News

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today co-sponsored the Naval Station Guantanamo Bay Protection Act introduced by Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), that would permanently prevent the transfer of Naval Station Guantanamo Bay to the Cuban government absent congressional authorization.
 
“Since announcing the re-establishment of diplomatic relations with Cuba, President Obama has given the Castro regime concession after concession, prioritizing political promises over national security, the integrity of America’s justice system, human rights and democracy,” Rubio said. “The Castro regime is already ripping the American people off and now it’s demanding the return of a U.S. naval station, which has been vital to Navy and Coast Guard operations in the Caribbean for over a century.
 
“Our military and intelligence services are trying to confront growing threats to our homeland, and we simply cannot hand over this critical base, especially not as the end result of President Obama’s dangerous plan to release terrorists back into the battlefield or bring them to U.S. soil,” Rubio added. “Naval Station Guantanamo Bay has been an essential tool for our military to resupply U.S. ships supporting counter illicit trafficking and humanitarian missions in Latin America, as well as for mass migration contingencies. I am proud to support legislation to protect this base and keep it in American hands.”
 
A PDF of the legislation is available here. The Naval Station Guantanamo Bay Protection Act would:

• Prohibit the President from modifying, terminating, abandoning, or transferring the 45 square mile lease of land or waterways at the facility.
• Require that any changes to the facility be notified to Congress and authorized by law.
• Disallow the President from being granted the authority to make modifications after the enactment of the bill.