The White House has reportedly rejected the Pentagon’s proposal to close the terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and replace it with a facility in the U.S.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, citing administration officials, the cost estimate came in at close to $600 million, causing the White House to reject the plan and send it back to the Pentagon for revision.
The Journal reported that about $350 million of the cost was related to constructing a new facility in the U.S., something that Congress and the governors of the several likeliest states have adamantly opposed. The annual operating costs of the Pentagon’s plans would be another almost $300 million per year, a defense official told the Journal.
“The White House anticipated that lawmakers would balk at the new cost estimates,” the Journal wrote.
President Obama has long vowed to close the facility — an order to the Defense Department to do so was practically the first thing he did on the day after his inauguration.
But he has been hamstrung by Congress, which has repeatedly banned the use of government funds to move the detainees or build a U.S. facility. However, earlier this fall, a White House spokesman refused to rule out Mr. Obama’s closing the facility unilaterally.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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