Senator Scott Joins Ayotte Bill to Stop President Obama from Emptying Out Gitmo

Press Release

Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), a leading voice against moving detainees at the Guantanamo Bay facility in Cuba to any domestic site, today became an original co-sponsor of theDetaining Terrorists to Protect Americans Act of 2016. The measure, led by Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), bars the President from transferring any detainee to any foreign country and continues a current prohibition on the closure of the Guantanamo Bay facility as well as any attempt to transfer detainees to domestic sites.

Just last month, the Obama administration admitted that Americans have died as a result of detainees released from Gitmo, and the Director of National Intelligence has concluded that there has been an increase in the percentage of former Guantanamo detainees suspected or confirmed of reengaging in terrorism.

"While the Obama Administration seems willing to ignore the national safety interests of America with their ongoing actions, I will not," Scott said. "The Detaining Terrorists to Protect Americans Act prevents the President from transferring detainees to other nations, many of which are unable to handle the responsibility of monitoring these dangerous individuals. Unlike the President, I believe we should not only not be releasing terrorists from Gitmo, but we should be filling it up with captured members of ISIS and other terrorist groups. I will continue to put national security and the safety of our homeland first and keep Guantanamo open."

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