind, bipartisan proposal that would enable Americans to more easily build emergency savings during tax season by allowing tax filers to save a portion of their refund for a “rainy day” later in the year.
“Savings are a critical component of financial security and economic mobility, but setting aside enough money each payday can be difficult when dollars are already stretched and existing expenses must be paid,” Sen. Moran said. “This bipartisan legislation would allow Americans to utilize a rare moment of financial flexibility that accompanies a tax refund to plan for the future, set aside savings for a rainy day, and invest in their own financial stability. The American Dream is ours to protect and pass on, and I’m proud to champion policies in the United States Senate that can help Americans improve their financial footing.”
“Our nation faces a savings crisis as millions of Americans are getting by with little or no money set aside to cover unexpected costs that may arise. Families living paycheck to paycheck endure the persistent threat of sudden financial disaster. Without emergency savings, financial stability can easily be jeopardized by an unexpected expense or loss of income, like a medical bill or the sudden loss of a job,” Sen. Booker said. “This legislation seeks to help taxpayers utilize their refund to build emergency savings at tax time. Through the Refund to Rainy Day Savings Act, we can help New Jerseyans and millions of Americans by allowing a portion of their tax refund to be made available later in the year.”
There is one predictable source of financial support on which nearly all Americans can depend: their tax refund. Every year, more than 80% of Americans receive a tax refund. For lower-income Americans that refund can amount to a third or more of their entire annual income. Many families use their refund to make ends meet, pay off debt, save, and invest for themselves and their children. Unfortunately, months after tax season is over, many Americans find themselves in a familiar precarious financial state, with little emergency savings to get through the rest of the year.
The Refund to Rainy Day SavingsAct
Under this proposal, tax filers receiving a direct deposit tax refund will be allowed to defer up to 20% of their refund by opting into the Rainy Day Savings Program on their 1040 tax form. This savings will accumulate interest in a Treasury-held account before being transferred to the tax filer’s direct deposit account six months later. In other words, the program would allow tax filers to save a portion of their refund for a rainy day later in the year.
The bill also establishes a three-year pilot program to evaluate savings matches for lower-income tax filers. The legislation accomplishes this by redeploying an existing federal matched savings program, Assets for Independence. The proposed reforms expand local flexibility for the program to test a variety of matched savings strategies for lower-income workers. By making use of an existing program to test tax-time savings matches, the legislation encourages local development of best practices without increasing federal funding.
One in every three Americans have no financial savings at all, and nearly half of Americans are “liquid asset poor,” lacking even the most basic savings to deal with a rainy day emergency like a broken down car or lost job. A lack of savings means that a majority of American households face the persistent threat of sudden economic misfortune. According to research by Pew, even 25 percent of higher income households, earning more than $85,000, have less than 13 days’ worth of income in liquid savings. Living on the verge of financial disaster has long-term implications for American workers and their families.
“Nearly half of all Americans have almost no emergency savings. The Refund to Rainy Day Savings Act represents a critical step forward in efforts to help millions of working families save for a more financially secure future. And by making crucial updates to the Assets for Independence program, this legislation will lay the groundwork for future policy, programs, and research,” Andrea Levere, president of the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) said.
The following organizations have endorsed the Refund to Rainy Day Savings Act:
First Focus Campaign for Children
Aspen Institute Financial Security Program
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Center for Global Policy Solutions
Corporation for Enterprise Development
The Housing and Community Development Network of NJ
Asset Building Program, New America
New Jersey Policy Perspective
PolicyLink
Young Invincibles
Mr. President, just a month ago, I was here on the Senate floor talking about the struggles of a number of Kansas veterans as they attempted to utilize the Veterans Choice Program that Congress passed now nearly two years ago. That program is being implemented by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. We looked for many opportunities to try to provide better service, more efficient service, more timely service to our veterans, and Congress ultimately came together and passed the Choice Act.
As I indicated a month ago and numerous times on the Senate Floor, that legislation, that law says if you are a veteran who can't receive the … medical services you are entitled to, that you have the opportunity to receive those services at a medical facility, a clinic, a physician, a hospital, at home. As an individual senator who comes from a state as rural as most and more rural than many – and certainly as rural as the Presiding Officer's home state and the home state of the Senator from Missouri – we have a real interest in trying to make certain our veterans who live long distances from a VA hospital can access that medical care.
I thought we took great satisfaction in the passage of that legislation. I certainly did. What we have discovered since then is its implementation has been one handicap, one hurdle, one bureaucratic difficulty, one challenge after another. And while maybe it is difficult for the Department of Veterans Affairs to implement this legislation, they are the ones who ought to suffer the challenges of doing so, not the men and women who served our country.
