Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that President Obama should : (1) reaffirm the nation's commitment to the rule of law, checks and balances, the legislative process, and the Bill of Rights; (2) support Congress's right of access to information to perform its legislative and oversight functions; (3) cooperate with congressional investigations into the lack of prosecutions under the War Crimes Act and the Federal Anti-Torture Act despite allegations of serious violations; (4) reaffirm U.S. treaty obligations under the Geneva Conventions and ensure that all individuals held by the United States have access to petition for a writ of habeas corpus; (5) ensure that all suspected terrorists at Guantanamo are immediately tried in fair judicial proceedings; (6) engage the international community to ensure the release of innocent detainees; (7) require independent judicial review of claims of state secrets privilege by executive branch officials; (8) reaffirm that the Office of the Vice President is part of the executive branch; (9) collaborate with Congress to investigate presidential pardons and articulate comprehensive standards to guide future pardons; and (10) commit to providing all signing statements for publication, affirm Congress' right to participate in court proceedings regarding the constitutionality of such statements, and ensure that Congress can obtain testimony from administration officials claiming executive privilege to justify such statements.
Calls on the President to cooperate with congressional efforts to: (1) establish an independent investigation to hold all Bush Administration officials accountable for any crimes; (2) ensure that the disclosure of the identity of any U.S. intelligence agent could give rise to criminal liability; (3) restore faith in the American justice system by investigating and censuring officials for misconduct in office; (4) repeal the redefinition of grave abuses of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions included in the Military Commissions Act of 2006; (5) tighten standards for when a declaration of war is required for military action; (6) strengthen federal perjury laws to prohibit the issuance of false statements, concealment, or false documentation in any matter related to a presidential request for a declaration of war; (7) codify strong anti-torture language and approve uniform standards for interrogation of individuals in U.S. custody; and (8) prohibit the transfer of persons by the U.S. for detention, interrogation, or trial to a country that supports torture, cruel, or degrading treatment in the detention or interrogation of individuals.