GOP still too fond of torturing other people
The House completed work Friday on an intelligence authorization bill that does not include a controversial provision aimed at harsh interrogation techniques.
Leaders delayed action on the bill late Thursday because of opposition to the provision, which would establish penalties for intelligence personnel who use “cruel, inhuman or degrading” techniques.
The bill went back to the Rules Committee, which approved a parliamentary move that would strip the provision, which had been offered by Jim McDermott , D-Wash.
McDermott’s language would have imposed a 15-year prison sentence for intelligence personnel found to be using such techniques and jail time of up to five years for medical professionals who enable those interrogations.
Republicans criticized the provision during floor debate Thursday.
“This will fundamentally change the nature of the intelligence community by creating a criminal statute governing interrogations,” Peter Hoekstra of Michigan, the ranking Republican on the Intelligence Committee, said.
Rules Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes of Texas dismissed the GOP concerns, saying the provision simply underscored existing anti-torture statutes.
The bill would set policy for 16 intelligence agencies and the intelligence-gathering activities of the federal government. The Senate backed its version of the intelligence authorization in September by voice vote.
The two chambers now will try to resolve several policy differences in order to send the president an intelligence authorization bill for the first time since 2004. The Senate bill will be used as the legislative vehicle for going to conference
