Pen the analysis that had led to their detention. These six former terrorists live only six blocks away from the u. S. Embassy which forced the embassy to heighten its security posture. The Obama Administration effectively prioritized its political goal of closing guantanamo over our National Security interests. The administrations best desperation to empty guantanamo has caused six hardened terrorists to land dangerously close to an embassy in our hemisphere. The chair the gentlemans time has expired. The gentlelady from indiana is recognized. Mrs. Walorski i yield one minute to my colleague from montana. The chair the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Zinke i rise in support of this amendment. I spent years as a navy seal. Most of the last years of my service was spent hunting killing, or capturing those who had american blood on their hands. I had the honor of leading special operations troops in hunting these dangerous assailants and bringing them to justice. Releasing terrorists from Guantanamo Bay who have committed killing american citizens, not only is a National Security risk but its also a slap in the face to every american every man every woman who died in the battlefield to put them there. The president insists the terrorists are reformed. The facts say different. According to the director of National Intelligence, nearly 30 of former gitmo detainees are confirmed or suspected of engaging in terrorist activities. The majority remain at large. A catch and release Program May Work for trout in montana but it doesnt work for terrorists. The chair the gentlemans time has expired. The gentlelady from indiana, her time has expired. Mrs. Walorski thank you mr. Chairman. The chair the gentleman from washington is recognized, the gentleman has 45 seconds. Mr. Smilt i yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from new york, mr. Nadler. The chair the gentleman is recognized for 45 seconds. Mr. Nadler thank you, mr. Speaker. It is truly astonishing that in 2015, the United States continues to hold people indefinitely who have not been charged, let alone convicted, of any crime, who have been judged not to pose a threat to the United States. Continuing to hold these people without trial is a rebuke to our notion of liberty. Some of these people are terrorist bus some are not they have been judged not to be a threat to the United States. Some of them may be victim of the fact that we give bounties to people who say they turn in terrorists. The hatfields turned in the mccoys because why not . We were giving them a few thousand dollars. We have supermax prisons in the United States from which no one has ever escaped. Theres no reason to spend the money in guantanamo and have this continuing shame on the reputation of the United States. I oppose this amendment. The chair the gentlemans time has expired. All time has expired. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentlelady from indiana. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. The amendment is agreed. Agreed to. Mrs. Walorski i request a vorded a recorded vote. The chair pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, further proceed option the amendment offered by the gentlelady from indiana will be postponed. It is now in order to consider amendment number 16 printed in house report 114112. For what purpose does the gentleman from washington seek recognition . Mr. Smith i have an amendment at the desk. The chair the clerk will report the amendment. The clerk amendment number 16 printed in house report 11412, offered by mr. Smith of washington. The chair the gentleman from washington, mr. Smith, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. Mr. Smith thank you, mr. Chairman. I yield myself 2 1 2 minutes. The chair the gentleman is recognized for 2 1 2 minutes. Mr. Smith this amendment would take out of the bill all of the things that are in it that make it impossible to close Guantanamo Bay prison. This is a debate weve had many times, the provisions are typically banning any transfers to the u. S. , banning any construction in the u. S. , of any facilities to house the folks being housed right now in guantanamo. It strips out those two and it also asks the president to give us a detailed plan on how he would go about closing guantanamo and what he would do with the inmates that are there now and requires a 90day notice period to congress before any action could be take on that. And it is basically the same argument that i just made as to why we should close guantanamo. It was opened in the first place as a way to try to get around the u. S. Constitution. Basically the thought was since it wasnt in the continental u. S. Habeas corpus and other protections wouldnt apply. But the Supreme Court a number of years ago said it is effectively under u. S. Control so no, all the same rules apply system of one argument thats frequently frot out is that somehow if theyre brought to the u. S. They would suddenly have Constitutional Rights they dont have in guantanamo. The Supreme Court has already ruled on that. They have ruled that it is effectively under u. S. Control and the exact same rights, the habeas corpus and other rights that a criminal or prisoner of war would have. So bringing bringing them to the United States would not be a problem. We have an alternative to guantanamo. Its not like theres no option. There are now, i believe 122 inmates, i forget the exact number, who have been cleared for transfer back to another country. But its somewhere roughly half that amount. Wed be looking at between 50 and 60 inmates to transfer to the United States. We have the facilities here. As i said, we already house some of the most dangerous terrorists who have ever arrested and convicted. We have the facilities, we have the ability to