Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-IN) slammed President Obama’s plan to close Guantanamo Bay by saying,”he doesn’t say exactly how much money a new facility would cost taxpayers. He doesn’t even say where it would be” and “This whole debate is just a distraction from the president’s failure to defeat ISIS” during Saturday’s GOP Weekly Address.
Transcript as Follows:
“The president says Guantanamo Bay makes us less safe because terrorists use it as a propaganda tool. But terrorists use just about any type of military response as a propaganda tool. That’s no reason to unilaterally disarm. And, I can tell you that when we’re talking about Gitmo, we’re talking about the worst of the worst terrorists in the entire world.
The president isn’t talking about trying to move people to the United States prison system that are low level criminals or terrorists. These are the worst of the worst, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was the mastermind behind 9/11.
Not only that, but 30 percent of former Guantanamo prisoners are either confirmed or suspected of re-engaging in terrorism. In fact, just this week, a former Guantanamo prisoner was arrested in Spain after trying to recruit for ISIS. There’s a reason these terrorists are in Guantanamo. And we should keep them there.
That’s why the people’s representatives have repeatedly voted to forbid the transfer of Guantanamo prisoners to American soil. This goes all the way back to when the president’s party controlled Congress. And just last year, we affirmed this decision by a big, bipartisan vote—370 votes in the House and 91 votes in the Senate.
Finally, the biggest problem with the president’s plan is that it’s not much of a plan at all. It lacks crucial details required by law. For instance, he doesn’t say exactly how much money a new facility would cost taxpayers. He doesn’t even say where it would be. The president has had seven years to come up with this alternative plan. The burden is not on the American people to hand him one more legacy trophy. The burden is on him.
This whole debate is just a distraction from the president’s failure to defeat ISIS. But it does speak to a larger point. The president seems to think as if a more timid America would keep us safe. We, in the House, could not disagree more. We think a confident America is what keeps the peace. A confident America is what will make us secure. So we will continue to do all we can in the House to hold the president accountable, to keep terrorists off our soil, and to keep the American people safe. Thank you.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett