Republicans Highlight Lack of Administration Transparency on Guantanamo Plans
Congressional Desk
October 26, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, used a rare, open hearing of a House Intelligence Subcommittee to highlight the fact that nine months to the day after President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order to close Guantanamo Bay, the administration still has not presented a plan and is avoiding transparency with Congress.
"The National Security Act requires that Congress be kept fully and currently informed, but when it comes to Guantanamo Bay, the administration is doing anything but that," Hoekstra said. "We have asked questions, sent letters and requested briefings, but this committee has received nothing in the way of meaningful answers. The administration´s lack of transparency with Congress and the American people on this critical national security issue has been absolutely shocking, so we had little choice but to use this hearing to speak out."
Hoekstra said the Intelligence Community Management Subcommittee hearing on the requirements for congressional notification provided a perfect opportunity to discuss the fact that the administration continues to stonewall congressional requests for information on Guantanamo Bay. Rather than focus on the topic as an academic discussion, Republicans decided to instead focus on the real world implications of the administration´s failure of transparency with Congress.
Republicans invited Dave Munson, a private citizen from Standish, Mich., and founder of the Coalition to Stop Gitmo North, to testify on the challenges that the community has faced in accessing background and threat information on terrorist detainees from local, state and federal officials. A state prison in Standish that is slated for closure may or may not be under consideration for housing terrorist detainees moved from Guantanamo Bay.
"It´s dismaying that we cannot even get an answer as to whether or not the prison in Standish is still under serious consideration by the administration," Hoekstra said. "One thing is clear, as Dave Munson has indicated, the people of Standish do not want detainees from Guantanamo Bay moved there, and the administration should remove the cloud that is hanging over their community."
Hoekstra went on to say that he is aware of classified information related to Guantanamo threats and to renew his call for the administration to make threat assessments available to state and local officials.
Hoekstra, along with Republican Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, and other ranking Republicans, introduced the Keep Terrorists Out of America Act, H. R. 2294, to (1) affirm Congress´ opposition to transferring or releasing terrorists held at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility into the United States; (2) prohibit the administration from transferring or releasing any terrorist detainees at Guantanamo Bay to any state without express approval from the state´s governor and legislature; and (3) prohibit the president from transferring or releasing a terrorist detainee into the United States unless he provides notification and certification to Congress.
"The National Security Act requires that Congress be kept fully and currently informed, but when it comes to Guantanamo Bay, the administration is doing anything but that," Hoekstra said. "We have asked questions, sent letters and requested briefings, but this committee has received nothing in the way of meaningful answers. The administration´s lack of transparency with Congress and the American people on this critical national security issue has been absolutely shocking, so we had little choice but to use this hearing to speak out."
Hoekstra said the Intelligence Community Management Subcommittee hearing on the requirements for congressional notification provided a perfect opportunity to discuss the fact that the administration continues to stonewall congressional requests for information on Guantanamo Bay. Rather than focus on the topic as an academic discussion, Republicans decided to instead focus on the real world implications of the administration´s failure of transparency with Congress.
Republicans invited Dave Munson, a private citizen from Standish, Mich., and founder of the Coalition to Stop Gitmo North, to testify on the challenges that the community has faced in accessing background and threat information on terrorist detainees from local, state and federal officials. A state prison in Standish that is slated for closure may or may not be under consideration for housing terrorist detainees moved from Guantanamo Bay.
"It´s dismaying that we cannot even get an answer as to whether or not the prison in Standish is still under serious consideration by the administration," Hoekstra said. "One thing is clear, as Dave Munson has indicated, the people of Standish do not want detainees from Guantanamo Bay moved there, and the administration should remove the cloud that is hanging over their community."
Hoekstra went on to say that he is aware of classified information related to Guantanamo threats and to renew his call for the administration to make threat assessments available to state and local officials.
Hoekstra, along with Republican Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, and other ranking Republicans, introduced the Keep Terrorists Out of America Act, H. R. 2294, to (1) affirm Congress´ opposition to transferring or releasing terrorists held at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility into the United States; (2) prohibit the administration from transferring or releasing any terrorist detainees at Guantanamo Bay to any state without express approval from the state´s governor and legislature; and (3) prohibit the president from transferring or releasing a terrorist detainee into the United States unless he provides notification and certification to Congress.
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