David Price: “I am pleased to present a narrowly targeted amendment that would simply prohibit the defense community from using…”

“I am pleased to present a narrowly targeted amendment that would simply prohibit the defense community from using private contractors to conduct interrogations. The interrogation of detainees is clearly an inherently governmental function. It is work that is by nature extremely sensitive and critical to our national security. We should all be able to agree that interrogation should be carried out by individuals who are well-trained, who fall within a clear chain of command, and who have a sworn loyalty to the United States, not by corporate, for-profit contractors. Some of my colleagues may question why we need to pass a law to address something that ought to be a matter of common sense, but this amendment is absolutely necessary. The defense intelligence community has often utilized contractors for performing interrogations, and continues to do so. For example, L-3 and its subsidiary, Titan, one of the largest contracting groups working in Iraq, has contracts with the U.S. Army in Iraq under which it performs interrogations.”