[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4938 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4938
To establish a temporary limitation on the use of funds to transfer or
release individuals detained at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 23, 2014
Mr. Gohmert (for himself, Mr. Flores, and Mr. Pompeo) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a temporary limitation on the use of funds to transfer or
release individuals detained at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Guantanamo Bay Detainee Transfer
Suspension Act of 2014''.
SEC. 2. TEMPORARY LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS TO TRANSFER OR RELEASE
INDIVIDUALS DETAINED AT UNITED STATES NAVAL STATION,
GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA.
(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), no funds may
be obligated or expended to transfer or release any covered detainee at
Guantanamo to the custody or control of such individual's country of
origin, any other foreign country, or any other foreign entity until
the earlier of--
(1) the date that is 90 days after the date of submittal to
Congress of the report required by subsection (d); or
(2) the date that is 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(b) Exception.--
(1) In general.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to the
obligation or expenditure of funds to transfer any covered
detainee at Guantanamo to effectuate an order affecting the
disposition of such individual that is issued by a court or
competent tribunal of the United States having lawful
jurisdiction.
(2) Notice to congress.--The Secretary of Defense shall
promptly notify the appropriate committees of Congress of the
issuance of any order described in paragraph (1).
(3) Delay in discharge.--An order described in paragraph
(1) may not be carried out until the date that is 5 days after
the date on which the appropriate committees of Congress are
notified of the order pursuant to paragraph (2).
(c) Enforcement.--
(1) In general.--An officer or employee of the United
States shall be liable in his or her individual capacity for a
civil penalty of $10,000 for each covered detainee at
Guantanamo transferred or released in violation of subsection
(a) pursuant to an action or order of the officer or employee
of the United States.
(2) No representation by united states.--Notwithstanding
section 50.15 or 50.16 of title 28, Code of Federal
Regulations, or any other provision of law, the United States
Government may not provide representation to, or retain or
reimburse private counsel for the representation of, an officer
or employee in an action under paragraph (1).
(3) Qui tam action.--
(A) In general.--A person may bring a civil action
for a violation of subsection (a) for the person and
for the United States Government, seeking a civil
penalty under paragraph (1). The action shall be
brought in the name of the Government. The action may
be dismissed only if the court and the Attorney General
give written consent to the dismissal and their reasons
for consenting.
(B) Complaint.--A copy of the complaint and written
disclosure of substantially all material evidence and
information the person possesses shall be served on the
Government pursuant to rule 4 of the Federal Rules of
Civil Procedure. The Government may elect to intervene
and proceed with the action within 30 days after it
receives both the complaint and the material evidence
and information.
(C) Determination by government.--Before the
expiration of the 30-day period under subparagraph (B),
the Government shall--
(i) proceed with the action, in which case
the action shall be conducted by the
Government; or
(ii) notify the court that it declines to
take over the action, in which case the person
bringing the action shall have the right to
conduct the action.
(D) Individual conducting action.--If the
Government elects not to proceed with the action, and
upon request and at the Government's expense, the
Government shall be served with copies of all pleadings
filed in the action and shall be supplied with copies
of all deposition transcripts.
(E) Award to qui tam plaintiff.--A person bringing
an action under subparagraph (A) shall receive 50
percent of the amount of the civil penalty imposed on
the officer or employee of the United States and the
court shall award the person reasonable expenses which
the court finds to have been necessarily incurred, plus
reasonable attorneys' fees and costs, to be paid by the
defendant.
(F) Expedited appeal of dismissal.--It shall be the
duty of the courts of the United States to advance on
the docket and to expedite to the greatest possible
extent the disposition of any appeal by a person
bringing a civil action under subparagraph (A) of the
dismissal of the civil action with the consent of the
Attorney General.
(d) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall, in
coordination with the Secretary of State and the Director of
National Intelligence, submit to the appropriate committees of
Congress a report setting forth the following:
(A) A detailed description of the previous
assessments by Joint Task Force Guantanamo regarding
the risk that the 5 detainees transferred from United
States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Qatar on
May 31, 2014, would reengage in terrorist activity
after transfer.
(B) A detailed description of any changes between
the assessments described in subparagraph (A) and the
assessments as of May 31, 2014, of the risk that the
detainees described in that subparagraph would reengage
in terrorist activity after transfer as described in
that subparagraph, including the reasons for such
changes.
(C) A detailed description of the prior instances,
if any, in which Qatar did not fully honor its
commitments to monitor, detain, or control the travel
of individuals formerly detained at United States Naval
Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by the Department of
Defense.
(D) A detailed assessment of the likelihood that
the 5 detainees described in subparagraph (A) will
return to Afghanistan or reengage in terrorism.
(E) A detailed assessment of whether the transfer
of the 5 detainees as described in subparagraph (A)
will increase the likelihood that the Taliban and
terrorist groups around the world will try to capture
United States individuals or personnel in order to
obtain concessions from the United States.
(2) Form.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall be
submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified
annex.
(e) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(A) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee
on Foreign Relations, the Committee on Appropriations,
the Select Committee on Intelligence, and the Committee
on the Judiciary of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee
on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Appropriations,
the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and the
Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives.
(2) The term ``covered detainee at Guantanamo'' means each
individual who--
(A) is not a United States citizen or a member of
the Armed Forces of the United States; and
(B) is or was held on January 20, 2009, at United
States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by the
Department of Defense.
(3) The term ``officer or employee of the United States''--
(A) includes--
(i) the President;
(ii) the head and any officer or employee
of any Executive agency or military department
(as those terms are defined in chapter 1 of
title 5, United States Code); and
(iii) any other officer or employee of the
United States; and
(B) does not include--
(i) a member of the Armed Forces; or
(ii) an officer or employee of an element
of the intelligence community (as defined in
section 3 of the National Security Act of 1947
(50 U.S.C. 3003)).
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON TRANSFER OR RELEASE OF DETAINEES AT UNITED
STATES NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA, WITHOUT
EXPRESS WRITTEN AUTHORIZATION OF THE PRESIDENT.
(a) Prohibition.--No detainee described in subsection (b) may be
transferred or released from United States Naval Station Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba, to a foreign country without the express written
authorization of the President.
(b) Covered Detainees.--A detainee described in this subsection is
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed or any other detainee who--
(1) is not a United States citizen or a member of the Armed
Forces of the United States;
(2) is or was held on or after January 20, 2009, at United
States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by the Department
of Defense; and
(3) is held as of the date of the enactment of this Act at
United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by the
Department of Defense.
SEC. 4. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to modify, limit, or
supersede the requirements under section 1035 of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (10 U.S.C. 801 note) relating to
the transfer or release of an individual detained at Guantanamo (as
defined in subsection (e)(2) of such section).
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