hold them safety leer. Here system of there is an alternative. The Current Situation in Guantanamo Bay has a number of negatives. The high costs, as i mentioned, several times almost 3 million an inmate. Then the international eyesore that Guantanamo Bay is. Not just to terrorists. I dont care about them or care what they say or how they feel about us Holding People at guantanamo. But to our allies in europe, to people in the ashe world who want to help us defeat the in the arab world who want to help us defeat the scourge of islamic extimism. This is an eye shore we should tissue eyesore we should close and we should make that happen as soon as possible. The chair the gentleman reserves. For what purpose does the gentleman seek recognition . To oppose the amendment. The clerk the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Thornberry i the chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Thorn brother i yield one mr. Thornberry i yield one minute to mr. Zinke. Mr. Zinke i rise to express one soldiers thoughts on closing gitmo. I have no doubt that closing this jeopardizes the safety and security of the United States and our citizens abroad. If the success or the failure of the mission at gitmo is based on the number of attacks against the United States after 9 11, im confident everyone in this room would join me in judging the mission has been successful. Intelligence collection and National Security have been strengthened as a result of gitmo and america remains a safer place thanks to the men and women serving there. Coaching dangerous terrorists in a military prison and away from American Families is the way it should be done. To me, closing gitmo is simply not an option. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I yield the remaining part of my time. The chair the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from texas reserves. Mr. Thornberry im happy to yield to another speaker to even the time. Im happy to yield to the distinguished gentlelady from indiana, mrs. Walorski. The chair the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. Mrs. Walorski thank you mr. Chairman. I oppose this amendment. Everything that happened since last years debate should force us to be more care wfl detainee decisions rather than lescareful. The rise of isil, the release of the taliban five, the war in yemen are just a few events that remind office the urningtcy of this debate. Potentially most troubling is the growing threat of aqap, al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, enabled by the power vacuum in yemen. Aqap was formed by gitmo detainees. Mr. Chairman, i believe we need a commonsense policy a detainee policy that protects americans. I urge my colleagues to vote no and oppose this amendment. I yield back. The chair the gentleman from texas reserves. The gentleman from washington. Mr. Smith we have only one more speaker. I know they have the right to close but well reserve until they get to the last speaker. The chair the gentleman from texas. Mr. Thornberry im happy to yield to the distinguished gentleman from colorado, mr. Coffman. The chair the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Coffman thank you, mr. Chairman. I rise to oppose this amendment. In march of 2014, the director of National Intelligence reported that 29 of detainees released from Guantanamo Bay have engaged or were suspected of resuming their roles as terrorists. Those who remain in guantanamo are the quote, worst of the worst, unquote, so it is safe to presume that if released, an even higher percentage of them will remain a threat to our National Security. I struggle to understand why we would close the fwauntaun moe pay bayh Detention Camp only to finance the incarceration of enemy combatants within the United States. The need for a place to detain enemy combatants unfortunately will not go away any time soon system of unquestionably, we need a facility like guantanamo. As we engage an enemy with no respect for borders, we must not move them to our maximum Security Prisons while the courts determine how we should legally proceed. For our nations security, i implore you to vote no on this amendment. Thank you, mr. Chairman, i yield back. The chair the gentleman from texas. Mr. Thornberry i yield one minute to the chair of the chair of the investigation oversight subcommittee, the gentlelady from missouri, mrs. Hartzler. The chair the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. Mrs. Hartzler thank you. I rise in opposition to this amendment. Why . There are many reasons. But the predominant reason is it allows the following people to come to americas shore or possibly be released. Heres a few people who are in Guantanamo Bay that the sponsor of this amendment wants to bring here. 16 detainees associated with Osama Bin Laden or other top al qaeda leaders. Eight received explosives training, four associated with al qaeda recruiters. Two that are knowledgeable about poisons. Others involved in a plot against a u. S. Embassy volunteer too bad suicide bomber commander of an al qaeda training camp. Also k. S. M. , the architect of the 9 11 attacks. K. S. M. s third in command. The mastermind of the u. S. S. Cole attack. On and on. The idea of bringing these individuals to america is foolish and makes no sense. We already have a secure fa simity that is working, to constitutional and is keeping americans safe. We need to keep gitmo open. I oppose this amendment. The chair the gentleladys time has expired. The gentleman from washington. Mr. Smith i yield myself 15 seconds. