Dear Friends, Next week the House Armed Services Committee will markup their version of the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The NDAA is the bill that, among other things, sets the restrictions on transferring detainees out of Guantanamo. We believe that the Committee is likely to include language easing those restrictions in its version of the bill. Please write to your Members of Congress today and tell them that you would like them to remove all of the unreasonable restrictions on transferring people out of Guantanamo and close the prison there. It costs more than half a billion dollars per year to run the prison at Guantanamo and most of the 40 people imprisoned there have been held for well over a decade without any trial, some after being tortured by U.S. personnel. It is important that Members hear from people about Guantanamo - constituent interest is the reason Members of the House are continuing to work to close Guantanamo, despite the Trump Administration's recalcitrance on the issue. While we are unlikely to see President Trump reverse course and decide to close Guantanamo, with your support the House can work to make possible specific types of transfers, such as transfers for necessary medical treatment. Additionally, anything the House does this year to help make it possible to close Guantanamo will pave the way for the next President and next Congress to actually do so. Please write now. It is important that your Members hear from you before the Committee markup of the NDAA. Sincerely, Matt Hawthorne
Policy Director |
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