BIDEN Calls on Colleagues to Support Anti-Torture Legislation Following President's Veto of Intelligence Authorization Bill

Press Release

BIDEN Calls on Colleagues to Support Anti-Torture Legislation Following President's Veto of Intelligence Authorization Bill

Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) called on his colleagues to support anti-torture legislation following President Bush's veto of the FY08 Intelligence Authorization Bill earlier today. The Intelligence Authorization legislation contained an important anti-torture provision that would prohibit the CIA from using any interrogation technique not authorized by the US Army Field Manual, which explicitly prohibits waterboarding and other "acts of violence or intimidation, including physical or mental torture, or exposure to inhumane treatment."

Sen. Biden issued the following statement after the President's veto:

"Despite bipartisan support for the Intelligence Authorization Bill, the President once again squandered an opportunity to reaffirm our nation's commitment to our international treaty obligations and to our fundamental values.

"U.S. law and international treaties have long banned waterboarding and other acts of torture. The President's veto of the Intelligence Authorization Bill is not only inconsistent with our national values, it also undermines our credibility, weakens the international coalitions we need to effectively combat terrorism, fuels terrorist recruitment, and places American soldiers, intelligence officers, and civilians in jeopardy.

"I urge my colleagues to support the National Security with Justice Act (S. 1876), a bill I introduced last year, which would prohibit all US government personnel from using interrogation techniques not expressly authorized by the Army Field Manual."

In addition to unambiguously outlawing waterboarding and other forms of torture, the National Security with Justice Act will:

Close Black Sites & Extra-Judicial Prisons
This legislation will prohibits U.S. detention of terrorism suspects in secret, extraterritorial prisons such as CIA "black sites." Under this legislation, the United States must timely transfer terrorism suspects to legal custody in the United States or a foreign country that will not torture or mistreat them.

Prohibit Extraordinary Rendition
This legislation creates new safeguards by requiring intelligence services to apply for and obtain an order of rendition - similar to an arrest warrant for national security purposes - from the FISA Court prior to any rendition. The application and order process ensures that rendition is used only if we have solid intelligence indicating that the suspect is a dangerous terrorist. Most importantly, the bill prohibits rendition to countries that torture or mistreat detainees or to secret prisons. The bill includes an emergency exception allowing intelligence services to obtain an order of rendition after taking an individual into custody (but always before that individual is turned over to another country) when special circumstances exist.

Modify the Definition of "Unlawful Enemy Combatant"
This legislation changes the Military Commission Act's definition of the term to clarify that U.S. citizens or lawfully admitted aliens taken into custody within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States cannot be considered unlawful enemy combatants. These individuals must be prosecuted within the criminal justice system.

Extend Habeas Corpus to Detainees
This legislation repeals the provisions in the Detainee Treatment Act and Military Commission Act that purport to deprive Guantanamo detainees of the writ of habeas corpus - the ability to argue to a court of law that they are being held in error. The legislation clarifies that all detained terrorism suspects held by the United States can invoke habeas corpus to challenge their classification as an unlawful enemy combatant and their conviction by a military commission of a war crime.

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