WASHINGTON, DC – House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) released the following statement today marking Sunday’s one-year anniversary of the Taliban Five swap:
“The Obama administration put countless American troops and civilians at risk when it chose to ignore the law and unilaterally release five senior Taliban terrorists from Guantanamo Bay. Now these five will be free to travel, and based on news reports we already know at least one has tried to return to the battlefield.
“The American people have long opposed the president’s reckless push to close Guantanamo Bay and import these terrorists into the United States, and they remain opposed today. The House will continue to stand with our troops and work to keep America safe, and we will continue our efforts to investigate the administration’s handling of the Taliban Five swap.”
NOTE: On May 15, the House passed the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 1735) for fiscal year 2016 to provide our troops with the tools they need to carry out their critical missions. The bill also includes provisions to (1) withhold money from Secretary of Defense Ash Carter’s office budget until the Pentagon ends its stonewalling of the House Armed Services Committee investigation into the Taliban Five swap; and (2) roll back the president’s authority to unilaterally transfer terrorists to other countries.
