A New Bid to Restrict GTMO Transfers

Republican senators unveiled a new bill Tuesday to stop President Obama from releasing more detainees from Guantanamo Bay. "Now is not the time to be emptying Guantanamo," said Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), who introduced the bill. The president is making a renewed push to close the detention facility in Cuba, and fulfill his campaign promise. He has released 22 detainees since the midterms -- more than the three previous years combined. Ayotte's bill would bar any detainee transfers to Yemen, suspend transfers of high and medium-risk detainees, and require the Defense secretary to provide an unclassified report on detainees who have been deemed high or medium risk at any point. The bill also extends a bar on detainee transfers to the U.S., as well as the use of any government funds in the Defense budget -- or the budget of any other agency -- to construct or modify facilities to house detainees.