House members to inspect Gitmo this month

Members of the House Armed Services Committee will visit the U.S. detention camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, later this month.

The Oversight and Investigations subpanel will lead the trip, though all members of the full committee have been invited to participate, according to Michael Amato, a spokesman for ranking member Adam Smith (D-Wash.).

{mosads}While the exact date has yet to be determined, the visit is meant to provide members the opportunity to see how the prison operates and give them the chance to speak with those who work there, he told The Hill.

“I hope to join you on that visit,” Paul Lewis, the Defense Department’s special envoy for closing the facility, told the oversight subpanel on Thursday.

President Obama has stepped up his efforts to close the controversial prison in an attempt to fulfill a campaign pledge he made in 2008. Transfers from the camp have reduced the population at Guantanamo to 122 prisoners.

The effort has not escaped the notice of congressional Republicans, who argue that closing the detention center won’t deter terrorists from attacking the U.S. or its allies.