[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 417 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 417

  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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 7, 2009

 Ms. Baldwin submitted the following resolution; 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

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  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.

Whereas over the past several years, serious questions have been raised about 
        the conduct of high ranking Bush/Cheney Administration officials in 
        relation to some of the most basic elements of our democracy: respect 
        for the rule of law, the principle of checks and balances, and the 
        fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Bill of Rights;
Whereas the Bush/Cheney Administration misled the American public and the U.S. 
        Congress regarding the threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and 
        alleged, despite all evidence to the contrary, a relationship between 
        Iraq and al Qaeda, and this deceit dragged our country into a preemptive 
        and unjustified war that has taken the lives of more than 4,000 U.S. 
        troops, injured 30,000 more, and will cost our Nation more than a 
        trillion dollars;
Whereas the Bush/Cheney Administration undermined national security by 
        manipulating and exaggerating evidence of Iran's nuclear weapons 
        capabilities despite no real evidence that Iran had the intention or 
        capability of attacking the U.S., and then deliberately downplayed the 
        December 2007 National Intelligence Estimate that reported with ``high 
        confidence'' that Iran stopped developing nuclear weapons in 2003 
        because of international pressure;
Whereas the Bush/Cheney Administration undertook a broad assault on civil 
        liberties through the suspension of habeas corpus and claiming the power 
        to declare any person an ``enemy combatant,'' blatantly ignoring the 
        Geneva Convention protections that the U.S. helped create, ratify, and 
        which carry the weight of law;
Whereas the Bush/Cheney Administration endorsed the torture and rendition of 
        prisoners in violation of stated American policy and values, as well as 
        international law, and then destroyed videotapes which may have 
        substantiated such torture;
Whereas the Bush/Cheney Administration violated the Fourth Amendment and the 
        Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 by spying on Americans 
        without a court order or oversight;
Whereas the Bush/Cheney Administration abused the state secrets privilege in 
        recent legal challenges regarding warrantless wiretapping, torture, and 
        rendition, and this administration's use of the state secrets privilege 
        was to the detriment of the rights of private litigants harmed by 
        egregious misconduct, as well as Americans' trust in the judicial 
        system;
Whereas Bush/Cheney Administration officials consistently impeded congressional 
        investigations into allegations of wrongdoing by refusing to comply with 
        congressional subpoenas;
Whereas the Bush/Cheney Administration claims that then-senior presidential 
        advisers were immune from congressional subpoenas impeded congressional 
        oversight, undermined the rule of law, damaged our democracy, and were 
        rejected by a U.S. District Court;
Whereas U.S. Attorneys pursued politically motivated prosecutions in violation 
        of the law, and allegedly at the direction of the Bush/Cheney 
        Administration;
Whereas Bush/Cheney Administration officials in the Department of Justice 
        systematically violated the law and committed misconduct in basing 
        hiring decisions for career prosecutor positions, detailees to senior 
        Department offices, and immigration judgeships on the applicants' 
        political affiliations and view;
Whereas it appears Bush/Cheney Administration officials intentionally revealed 
        the identity of Valerie Plame Wilson as a covert agent of the CIA for 
        political retribution, and then intentionally obstructed justice by 
        disseminating false information through the White House press office;
Whereas President Bush showed contempt for the legislative branch and disregard 
        for the law through the excessive expansion of presidential power in 
        misusing signing statements that declared his intent to ignore 
        provisions of legislation he signed into law;
Whereas Bush/Cheney Administration officials systematically shielded from access 
        and destroyed public documents relevant to the conduct of the 
        Administration by utilizing non-governmental e-mail accounts for 
        official communications;
Whereas Vice President Cheney consistently placed self-interest over serving the 
        American people, exemplified by his claim that the Office of the Vice 
        President is not an entity within the executive branch for the alleged 
        purpose of shielding the activities of his office from public scrutiny;
Whereas President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and other Bush/Cheney 
