WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins made the following statement after House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) unveiled the emergency funding plan for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“After President Obama included $80 million in the FY2009 War Supplemental request to fund the closure of Guantanamo Bay, I joined colleagues in the House by sending a letter to the Appropriations Committee leadership expressing our opposition to the President’s plan. I was heartened to learn that Chairman Obey rejected the President’s proposal and did not include the $80 million request because the Administration has not provided a comprehensive plan to close the prison or relocate the detainees.

“Chairman Obey’s rejection of the President’s plan to close Guantanamo Bay does not settle this issue, but it does send a clear message to the Administration that closing the detention facility will not be as simple as they had hoped. If the President is serious about closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, he must work with Congress on a comprehensive plan that will not jeopardize the safety of the American people.”

Congresswoman Jenkins introduced H.R. 148 to block any federal funds from being used to transfer detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Her legislation has been referred to the House Armed Services Committee and has 18 co-sponsors.