TEMPO.CO, Washington - A leading Republican congressman proposed a legislation draft on Monday, June 3, forcing United States President Barack Obama to keep the Guantanamo Bay military prison open, despite his intention to shut the place down.
Howard McKeon, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, also included several provisions in a 2014 defense authorization bill that would prohibit inmates transfer to the United States or other countries like Yemen without certain guarantees to the Congress.
The bill also authorize US$247,4 million to upgrade the prison, following a warning issued by the military regarding the prison's structural integrity.
"This bill prevents the administration from closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay," said Adam Smith, a lawmaker from Washington.
Smith said the upgrades mentioned in the bill included building permanent facilities. "This is a ridiculous waste of money and we should be closing this expensive and unnecessary facility," he said.
Guantanamo Bay holds 166 prisoners, mostly detained without charge for more than a decade. Earlier this year, 100 prisoners were on a hunger strike and dozens were being force-fed to keep them alive.
In 2009, Obama ordered Guantanamo Bay prison closed by January the year after, an effort failed after the Congress imposed restrictions on where prisoners could be transferred.
REUTERS | ABDUL MANAN
