Udall Statement on Senate’s Vote to Prohibit Torture

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall issued the following statement on the U.S. Senate's bipartisan 78-21 vote to reaffirm the ban on waterboarding and other inhumane interrogation techniques. The amendment now moves forward as part of the National Defense Authorization Act.

"Torture is a stain on our nation's all too recent history. As the comprehensive investigation by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence confirmed, the CIA's post-9/11 'enhanced interrogation' techniques were not just brutal and inhumane — but also ineffective. This amendment reaffirms the torture ban and ensures that we never again compromise our core values and resort to such methods. Americans should never torture in the name of security, no matter who is in the White House."