Congressman Jim Moran, Northern Virginia Democrat, today led 26 lawmakers in sending a letter to President Obama applauding his commitment to the closure of Guantanamo and calling for swift action on his pledge to take steps to close the prison facility. The letter comes in advance of Appropriations Committee debate on the Fiscal Year 2014 Department of Defense Appropriations Bill, which contains a number of limitations against transferring detainees out of Guantanamo, including the 86 inmates who have been cleared for release.
Excerpts from the letter include:
"You are right to lift the ban on detainee transfers to Yemen and to appoint a new special envoy with the responsibility of ensuring that detainees are transferred out of Guantanamo. We also echo your call for Congress to repeal the unnecessary restrictions on the transfer of detainees.
"We are eager to see you follow through on your strong words with decisive action so that we can move forward to the day when we can finally shut the doors on this prison. We stand ready to support a serious effort to close Guantanamo."
Joining Moran on the letter are Representatives James P. McGovern (D-MA), Betty McCollum (D-MN), Jim McDermott (D-WA), Jared Polis (D-CO), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), John Conyers (D-MI), Peter Welch (D-VT), Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL), Keith Ellison (D-MN), Sam Farr (D-CA), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Matthew A. Cartwright (D-PA), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Judy Chu (D-CA), Rush Holt (D-NJ), Peter A. DeFazio (D-OR), Charles B. Rangel (D-NY), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Bobby L. Rush (D-IL), Donald M. Payne (D-NJ), Beto O'Rourke (D-TX), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Joseph Heck (D-NV), and Jim Himes (D-CT).
Rep. Moran has called for closure of Guantanamo Bay for more than a decade and remains one the strongest voices for the effort. Recently, Moran held yet another briefing to outline steps for the facility's closure and this week introduced an amendment to the FY '14 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill that would have lifted the prohibition on using funds to renovate any U.S. facilities in order to house Guantanamo detainees.
The situation at Guantanamo Bay's detention facility has devolved into an immediate humanitarian crisis. 86 prisoners at Guantanamo have been cleared by the U.S. intelligence community for release to other countries because it has been determined that they don't pose a national security risk to the U.S. 103 of the 166 prisoners at Guantanamo are engaged in a hunger strike, with 37 being painfully force-fed through tubes through their noses to be kept alive against their will.
Full text of the letter below:
Dear President Obama:
We applaud you for reiterating your commitment to closing Guantanamo. You were correct when you said that "History will cast a harsh judgment on this aspect of our fight against terrorism, and those of us who fail to end it." The treatment of these prisoners falls far short of basic American standards.
You are right to lift the ban on detainee transfers to Yemen and to appoint a new special envoy with the responsibility of ensuring that detainees are transferred out of Guantanamo. We also echo your call for Congress to repeal the unnecessary restrictions on the transfer of detainees.
As you noted in your speech, your Administration currently has the authority to significantly reduce the number of prisoners in Guantanamo. We are eager to see you follow through on your strong words with decisive action so that we can move forward to the day when we can finally shut the doors on this prison. We stand ready to support a serious effort to close Guantanamo.
Sincerely,
James P. Moran