        Administration officials were presented with ample opportunities to 
        collaborate with Congress and reverse the above listed damaging and 
        abusive actions;
Whereas despite these opportunities, they instead chose to show contempt for the 
        Constitution and the legislative branch, compelling Americans and 
        Congress to look to the next administration for executive branch 
        accountability;
Whereas, on November 4, 2008, Americans elected President of the United States 
        Barack Obama;
Whereas, on January 20, 2009, President Obama stood before the American people 
        and took an oath of office, swearing to ``. . . preserve, protect and 
        defend the Constitution of the United States'';
Whereas this commitment and obligation is so fundamental to our democracy that 
        our Nation's founders proscribed this oath in our Constitution;
Whereas no President or Congress has the authority to override that document, 
        whereby ``We the People'' conferred upon the branches of government 
        limited and defined power, and provided for meaningful checks and 
        balances;
Whereas the actions taken by President Obama will impact the conduct of future 
        Presidents, perhaps for generations;
Whereas President Obama has already begun work to reaffirm American values of 
        justice and freedom;
Whereas President Obama issued a January 22, 2009, executive order requiring 
        that Guantanamo Bay detention facility be closed within one year and 
        that until its closure, conditions of confinement at Guantanamo must 
        comply with Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions and all other 
        applicable laws;
Whereas President Obama issued a January 22, 2009, executive order to promote 
        the safe, lawful, and humane treatment of individuals in United States 
        custody by prohibiting any interrogation technique or approach, or any 
        treatment related to interrogation, that is not authorized by and listed 
        in Army Field Manual, and reaffirms that all terrorist suspects held by 
        the United States abroad are protected under Common Article 3 of the 
        Geneva Conventions;
Whereas President Obama issued a January 22, 2009, executive order to establish 
        a Special Task Force on Detainee Disposition to thoroughly review 
        detention policy options and provide a report to the President within 6 
        months;
Whereas President Obama stated in his February 24, 2009, remarks to the Joint 
        Session of Congress, ``without exception or equivocation that the United 
        States of America does not torture'';
Whereas President Obama issued a March 9, 2009, Memorandum for the Heads of 
        Executive Departments and Agencies on Presidential Signing Statements to 
        clarify his intention to issue signing statements ``to address 
        constitutional concerns only when it is appropriate to do so as a means 
        of discharging my constitutional responsibilities'' and to outline steps 
        to promote greater transparency and accountability in issuing signing 
        statements;
Whereas President Obama's efforts to renew America must include restoring 
        executive branch accountability through proactively preventing future 
        abuses of power by his or future administrations; and
Whereas the actions detailed below may assist in his work to restore the 
        public's faith in our Government: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
President Obama should take the necessary steps to do the following--
            (1) Affirm our nation's commitment to upholding the 
        constitution of the united states.--President Obama must 
        immediately and publicly reaffirm our Nation's commitment to 
        the rule of law, the principle of checks and balances, respect 
        for the legislative process, and the fundamental freedoms 
        enshrined in the Bill of Rights.
            (2) Fully investigate bush/cheney administration officials' 
        alleged crimes and hold them accountable for any illegal 
        acts.--President Obama must cooperate fully with congressional 
        oversight efforts to establish an independent investigation, as 
        well as to address potential statute of limitation concerns, in 
        order to hold all Bush/Cheney Administration officials 
        accountable for any crimes they may have committed.
            (3) Hold accountable bush/cheney administration officials 
        who showed or show contempt for the legal duty to comply with 
        congressional subpoenas.--President Obama must fully support 
        Congress' constitutionally rooted right of access to the 
        information it needs to perform its legislative and oversight 
        functions enunciated in Article I of the Constitution.
            (4) Hold accountable bush/cheney administration officials 
        who disclosed the identity of any covert intelligence agent.--
        President Obama must cooperate fully with congressional efforts 
        to ensure that the disclosure of the identity of any United 
        States intelligence agent could give rise to criminal 
        liability.
