February 13, 2008

Senate To Battle Over Authorization Bill's Torture Provision

Having cleared a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act revision bill yesterday after weeks of skirmishing, the Senate is now expected to battle over legislation that would prohibit the CIA from using coercive interrogation techniques.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he will try today to advance the long-stalled conference agreement on a measure that would authorize intelligence programs and spending for the current fiscal year. Reid is seeking a vote to invoke cloture on the bill, which would cut off debate and set it up for final passage.

But Republicans and the White House oppose a provision in the authorization bill that would prohibit the CIA and all other U.S. intelligence agencies from using interrogation techniques not authorized by the U.S. Army Field Manual.

The provision had not been part of the original authorization bills approved by the House and the Senate. It was inserted at the last minute by Democrats during conference negotiations as a way to extend the Army's ban on torture to intelligence agencies.

House Democrats pushed through the conference report in December. The White House has threatened to veto final legislation if it includes the provision. Democrats and civil liberties groups argue the provision is needed to ensure the CIA does not use torture.

"Agreeing on one standard of interrogation will help restore our moral leadership in the world, and certainly that is needed," Reid said. "In the long run, torture does not help the United States. The information isn't reliable, puts our troops at risk and undermines our counterinsurgency efforts."

Supporters will need 60 votes to advance the bill, meaning they will need some Republicans to cross party lines. Reid said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., could be a major swing vote, given his previous support for legislation against torture. But a spokeswoman for McCain, a Republican presidential candidate who has been trying to bolster support from party conservatives, did not return telephone calls and an e-mail late Tuesday seeking comment.

Senate intelligence ranking member Christopher "Kit" Bond, R-Mo., who will lead the charge against the bill, said he is considering raising a point of order against the bill because the provision was inserted during conference. He said he probably would raise this if cloture is invoked.

Bond said the disputed provision would end the CIA's alternative interrogation program, which he said is lawful, invaluable and does not involve torture. He added that the CIA should not be required to follow military regulations for interrogations. Requiring the CIA to follow the Army Field Manual would allow terrorists to know what kind of techniques will be used against them, Bond added.

"The reason they are not disclosed is because everything in the Army Field Manual is republished in the al-Qaida manuals for all of the upper tier al-Qaida members to study, and they will be totally ineffective against them," Bond said.

-Chris Strohm, CongressDaily

Posted at 9:16 AM
Posted to: CIA, Congress, Senate, Terrorism
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