I get letters...

Dear Seth:

Thank you for your communication regarding H.R. 10, the "9/11 Recommendations Implementation Act" and for expressing your opposition to Sections 3032 and 3033 regarding torture. Because I share your reservations about many of the bill's provisions, I opposed it.

Particularly offensive were sections that would permit removing certain asylum-seekers to nations whose governments are known to engage in torture. You may be pleased to know that I have already joined my colleagues in urging the conferees for H.R. 10, who are currently resolving differences between House and Senate versions of the bill, to exclude the provisions that would permit the
outsourcing of torture. Because H.R. 10 failed to address the majority of the 9/11 Commission's recommendations while it included extraneous provisions that deny basic fairness to immigrants, I opposed it. However, I remain hopeful that the
conference committee can produce an improved bill.

I share your support for efforts to protect our civil liberties and to oppose misguided policies that scapegoat immigrants. We must not sacrifice our democracy in a misguided attempt to save it. You may be interested to know that the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the nation's oldest, largest, and most diverse civil and
human rights coalition, scored my voting record in the 106th, 107th, and 108th Congresses as 100%.

Please keep me advised of any federal matters with which I may be of assistance.


Sincerely,
Lloyd Doggett