Luke Messer: “First, I want to thank Chairman Forbes for his leadership on this issue and for his distinguished career here in…”

“First, I want to thank Chairman Forbes for his leadership on this issue and for his distinguished career here in Congress. The gentleman certainly will be missed. Mr. Speaker, some issues just boil down to common sense. Despite the rhetoric of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, there is no evidence of Good Samaritan sweet peas being kept at Guantanamo Bay. Common sense would tell you that it is a very bad idea to bring the world's worst criminals to America's shore. It is an equally bad idea to release them. That is why I rise today in support of H.R. 5351, a bill that would stop the transfer of individuals detained at the United States Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Last Sunday, our Nation recognized the 15th anniversary of the worst attack on U.S. soil, an attack where we lost nearly 3,000 American lives. That tragic event marked the beginning of a war against terrorists who espouse radical Islam. Since then, Guantanamo Bay has been instrumental in detaining enemy combatants engaged in that war. Today, there are 61 suspected terrorists remaining at GTMO. They are largely regarded as the worst of the worst. They are the folks that no other country would take--too dangerous to transfer, the most dangerous criminals in the world. But the President wants to release these terrorists or, worse yet, bring them to American soil, putting Americans at risk. That is a really bad idea, and we can't, in good conscience, let that happen.…”