II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 291 

To provide for certain requirements related to the closing of the Guantanamo 

Bay detention facility. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 21, 2009 

Mr. BROWNBACK (for himself, Mr. ROBERTS, and Mr. BOND) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Armed Services 

A BILL 

To provide for certain requirements related to the closing 

of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. 

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 ‘‘Guantanamo Bay De5 tention Facility Safe Closure Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS FOR CLOSING GUANTANAMO BAY 

7 DETENTION FACILITY. 

8 (a) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—The President 

9 shall notify the congressional defense committees at least 

10 90 days before taking any action associated with the cloVerDate Nov 24 2008 06:14 Jan 22, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S291.IS S291

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1 sure of the Department of Defense detention facility at 

2 Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the subsequent transfer of 

3 any persons detained at that facility to a new detention 

4 facility in the United States. 

5 (b) STUDY.—The notification under subsection (a) 

6 shall include the submission to the congressional defense 

7 committees of a study of the feasibility of closing the De8 partment of Defense detention facility at Guantanamo 

9 Bay, Cuba. The study shall address the legal ramifications 

10 and the security, infrastructure, and other support re11 quirements associated with closing the detention facility 

12 and transferring persons to a new detention facility in the 

13 United States, including an assessment of the following: 

14 (1) The available space at a new detention facil15 ity. 

16 (2) The ability to separate persons transferred 

17 to a new detention facility from any other individ18 uals already detained at such facility. 

19 (3) The number of security guards and support 

20 personnel required to undertake the detention of 

21 persons transferred to a new detention facility and 

22 a description of the barracks and other facilities nec23 essary for such security guards and support per24 sonnel. 


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1 (4) The nature and cost of any security en2 hancements to an existing military installation that 

3 might be chosen to host a new detention facility. 

4 (5) A comparison of the costs described in 

5 paragraph (4) with the estimated costs of con6 structing a new detention facility that is physically 

7 separate from any existing military installation or ci8 vilian prison. 

9 (6) The advisability of expending the funds de10 scribed in paragraphs (4) and (5) in light of the 

11 prior obligation and expenditure of amounts for the 

12 detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. 

13 (7) The proximity of a new detention facility 

14 to— 

15 (A) private land; 

16 (B) civilian populations; and 

17 (C) other military activities (if a new de18 tention facility is or would be located on or near 

19 an existing military installation). 

20 (8) The degree to which a new detention facility 

21 must be self-contained, including the existence of— 

22 (A) on-site medical facilities available 24 

23 hours per day; 

24 (B) dedicated fire fighting capabilities; 

25 (C) space for legal proceedings; and 


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1 (D) recreational facilities comparable to 

2 those available at the detention facility at 

3 Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. 

4 (9) The advisability of performing interroga5 tions of persons transferred to the new detention fa6 cility. 

7 (10) The potential that persons transferred to 

8 the new detention facility may be detained indefi9 nitely. 

10 (11) The impact that a new detention facility, 

11 if established on an existing military installation, 

12 would have on ongoing military activities at such in13 stallation. 

14 (12) The suitability for purposes of handling 

15 detainees of any military installation or other facility 

16 owned by the United States that has been closed or 

17 is scheduled to be closed under the defense base clo18 sure and realignment process. 

19 (13) The possibility of transferring detainees to 

20 United States military installations located outside 

21 the United States or to the custody of foreign gov22 ernments. 

23 (c) RELOCATION PLAN.—The notification required 

24 under subsection (a) shall include a plan to relocate the 

25 persons detained at the detention facility in Guantanamo 


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1 Bay, Cuba, that is fully consistent with the results of the 

2 study conducted pursuant to subsection (b). 

3 (d) CONGRESSIONAL DEFENSE COMMITTEES DE4 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘congressional defense 

5 committees’’ means— 

6 (1) the Committee on Armed Services and the 

7 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and 

8 (2) the Committee on Armed Services and the 

9 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep10 resentatives. 

Æ 


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