89–008 

111TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session 111–384 

REQUESTING THE PRESIDENT TO TRANSMIT TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ALL DOCUMENTS IN THE POSSESSION OF THE PRESIDENT RELATING TO THE EFFECTS ON FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE COLLECTION OF THE TRANSFER OF DETAINEES HELD AT NAVAL STATION, 

GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA, INTO THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 16, 2009.—Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed 

Mr. REYES, from the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

together with 

MINORITY VIEWS 

[To accompany H. Res. 923] 

The Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, to whom was 

referred the resolution (H. Res. 923) requesting the President to 

transmit to the House of Representatives all documents in the possession of the President relating to the effects on foreign intelligence collection of the transfer of detainees held at Naval Station, 

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, into the United States, having considered 

the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the resolution be agreed to. 

The amendment is as follows: 

Strike all after the resolving clause and insert the following: 

That the President is requested to transmit to the House of Representatives not 

later than 14 days after the adoption of this resolution a document (which may be 

transmitted in classified form, if appropriate) that provides a summary of the effects 

on foreign intelligence collection of the transfer of detainees held at Naval Station, 

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, into the United States. 

PURPOSE

H. Res. 923 requests that the President submit to the House of 

Representatives a summary, in classified form if necessary, of the 

effects that the transfer of detainees held at the U.S. Naval Station 

at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the United States might have on the 

collection of foreign intelligence information. 


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BACKGROUND

On January 22, 2009, President Barack Obama issued Executive 

Order 13492, Review and Disposition of Individuals Detained at 

the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and Closure of Detention Facilities. The order requires that the detention facilities at Guantanamo 

Bay be closed promptly ‘‘in order to effect the appropriate disposition’’ of the detainees held there. 

On November 13, 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder announced 

that several of these detainees would be transferred to the United 

States for prosecution. The plans to transfer these detainees, along 

with the prospect that other detainees may be transferred, to the 

United States have led some to ask whether these transfers would 

have an effect on the government’s foreign intelligence collection efforts. 

The resolution asks the President to provide a summary of the 

effects that these transfers might have on U.S. intelligence collection efforts. 

SCOPE OF COMMITTEE REVIEW

No hearings were held in the Committee on H. Res. 923. 

OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

In compliance with Clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the findings 

and recommendations of the Committee are incorporated in the descriptive portion of this report. 

GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not apply, as H. Res. 923 does not authorize funding. 

CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the House of Representatives does 

not apply, as H. Res. 923 is not a bill or a joint resolution that may 

be enacted into law. 

COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION AND ROLL CALL VOTES

On December 15, 2009, the Committee met in open session and 

ordered the resolution, as amended, to be reported favorably to the 

House. 

In open session, the Committee considered the text of the resolution, H. Res. 923. 

Chairman Reyes offered an amendment to H. Res. 923, which requests that the President provide a summary, in classified form if 

necessary, of the effects of detainee relocation on intelligence collection. The amendment was approved by a record vote of 10 ayes and 

7 noes. 

Voting aye: Mr. Reyes, Mr. Hastings, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Holt, Mr. 

Ruppersberger, Mr. Thompson, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Schiff, Mr. 

Smith, Mr. Boren. 

Voting no: Mr. Hoekstra, Mr. Gallegly, Mr. Thornberry, Mr. Rogers, Mr. Miller, Mr. Conaway, Mr. King. 


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The Committee then voted to favorably report H. Res. 923, as 

amended, by a record vote of 10 ayes and 7 noes. 

Voting aye: Mr. Reyes, Mr. Hastings, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Holt, Mr. 

Ruppersberger, Mr. Thompson, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Schiff, Mr. 

Smith, Mr. Boren. 

Voting no: Mr. Hoekstra, Mr. Gallegly, Mr. Thornberry, Mr. Rogers, Mr. Miller, Mr. Conaway, Mr. King. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS AND EXPLANATION OF THE

AMENDMENT

This resolution requests that the President submit to the House 

of Representatives a summary, in classified form if necessary, of 

the effects that the transfer of detainees held at the U.S. Naval 

Station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, might have on collection of foreign intelligence information. 

STATEMENT OF FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT

H. Res. 923 includes no Federal mandates. 

STATEMENT ON CONGRESSIONAL EARMARKS

Clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives 

does not apply, as H. Res. 923 is not a bill or a joint resolution. 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATE

In compliance with clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee estimates that implementing the resolution would not result in any significant costs. 

The Congressional Budget Office did not provide a cost estimate for 

the resolution. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

H. Res. 923 makes no changes to existing law. 


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MINORITY VIEWS 

The potential relocation of hardcore al Qaeda terrorists into the 

United States has significant ramifications for both national security and the security of the individual communities to which detainees from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility may be moved. 

