9/11 FAMILIES URGE CONGRESS TO WITHHOLD FUNDING FOR THOMSON PRISON
July 27, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
9/11 Families for a Safe & Strong America
media@911familiesforamerica.org
Debra Burlingame
9/11 Families Alert Congress: President Obama Will Use Thomson Prison Buy to Shut Gitmo
Washington, D.C., July 27, 2012—In a strongly worded letter to House Speaker John Boehner, more than 100 9/11 family members urged Congress to use its appropriations authority to prevent the Obama administration from purchasing Thomson Correctional Facility in Thomson, Ill. The families warned that acquiring the state prison would provide President Obama with a place to move 168 terrorist detainees currently held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba inside the U.S. homeland, and would put Americans at risk.
“We believe that if Congress clears the way for the Thomson purchase,” the letter stated, “the President will invoke executive authority, defy the wishes of the American people and close Guantanamo Bay detention center without notice, despite bi-partisan opposition from Congress.” They called on members of Congress to join Rep. Frank Wolf, Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, in rejecting the administration’s request for hundreds of millions of dollars to purchase and retrofit the facility.
In 2010, the Obama administration planned to purchase the Thomson prison and move detainees there but was repeatedly rebuffed by Congress. In 2011, Congress passed bi-partisan legislation barring the use of funds to transfer terrorist detainees into the country for any reason. The families’ letter cited the President’s signing statement on that legislation in which he called the provision “an extreme and risky encroachment on the authority of the executive branch.”
The President’s extensive use of executive authority to nullify acts of Congress has led families of terrorism victims to believe that President Obama will circumvent Congress to fulfill his 2008 campaign promise to close Guantanamo.
“The Obama administration has a track record of trying to end run Congress,” said Debra Burlingame, co-founder of 9/11 Families for a Safe & Strong America. “The Department of Justice tried to sneak two Gitmo detainees into Virginia in May of 2009 despite the fact that both had admitted attending terrorist training camps in Tora Bora, Afghanistan led by terrorist leader Abdul Haq.”
The families’ letter rejected the Obama administration’s claim that the prison project will create an economic boon to the small rural community, calling it a “specious pretense” and “speculative.” The federal government has spent more than $500 million to house terrorist detainees in a state-of-the-art facility at Guantanamo Bay, which includes a court house for detainees being tried under military commissions.
The Honorable John Boehner
Speaker of the House
United States Congress
July 27, 2012
Dear Mr. Speaker:
We have learned that the Obama administration, through the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Prisons, has revived its plan to purchase the Thomson Correctional Facility in Thomson, Illinois. In 2009, we vigorously opposed President Obama’s plan to purchase the Thomson facility in anticipation of closing the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and ship nearly 200 terrorist detainees to Illinois. We believed then, and believe now, that bringing hardened terrorists into the U.S. mainland would needlessly put Americans at risk.
We believe that if Congress clears the way for the Thomson purchase the President will invoke executive authority, defy the wishes of the American people, and close Guantanamo Bay detention center without notice despite bi-partisan opposition from Congress. Indeed, while signing a 2011 Defense Authorization bill which included a provision barring the use of funds to transfer Gitmo detainees to the U.S. for any reason, the President signaled his views in a signing statement, calling the prohibition “an extreme and risky encroachment on the authority of the executive branch.”
In an April 4, 2011 letter to the Illinois delegation denying its intention to use the Thomson facility for Guantanamo detainees, the Obama administration nevertheless repeated its position that it considers Thomson sufficiently secure to house detainees and opposes Congressional restrictions on funding it.
Attorney General Eric Holder’s recent testimony before the U.S. Senate, stating that the administration will not seek to move detainees to Thomson, has not reassured us. The President is in no way bound by the Attorney General’s sworn statement. The administration’s practice of using executive authority to nullify Congressional legislation, coupled with its continued insistence that Thomson is a perfectly appropriate place to relocate more than 100 known terrorists, has compelled us to speak out.
We call on Congress to restrain the President in the only way it can under the circumstances — through its appropriations authority. We urge members of Congress to join Representative Frank Wolf, Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, to stop President Obama from using this ploy to avoid being held accountable to the American people for bringing terrorists to the U.S. In poll after poll, the public has adamantly rejected the plan to close Guantanamo and bring terrorists to the homeland. In December 2009, a Gallup poll found that 68% opposed closing Gitmo and moving terrorists to the U.S. In December 2010, a Rasmussen poll found that 84% of voters worried that closing Gitmo would set dangerous terrorists free.
