[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 644 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 644
Condemning and disapproving of the Obama administration's failure to
comply with the lawful statutory requirement to notify Congress before
releasing individuals detained at United States Naval Station,
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and expressing national security concerns over
the release of five Taliban leaders and the repercussions of
negotiating with terrorists.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 25, 2014
Mr. Rigell (for himself, Mr. Ribble, Mr. Barrow of Georgia, and Mr.
Rahall) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Condemning and disapproving of the Obama administration's failure to
comply with the lawful statutory requirement to notify Congress before
releasing individuals detained at United States Naval Station,
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and expressing national security concerns over
the release of five Taliban leaders and the repercussions of
negotiating with terrorists.
Whereas section 1035 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2014 (Public Law 113-66; 10 U.S.C. 801 note) clearly requires the
Secretary of Defense to notify the appropriate committees of Congress at
least 30 days before the transfer or release of an individual detained
at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba;
Whereas, on May 31, 2014, the Department of Defense executed the release of five
senior Taliban detainees held at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba;
Whereas the five released Taliban detainees are all senior Taliban leaders:
Abdul Haq Wasiq was the Taliban Deputy Minister of Intelligence, Mullah
Norullah Noori was the Taliban military commander at Mazar-e-Sharif,
Mullah Mohammad Fazl was the Taliban Deputy Minister of Defense,
Khairullah Said Wai Khairkwa was the Taliban Minister of Interior, and
Mohammad Nabi Omari was the Taliban commander of secret police;
Whereas these five senior Taliban leaders have associations with al-Qaeda or
have engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition
partners;
Whereas these five senior Taliban detainees held leadership positions within the
Taliban when it provided safehaven for al-Qaeda to conduct planning,
training, and operations for the September 11, 2001, attacks;
Whereas the President has stated that there is ``absolutely'' a possibility of
the released detainees returning to activities that are detrimental to
the United States, and, according to media reports, United states
intelligence officials told members of the Senate that four of the five
detainees are expected to return to the battlefield;
Whereas Secretary Hagel stated before the Committee on Armed Services of the
House of Representatives on June 11, 2014, that the threat, ``should
these five detainees return and reintegrate with the Taliban, their
focus would almost certainly be on Taliban efforts inside Afghanistan,''
where the United States and coalition partners will retain military and
civilian personnel;
Whereas in 2010, after an extensive evaluation meant to identify detainees who
could be transferred out of the detention facility at United States
Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the Obama administration determined
that these five should remain in United States detention because they
were ``too dangerous to transfer'' because each ``poses a high level of
threat that cannot be mitigated sufficiently except through continued
detention'';
Whereas the Obama administration negotiated, through intermediaries in the
Government of Qatar, with the Taliban, with whom the United States
remains engaged in active combat, and with the Haqqani Network, which
the State Department has designated as foreign terrorist organization,
and who had held Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl captive;
Whereas congressional notification was not received until June 2, 2014, three
days after such individuals were released, and 33 days after the date on
which such notification was required by law;
Whereas the Obama administration admits that it made no effort to comply with
the 30-day notification requirement;
Whereas Obama administration officials acknowledge that approximately 80 or 90
employees within the administration were knowledgeable of the transfer
of the five Taliban detainees prior to their release;
Whereas the Obama administration has offered differing, unconvincing, and
conflicting explanations of why it failed to comply with the 30-day
notification requirement and has described the failure to notify
Congress as an ``oversight'';
Whereas article II, section 3 of the Constitution states that the President
``shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed'';
Whereas, on January 15, 2009, the Office of Legal Counsel in the Department of
Justice acknowledged that Congress possesses under article I of the
Constitution ``significant war powers'', including legislative authority
concerning the detention and release of enemy combatants;
Whereas the Obama administration has complied with section 1035 of the National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (Public Law 113-66; 10
U.S.C. 801 note) and section 8111 of the Department of Defense
Appropriations Act, 2014 (Public Law 113-76) in all previous detainee
transfers from United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, since
the date of the enactment of each such Act; and
Whereas the leadership and the leaders of the national security committees of
the Senate and House of Representatives are on record, specifically in
2011, as opposing the transfer of detainees in exchange for a prisoner
of war: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) condemns and disapproves of the failure of the Obama
administration to comply with the lawful 30-day statutory
reporting requirement in executing the release of five senior
members of the Taliban from detention at United States Naval
Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba;
(2) expresses grave concern over national security
implications that may arise due to the release of Taliban
officials, including the national security threat to the people
and Armed Forces of the United States and complications of the
current efforts of the United States to combat terrorism
worldwide;
(3) expresses grave concern over the repercussions of
negotiating with terrorists, and the risk that such
negotiations with terrorists may further encourage hostilities
and the abduction of Americans as a means of further prisoner
exchanges;
(4) stipulates that further violations of the law set forth
in section 1035 of the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2014 (Public Law 113-66; 10 U.S.C. 801 note) and
section 8111 of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act,
2014 (Public Law 113-76) are unacceptable;
(5) declares grave misgivings about the prospect of any
other similar transfers from United States Naval Station,
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, even if undertaken pursuant to statutory
requirements; and
(6) expresses that the Obama administration's release of
the five detainees has burdened unnecessarily the trust and
confidence in the administration's commitment and ability to
constructively engage and work with the legislative branch, and
therefore works against what is in the best interest of the
people of the United States.
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