I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4580 

To require the Secretary of State to submit an unclassified notice before 

the transfer of any individual detained at United States Naval Station, 

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the custody or control of the individual’s 

country of origin, any other foreign country, or any other foreign entity, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 23, 2016 

Mr. ROYCE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, 

for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 

for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 

committee concerned 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of State to submit an unclassified 

notice before the transfer of any individual detained at 

United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, 

to the custody or control of the individual’s country 

of origin, any other foreign country, or any other foreign 

entity, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Terrorist Release 

3 Transparency Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress makes the following findings: 

6 (1) The detention facilities at United States 

7 Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were estab8 lished in 2002 for the purpose of detaining those 

9 who plan, authorize, commit, or aid in the planning, 

10 authorizing, or committing of acts of terrorism 

11 against the United States. 

12 (2) The facilities have detained individuals who 

13 have killed, maimed, or otherwise harmed innocent 

14 civilians and members of the United States Armed 

15 Forces, as well as combatants who have received 

16 specialized training in the conduct and facilitation of 

17 acts of terrorism against the United States, its citi18 zens, and its allies. This includes 9/11 mastermind 

19 Khalid Sheik Mohammed and scores of other known 

20 terrorists. 

21 (3) The location of the detention facilities at 

22 Guantanamo Bay protects the United States, its 

23 citizens, and its allies. No prisoner has ever escaped 

24 from Guantanamo Bay. 

25 (4) On January 20, 2009, President Barack 

26 Obama issued Executive Order 13492 ordering the 


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1 closure of the detention facilities at Guantanamo 

2 Bay, consistent with the national security and for3 eign policy interests of the United States and the in4 terests of justice. 

5 (5) Executive Order 13492 directs the Depart6 ment of State to participate in the review of each de7 tainee to determine whether it is possible to transfer 

8 or release the individual consistent with the national 

9 security and foreign policy interests of the United 

10 States. 

11 (6) The Secretary of State is ordered to expedi12 tiously pursue and direct negotiations and diplo13 matic efforts with foreign governments as are nec14 essary and appropriate to implement Executive 

15 Order 13492. 

16 (7) Since 2009, the Department of State has 

17 played a substantial role in the review and transfer 

18 of enemy combatants from the jurisdiction of the 

19 United States to the custody or control of foreign 

20 governments through the appointment of a Special 

21 Envoy for Guantanamo Closure. 

22 (8) President Obama has released numerous de23 tainees from Guantanamo Bay since taking office, 

24 some of whom are known or suspected to have re25 engaged in terrorist activity. 


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1 (9) The transfer of individuals from Guanta2 namo Bay to foreign countries sharply increased 

3 from 2014 to 2016, bringing the number of remain4 ing detainees to less than 100. 

5 (10) The administration often transfers detain6 ees to countries in close proximity to their countries 

7 of origin. In some cases, prisoners have been relo8 cated within blocks of United States diplomatic fa9 cilities located in countries with governments that 

10 have publicly stated no intention to monitor or re11 strict travel of potentially dangerous former detain12 ees or that otherwise lack the capacity to mitigate 

13 threat potential. 

14 (11) The administration is required to notify 

15 Congress of its intent to transfer individuals de16 tained at Guantanamo pursuant to section 1034 of 

17 the National Defense Authorization Act for 2016 

18 (Public Law 114–92) and certify that among other 

19 things, the foreign country to which the individual is 

20 proposed to be transferred has taken or agreed to 

21 take appropriate steps to substantially mitigate any 

22 risk the individual could attempt to reengage in ter23 rorist activity or otherwise threaten the United 

24 States or its allies or interests. 


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1 (12) While not required by law, the administra2 tion has classified these notifications so that only a 

3 small number of individuals are able to know their 

4 contents. 

5 (13) The information contained in such a notice 

6 does not warrant classification, given that third7 party nations and the detainees themselves possesses 

8 such information. 

9 (14) The decision to classify the notice and cer10 tification results in a process that is not trans11 parent, thereby preventing the American public from 

12 knowing pertinent information about the release of 

13 these individuals. 

14 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

15 It is the sense of Congress that— 

16 (1) the people of the United States deserve to 

17 know who is being released from the detention facili18 ties at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo 

19 Bay, Cuba, their countries of origin, their destina20 tions, and the ability of the host nation to prevent 

21 recidivism; and 

22 (2) the people of the United States deserve 

23 transparency in the manner in which the Obama Ad24 ministration complies with Executive Order 13492. 


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1 SEC. 4. UNCLASSIFIED NOTICE REQUIRED PRIOR TO 

2 TRANSFER OF DETAINEES AT UNITED 

3 STATES NAVAL STATION, GUANTANAMO BAY, 

4 CUBA, TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES AND OTHER 

5 FOREIGN ENTITIES. 

6 (a) NOTICE REQUIRED.—Not less than 15 days prior 

7 to the transfer of any individual detained at Guantanamo 

8 to the custody or control of the individual’s country of ori9 gin, any other foreign country, or any other foreign entity, 

10 the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate 

11 committees of Congress an unclassified notice that in12 cludes— 

13 (1) the name, country of origin, and country of 

14 destination of the individual; 

15 (2) the number of individuals detained at Guan16 tanamo previously transferred to the country to 

17 which the individual is proposed to be transferred; 

18 and 

19 (3) the number of such individuals who have re20 engaged in terrorist activity after being transferred 

21 to that country. 

22 (b) BRIEFING.—The Secretary of State shall brief 

23 the appropriate committees of Congress within 5 days of 

24 transmitting the notice required by subsection (a). Such 

25 briefing shall include an explanation of why the destinaVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:40 Feb 24, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4580.IH H4580

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1 tion country was chosen for the transferee and an overview 

2 of countries being considered for future transfers. 

3 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 

4 shall be construed to be inconsistent with the requirements 

5 of section 1034 of the National Defense Authorization Act 

6 for Fiscal Year 2016 (Public Law 114–92). 

7 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 (1) The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con9 gress’’ means the Committee on Armed Services, the 

10 Committee on Appropriations, and the Committee on 

11 Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee 

12 on Armed Services, the Committee on Appropria13 tions, and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

14 House of Representatives. 

15 (2) The term ‘‘individual detained at Guanta16 namo’’ has the meaning given such term in section 

17 1034(f)(2) of the National Defense Authorization 

18 Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (Public Law 114–92). 

Æ 


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