Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that President Barack Obama should immediately work to reverse damaging and illegal actions taken by the Bush/Cheney Administration and collaborate with Congress to proactively prevent any further abuses of executive branch power.

Bill: 111-hres-417
Sponsor: Rep. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI-2]
Introduced: 2009-05-07 in the House
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Caribbean area
Congressional oversight
Correctional facilities and imprisonment
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Criminal procedure and sentencing
Cuba
Detention of persons
Due process and equal protection
Evidence and witnesses
Federal officials
Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Human rights
Intelligence activities, surveillance, classified information
International law and treaties
Judicial review and appeals
Latin America
Military facilities and property
Presidential administrations
Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents
Terrorism
War and emergency powers
War crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity

Summary:
action_date: 2009-05-07
text: 
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that President Obama should : (1) reaffirm the nation's commitment to the rule of law, checks and balances, the legislative process, and the Bill of Rights; (2) support Congress's right of access to information to perform its legislative and oversight functions; (3) cooperate with congressional investigations into the lack of prosecutions under the War Crimes Act and the Federal Anti-Torture Act despite allegations of serious violations; (4) reaffirm U.S. treaty obligations under the Geneva Conventions and ensure that all individuals held by the United States have access to petition for a writ of habeas corpus; (5) ensure that all suspected terrorists at Guantanamo are immediately tried in fair judicial proceedings; (6) engage the international community to ensure the release of innocent detainees; (7) require independent judicial review of claims of state secrets privilege by executive branch officials; (8) reaffirm that the Office of the Vice President is part of the executive branch; (9) collaborate with Congress to investigate presidential pardons and articulate comprehensive standards to guide future pardons; and (10) commit to providing all signing statements for publication, affirm Congress' right to participate in court proceedings regarding the constitutionality of such statements, and ensure that Congress can obtain testimony from administration officials claiming executive privilege to justify such statements.
 
 
Calls on the President to cooperate with congressional efforts to: (1) establish an independent investigation to hold all Bush Administration officials accountable for any crimes; (2) ensure that the disclosure of the identity of any U.S. intelligence agent could give rise to criminal liability; (3) restore faith in the American justice system by investigating and censuring officials for misconduct in office; (4) repeal the redefinition of grave abuses of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions included in the Military Commissions Act of 2006; (5) tighten standards for when a declaration of war is required for military action; (6) strengthen federal perjury laws to prohibit the issuance of false statements, concealment, or false documentation in any matter related to a presidential request for a declaration of war; (7) codify strong anti-torture language and approve uniform standards for interrogation of individuals in U.S. custody; and (8) prohibit the transfer of persons by the U.S. for detention, interrogation, or trial to a country that supports torture, cruel, or degrading treatment in the detention or interrogation of individuals.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-06-12
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.
action_date: 2009-06-12
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
action_date: 2009-05-07
text: Referred to House Intelligence (Permanent)
action_date: 2009-05-07
text: Referred to House Foreign Affairs
action_date: 2009-05-07
text: Referred to House Armed Services
action_date: 2009-05-07
text: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services, Foreign Affairs, and 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.
action_date: 2009-05-07
text: Referred to House Judiciary
action_date: 2009-05-07
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2009-05-07
text: Introduced in House