"Today the Senate sent a strong signal to President Obama that it will not make taxpayers pick up the $80 million tab for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention center. President Obama's decision to sign an executive order ordering the closure of the detainee facility was reckless and irresponsible, and closing this critical facility will only make our country less safe. He still has a lot of explaining to do to the American people, whose safety is his most fundamental responsibility. It's incomprehensible that he would ask taxpayers to foot this bill, on top of the trillions he has already spent carte blanche. I will continue to oppose efforts by the Administration to close down the detainee camp and move these dangerous individuals to Texas or anywhere else in the United States. I am pleased my Senate colleagues joined me in denying the President the resources to shutter Guantanamo, whose facilities have served our country effectively during the Global War on Terror."

Background

Sen. Cornyn sent a letter in January to President Obama urging him to not close Guantanamo Bay without careful consideration of the repercussions and without a safe alternative option for dealing with these dangerous individuals.

He also joined with his Texas colleagues in the House of Representatives in February in sending a letter to the President, cautioning him not to transfer Guantanamo detainees to Texas, as doing so could afford generous legal protections to these dangerous enemy combatants and simultaneously put Texans in great danger.

Sen. Cornyn serves on the Finance, Judiciary and Budget Committees. He serves as the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee's Immigration, Refugees and Border Security subcommittee. He served previously as Texas Attorney General, Texas Supreme Court Justice, and Bexar County District Judge.