Political Quotes

“Again, I thank the chairman and congratulate him for his very important legislative achievement. Madam President, I want to thank Chairman McCain and Ranking Member Reed for their efforts to include an anti-torture provision in the conference report on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016, H.R. 1735. Section 1045 of the conference report establishes clear limits on interrogation techniques so that the United States can never again conduct coercive and abusive interrogations or indefinite secret detentions. Section 1045 applies the restrictions on interrogations in the Army Field Manual under current law to the entire U.S. Government. The provision therefore extends what Congress did in 2005, by a vote of 90- 9, with the Detainee Treatment Act, which banned the Department of Defense from using techniques not authorized by the Army Field Manual, and also banned across the government the use of cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment or punishment. Section 1045 also requires prompt access by the International Committee of the Red Cross to any detainee held by the U.S. Government. Both of these provisions are consistent with U.S. policy for the past several years, but Section 1045 will now codify these requirements into law. President Obama banned the use of coercive and abusive interrogation techniques by Executive order in his first few days in office, on January 22, 2009. That Executive order, No.…”