QUOTE
Updated: House committee passes Bush torture bill by one vote -- two Dems are absent
Posted by Joshua Holland at 7:06 AM on September 21, 2006.
Ugh.
This morning the House Judiciary Committee voted on Bush's preferred torture bill -- everything done so far is retroactively legal, redefinition of the Geneva Conventions, secret evidence obtained by "coercive investigations" -- the whole nine yards.
First, the Committee voted down the bill, championed by that … by Duncan Hunter (R-CA), 20-17.
I wish I had more details about what happened next. As Reuters put it, "They then mustered absent members to eke out a 20-19 majority to send the bill to the House floor."
On the second go-around, Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) offered an amendment that would have at least substituted the language in the McCain Torture Bill, but it was defeated 18-17. Fifteen Dems voted for it, as did two Republicans, but two Dems missed the vote on the amendment.
At first, I was filled with ire towards the two missing Dems -- who were apparently at a press conference about the Medicare drug bill -- but actually this was all procedural shenanigans that took place after they thought they had already killed the bill.
In the end the panel voted 20-19 to send the bill in its original form to the full House. This kind of crap is exactly why we need to get jokers like Duncan Hunter out of those chairmanships.
Update: commenter AngelaRoss caught some of the intrigue on C-Span:
Complete at LINK
Posted by Joshua Holland at 7:06 AM on September 21, 2006.
Ugh.
This morning the House Judiciary Committee voted on Bush's preferred torture bill -- everything done so far is retroactively legal, redefinition of the Geneva Conventions, secret evidence obtained by "coercive investigations" -- the whole nine yards.
First, the Committee voted down the bill, championed by that … by Duncan Hunter (R-CA), 20-17.
I wish I had more details about what happened next. As Reuters put it, "They then mustered absent members to eke out a 20-19 majority to send the bill to the House floor."
On the second go-around, Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) offered an amendment that would have at least substituted the language in the McCain Torture Bill, but it was defeated 18-17. Fifteen Dems voted for it, as did two Republicans, but two Dems missed the vote on the amendment.
At first, I was filled with ire towards the two missing Dems -- who were apparently at a press conference about the Medicare drug bill -- but actually this was all procedural shenanigans that took place after they thought they had already killed the bill.
In the end the panel voted 20-19 to send the bill in its original form to the full House. This kind of crap is exactly why we need to get jokers like Duncan Hunter out of those chairmanships.
Update: commenter AngelaRoss caught some of the intrigue on C-Span:
Complete at LINK
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House committee 'flip-flops' on Bush detainee bill
RAW STORY
Published: Wednesday September 20, 2006
Reversing its prior vote against a terrorist detainee bill supported by the Bush administration (as reported earlier on Raw Story), the House Judiciary Committee has now voted instead to support the bill.
A Congressional Quarterly article explains that "arm-twisting by top GOP leaders" apparently led to a change of heart by Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), who had earlier voted against the bill. Additional votes in favor of the bill were cast by two GOP representatives who were absent from the first tally.
House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) announced the reversal hours after the original vote.
Excerpts from the subscription-only article follow...
More at Raw Story LINK
RAW STORY
Published: Wednesday September 20, 2006
Reversing its prior vote against a terrorist detainee bill supported by the Bush administration (as reported earlier on Raw Story), the House Judiciary Committee has now voted instead to support the bill.
A Congressional Quarterly article explains that "arm-twisting by top GOP leaders" apparently led to a change of heart by Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), who had earlier voted against the bill. Additional votes in favor of the bill were cast by two GOP representatives who were absent from the first tally.
House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) announced the reversal hours after the original vote.
Excerpts from the subscription-only article follow...
More at Raw Story LINK
Refreshing memory...
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September 12, 2006
The Honorable John Warner, Chairman
The Honorable Carl Levin, Ranking Member
Senate Armed Services Committee
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Warner and Senator Levin:
As retired military leaders of the U.S. Armed Forces and former officials of the Department of Defense, we write to express our profound concern about a key provision of S. 3861, the Military Commissions Act of 2006, introduced last week at the behest of the President. We believe that the language that would redefine Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions as equivalent to the standards contained in the Detainee Treatment Act violates the core principles of the Geneva Conventions and poses a grave threat to American service-members, now and in future wars.
Complete at LINK
The Honorable John Warner, Chairman
The Honorable Carl Levin, Ranking Member
Senate Armed Services Committee
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Warner and Senator Levin:
As retired military leaders of the U.S. Armed Forces and former officials of the Department of Defense, we write to express our profound concern about a key provision of S. 3861, the Military Commissions Act of 2006, introduced last week at the behest of the President. We believe that the language that would redefine Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions as equivalent to the standards contained in the Detainee Treatment Act violates the core principles of the Geneva Conventions and poses a grave threat to American service-members, now and in future wars.
Complete at LINK
