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Union Calendar No. 378 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4678 

[Report No. 114–496] 

To prohibit modification, abrogation, abandonment, or other related actions 

with respect to United States jurisdiction and control over United States 

Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, without congressional action. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 3, 2016 

Mr. ROYCE (for himself, Mr. YOHO, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. DUNCAN of 

South Carolina, and Mr. SALMON) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

APRIL 15, 2016 

Additional sponsors: Ms. JENKINS of Kansas, Mr. NUNES, Mr. COOK, Mrs. 

WALORSKI, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, and Mr. WOODALL

APRIL 15, 2016 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 

and ordered to be printed 


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A BILL 

To prohibit modification, abrogation, abandonment, or other 

related actions with respect to United States jurisdiction 

and control over United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, without congressional action. 


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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States Naval 

5 Station Guantanamo Bay Preservation Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) United States Naval Station, Guantanamo 

9 Bay, Cuba, has been a strategic military asset crit10 ical to the defense of the United States and the 

11 maintenance of regional security for more than a 

12 century. 

13 (2) The United States continues to exercise 

14 control over the area of United States Naval Sta15 tion, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, pursuant to the 

16 Guantanamo Lease Agreements, which were initi17 ated and concluded pursuant to an Act of Congress. 

18 (3) Senior United States military leaders have 

19 consistently voiced strong support for maintaining 

20 United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, 

21 Cuba, noting its strategic value for military basing 

22 and logistics, disaster relief, humanitarian work, ter23 rorist detention, and counter-narcotics purposes. 

24 (4) On February 29, 2016, Secretary of De25 fense Ashton B. Carter, discussing United States 


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1 Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, stated that 

2 ‘‘it’s a strategic location, we’ve had it for a long 

3 time, it’s important to us and we intend to hold onto 

4 it’’. 

5 (5) On March 12, 2015, Commander of United 

6 States Southern Command, General John Kelly, tes7 tified that the United States facilities at Naval Sta8 tion Guantanamo Bay ‘‘are indispensable to the De9 partments of Defense, Homeland Security, and 

10 State’s operational and contingency plans. . . . As 

11 the only permanent U.S. military base in Latin 

12 America and the Caribbean, its location provides 

13 persistent U.S. presence and immediate access to the 

14 region, as well as supporting a layered defense to se15 cure the air and maritime approaches to the United 

16 States’’. 

17 (6) In testimony before Congress in 2012, then18 Commander of United States Southern Command, 

19 General Douglas Fraser, stated that ‘‘the strategic 

20 capability provided by U.S. Naval Station Guanta21 namo Bay remains essential for executing national 

22 priorities throughout the Caribbean, Latin America, 

23 and South America’’. 

24 (7) Following a 1991 coup in Haiti that 

25 prompted a mass exodus of people by boat, United 


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1 States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, pro2 vided a location for temporary housing and the or3 derly adjudication of asylum claims outside of the 

4 continental United States. 

5 (8) In 2010, United States Naval Station, 

6 Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was a critical hub for the 

7 provision of humanitarian disaster relief following 

8 the devastating earthquakes in Haiti. 

9 (9) The United States presence at United 

10 States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has 

11 its origins in Acts of Congress undertaken pursuant 

12 to the powers of Congress expressly enumerated in 

13 the Constitution of the United States. 

14 (10) By joint resolution approved on April 20, 

15 1898, Congress ‘‘directed and empowered’’ the 

16 President ‘‘to use the entire land and naval forces 

17 of the United States’’ as necessary to ensure that 

18 the Government of Spain ‘‘relinquish its authority 

19 and government in the island of Cuba, and withdraw 

20 its land and naval forces from Cuba and Cuban 

21 waters’’. 

22 (11) Congress declared war against Spain on 

23 April 25, 1898, which lasted until December 10, 

24 1898, when the United States and Spain signed the 

25 Treaty of Paris, in which Spain relinquished all 


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1 claims of sovereignty over Cuba, and United States 

2 governance of Cuba was established. 

3 (12) Nearly three years later, in the Act of 

4 March 2, 1901 (Chapter 803; 31 Stat. 898), Con5 gress granted the President the authority to return 

6 ‘‘the government and control of the island of Cuba 

7 to its people’’ subject to several express conditions 

8 including, in article VII of the Act of March 2, 

9 1901, the sale or lease by Cuba to the United States 

10 of lands necessary for naval stations. 

