H.R. 374 would require the closure of the detention facility at Guatanamo Bay, Cuba, to limit the use of certain interrogation techniques, to prohibit interrogation by contractors, to require notification of the International Committee of the Red Cross of detainees.
Detailed Summary
Lawful Interrogation and Detention Act - Directs the President, within one year after the enactment of this Act, to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and remove all detainees held there.
Requires each such detainee to be either: (1) charged with a violation of U.S. or international law and transferred to an appropriate U.S. facility for further legal proceedings; (2) transferred for trial to an international tribunal operating under United Nations (UN) authority; (3) transferred (under certain conditions) to the custody of the government of the individual's country of citizenship or a different country; (4) released; or (5) held in accordance with the law of the armed conflict.
Prohibits an individual in the custody or control of an element of the intelligence community (IC) or contractor or subcontractor thereof, regardless of the individual's nationality or physical location, from being subject to any treatment or technique of interrogation not authorized by the U.S. Army Field Manual on Human Intelligence Collector Operations.
Prohibits the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from allowing a CIA contractor or subcontractor to carry out an interrogation. Requires any interrogation carried out on behalf of the CIA to be conducted only by a CIA employee.
Requires the head of an IC element or a contractor or subcontractor of such element who detains or has custody or control over an individual to notify the International Committee of the Red Cross of such detention, and to provide Red Cross access to such individual in a manner consistent with practices of the Armed Forces.
Status of the Legislation
Latest Major Action: 1/9/2009: Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on Intelligence (Permanent Select), for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Points in Favor
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Points Against
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From the Blog
Right and Wrong on Torture
The debate about torture - or “enhanced interrogation methods,” if you prefer - has swamped the Obama administration a bit, as this Politico article discusses. Many different pieces of the fallout are covered in a Washington Post blog post,...