Dear Friends:
Late last year, the House of Representatives passed important anti-torture legislation as Section 327 of H.R. 2082, the Intelligence Authorization bill. Section 327 would require all elements of the intelligence community, including the CIA, to abide by the restrictions in the Army Field Manual while conducting interrogations. The Army Field Manual prohibits torture and many of the “enhanced interrogation techniques” being used by the CIA.
Unfortunately, some Republican Senators have threatened to obstruct passage of H.R. 2082 as long as it contains Section 327 (the anti-torture provision). Passage of Section 327 is one of the most important actions Congress can take to stop U.S. sponsored torture. We need to do everything we can to win passage of Section 327 in the Senate. Defeating the attempts to block H.R. 2082 or to strip Section 327 from the bill will take 60 votes. We need your help.
The best information we have is that the Senate could vote on this in the first two weeks of February. We ask that you – in the last two weeks of January:
- Contact – by phone or by email – your Senators to express your support for Section 327 of H.R. 2082. You can contact your Senators by calling the Senate switchboard at (202) 224-3121, or you can look up their direct lines and their email addresses at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm. We also have a form email prepared that you can send to your Senators. You can find our sample form email at http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2162/t/3805/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=21961.
- If you have a little more time, write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. You can find a sample letter to the editor and instructions for writing and sending a letter at http://www.nrcatactionfund.org/pb/wp_18d08901/wp_18d08901.html?0.03150910613065028.
This legislation is very important to our efforts to stop U.S. sponsored torture. We hope you can take a few minutes to share your voice with Congress and your community.
Thank you for your concern, your time, and your efforts.
Sincerely,
Linda Gustitus, President
Richard Killmer, Executive Director
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