Intelligence Authorization Act, 2/12/08

Updated information about the vote. 

Call or fax your Senator and ask him or her to vote YES to include the anti-torture provision in the Conference report of the 2008 Intelligence Authorization Act.

The act is up for a vote today, February 13th! Call now!

The bill, which has already passed in the House of Representatives, would prohibit a person in U.S. custody from being subject to interrogation methods that are not sanctioned by the Army Field Manual. This would prohibit the technique known as "waterboarding" or any so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques from being used. "Waterboarding" involves pouring water over the faces of subjects, who are bound and gagged with a piece of cloth, in order to simulate the feeling of drowning. The bill would pertain to any person in US custody, whether they were held by the US Military, a branch of the Intelligence services such as the CIA, or any: "contractor or subcontractor at any tier of the element of the intelligence community." Senator Feinstein's amendment closes the loophole that allowed the CIA to use enhanced interrogation techniques.

The bill is being voted on today, February 13th. The voting is likely to be close to a Party-line vote with some Republicans like Chuck Hagel, who is a co-sponsor of the amendment, voting with the Democrats. It is important for your Senator to hear that you are opposed to the use of torture on detainees and to ask them to vote YES on the Conference Report of the Intelligence Authorization Bill.

What you can do:

Please call or fax your Senator's local or Washington Office. Ask to speak to the staffer in-charge of Intelligence matters. Find the telephone and/or fax numbers by going to the Senate website and look up your senator's homepage, or by calling the Senate switchboard (202) 224-3121. Please feel free to use the sample language below or craft language of your own.

We cannot allow the United States government, acting in our names, to use torture in the interrogation of detainees.

Sample Statement:

Please ask Senator_____ to (speaking to a staffer) (OR Dear Senator _____ ) Please vote YES to include section 347, the anti-torture provision, in the Conference Report of the 2008 Intelligence Authorization Act, Then vote to pass the entire bill. Section 347, the amendment introduced by Sen. Feinstein would prohibit so-called enhanced interrogation techniques, such as waterboarding. I am a member of K'vod Habriot: A Jewish Human Rights Network. As a person of faith I find it deplorable that my government actively engages in torture or other “enhanced interrogation techniques.” The humanity of the victims, the perpetrators, and our entire American society is inevitably compromised by such conduct. As my representative in Washington, I urge you to take action to promote the human dignity of all—even U.S. detainees—and vote YES on the Conference Report of the 2008 Intelligence Authorization, complete with the Feinstein Amendment. Thank you for taking the time to listen to my views.

Background information:

The full text of the Conference Report and the amendment (section 327)

A brief history of the amendment