            (5) Hold accountable bush/cheney administration officials 
        who pursued politically motivated prosecutions.--President 
        Obama must cooperate fully with congressional efforts to 
        restore faith in the American justice system by investigating 
        and censuring any officials who engage in misconduct in Federal 
        office.
            (6) Ensure that any bush/cheney administration official 
        guilty of a war crime is prosecuted under the war crimes act 
        and the anti-torture act.--President Obama must cooperate fully 
        with congressional efforts to repeal the redefinition of grave 
        abuses of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions included 
        in the Military Commissions Act of 2006, which limits the scope 
        of the original War Crimes Act and makes this repeal 
        retroactively operable to the beginning of the invasion of 
        Iraq. President Obama must also cooperate fully with 
        congressional investigations into the lack of prosecutions 
        under the War Crimes Act and the Federal Anti-Torture Act 
        despite countless allegations of serious violations.
            (7) Affirm that it is the sole legal right of congress to 
        declare war.--President Obama must cooperate fully with 
        congressional efforts to tighten the standards for when a 
        declaration of war is required for military action.
            (8) Criminalize lying to congress and the american public 
        about the reasons for going to war.--President Obama must 
        cooperate fully with congressional efforts to 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.
            (9) Restore the writ of habeas corpus as an essential 
        principle of our democracy.--President Obama must reaffirm our 
        Nation's treaty obligations under the Geneva Conventions and 
        ensure all individuals held by the United States have access to 
        the courts to petition for a writ of habeas corpus.
            (10) Ensure torture is uniformly prohibited under united 
        states law.--While recognizing that President Obama has taken 
        important steps in asserting his position that torture is 
        antithetical to American values, he must cooperate fully with 
        congressional efforts to codify strong anti-torture language 
        and approve uniform standards for interrogation techniques 
        applicable to individuals under control or custody of the 
        United States Government.
            (11) Ensure rendition is uniformly prohibited under united 
        states law.--President Obama must cooperate fully with 
        congressional efforts to outlaw torture ``outsourcing'' by 
        prohibiting the direct or indirect transfer or return of 
        persons by the U.S. for the purpose of detention, 
        interrogation, trial, or otherwise to a country listed by the 
        Secretary of State as supporting torture, cruel, or degrading 
        treatment used in detention or interrogation of individuals.
            (12) Responsibly close the guantanamo bay detention camp.--
        While President Obama has boldly declared his intention to 
        close Guantanamo by January 2010, he must do everything in his 
        power to ensure that all suspected terrorists held at 
        Guantanamo are immediately tried in fair judicial proceedings 
        and are not subjected to trial by secret evidence. He must also 
        engage the international community to swiftly ensure the 
        release of innocent detainees, including the Chinese Uighurs.
            (13) Ensure that americans can bring claims against their 
        government.--President Obama must guarantee that the state 
        secrets privilege shall not constitute grounds for dismissal of 
        a case or claim and instead require independent judicial review 
        of claims of state secrets privilege by executive branch 
        officials.
            (14) Immediately take affirmative steps to protect all 
        bush/cheney administration documents.--President Obama must 
        publicly reaffirm that the Office of the Vice President is part 
        of the executive branch.
            (15) Publicly review potential abuses of the presidential 
        pardon process.--President Obama must collaborate fully with 
        Congress to investigate the granting of presidential pardons 
        and articulate comprehensive standards to guide future 
        presidential pardons.
            (16) Further reform the use of presidential signing 
        statements.--While President Obama has affirmed his intention 
        to issue signing statements sparingly and with a high degree of 
        transparency, he must commit to providing all signing 
        statements for publication, affirm Congress' right to 
        participate in court proceedings regarding the 
        constitutionality of any presidential signing statements, and 
        ensure that Congress can obtain testimony from administration 
        officials who may attempt to claim executive privilege to 
        explain or justify any signing statements.
                                 <all>