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3. Congress refused to fund the closure.

Democrats Block Funding To Close Guantanamo

May 20, 20096:00 AM ET
Heard on Morning Edition


David Welna


In a major setback for President Obama, Senate Democrats have removed funding to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba from the emergency war spending bill. They said no money will be considered until the president sends Congress a detailed plan on where the prison's 240 detainees would go.

RENEE MONTAGNE, Host:

Closing down the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is going to cost money. President Obama has requested $80 million, and he's run into a bipartisan wall of opposition in Congress. Yesterday, Senate Democrats - who had included the funding in a larger war spending bill - decided to strip it out, just as House Democrats have done. They won't consider any money until the president sends Congress a detailed plan on where the prison's 240 detainees will go. NPR's David Welna has the story.

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https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104334339

Congress Overwhelmingly Votes to Block Guantánamo Closure

Obama vetoed the defense bill last month, partly on account of its Guantánamo provisions. But the revamped bill passed with veto-proof majorities.


Jenna McLaughlin

November 10 2015, 12:52 p.m.

The Senate, by a veto-proof 91-3 margin, passed a revamped defense spending bill on Tuesday that still contains provisions intended to prevent President Obama from closing Guantánamo Bay prison. The bill already passed the House 370-58, also more than enough votes to override a veto, should it come to that.

Obama vetoed the bill last month, citing both funding disagreements and language intended to ban all transfers of Guantánamo prisoners to the United States, heighten the barrier to shift them overseas, and prohibit moves to specific countries.

Since then, lawmakers essentially acceded to his budget demands, cutting funding for sweetheart programs and authorizing $715 million to help Iraqi forces fight Islamic State rebels, among other changes. But the Guantánamo provisions remain. Obama cited the bill’s Guantánamo problems as some of the most important in a rare veto-signing ceremony on October 23.

“This legislation specifically impeded our ability to close Guantánamo in a way that I have repeatedly argued is counterproductive to our efforts to defeat terrorism around the world,” he said. “Guantánamo is one of the premiere mechanisms for jihadists to recruit. It’s time for us to close it. It is outdated; it’s expensive; it’s been there for years. And we can do better in terms of keeping our people safe while making sure that we are consistent with our values.”

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https://theintercept.com/2015/11/10/congress-overwhelmingly-votes-to-block-guantanamo-closure/

They have slowly been moving people out and there are (as of July) 36 left there -

The Guantánamo Docket

By The New York Times Updated July 25, 2022


36 detainees held
744 transferred

Since 2002, roughly 780 detainees have been held at the American military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Now, 36 remain. Of those, 12 have been charged with war crimes in the military commissions system — 10 are awaiting trial and two have been convicted. In addition, four detainees are held in indefinite law-of-war detention and are neither facing tribunal charges nor being recommended for release. And 20 are held in law-of-war detention but have been recommended for transfer with security

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https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/guantanamo-bay-detainees.html