11 (13) Pursuant to the authority granted by arti12 cle VII of the Act of March 2, 1901, the United 

13 States negotiated the Guantanamo Lease Agree14 ments, which specified the area of, and United 

15 States jurisdiction and control over, what became 

16 United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, 

17 Cuba. 

18 (14) On October 2, 1903, when approving the 

19 Lease to the United States by the Government of 

20 Cuba of Certain Areas of Land and Water for Naval 

21 or Coaling Stations, signed in Havana on July 2, 

22 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt cited the Act of 

23 March 2, 1901, as providing his authority to do so: 

24 ‘‘I, Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United 

25 States of America, having seen and considered the 


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1 foregoing lease, do hereby approve the same, by vir2 tue of the authority conferred by the seventh of the 

3 provisions defining the relations which are to exist 

4 between the United States and Cuba, contained in 

5 the Act of Congress approved March 2, 1901, enti6 tled ‘An Act making appropriation for the support 

7 of the Army for the fiscal year ending June 30, 

8 1902.’ ’’. 

9 (15) Obtaining United States naval station 

10 rights in Cuba was an express condition of the au11 thority that Congress gave the President to return 

12 control and governance of Cuba to the people of 

13 Cuba. In exercising that authority and concluding 

14 the Guantanamo Lease Agreements, President Theo15 dore Roosevelt recognized the source of that author16 ity as the Act of March 2, 1901. 

17 (16) The Treaty of Relations between the 

18 United States of America and the Republic of Cuba, 

19 signed at Washington, May 29, 1934, did not super20 sede, abrogate, or modify the Guantanamo Lease 

21 Agreements, but noted that the stipulations of those 

22 agreements ‘‘shall continue in effect’’ until the 

23 United States and Cuba agree to modify them. 

24 (17) The Constitution of the United States ex25 pressly grants to Congress the power to provide for 


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1 the common defense of the United States, the power 

2 to provide and maintain a Navy, and the power ‘‘to 

3 dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regula4 tions respecting the Territory or other Property be5 longing to the United States’’. 

6 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON MODIFICATION, ABROGATION, OR 

7 OTHER RELATED ACTIONS WITH RESPECT TO 

8 UNITED STATES JURISDICTION AND CON9 TROL OVER UNITED STATES NAVAL STATION, 

10 GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA, WITHOUT CON11 GRESSIONAL ACTION. 

12 No action may be taken to modify, abrogate, or re13 place the stipulations, agreements, and commitments con14 tained in the Guantanamo Lease Agreements, or to impair 

15 or abandon the jurisdiction and control of the United 

16 States over United States Naval Station, Guantanamo 

17 Bay, Cuba, unless specifically authorized or otherwise pro18 vided by— 

19 (1) a statute that is enacted on or after the 

20 date of the enactment of this Act; 

21 (2) a treaty that is ratified with the advice and 

22 consent of the Senate on or after the date of the en23 actment of this Act; or 

24 (3) a modification of the Treaty Between the 

25 United States of America and Cuba signed at WashVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:25 Apr 15, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4678.RH H4678

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1 ington, DC, on May 29, 1934, that is ratified with 

2 the advice and consent of the Senate on or after the 

3 date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 4. GUANTANAMO LEASE AGREEMENTS DEFINED. 

5 In this Act, the term ‘‘Guantanamo Lease Agree6 ments’’ means— 

7 (1) the Agreement Between the United States 

8 of America and the Republic of Cuba for the Lease 

9 to the United States of Lands in Cuba for coaling 

10 and naval stations, signed by the President of the 

11 United States on February 23, 1903; and 

12 (2) the Lease to the United States by the Gov13 ernment of Cuba of Certain Areas of Land and 

14 Water for Naval or Coaling Stations, signed by the 

15 President of the United States on October 2, 1903. 


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Union Calendar No. 378 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4678 

[Report No. 114–496] 

A BILL 

To prohibit modification, abrogation, abandonment, 

congressional action. Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, without States jurisdiction and control over United States or other related actions with respect to United 

APRIL 15, 2016 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 


sradovich on DSK3TPTVN1PROD with BILLS