109th Congress / Senate / 1st session / Vote 249
- Question: On the Amendment
- Bill: H R 2863
- Vote description: McCain Amdt. No. 1977; Relating to persons under the detention, custody, or control of the United States Government.
- Vote type: 1/2 (Help)
- Result: Agreed to, 90-9, with 1 not voting.
- Date/time: October 5, 2005, 8:53 p.m.
- Amendment num: S.Amdt. 1977
- Republican majority opinion: Yes (Help)
- Democrat majority opinion: Yes (Help)
Key Vote Analysis
With this vote senators inserted into the 2006 Defense Appropriations bill language written by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to ban cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of detainees held by U.S. forces and to require the military to follow the Army field manual for interrogations. McCain -- a Vietnam War veteran, former prisoner of war and torture victim -- won wide support for the measure in both house of Congress.
The White House, resistant to any constraints on its ability to wage the war on terrorism, initially encouraged Republicans to fight the measure, and President Bush threatened a veto. However, following a brief public clash with McCain, who also had support of a veto-proof majority in the House, the White House relented and threw its support behind the bill. In a small compromise McCain agreed to add two paragraphs giving civilian interrogators legal protections that were only previously extended to military interrogators. The president signed the bill into law on Dec. 30, 2005.
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