Help Senate Pass Anti-Torture Legislation

Anti-torture legislation is once again reaching the Senate floor. In the next few days, the Senate will be taking up the Intelligence Authorization Bill (H.R. 2082) which contains a provision (section 327) that would require all interrogations of detainees to conform to the guidelines set out in the Army Field Manual (those are the ones that Senator McCain fought for). You will recall that the CIA has been exempted from following these guidelines. This legislation is the product of a joint Congressional committee and is therefore in the very last stage of final passage.

The legislation is threatened by a filibuster on the Senate floor. It is important that you contact your Senator and indicate that you believe he or she should vote to end the filibuster. There are several Senators who are swing votes on this issue and whose views are critical, for instance, on the Democratic side, Senator Lieberman of Connecticut, and, on the Republican side, Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. You can contact your Senators by calling the Senate switchboard at (202) 224-3121 – much more effective than e-mail.