During my conversation on the Senate floor a month ago, I talked about…a number of veterans in Kansas and called them by name. One of those veterans was Michael Dabney, a Kansas veteran from Hill City, Kansas, in northwest Kansas, out in the part of the state that I grew up in.
A piece of good news is that Mr. Dabney is eligible for the Veterans Choice Program because he lives more than 40 miles from a VA facility. So Mr. Dabney qualifies under that Choice Program, and Mr. Dabney needed surgery and elected to use the Choice Program. There is a community-based outpatient clinic hosted by the VA in Hays, which is about an hour away from his hometown. He was receiving care and treatment there. The indication was he needed the surgery, and they suggested that he travel to Wichita – another couple hundred miles – for that surgery. But Mr. Dabney suffers from PTSD and indicated that he didn't feel comfortable and capable of traveling that extra 200 miles to receive the surgery.
His primary care provider at the outpatient clinic in Hays then indicated to him: Well, you live more than 40 miles from a facility. You qualify for the Choice Act. You can have these services provided and this surgery provided at home.
Mr. Dabney elected to do that, so rather than driving another 200 miles for surgery in a city far away, he had the surgery performed at home. That seems like the way this is supposed to work. But the end result was that, according to the VA, he didn’t receive preauthorization. So his primary care provider telling him that he qualified for the Veterans Choice Act, him getting the service at home, he then started receiving the bills for that service.
In frustration, he then contacted our office, and the folks in my office – like in yours who solve these problems – went to work. Here was an example that I thought we could be successful in solving. The record clearly indicates that his primary care provider, his primary VA care provider indicated he should utilize the Choice Act and have the services, the surgery provided at home. He did so. And the VA then declined to pay for those services to the provider, and he began receiving the bills.
So we went to bat for Mr. Dabney, and despite our efforts and despite his efforts, he has been told that those bills are due and to be paid by him because he didn’t get preauthorization. My point being today is that the Department of Veterans Affairs ought to be the federal agency that bends over backwards to help our veterans.
I remember when the current secretary testified before our Veterans’ Committee in his confirmation hearing, and he indicated that he was going to run the department in a way that was all focused on meeting the needs of veterans. And yet, just a few weeks ago, Mr. Dabney was told this by the VA. I don't know if they said they are sorry. They simply said: You didn’t get preauthorization. You don’t qualify. Those bills are your responsibility.
I am here once again trying to highlight [what happened]…We went to the intermediary TriWest. They thought they could help us accomplish this and get the information that Mr. Dabney acted on and that this ought to be sufficient for the VA to pay the bill. And even with their help, the results from the Department of Veterans Affairs, through their Wichita hospital, said that Mr. Dabney obviously didn’t understand the rules, and, therefore, they were not going to see that his bills were paid by the VA.
This just seems outrageous to me. The VA, through its employees, indicated he qualified. He relied upon that information, their assurance that he qualified, to have the surgery done at home. He is a veteran who needed surgery and who suffers from PTSD. He would be deserving of all the care, the treatment, and the consideration that could be given a man who served our country so well and suffered the consequences. And yet, despite his assurance that he should use the program, the decision was made: I am sorry you didn't dot the i's and cross the t's.
I ask my colleagues to help me as we work our way through the implementation of the Choice Act. It is discouraging to me – the number of veterans who tell me how disappointed they are with the Choice Act – when I thought it was such a great opportunity for their care and well-being. And the end result is that many are discouraged, giving up on the Choice Act and not receiving the care and attention that they need from the VA, deciding that the VA should not be their provider. The point being that we’re failing them once again. We’re failing them veteran by veteran, one at a time.
The consequence is that the program is still not working. You cannot not meet the needs of a veteran and then have an expectation that we have done something useful and beneficial to that veteran.
There is a discussion going on in the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, and there are bills led by Senators Isakson and Blumenthal that address many of the issues plaguing the VA, ranging from their appeals system to accountability, to remedying the problems associated with the Choice Act. I urge my colleagues not to lose, allow this opportunity to bypass, to go away. We must take these actions. In my view, this is an example of this problem that the VA should solve on its own. They should find a way to make this work. In their absence to do so, we as Members of the Senate – certainly, I, as a member of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs – we have the obligation to continue to do battle for those who battled for our freedoms and liberties.
I apologize to Mr. Dabney that he has been treated the way he has been by the Department of Veterans Affairs, by his government, and I will continue to fight on a case-by-case basis. But we do have a real opportunity as Republican and Democrat Senators to come together and agree upon a legislative solution to these and many other problems that plague us and plague our veterans.
