Senate Passes Anti-Torture Amendment!

Posted on June 17, 2015

Sens. McCain & Feinstein

The Senate voted this week to pass the McCain-Feinstein amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act by a 78-21 margin. The bill prohibits the government from using extreme techniques including waterboarding and mock execution during suspect interrogations.

Should the bill be approved by the House and signed by the President, it would codify into law President Obama’s 2009 executive order outlawing torture, thereby preventing any future president from dismissing that action upon taking office.

Furthermore, the amendment would prevent government officials from using interrogation techniques not specified in the Army Field Manual—providing a concrete standard upon which to question suspects, rather than enabling murky interpretations of what “enhanced interrogation” includes.

For more information on this coup for human rights, read this excellent Defending Dissent piece or watch John Oliver tackle the issue in his typical delightfully satirical way here.