The Detainee Review Task Force found in its final report that 95% of the entire detainee population as of January 2009 had a connection to Al Qaeda. We have learned from JTF-GTMO officials that the current final group of 168 detainees consists of the most radical leaders, trained operatives, and ideologically dedicated Islamists of the entire original Guantanamo population.
Moving these dangerous individuals to Thomson under the transparently specious pretense of creating a speculative “federal jobs program” while our troops continue to take casualties and sacrifice their lives on the very battlefield where these terrorists were captured is an outrageous insult to the troops and their families.
We reject the extravagant claims that spending hundreds of millions of federal dollars to purchase, refit and operate the facility will rescue the economy of this small, rural community. In fact, studies show that prison enterprises aimed at injecting dollars into failing communities repeatedly fail to live up to expectations. (See http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2010/0315/Can-a-terror-prison-spark-a-boom) Rural communities like Thomson are sometimes worse off, in part because local economies are displaced, volume suppliers are large companies from far away, and residents don’t have the skills or qualifications to work as prison guards or administrative staff. This would certainly be the case if Thomson were converted to a maximum security facility operated by the U.S. military and unionized federal employees.
The detention facility at Guantanamo Bay is the most secure facility in the world. Located on a remote island, protected by land mines, and guarded by military personnel with state-of-the-art equipment and weapons, no one can come within miles of this secure facility unless the U.S. military wants them to. The U.S. government has spent more than $ 500 million for this facility, which includes a state of the art courtroom for those detainees who are being tried in military commissions.
In light of the above facts, the case for closing Guantanamo, indisputably a superbly-run detention center, can only be reduced to one factor: politics.
As Americans whose loved ones were murdered by the very individuals who are now securely detained at Guantanamo, and as citizens who have watched more than 7,000 of our valiant armed forces sacrifice their lives in battle since that dark Tuesday morning almost eleven years ago, we regard the politics behind the effort to close Gitmo as nothing more than a cynical maneuver aimed at fulfilling a 2008 campaign promise.
Mr. Speaker, we urge you and your colleagues on both sides of the aisle to stand firm with the American people, and prevent this lawless and irresponsible plan from going forward.
Respectfully submitted,
Don Arias, Lt Col, USAF (ret), brother of Adam Arias, WTC 2, 84th Floor
Lorraine Arias-Beliveau, sister of Adam Arias, WTC 2, 84th Floor
Tom Arias, brother of Adam Arias, WTC 2, 84th Floor
Lauren Lucchini-Arias, sister of Adam Arias, WTC 2, 84th Floor
Andrew Arias, brother of Adam Arias, WTC 2, 84th Floor
Nicholas Arias, nephew of Adam Arias, WTC 2, 84th Floor
David L. Beamer, father of Todd Beamer, United Airlines flight 93
Elizabeth M. Berry, Ph.D. sister of Captain William F. Burke, Jr. Eng. Co. 21
Michael Berry, nephew of FDNY Captain William F. Burke, Jr. Eng. Co. 21
Paul Berry, brother-in-law of FDNY Captain William F. Burke, Jr., Eng. Co. 21
James M. Burke, brother of FDNY Captain William F. Burke, Jr., Eng. Co. 21
Michael Burke, brother of FDNY Captain William F. Burke, Jr., Eng. Co. 21
Debra Burlingame, sister of Capt. Charles F. Burlingame, III, pilot, American Airlines flt 77
Bradley Burlingame, brother of Capt. Charles F. Burlingame, III, pilot, American Airlines flt 77
Mark Burlingame, brother of Capt. Charles F. Burlingame, III, pilot, American Airlines flt 77
Mary Busche, cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Richard Busche, cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Maureen Cabrera, cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Lorraine Campbell, aunt of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
James Campbell, cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Raymond Campbell, cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Kathy Campbell, cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Geraldine Campbell, cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Rochelle Campbell, cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Regina Cerulli, aunt of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
John Cerulli, uncle of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
James P. Christie, childhood friend of Robert E. Parks Jr., Cantor Fitzgerald, 1 WTC, 105th Floor
Carol Parks Clancy, sister of Robert E. Parks Jr., Cantor Fitzgerald, 1 WTC, 105th Floor
