Detaining Terrorists to Protect America Act of 2015
Latest action. Placed on Senate legislative calendarThe list of measures reported out of committee and eligible for floor action. Being on the calendar is not a promise of a vote.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) under General Orders. Calendar No. 20.
Detaining Terrorists to Protect America Act of 2015
(Sec. 2) Revises and extends until two years after enactment of this Act prohibitions on the use of funds available to any U.S. agency (currently, funds available to the Department of Defense [DOD]) to:
construct or modify any facility in the United States, its territories, or possessions to house individuals detained in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as of October 1, 2009, who are not U.S. citizens or members of the U.S. Armed Forces and who are in the custody or control of DOD or otherwise detained or imprisoned in the U.S. Naval Station in Guantanamo in the custody or control of the U.S. government, unless authorized by Congress; or
transfer or release to or within the United States, its territories, or possessions Khalid Sheikh Mohammed or any other detainee who is not a U.S. citizen or a member of the U.S. Armed Forces and who was held on (currently, on or after) January 20, 2009, in Guantanamo Bay by DOD.
Supersedes and repeals existing prohibitions under National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (NDAA) concerning such construction and U.S. transfers that are scheduled to expire on December 31, 2015.
(Sec. 4) Authorizes the Secretary of Defense or a DOD official at the level of Under Secretary of higher, after providing advance notice to Congress or delayed notice under special circumstances, to temporarily transfer Guantanamo detainees to DOD medical facilities in the United States for the sole purpose of medical treatment if: (1) the treatment is necessary to prevent death or imminent significant injury or harm to the individual's health, (2) the treatment is not available at the U.S. Naval Station in Guantanamo Bay without incurring excessive and unreasonable costs, and (3) DOD provides security measures.
Declares that detainees temporarily transferred to the United States for medical treatment shall be deemed to be in the uninterrupted custody of the Secretary, as though the individual remained physically at the U.S. Naval Station in Guantanamo Bay. Prohibits such temporarily transferred detainees from: (1) being subject to, or obtaining rights under, immigration laws or any other U.S. laws beyond those available to individuals detained in Guantanamo; or (2) having a change in any designation that may have attached while detained in Guantanamo pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force in P.L. 107-40.
The summary continues for 15 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to Senate with amendment(s)" stage on February 23, 2015. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on February 23, 2015: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 20.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 114th Congress (2015-16), 329 of the 10,233 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.2 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) introduced it on January 13, 2015, and 27 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 27 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on January 13, 2015, 4258 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4217 days ago, on February 23, 2015.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 114th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2017 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers