How has Congress addressed the torture question?
Defying the White House, the Senate, on Oct. 5, 2005, voted 90-9 to set new limits on interrogating detainees. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Republican of Arizona, introduced the measure in June 2005 as an amendment to the defense appropriations bill. For those in the custody of the Defense Department, it would limit interrogation tactics to those authorized in the Army Field Manual. It would also prohibit “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment” for punishing detainees in the custody of the United States. The bill still has to go through conference and a House vote and President Bush has threatened a veto, arguing it constrains his power to conduct the war on terror. Legal experts who have studied the torture question say there’s a loophole in the McCain amendment because it doesn’t address interrogation techniques employed by the CIA.
