Obama says he won't relent in efforts to shutter Guantanamo

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says he will not relent in his determination to shut down the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.

The president was defiant in his State of the Union address Tuesday before lawmakers who have blocked his 2008 campaign promise to shutter the prison at Guantanamo Bay Navy base in Cuba. He said: "It's time to finish the job."

Obama said it makes no sense to spend more than $3 million per prisoner to keep open a prison that the world condemns and terrorists use to recruit. He said the prison is "not who we are" as Americans.

Just last week, Republican senators introduced legislation to increase restrictions on transfers out of the prison. That includes a ban on moving any detainees to the United States for detention or trial.