Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin has introduced the Executive Branch Accountability Act of 2009 (H.Res. 417), calling on President Obama to reverse the damaging and illegal actions taken by the Bush/Cheney Administration and to collaborate with Congress to proactively prevent any further abuses of executive branch power.
“This measure lists steps President Obama can take to proactively prevent any further abuses of executive branch power and restore the public’s faith in our government,” Baldwin said.
The Executive Branch Accountability Act of 2009 calls on President Obama to:
* Affirm our nation’s commitment to uphold the Constitution;
* Fully investigate Bush/Cheney administration officials’ alleged crimes and hold them accountable for any illegal acts;
* Hold accountable Bush/Cheney Administration officials who showed or show contempt for the legal duty to comply with Congressional subpoenas; disclosed the identity of any covert intelligence agent; pursued politically-motivated prosecutions;
* Ensure that any Bush/Cheney administration official guilty of a war crime is prosecuted under the War Crimes Act and the Anti-Torture Act;
* Affirm that it is the sole legal right of Congress to declare war;
* Criminalize lying to Congress and the American public about the reasons for going to war;
* Restore the writ of habeas corpus as an essential principle of our democracy;
* Ensure that torture and rendition are uniformly prohibited under United States law;
* Responsibly close the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp;
* Ensure that Americans can bring claims against their government;
* Immediately take affirmative steps to protect all Bush/Cheney Administration documents;
* Publicly review potential abuses of the presidential pardon process; and
* Further reform the use of presidential signing statements.
A copy of the Executive Branch Accountability Act of 2009 as introduced can be found in this PDF.
Congresswoman Baldwin explains why she feels this bill is necessary: Video.
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as a veteran I feel the elected officials need to be held accountable for issuing illegal orders, and so far the only ones that have been held accountable are enlisted men and women, I feel they deserve better than this, from the actions they did take at Abu Graib, the memo's written by Judge Bybee and approved by the Chain of Command are what these men and women appeared to have followed, so why is it only the "little people" are held accountable, if Vice President Cheney is so concerned about the little people he should have spoke up, when the Army was court martialing these men and women. Justice should apply to all in the United States, not one set for the ruling class and another for the "little guys". The FBI agents present at Gitmo walked out of the interrogations and refused to participate due to the illegal acts they saw, and they were not punished by the administration, so why were Army personnel prosecuted for obeying the rule changes the Bush Administration lawyers at DOJ and the department of defense approved?
Friday, May 8, 2009
Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin has introduced the Executive Branch Accountability Act of 2009 (H.Res. 417
