S. 147: Lawful Interrogation and Detention Act

111th Congress · introduced 2009-01-06 · Armed Forces and National Security · Latest: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S157-158, S159)

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2009-01-06 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S157-158, S159) Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Lawful Interrogation and Detention Act

Plain summary

Lawful Interrogation and Detention Act - Directs the President, within one year after the enactment of this Act, to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and remove all detainees held there. Requires each such detainee to be either: (1) charged with a violation of U.S. or international law and transferred to an appropriate U.S. facility for further legal proceedings; (2) transferred for trial to an international tribunal operating under United Nations (UN) authority; (3) transferred (under certain conditions) to the custody of the government of the individual's country of citizenship or a different country; (4) released; or (5) held in accordance with the law of the armed conflict. Prohibits an individual in the custody or control of an element of the intelligence community (IC) or contractor or subcontractor thereof, regardless of the individual's nationality or physical location, from being subject to any treatment or technique of interrogation not authorized by the U.S. Army Field Manual on Human Intelligence Collector Operations. Prohibits the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from allowing a CIA contractor or subcontractor to carry out an interrogation. Requires any interrogation carried out on behalf of the CIA to be conducted only by a CIA employee. Requires the head of an IC element or a contractor or subcontractor of such element who detains or has custody or control over an individual to notify the International Committee of the Red Cross of such detention, and to provide Red Cross access to such individual in a manner consistent with practices of the Armed Forces.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Lawful Interrogation and Detention Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA] · 3 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Ron Wyden (D-OR), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-111s147.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/111/s>

Record fed-us-cong111-s147 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong111 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong111