[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3835 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3835

   To restore the Constitution's checks and balances and protections 
    against government abuses as envisioned by the Founding Fathers.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 15, 2007

   Mr. Paul introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Armed 
Services, Foreign Affairs, and Select 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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To restore the Constitution's checks and balances and protections 
    against government abuses as envisioned by the Founding Fathers.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``American Freedom Agenda Act of 
2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Unchecked power by any branch leads to oppressive 
        transgressions on individual freedoms and ill-considered 
        government policies.
            (2) The Founding Fathers enshrined checks and balances in 
        the Constitution to protect against government abuses to derail 
        ill-conceived domestic or foreign endeavors.
            (3) Checks and balances make the Nation safer by preventing 
        abuses that would be exploited by Al Qaeda to boost terrorist 
        recruitment, would deter foreign governments from cooperating 
        in defeating international terrorism, and would make the 
        American people reluctant to support aggressive counter-
        terrorism measures.
            (4) Checks and balances have withered since 9/11 and an 
        alarming concentration of power has been accumulated in the 
        presidency based on hyper-inflated fears of international 
        terrorism and a desire permanently to alter the equilibrium of 
        power between the three branches of government.
            (5) The unprecedented constitutional powers claimed by the 
        President since 9/11 subtracted national security and have been 
        asserted for non-national security purposes.
            (6) Experience demonstrates 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 military commissions or military 
        law.
            (7) Congressional oversight of the executive branch is 
        necessary to prevent secret government, which undermines self-
        government and invites lawlessness and maladministration.
            (8) The post-9/11 challenges to checks and balances are 
        unique in the Nation's history because the war on global 
        terrorism has no discernable end.
    (b) Purpose.--The American Freedom Agenda Act of 2007 is intended 
to restore the Constitution's checks and balances and protections 
against government abuses as envisioned by the Founding Fathers.

SEC. 3. MILITARY COMMISSIONS; ENEMY COMBATANTS; HABEAS CORPUS.

    (a) The Military Commissions Act of 2006 is hereby repealed.
    (b) The President is authorized to establish military commissions 
for the trial 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.
    (c) The President is prohibited from detaining any individual 
indefinitely as an unlawful enemy combatant absent proof by substantial 
evidence that the individual has directly engaged in active hostilities 
against the United States, provided that no United States citizen shall 
be detained as an unlawful enemy combatant.
    (d) Any individual detained as an enemy combatant by the United 
States shall be entitled to petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 
section 2241 of title 28, United States Code.

SEC. 4. TORTURE OR COERCED CONFESSIONS.

    No civilian or military tribunal of the United States shall admit 
as evidence statements extracted from the defendant by torture or 
coercion.

SEC. 5. INTELLIGENCE GATHERING.

    No Federal agency shall gather foreign intelligence in 
contravention of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (50 U.S.C. 
1801 et seq.). The President's constitutional power to gather foreign 
intelligence is subordinated to this provision.

SEC. 6. PRESIDENTIAL SIGNING STATEMENTS.

    The House of Representatives and Senate collectively shall enjoy 
standing to file a declaratory judgment action in an appropriate 
Federal district court to challenge the constitutionality of a 
presidential signing statement that declares the President's intent to 
disregard provisions of a bill he has signed into law because he 
believes they are unconstitutional.

SEC. 7. KIDNAPPING, DETENTIONS, AND TORTURE ABROAD.

    No officer or agent of the United States shall kidnap, imprison, or 
torture any person abroad based solely on the President's belief that 
the subject of the kidnapping, imprisonment, or torture is a criminal 
or enemy combatant; provided that kidnapping shall be permitted if 
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. A 
knowing violation of this section shall be punished as a felony 
punishable by a fine or imprisonment of up to 2 years.

SEC. 8. JOURNALIST EXCEPTION TO ESPIONAGE ACT.

    Nothing in the Espionage Act of 1917 shall prohibit a journalist 
from 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.

SEC. 9. USE OF SECRET EVIDENCE TO MAKE FOREIGN TERRORIST DESIGNATIONS.

    Notwithstanding any other law, secret evidence shall not be used by 
the President or any other member of the executive branch 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.
                                 <all>