Patrick Robert Clancy, brother-in-law of Robert E. Parks Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 105th Floor
Joseph F. Connor, cousin of Steven Schlag, Cantor Fitzgerald, 1 World Trade Center
James Considine, uncle of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Maureen Gallagher Cancro, lifetime friend of Robert E. Parks Jr., Cantor Fitzgerald, 1WTC 105th Floor
Paul Cancro, lifetime friend of Robert E. Parks Jr., Cantor Fitzgerald, 1WTC 105th Floor
Biaggio Cancro, lifetime friend of Robert E. Parks Jr., Cantor Fitzgerald, 1WTC 105th Floor
Shannon Cancro, lifetime friend of Robert E. Parks Jr., Cantor Fitzgerald, 1 WTC 10th Floor
Claire Cunningham, aunt of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Ed Cunningham, cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Andrew Cunningham, cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Geraldine Davie, mother of Amy O’Doherty, Cantor Fitzgerald, WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Diane and Kenneth Fairben, parents of Keith Fairben, paramedic, New York Presbyterian Hospital
Cathy Farrell, cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Bridget Gallagher, cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Raymond Gallagher, cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Megan Gallagher, cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
John Gallagher, cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Maryellen Gallagher, cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Thomas Gallagher, cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Leslie Gallagher, cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Gordon Haberman, Father of Andrea Lyn Haberman, Carr Futures, WTC1 92nd Floor
C. Lee and Eunice K. Hanson, parents of Peter B. Hanson, parents in law of Peter’s wife Sue Kim Hanson and Christine Lee Hanson, our 2 ½ year old granddaughter all of whom were killed without mercy aboard UA flight 174 on 9/11
Alice Hoagland, mother of Mark Bingham, passenger, United Flight 93
Rosemary Huszka, cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Kathleen Leone, cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Brian Long, son of Diane Simmons & stepson of George Simmons, AA Flt 77
Melissa Long, fiancée of Brian Sweeney, Rescue 1, South Tower
Mike Low, father of Sara Elizabeth Low, flight attendant, American Airlines flight 11
John Lynch, father of FDNY FF Michael F. Lynch, Engine 40, South Tower
Claire Madden, cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Dave Madden, cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Cathy Markhardt, cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Steve Markhardt, cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Joan McAleese, aunt of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Richard McAleese, uncle of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Richard McAleese, cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Arlene McDonnell, cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Bernice McDonnell, cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Daniel McDonnell, uncle of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Dolores Owens, mother of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Peter Owens, father of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
John Owens, brother of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Terence Owens, brother of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Joan Owens, sister-in-law of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Kevin Owens, brother of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Lorraine Owens, sister-in-law of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Thomas Owens, brother of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Ann-Marie Owens, niece of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Robert Owens, nephew of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Danielle Park, cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
James Park, cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
E. Betsy Parks, sister of Robert E. Parks Jr., Cantor Fitzgerald, 1WTC 105th Floor
Kyle Parks, cousin of Robert E. Parks Jr., Cantor Fitzgerald, 1WTC 105th Floor
Matthew Parks, cousin of Robert E. Parks Jr., Cantor Fitzgerald, 1WTC 105th Floor
Sean Parks, cousin of Robert E. Parks Jr., Cantor Fitzgerald, 1WTC 105th Floor
Doreen Parks, aunt of Robert E. Parks Jr., Cantor Fitzgerald, 1WTC 105th Floor
Robert Reeg, FDNY-retired, 9/11 Survivor
George and Evie Reisman, parents of Frank B. Reisman, Equities Trader, Cantor Fitzgerald, 104th Floor WTC North Tower
Patricia and Timothy Sumner , sister and brother-in-law of FDNY Lt. Joseph G. Leavey, Ladder 15
Nicole Symancyk, cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Mike Symancyk, cousin of Peter J. Owens, Jr., 1 WTC, North Tower, 104th Floor
Cheryl Parks Zarate, cousin of Robert E. Parks Jr. Cantor Fitzgerald, 1 WTC 105th Floor