U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today cosponsored legislation that would require the Obama administration to provide the public with at least a 21-day notice prior to transferring or releasing any detainee being held at the secure military facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Detainee Transfer Transparency Act would require the secretary of defense to provide the notice, which would include the name of the detainee, intended location for release or transfer, as well as the detainee’s current and past risk profile.
“Detainees at Guantanamo Bay aren’t common criminals, they’re hardened terrorists who are intent on doing us harm,” said Thune. “Unfortunately, President Obama has chosen to put campaign promises above national security and continues to sidestep existing restrictions – that he signed into law – on the release or transfer of detainees from Guantanamo Bay. The president should not be playing politics with the security of the American people. We must not relent in our effort to protect Americans from threats posed by known terrorists being released to conduct further atrocities, which is why it’s so important we pass this common-sense legislation without delay.”
Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) introduced the bill, which in addition to Thune, is cosponsored by Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).
For more information on the Detainee Transfer Transparency Act, click here.