Statement by the President

I unconditionally condemn today's murder of two police officers in New York City. Two brave men won't be going home to their loved ones tonight, and for that, there is no justification. The officers who serve and protect our communities risk their own safety for ours every single day - and they deserve our respect and gratitude every single day. Tonight, I ask people to reject violence and words that harm, and turn to words that heal - prayer, patient dialogue, and sympathy for the friends and family of the fallen.

BARACK OBAMA

Statement By The President on H.R. 3979

Today I have signed into law H.R. 3979, the "Carl Levin and Howard P. 'Buck' McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015." I have signed this annual defense authorization legislation because it will provide vital benefits for military personnel and their families, as well as critical contingency authorities needed to counter the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and to respond to emerging needs in the face of evolving terrorist threats and emergent crises worldwide.

Earlier this month, the Department of Defense transferred the last remaining third-country nationals held in U.S. custody in Afghanistan, ending U.S. detention operations in Afghanistan.  Yet halfway around the world, the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, remains open for the 13th consecutive year, costing the American people hundreds of millions of dollars each year and undermining America's standing in the world. As I have said many times, the continued operation of this detention facility weakens our national security by draining resources, damaging our relationships with key allies and partners, and emboldening violent extremists.  Closing the detention facility is a national imperative.

I have repeatedly called upon the Congress to work with my Administration to close the detention facility at Guantanamo once and for all.  Individuals from across the political spectrum have recognized that the facility should be closed.  But instead of removing unwarranted and burdensome restrictions that curtail the executive branch's options for managing the detainee population, this bill continues them.  Section 1032 renews the bar against using appropriated funds to construct or modify any facility in the United States, its territories, or possessions to house any Guantanamo detainee in the custody or under the control of the Department of Defense unless authorized by the Congress.  Section 1033 likewise renews the bar against using appropriated funds to transfer Guantanamo detainees into the United States for any purpose.  The Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, contains similar provisions as well as those relating to existing restrictions on the transfer of detainees abroad.  I have consistently opposed these restrictions and will continue to work with the Congress to remove them.  More than 80 percent of detainees at one time held at the detention facility have now been transferred.  The executive branch must have the flexibility, with regard to those detainees who remain, to determine when and where to prosecute them, based on the facts and circumstances of each case and our national security interests, and when and where to transfer them consistent with our national security and our humane treatment policy.  Under certain circumstances, the provisions concerning detainee transfers in both bills would violate constitutional separation of powers principles.  In the event that the restrictions on the transfer of detainees operate in a manner that violates constitutional separation of powers principles, my Administration will implement them in a manner that avoids the constitutional conflict.

The Guantanamo detention facility's continued operation undermines our national security.  We must close it.  I call on Members from both sides of the aisle to work with us to bring this chapter of American history to a close.

BARACK OBAMA

THE WHITE HOUSE,
December 19, 2014.

Statement by the Press Secretary on Statement by the Press Secretary on H.R. 1068, H.R. 2754, H.R. 2901, H.R. 3608, H.R. 3979, H.R. 4030, H.R. 4681, H.R. 5462, H.R. 5771, and S. 2673

On Friday, December 19, 2014, the President signed into law:

H.R. 1068, which consolidates and restates National Park Service and related programs statutes of the United States as Title 54, United States Code;

H.R. 2754, the "Collectible Coin Protection Act," which expands current law to provide additional protections to collectors as to the genuineness of political items such as buttons and posters and numismatic items such as coins and commemorative medals;

H.R. 2901, the "Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 2014," which amends Foreign Assistance Act provisions concerning U.S. government assistance for water, sanitation, and hygiene projects;

H.R. 3608, the "Grand Portage Band Per Capita Adjustment Act," which amends the Act of October 19, 1973, to provide a tax exemption for certain funds paid by the State of Minnesota to the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians;

H.R. 3979, the "Carl Levin and Howard P. 'Buck' McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015," which authorizes fiscal year 2015 appropriations for Department of Defense programs and military construction, Department of Energy national security programs, and Department of Transportation maritime security programs; authorizes recruitment and retention bonuses, special payments, and other authorities relating to the U.S. Armed Forces; authorizes training and equipping the moderate Syrian opposition and Iraqi forces; makes other modifications to national security, foreign affairs, and other related programs; and contains various natural resources and other authorities;

H.R. 4030, which designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 18640 NW 2nd Avenue in Miami, Florida, as the Father Richard Marquess-Barry Post Office Building;

H.R. 4681, the "Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015," which authorizes fiscal year 2015 appropriations for U.S. intelligence-related activities and establishes and provides other authorities concerning U.S. intelligence and counter-terrorism activities;

H.R. 5462, which limits the Transportation Security Administration's air passenger security service fee to $11.20 per round trip;

H.R. 5771, which temporarily extends several expired tax provisions related to individuals, business, and energy through December 31, 2014; and exempts from taxation Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) accounts set up for the benefit of persons with disabilities to assist in maintaining health, independence, and quality of life; and

S. 2673, the "United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014," which enhances the strategic partnership between the United States and Israel, and for other purposes.

Letter---Blocking Property Of Certain Persons And Prohibiting Certain Transactions With Respect To The Crimea Region Of Ukraine

Dear Mr. Speaker: (Mr. President:)
 
Pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), I hereby report that I have issued an Executive Order (the "order") that takes additional steps to address the Russian occupation of the Crimea region of Ukraine.  These steps have been taken with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13660 of March 6, 2014, expanded in scope by Executive Order 13661 of March 16, 2014, and further expanded in scope by Executive Order 13662 of March 20, 2014.
 
The order prohibits new investment by United States persons in the Crimea region of Ukraine; the importation of goods, services, or technology into the United States from the Crimea region of Ukraine; and the exportation, reexportation, sale, or supply of goods, services, or technology from the United States or by a United States person to the Crimea region of Ukraine.  It also prohibits the facilitation of any such transactions.  The order also blocks the property and interests in property of any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State:
 
• to operate in the Crimea region of Ukraine; 

• to be a leader of an entity operating in the Crimea region of Ukraine; 

• to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to the order; or

• to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to the order.
 
In addition, the order suspends entry into the United States of any alien determined to meet one or more of the above criteria.
 
I have delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury the authority, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA, as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of the order.  All agencies of the United States Government are directed to take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions of the order.
 
I am enclosing a copy of the Executive Order I have issued.

Sincerely, 
 
BARACK OBAMA