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Associated Students of the University of Washington |
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A Resolution in Support of the American Freedom Agenda Act of 2007 Whereas the United States of America was founded on the principles of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness; and Whereas the Founding Fathers enshrined checks and balances in the Constitution to protect against government abuses and to derail ill-conceived domestic or foreign endeavors [1]; and Whereas checks and balances have withered since 9/11 and an alarming concentration of power has been accumulated in the presidency that is altering the equilibrium of power between the three branches of government [1,2]; and Whereas the post-9/11 challenges to checks and balances are unique in the Nation’s history because the “war on global terrorism” has no discernible end [1]; and Whereas the unprecedented constitutional powers claimed by the President since 9/11 have cited national security issues but have been used for political purposes [1, 3, 4]; and Whereas experts like Jack Cloonan, former FBI agent assigned to the Usama bin Laden unit in New York, state that global terrorism can be thwarted, deterred, and punished through muscular application of law enforcement measures and prosecutions in Federal civilian courts in lieu of “extraordinary rendition,” military commissions, or military law [1,5]; and Whereas United States citizen Jose Padilla was subject to 43 months of isolation and tortured to the point of brain damage before ever being charged with a crime, thereby being denied “The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus” (Article I, Section 9, Clause 2) and other constitutionally protected rights [6,7]; and Whereas torture of “enemy combatants,” a designation given by the order of the President without oversight, is sanctioned at United States prisons like Guantanamo Bay as well as United States prisons operated abroad [8,9]; and Whereas “secret evidence” is routinely administered in the military tribunals that take place at United States prisons like Guantanamo Bay [10]; and Whereas the current administration has secretly conducted wiretaps of communication devices belonging to United States citizens without traditional warrants or court orders even well before 9/11 [11,12]; and Whereas the current administration has sent numerous individuals, such as Bisher al-Rawi and Maher Arar to third-party countries with the full knowledge they would be tortured, and has claimed evidence against Maher Arar et al., to be guarded as ‘state secret’ and not to be released publicly; [13, 14, 15, 16, 17]; and Whereas the President has used more than 750 signing statements, declaring his intent to disregard provisions of a bill he has signed into law because he believes they are unconstitutional, [18]; and Whereas the Justice Department has faced pressure to charge the New York Times under the Espionage Act of 1917 in an attempt to prevent publication of information critical of the administration [19]; and Whereas Dr. Ron Paul introduced H. R. 3835, A Bill to Restore the Constitution’s Checks and Balances and Protections Against Government Abuses as Envisioned by the Founding Fathers, in the 1st Session of the 110th Congress; therefore BE IT RESOLVED BY THE ASSOCIATED STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON: That the ASUW supports H. R. 3835, the American Freedom Agenda Act of 2007, which does the following: 1. Repeals the Military Commissions Act of 2006 2. Authorizes the establishment of military commissions for the trials of war crimes only in places of active hostilities against the United States where an immediate trial is necessary to preserve fresh evidence or to prevent local anarchy 3. Prohibits the detention of any individual as an unlawful enemy combatant absent proof by substantial evidence that the individual has directly engaged in active hostilities against the United States, and further provides that no United States citizen shall be detained as an unlawful enemy combatant 4. Provides any individual detained as an enemy combatant by the United States with the right of habeas corpus 5. Prohibits all civilian and military courts of the United States from admitting as evidence statements extracted from the defendant by torture or coercion 6. Prohibits all Federal agencies from gathering foreign intelligence in contravention of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (50 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 7. Initiates a challenge to the constitutionality of a presidential signing statement 8. Prohibits any officer or agent of the United States from kidnapping, imprisoning, or torturing any person abroad without judicial oversight, but allows kidnapping if it is undertaken with the intent of bringing the kidnapped person for prosecution or interrogation to gather intelligence before a tribunal that meets international standards of fairness and due process 9. Exempts journalists from the provisions of the Espionage Act of 1917 and lifts the prohibition on publishing information received from the executive branch or Congress, unless the publication would cause direct, immediate, and irreparable harm to the national security of the United States 10. Prevents the President or any other member of the executive branch from using secret evidence to designate an individual or organization with a United States presence as a foreign terrorist or foreign terrorist organization for purposes of the criminal law or otherwise imposing criminal or civil sanctions; and That the ASUW urges all members of the Washington State Congressional Delegation to support and cosponsor H. R. 3825; and That this resolution be forwarded to all members of the Washington State Congressional Delegation. References: 1.H. R. 3825, http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=110_cong_bills&docid=f:h3835ih.txt.pdf 2.http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/cheney/themes/cheneyview.html 3.http://thinkprogress.org/2007/11/07/wh-cdc-privilege/ 4.http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2004/05/04/bush_team_takes_hit_on_secret_files/ 5.http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/rendition701/interviews/cloonan.html 6.http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0814/p11s01-usju.html?page=2 7.http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6682846 8.http://blog.washingtonpost.com/cheney/chapters/pushing_the_envelope_on_presi/index.html 9.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/01/AR2005110101644.html 10.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4422825.stm 11.http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/16/politics/16program.html 12.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/12/AR2007101202485.html?hpip=topnews 13.http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/rendition701/interviews/bisher.html 14.http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/02/14/050214fa_fact6 15.http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A522-2003Nov4 16.http://www.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/story/0,,1440836,00.html 17.http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/21/60II/main594974.shtml 18.http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/24/washington/24prexy.html?_r=1&oref=slogin 19.http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060717/sherman History of Legislation 01/20/2008: Submitted for consideration |
Legislation ID: Date Submitted: Sponsor: Cosponsor(s):
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