GUANTANAMO TERRORISTS COMING TO YOUR COMMUNITY?
THE THREAT REMAINS,
EVEN AS CONGRESS APPLIES THE BRAKES
By Lisa Piraneo, Director of Government Relations
As you know, the goings-on in Congress can be very complicated, and therefore confusing -- perhaps deliberately so. The recent actions by the U.S. House and Senate with regard to the issue of closing the Guantanamo detention facility (and what to do with the 240 terrorists it currently holds) are an example of how a small legislative victory sometimes can be confused with an overall policy change. It is also an example of the tremendous power of grassroots, and how the American public has once again forced its elected officials to listen.
Over the last two weeks, the U.S. House and Senate considered the 2009 Supplemental Appropriations bill. This particular piece of legislation provides “supplemental” funding to a variety of issue-specific projects focusing primarily on Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Pandemic Flu. The bill also was being used as vehicle to fund the President’s plan (and campaign promise) to close the Guantanamo detention facility within one year of his presidency – a plan which possibly included the transfer of some of the 240 terrorist detainees to the United States. Both the House and Senate versions of this appropriations bill initially contained $80 million to be put toward the Guantanamo closure effort.
However, the American people spoke, and Congress got the message – loud and clear. After their constituents let them know, “WE DON’T WANT TERRORISTS IN OUR COMMUNITY” the House and Senate both stripped the $80 million from their versions of the legislation. Congress has informed the Administration that, until it sees a concrete plan for the closure of the Guantanamo detention facility, it will receive no funding to do so.
This action is certainly a victory, but it is by no means the end of the story. There has been no reversal on the decision to close Guantanamo – and there has been no policy reversal by either Congress or the Administration on the possibility of the Guantanamo detainees coming to the U.S. Earlier this week, FBI director Robert Mueller informed the House Judiciary Committee that bringing the detainees into our country would be a risky move, even if they were to be housed in maximum security prisons. "The concerns we have about individuals who may support terrorism being in the United States run from concerns about providing financing, radicalizing others," Mueller said, as well as "the potential for individuals undertaking attacks in the United States."
Congress now waits for the Administration to submit a plan for closing the detention facility. As such a plan is created, it is critical that the American people continue to make their voices heard on this matter. This is simply too important an issue.
Let your voice be heard by taking a brief moment to sign our petition to Congress entitled, “We Oppose the Release of ANY Guantanamo Facility Detainee into the United States and Providing Any Tax-Paid Public Benefits to Any Detainee.” Let Congress know that if and when the Administration does present a plan regarding the closure of the Guantanamo detention facility, it should not include the transfer of ANY Guantanamo terrorist to U.S. soil. If we are successful on this effort, the chances of Guantanamo closing also become quite remote.
Click here to sign.
If America raises her voice as she did over the last two weeks on this critical issue, Congress will listen.
Sincerely,
Lisa Piraneo
Director of Public Relations
ACT! for America