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Smith the only flaw in that statement is the part about them being released in the u. S. Thats not going to happen. If that was the plan id be opposed to it. But again, over 300 very dangerous terrorists held in the u. S. Right now today. We have proven we can do it here. Were not going to bring them here and release them. Thats not what im arguing for. With that, i yield the balance of our time to the gentleman from new york, mr. Nadler. The chair the gentleman will suspend. The gentleman from new york is recognized for two minutes and a quarter. The gentleman is recognized. Mr. Nadler i thank the chairman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, i listened to this debate and it sounds as if we have forgotten everything we ever learned about american justice and american liberty. We are told that 29 of the people released from guantanamo have been returned to terror. Well that simply says the Bush Administration did a lousy job in deciding who should be released because since then, its been a tiny percentage. Yes, a large percentage of those the Bush Administration released became recidivists. So the argument is, everyone held in guantanamo should be held there forever. Thats the argument. The amendment we just considered a moment ago would make it even harder, make it impossible, to release anyone from guantanamo. The opposition to this amendment is for the same purpose. We are told that these are the worse of the worst worst of the worst. Who says . Some of them have been have never been charged with a crime. Have never been charged with terrorism. Have been judged safe for release and have been told, labeled by our military, as not being terrorists, not being threats to the United States, yet we continue to hold them indefinitely. Why . And by what right . K. S. M. Is a me nass, indeed he. Is he should be brought to the United States, placed on trial in a federal court, hes been waiting for trial for almost 14 years because we cant get our military tribunals to work. Put him on trial in an article 3 federal court and sentence him life in prison without parole as others have been. Nobody escapes from our super max prisons, justice ought to be done, it ought to be meted out. Were told people will be released here. Were not demanding that even be released, or that anyone in particular be released, certainly not to the United States. We are saying the normal processes of justice should go forward. We have saying that the fact that someone lived in afghanistan and other tribe had a grudge against his family and turned him in for a bounty even though he had no ties to terrorism, we ought to know that. And that person ought to be released. Because we know that about some people. Instead, what we are faced with is a statute that says that nobody ought to ever be released, we ought to hold people indefinitely for life, for no reason. It poses a threat that the president under the authority of the 2012 law can hold americans in guantanamo indefinitely and we should close it to prevent that too. Thank you and i yield back. The chair the gentleman are from the gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Thornberry i yield myself the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman has a minute and a quarter. Mr. Thornberry i dont think anybody says we have to leave quan taun moe open forever or keep these folk the detainees there forever. It is absolutely true we dont know how long this war is going to go. It is also true that if the president came up with a plan that could get the confidence of the American People first about what he would do with the guantanamo detainees then there may be something to talk about, but unfortunately this amendment would strike the provisions of the bill which prevent them from coming to the u. S. Which prevents them from being released to war zones, which prevents construction of new facilities and make no mistakes new facilities would have to be built because they cant be comingled with inmaints here in the u. S. , and it strikes transfers. And then it says, oh by the way, president , give us a plan. How about we have a plan first and see whether that plan stands up to the light of day . At one point the president had a plan to take these folks to new york city and have a trial there but there was an uproar. There was a plan to take them to a rehabilitative facility in pennsylvania and there was an uproar. I think this amendment should be defeated. The chair the gentlemans time has expired. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from washington. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the noes have it. Mr. Smith mr. Chairman. The chair the gentleman from washington. Mr. Smith i ask for a recorded vote. The chair pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18 further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from washington will be postponed. It is now in order to consider amendment number 17 printed in house report 114112. For what purpose does the gentleman from texas mr. Mccaul, seek recognition . Mr. Mccaul mr. Chair, i have an amendment at the desk. The chair the clerk will designate the amendment. The clerk amendment number 17 printed in house report 114112 offered by mr. Mccaul of texas. The chair pursuant to House Resolution 260, the gentleman from texas, mr. Mccaul, and a member opposed will each control five minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. Mr. Mccaul thank you, mr. Chair. I yield myself three minutes. The chair the gentleman from texas is recognized for three minutes. Mr. Mccaul first, id like to express my thanks to chairman thornberry for his leadership and hard work on this important legislation. This amendment deals with Border Security. Its an integral part of our National Security, and as we drawdown on our military presence in afghanistan, equipment used successfully in combat can be used to enhance Border Security at home and in the process save taxpayer dollars. Today, to protect Forw