{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.roberts.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=B01829B9-D36E-49BC-911F-A7FB46A58814", "Roberts, Gardner, Scott Send Letter to GAO Over Illegal Funds Spent to Relocate GTMO Detainees", "2016-09-28", "2016", "2016-09", "Republican", "House", "KS", "Pat Roberts", "R000307", "www.roberts.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC \u2013 U.S. Senators Pat Roberts (R-KS), Cory Gardner (R-CO),\u00a0and Tim Scott (R-SC) today sent a letter to the Honorable Gene L. Dodaro, Comptroller General of the United States and head of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), requesting an opinion on whether or not the DoD violated the Consolidated Appropriations Act \u2013 and thus the Antideficiency Act \u2013 by spending federal funds to survey potential sites to relocate Guantanamo Bay detainees to the United Sates.\r\nThe Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, which was signed into law in December of 2015, specifically prohibits\u00a0appropriated funds from being used \u201cto transfer, release, or assist in the transfer or release to or within the United States . . . [any Guantanamo Bay detainee]\u201d and appropriated funds from being used \u201cto construct, acquire, or modify any facility in the United States . . . to house any . . . [detainee].\u201d\r\nThe letter reads in full:\r\nThe Honorable Gene L. Dodaro\r\nComptroller General\r\nU.S. Government Accountability Office\r\n441 G Street, NW\r\nWashington, DC 20548\r\nDear Mr. Dodaro:\r\nThis letter is to request your opinion on whether the Department of Defense (DoD), by making expenditures surveying potential sites in three states for the transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees, violated Section 527 or 528 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016.\r\nAs was widely reported, the DoD spent federal funds studying sites in Colorado, Kansas, and South Carolina to relocate prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay despite specific prohibitions in law. The DoD spent the most money \u2013 $11,064.33 \u2013 surveying a facility in Florence, CO, as a possible relocation site. These expenditures were made in contravention of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2016, which prohibits the use of any funds to assist in the transfer of any individual detained at Guantanamo Bay to the United States as well as the use of any funds to prepare any facility in the United States to house any Guantanamo detainee. Pub. L. No. 114-92, \u00a7\u00a7 1031-1032, 129 Stat. 735, 968 (2015).\r\nMoreover, Sections 527 and 528 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, reinforce the prohibitions set forth in the fiscal 2016 NDAA. Specifically, Section 527 prohibits the DoD from using appropriated funds \u201cto transfer, release, or assist in the transfer or release to or within the United States . . . [any Guantanamo Bay detainee],\u201d and Section 528 prohibits the DoD from using appropriated funds \u201cto construct, acquire, or modify any facility in the United States . . . to house any . . . [detainee].\u201d Pub. L. No. 114-113, 129 Stat. 2242, 2329 (2015). The meaning of Sections 527 and 528 is clear and unambiguous; no appropriated funds are legally available for the relocation of Guantanamo Bay detainees to the United States.\r\nGiven that the DoD spent appropriated funds to survey potential relocation sites for Guantanamo detainees when no money was available for that purpose, we respectfully request your opinion as to whether the DoD violated the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, and if so, whether the DoD also violated the Antideficiency Act, 31 U.S.C. \u00a7 1341(a). Thank you for your timely assistance.\r\n\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.roberts.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=B01829B9-D36E-49BC-911F-A7FB46A58814"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9023139718919992, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}