So I simply am here to make the case, hopefully to the Department of Veterans Affairs, that they would again find a way to care for this man who served his country and also to ask my colleagues to work together to make certain – in whatever ways legislatively we need act to meet the needs of those who served our country – we do so.
Mr. President, I thank you for the opportunity to address this issue and the cause of this veteran and many others. And I yield the floor.
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Sen. Moran Sponsors Bill to Make Naloxone Rescue Kits More Affordable and Accessible for Veterans
Enhances veteran safety by eliminating copayments for naloxone rescue kits and education
Apr 12 2016
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) this week sponsored S. 2772, legislation that would make naloxone rescue kits more affordable and accessible to our nation’s veterans.
As a PBS Frontline report recently highlighted, America’s veterans face greater risk amid the nation’s opioid crisis. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) system, veterans are more likely to die from accidental opioid overdoses than non-veterans. And, in 2014, more than 55,000 veterans were diagnosed with an opioid use disorder. This bill will eliminate copayment requirements for veterans prescribed naloxone rescue kits, which can help reverse the toxic effects of opioid overdoses. The bill would also educate veterans and their families about safe opioid use.
“When a veteran is dependent on opioids as a result of injuries incurred during his or her service to our nation, we have a responsibility to provide the best possible care, including pain management” Sen. Moran said. “The threshold between pain management and opioid addiction, however, is far too easy to cross, as we see from the high number of veterans currently diagnosed with an opioid use disorder. That is why it is critical that we lower barriers to access naloxone kits for our veterans – the only resource that can protect against the worst-case scenario of an overdose.”
Sen. Moran also sponsors the bipartisan Jason Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety Act (S. 1641), a bill aimed at providing safer and more effective pain management services to our nation’s veterans, which directs the VA to enhance its naloxone education and distribution program. An updated version of this legislation passed the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs in 2015 and awaits consideration by the full Senate. Sen. Moran supported the Senate’s passage of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (S. 514) last month.
Sen. Moran Introduces Protections Against Terrorist Transfer Act of 2016
Bill sponsored by Sens. Daines, Tillis, Blunt, Rubio and Inhofe Gives Congressional Oversight of GITMO Transfers
Apr 12 2016
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, this week introduced the Protections Against Terrorist Transfer Act of 2016 (S. 2780) along with U.S. Senators Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and James Inhofe (R-Okla.). The legislation would provide Congressional oversight of the transfer or release of Guantanamo Bay (GITMO) detainees. It would prohibit the transfer or release of any individual detained at GITMO to the custody of any foreign country unless the Secretary of Defense certifies to Congress that the individual no longer poses a continuing threat to the security of the United States, its citizens and its interests.
“As this administration works to deplete the number of detainees at Guantanamo Bay to achieve a campaign promise – a promise that is in clear violation of the law – it is critical to our national security that Congress has a role in the transfer authorization process,” Sen. Moran said. “The current process is entirely subjective and allows detainees to be transferred and released who may still pose a threat to our national security. Creating more risk at a time when our country faces security challenges worldwide is irresponsible, and I will continue fighting to keep these detainees at GITMO.”
S. 2780 also retracts the automatic authorization to transfer or release an individual detained at GITMO after the submission of a 30-day notification to Congress. In its place, the legislation requires certification submission to the appropriate committees no later than 30 days after the Secretary makes a determination on the transfer or release.
The Obama Administration has been rapidly transferring detainees from GITMO since 2010, releasing nearly 70 GITMO detainees since November 2014. On Wednesday, the DoD announced the release of another 12 detainees to two countries, reducing the 91 remaining GITMO detainees to 79. As we know, GITMO detainees continue to return to terrorism, such as Ibrahim al-Qosi, now a spokesman and recruiter for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) or most recently Muhammad Salih Husayn al-Shaykh who has pledged to kill as many Americans as possible. With the total reengagement rate of GITMO detainees returning to the battlefield at more than 30 percent, an individual detained at GITMO who poses a continuing threat to the security of the United States should be held at GITMO.
Click here for the full text of the legislation.
Background
Sen. Moran has long advocated against relocating Guantanamo Bay detainees. Sen. Moran and Sen. Daines sponsor legislation (S.2559) to prevent President Obama from giving GITMO back to Cuba without proper Congressional approval.
Sen. Moran also sponsors the Detaining Terrorists to Protect America Act (S. 165), which prohibits the transfer to the United States of detainees designated medium- or high-risk for two years. S. 165 would also ban transfers to Yemen, where dozens of the remaining Guantanamo detainees are from.
Additionally, Sen. Moran introduced a resolution to detain Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
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