WASHINGTON, D.C.: Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey today joined Congressman Chris Bell (TX) and 35 of her House colleagues in submitting a Resolution of Inquiry regarding General Taguba’s investigation of prisoner abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison. The Resolution calls on Secretary Rumsfeld to release to Congress all documents related to General Taguba's investigation and any documents relating to the abuse or alleged abuse of P.O.W.'s or detainees by civilian contractors.

The Resolution must be taken up within 14 days by the Armed Services Committee and would require Secretary Rumsfeld to submit all information to Congress within 14 days.

"No matter how devastating and terrifying war is, there is no reason for the abuse and torture of prisoners,” said Rep. Woolsey. “We must get to the bottom of this scandal, and the first step is ensuring that Congress has full access to information documenting the extent of the problem.”

“The United States is not above international law – including the Geneva Convention. The American people are not served and the American military is not served if just a few service members and contractors are blamed for problems endemic to the system.

“The vast majority of soldiers in Iraq are performing courageously and honorably, upholding the high standards of the U.S. military. But only a thorough Congressional investigation will enable us to rectify the situation, protect soldiers from orders that contradict American military custom and international law, and make sure that this never happens again.”

Last week, Congresswoman Woolsey voted against a Republican sponsored resolution, H.Res. 627, calling for an internal Department of Defense investigation of prisoner abuse. “We must get to the bottom of this scandal, but we must do it in the right way,” said Rep. Woolsey. “To prevent this from happening again, we must have a Congressional investigation into the role of private contractors, as well as service members, and we must apologize directly to the people of Iraq in order to work towards rebuilding goodwill with the international community.”

House Members signing onto Rep. Bell’s resolution are:

Representatives Lynn Woolsey, Jim McDermott, Juanita Millender-McDonald, Pete Stark, Jerrold Nadler, Raul Grijalva, Earl Blumenauer, Anna Eshoo, Howard L. Berman, Joseph Hoeffel, Betty McCollum, Marcy Kaptur, Gary Ackerman, Sam Farr, James Oberstar, Sheila Jackson Lee, Ed Towns, Donald Payne, Corrine Brown, Tom Lantos, Jan Schakowsky, Bill Delahunt, Barbara Lee, Ed Markey, Chaka Fattah, Chris Van Hollen, Bernard Sanders, John W. Olver, Carolyn B. Maloney, Jim McGovern, Ted Strickland, Dianne Watson, Henry Waxman, Robert Brady, Denise L. Majette, Robert Wexler, John Conyers.