SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Guantanamo Bay De-
tention Facility Safe Closure Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) Since the United States began its Global 
War on Terrorism, terrorists have been captured by 
the United States and their allies and detained in 
facilities at Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility 
(GTMO), Cuba. 
(2) The detainee complex at Guantanamo Bay, 
Cuba, is the only complex in the world that can safe-
ly and humanely hold individuals that pose a high- 
security risk to the United States. It is a secure lo-
cation away from population centers, provides max-
imum security required to prevent escape, provides 
multiple levels of confinement opportunities based on 
compliance of the detainee, and provides medical 
care not available to a majority of the population of 
the world. 
(3) GTMO is the single greatest repository of 
human intelligence in the war on terror. This intel-
ligence has prevented terrorist attacks and saved 
lives in the past and continues to do so today. 
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(4) New intelligence being collected from de-
tainees at GTMO is being used to fight terrorists in 
Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the globe. 
(5) Intelligence information obtained from ques-
tioning detainees includes— 
(A) the organizational structure of al- 
Qaida and other terrorist groups; 
(B) the extent of terrorist presence in Eu-
rope, the United States, and the Middle East; 
(C) al-Qaida’s pursuit of weapons of mass 
destruction; 
(D) methods of recruitment and locations 
of recruitment centers; 
(E) terrorist skill sets, including general 
and specialized operative training; and 
(F) how legitimate financial activities are 
used to hide terrorist operations. 
(6) The Expeditionary Legal Complex (ELC) 
located at GTMO is the only one of its kind in the 
world. It provides a secure location to secure and try 
detainees charged by the United States Government, 
full access to sensitive and classified information, 
full access to defense lawyers and prosecution, and 
full media access by the press. 
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(7) There are on average two lawyers for every 
detainee that has been charged or had charges pre-
ferred against them at GTMO. 
(8) There are 127 doctors, nurses, and medical 
technicians dedicated to caring for and maintaining 
the health of each detainee—a ratio of 1:2 (one 
health care professional for every two detainees). 
(9) GTMO is operated by the Department of 
Defense and only interrogation techniques approved 
by the Secretary of Defense have been used. 
(10) Detainees are being treated humanely. 
(11) There are no solitary confinement facilities 
at Guantanamo. 
(12) Water boarding has never occurred at 
GTMO. 
(13) Current treatment and oversight exceed 
any maximum-security prison in the world. 
(14) Since 2002, more than 520 detainees have 
departed Guantanamo for other countries, including 
Albania, Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bah-
rain, Belgium, Denmark, Egypt, France, Great Brit-
ain, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Maldives, 
Mauritania, Morocco, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Ara-
bia, Spain, Sweden, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, 
Uganda, the United Kingdom, and Yemen. 
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(15) There are approximately 245 detainees 
from over 30 countries remaining at GTMO. These 
detainees include terrorist trainers, terrorist fin-
anciers, bomb makers, Osama bin Laden body-
guards, recruiters and facilitators, and would-be sui-
cide bombers. Detainees remaining at GTMO fall 
into three categories: 
(A) Detainees who have been cleared for 
release but the United States has not been able 
to find a foreign country willing to accept them. 
(B) Detainees who have been tried, had 
charges referred to trial, or are awaiting for re-
ferral to trial. 
(C) Detainees who are either of high threat 
to the United States or are from countries 
where the United States is unable to get suffi-
cient assurances that the country will mitigate 
their threat if transferred. 
(16) The Pentagon claims that 61 of released 
GTMO detainees have ‘‘returned to the fight’’. 
(17) Said Ali al-Shihri, suspected of involve-
ment in the bombing of the United States Embassy 
in Yemen on 17 September 2008, was released to 
Saudi Arabia in 2007, passed through a Saudi reha-
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bilitation program, and has resurfaced as the new 
deputy leader of al-Qaida in Yemen. 
(18) In 2007, the Senate passed a resolution, 
94–3, stating, ‘‘detainees housed at Guantanamo 
should not be released into American society, nor 
should they be transferred stateside into facilities in 
American communities and neighborhoods.’’. 
(19) On January 20, 2009, President Obama 
instructed military prosecutors to seek a 120-day 
suspension of legal proceedings at GTMO or what 
administration officials called ‘‘a continuance of the 
proceedings’’. 
(20) On January 22, 2009, President Obama 
ordered the closing of the GTMO prisons within a 
year. 
(21) The United States is still in a global war 
on terror, engaged in armed conflict with terrorist 
organizations, and will, in all probability, continue to 
capture terrorists who will be detained in a facility. 
(22) If the detention facility at GTMO is 
closed, some United States domestic or overseas 
prison will have to house these detainees while they 
await disposition. 
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