Accordingly, we have been gravely disappointed at the failure of 

this Administration to keep the Congress fully and currently informed with respect to its intentions in this regard. It is unfortunate that it is necessary to file a Resolution of Inquiry to try to obtain even basic information on the potential hazards and consequences of such a move, and it is disappointing that the Committee would water down such a resolution by allowing the Administration to provide only the information it chooses instead of conducting meaningful oversight. 

While we support any effort to obtain further information from 

the Executive Branch on this subject, we cannot endorse this resolution in its current form. We hope that the so-called ‘‘most open 

and transparent Administration in history’’ will be more forthcoming going forward, and that the Committee will be more willing 

to do the oversight work it is charged under the Constitution. 

As introduced by Ranking Member Hoekstra, H. Res. 923 requested the President to produce to the Committee all documents 

that relate to the potential effects on intelligence collection that 

may result from bringing Guantanamo detainees to the United 

States. The potential loss of such intelligence collection should be 

central to any consideration of whether to relocate detainees from 

the existing facility at Guantanamo into the United States. 

This matter is extremely timely. The Obama Administration has 

recently announced that it intends to move hardcore al Qaeda terrorists to the United States for detention, even though right now 

that use of funds is prohibited by law and even though it has refused to brief either this Committee or the Committee on Armed 

Services in advance with respect to its intentions. In fact, we 

learned that this move was impending when a draft Executive 

Order was made public—not by the ‘‘most open and transparent 

Administration in history,’’ but instead by an Internet Weblog. The 

decision was made even though the relevant Committees of Congress still have not been consulted. 

The American people have a right to know what kind of hardcore 

terrorists are being brought to their neighborhoods, what kind of 

threats they pose, and the serious questions that do not yet appear 

to have been addressed that must be answered before taking such 

an extreme step. One of these questions is the impact that such a 

move could have on intelligence collection, including potential 

warning of future attacks on the United States, or intelligence that 

could affect the safety and security of the American communities 

in which these terrorists will be relocated. The resolution also 


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would require fuller disclosure and transparency on potential intelligence losses. 

We have asked repeatedly for briefings on this matter, beginning 

almost immediately after the President’s Executive Order to implement his campaign promise to close Guantanamo by the end of the 

year—a promise that almost certainly will not be kept. For almost 

a year now, there has been little but stonewalling and a refusal to 

discuss the hard questions. We have asked until we are blue in the 

face. There have been no answers. We hope that all Members of 

this Committee would want any information that is available to 

conduct oversight on this topic, because we currently have almost 

none. This resolution should not be contentious or controversial, 

and all Members of the Committee should have supported it on a 

bipartisan basis. 

Instead, the Committee on a partisan vote adopted an amendment to water down the Resolution of Inquiry. It now requests only 

an Administration-prepared ‘‘summary’’ of the information instead 

of the documents themselves. This completely defeats the purpose 

and Constitutional function of Congressional oversight. We simply 

cannot outsource our responsibilities to the Administration. The 

Committee has to conduct vigorous and independent oversight, and 

the amendment accomplishes neither. 

The lack of transparency is not limited to the Administration. We 

also must note that on December 8, 2009, Republican members of 

the Illinois delegation—including Representatives Manzullo, 

Shimkus, Biggert, Kirk, Johnson, Roskam and Schrock—requested 

access to classified information held by the Committee that should 

be highly relevant to any decision to bring Guantanamo detainees 

to the State of Illinois. Ranking Member Hoekstra reinforced this 

request in a followup letter dated December 11, 2009 and made an 

independent motion under the Committee Rules that a redacted 

version of the classified material be made available to these Members. The Committee Rules explicitly require such requests to be 

considered at the ‘‘earliest practicable opportunity’’, and yet the 

Chairman refused to schedule the matter at the Committee business meeting considering this request. 

The Committee Rules nowhere authorize consideration to be delayed for the purpose of consulting the Executive Branch, which 

was the reason cited for the delay. The information is highly material to the decision that will directly affect citizens in the districts 

of each of these Members of Congress. Simple fairness demands 

that we consider this request immediately, yet that was not done 

as we believe was required. Accordingly, we wish to note this point 

of order and our objection for the record. 


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The decisions that have been announced on Guantanamo detainees need to be fully considered in sunlight, not forced upon an 

American people who have not been given access to all of the facts. 

This Committee has a right to know on behalf of the American people, and we will continue to press for some meaningful transparency. 

PETER HOEKSTRA. 

ELTON GALLEGLY. 

MAC THORNBERRY. 

MIKE ROGERS. 

SUE MYRICK. 

ROY BLUNT. 

JEFF MILLER. 

K. MICHAEL CONAWAY. 

PETER T. KING. 

Æ 


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