Sanford breaks Republican ranks, votes to close Guantánamo prison | McClatchy Washington Bureau

U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford on Wednesday was one of just three Republicans in the House of Representatives to join Democrats in support of a move to close Guantánamo Bay in Cuba and potentially allow federal officials to transfer detention center prisoners to facilities in the United States.

Sanford told McClatchy afterward that he’d voted for closing the prison because he opposes the government holding people indefinitely – in many cases, Guantánamo prisoners are held for years without being formally charged with crimes.

“Indefinite detention is not consistent with the values that America was based on,” Sanford said in an interview. “I think if you look at the military tribunals . . . there was finality to the process: ‘We find you guilty in military tribunal, we’ll take you out back and shoot you, or we’ll let you go.’ It was not, ‘We’re going to hold you for the next 40 years.’ ”

A Republican majority – with help from 21 Democrats who broke rank with their party – defeated the proposal to close Guantánamo Bay on Wednesday.

The issue came up during afternoon floor debate over the National Defense Reauthorization Act, a bulky piece of legislation that decides military spending and authorizes various national defense programs.

Federal law prohibits spending any federal money to close the controversial military prison. The National Defense Reauthorization Act also prohibits federal officials from transferring Guantánamo detainees to prisons in the United States.

An amendment offered by U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., would have removed those two provisions from this year’s reauthorization act.

Sanford and two other Republicans voted for Nadler’s amendment. The amendment failed by 259-163.

Previously, Sanford has voted to remove federal funding for Guantánamo Bay, which would effectively shutter the prison. But those previous legislative efforts to “defund” the prison’s operations have failed in Congress.

The other Republicans who voted for the amendment were U.S. Reps. John Duncan of Tennessee and Justin Amash of Michigan.

In the past, Sanford has said he objects to Guantánamo Bay prisoners being transferred to South Carolina, and he reiterated that position Wednesday.

“We need to have a larger conversation as Americans about the notion of indefinite detention,” Sanford said. “What the president has proposed is changing the geography of indefinite detention. But for the detainee, there is no difference – whether you’re detained in Cuba or Colorado.”

Sanford praised South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley for her recent testimony on Capitol Hill against President Barack Obama’s plan to close the military-ran detention center.

Last summer, the Pentagon scouted the U.S. Naval Consolidated Brig in Hanahan, South Carolina, as a potential site for Guantánamo transfers. The facility is about five miles from North Charleston.

William Douglas contributed to this report.