April, 22 2009, 01:32pm EDT
Senate Report Furthers the Need for Nonpartisan Commission of Inquiry
The Senate Armed Services Committee
released its much-anticipated and newly-declassified report late
yesterday on the treatment of detainees while in U.S. custody. The 232
page report--the result of an 18 month investigation by the
Committee--shows that harsh interrogation methods used on detainees
were authorized at the highest levels of the Bush White House. This
follows last Thursday's release of four Office of Legal Counsel (OLC)
memos that provided the legal rationale justifying the interrogation
methods.
WASHINGTON
The Senate Armed Services Committee
released its much-anticipated and newly-declassified report late
yesterday on the treatment of detainees while in U.S. custody. The 232
page report--the result of an 18 month investigation by the
Committee--shows that harsh interrogation methods used on detainees
were authorized at the highest levels of the Bush White House. This
follows last Thursday's release of four Office of Legal Counsel (OLC)
memos that provided the legal rationale justifying the interrogation
methods.
"The Senate Armed Services Committee
report, in conjunction with last week's release of the OLC memos,
underscore the need for an independent nonpartisan commission of
inquiry into the detention, transfer, interrogation, and treatment of
suspected terrorists," said Virginia Sloan, president of the
Constitution Project. "Through a comprehensive examination of the past,
our nation can understand how we were led astray and know we are now
headed in the right direction. Only with this hindsight can we ensure
the rule of law has been restored in America."
The Constitution Project submitted a
statement in support of a nonpartisan commission to the Senate
Judiciary Committee in March, in connection with the Committee's
hearing to examine the creation of a truth commission. The Constitution
Project also joined a bipartisan group of advocacy organizations and
leaders from across the political spectrum in February to call on
President Obama to appoint a nonpartisan commission to examine policies
related to the detention, treatment, and transfer of detainees held in
U.S. custody.
To view the statement submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee, go to:
https://www.constitutionproject.org/manage/file/108.pdf
To view the group statement to President Obama, go to:
https://www.constitutionproject.org/pdf/accountability_statement.pdf
The Constitution Project is a politically independent think tank established in 1997 to promote and defend constitutional safeguards. More information about the Constitution Project is available at https://constitutionproject.org/.
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U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday lauded the Biden administration for expanding its "campaign against pharmaceutical manufacturers' improper or inaccurate listing of patents" for a wide range of drugs including Novo Nordisk's Ozempic.
"Let me commend the Federal Trade Commission, under the leadership of Chair Lina Khan, for taking bold action today against the bogus patents Novo Nordisk has filed to prevent Americans struggling with diabetes from receiving a generic version of Ozempic at a much lower price," Sanders (I-Vt.) said in a statement.
Sanders—who leads the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee—stressed that "Novo Nordisk must not be allowed to make billions in profits by delaying generic competition for Ozempic by unlawfully filing junk patents that have nothing to do with the drug itself, but the injection pen."
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In addition to Denmark-based Novo Nordisk, the FTC sent letters to Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Covis Pharma, Glaxo-Smith Kline, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, and some subsidiaries for asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, and weight loss drugs.
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Public Citizen's Access to Medicines program advocate, Steve Knievel, said that "it's becoming harder for drug corporations to use patent shenanigans to thwart competition, thanks to the FTC and Chair Lina Khan."
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U.S. marijuana legalization advocates greeted Tuesday's news that the Drug Enforcement Administration is proposing rescheduling cannabis to a less restrictive class by calling on President Joe Biden to fully deschedule the plant, which is approved for recreational or medicinal use in the vast majority of states.
The Associated Pressreported the DEA is proposing rescheduling marijuana from Schedule I—which includes heroin, MDMA, and LSD—to Schedule III, a far less restrictive class that includes ketamine, anabolic steroids, testosterone, and over-the-counter products containing less than 90 milligrams of codeine per dose. According to the DEA, Schedule I drugs have "no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse."
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The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA)—which works to end the failed 53-year War on Drugs—warned that "under this proposed shift, marijuana criminalization would continue at the federal level and most penalties, including those for simple possession, would continue as long as marijuana remains anywhere on the Controlled Substances Act (CSA)."
While running for president in 2020, Biden repeatedly vowed to decriminalize marijuana and expunge the criminal records of people convicted of cannabis possession. In 2022 the president issued a "full, complete, and unconditional pardon to all current United States citizens and lawful permanent residents" convicted of simple federal marijuana possession—a move that affected thousands of people but excluded those who are in the United States without authorization.
The following year, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra confirmed that his department would recommend rescheduling cannabis to Schedule III.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) on Tuesday urged Congress to "follow the lead of states around the country and legalize cannabis for adult use and create a comprehensive taxation and regulatory scheme."
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said that "it is great news that DEA is finally recognizing that restrictive and draconian cannabis laws need to change to catch up to what science and the majority of Americans have said loud and clear."
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Booker and Schumer were among the 21 senators who last week sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and DEA Administrator Anne Milgram noting that it's been 18 months since Biden ordered HHS October to review cannabis scheduling and eight months since the agency's rescheduling recommendation.
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Legalization advocates, meanwhile, pushed the Biden administration to go much further, as 24 states plus the District of Columbia have approved adult-use recreational marijuana and 38 states have legalized medicinal cannabis.
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The Group of Seven Climate, Energy, and Environment Ministerial concluded a meeting in Turin, Italy, on Tuesday with a commitment to phase out "unabated" coal use by 2035.
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In their Climate, Energy, and Environment Ministers' Meeting Communiqué, the countries agreed to "phase out existing unabated coal power generation in our energy systems during the first half of 2030s or in a timeline consistent with keeping a limit of 1.5°C temperature rise within reach, in line with countries' net-zero pathways."
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