From our colleagues at the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT):

Below is information on a few critical amendments that the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on during the debate over the FY 2015 National Defense Authorization Act, as well as a call-in script that can be used to express your views on these amendments to your representative.

Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-IN-2)  has offered an amendment that would ban transferring even cleared detainees to Yemen. Most of the detainees who the U.S. government has cleared to leave Guantanamo are Yemeni - so Rep. Walorski's amendment would essentially be a ban on closing Guantanamo. NRCAT opposes this amendment.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA-28) has offered an amendment that would sunset the authorization for military force - which is the authority that our government has used to detain individuals without charge or trial, in some cases for more than a decade. NRCAT support this amendment.

Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA-9) and Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA-10) have offered an amendment banning the indefinite detention without trial of people detained in the U.S. Indefinite detention without trial violates basic U.S. values. NRCAT supports this amendment.

Rep. Smith, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-10), and Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA-8) have offered an amendment requiring that the detention center at Guantanamo Bay be closed by the end of 2016 and easing the restrictions on transfers to the U.S. NRCAT supports this amendment.

MAKE A CALL TODAY
To call your representative on these critical amendments, please call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to speak with your representative. Look up your representative by your address. You can say something like:

"Hello, I'm ______ and I'm calling from ______. I understand that Congress is now debating the National Defense Authorization Act. I would like Representative ______ to vote against the Walorski amendment to ban transferring even cleared detainees from Guantanamo to Yemen and for the Smith-Nadler-Moran amendment requiring that Guantanamo be closed. I would also like the representative to vote for the Schiff amendment sunsetting the authorization for the use of military force and for the Smith-Broun amendment banning the indefinite detention without trial of people captured in the United States. I think indefinite detention without trial is morally wrong. It's time to end it at Guantanamo and its time we passed legislation ensuring it never happens again. Thank you."

Photo by Ted Majdosz