U.S. Rep. David Price wants to rein in intelligence contractors who deal with detainees.

As part of a national intelligence reauthorization bill, the Chapel Hill Democrat has written several provisions which would bar contractors from interrogating detainees.

The bill would require a detailed report to Congress about the use, cost and training of contractors. It would also require the director of national intelligence to determine whether they are being properly used.

"Interrogations should be carried out by individuals who are well-trained, fall within a clear chain of command, and have a sworn loyalty to the United States -- not by corporate, for-profit contractors," he said in a statement. 

The bill passed the House on Wednesday and now goes to the Senate. The White House cited the contractor oversight provisions among its top reasons for why President Bush may veto the bill. (N&O)

The national intelligence reauthorization bill being considered in the U.S. House of Representatives today tries to rein in intelligence contractors who deal with detainees.

The provisions, authored in part by U.S. Rep. David Price, would bar contractors from performing interrogations on detainees, Barb Barrett reports.

It also would require a detailed report to Congress about the usage, cost and training of intelligence contractors and would require the national director of intelligence to assess whether contractors are being appropriately used.

Price, a Chapel Hill Democrat, wrote the language with U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, an Illinois Democrat and member of the House Intelligence Committee.

Price pushed through language in the defense authorization bill prohibiting defense contractors from performing interrogations on detainees, and now he's extending his efforts to the intelligence community, such as the Central Intelligence Agency.

"Interrogations should be carried out by individuals that are well-trained, fall within a clear chain of command and have a sworn loyalty to the United States, not for-profit corporate contractors," said Paul Cox, Price's spokesman.

The House is expected to vote on the bill this afternoon. It then goes to the full Senate.

A UNC-Chapel Hill student working in Kenya blogged about her soaked encounter with U.S. Rep. David Price during his trip to the region last week.

Alisa Eanes was among the guests — she estimated 2,000 of them — at a Fourth of July bash at the home of the U.S. Ambassador to Kenya.

Eanes is working with Carolina for Kibera, a program in Kenya run by the university.

Among the luminaries she mentioned were Price, of Chapel Hill, U.S. Rep. Mel Watt of Charlotte and several of Sen. Barack Obama’s Kenyan relatives. Price’s wife, Lisa, also went on the trip, according to Eanes’ blog. The delegation got caught in a rain storm. The luminaries weren't phased, Eanes reports:

We also talked to David Price, Jim Cooper, Mel Watt and other congressional folks, their military escorts, and spouses. David Price was particularly impressive; he was a wonderful networker (introduced us to at least 6 people), has a good head on his shoulders, and was passionate about CFK.

His wife Lisa was also very cool to talk to and super down-to-earth. After the party, they all came down to CFK to here more about what we do and then we took a walk through Kibera to see our clinics. About half way into the walk it started pouring rain. It was quite an adventure to tour a big group of wazungus around a muddy, flooded Kibera. We laughed, and everyone was a good sport, which was impressive for folks who were dressed to a T trudging through mud. We got back to CFK and everyone was soaked. I, brilliantly, waiting until this point to get pictures with them and have some great shots of me with important congress folks; both of us soppy wet. They described their trip to Kibera as unforgettable. I hope that's the case.

U.S. Reps. Brad Miller and David Price spent part of their summer vacation this week in a hotel in Liberia's capital city of Monrovia that lacked hot water but had exposed wiring, that smelled of gasoline and whose power blinked off occasionally through the night.

It was a change from the plush digs of Capitol Hill, Barb Barrett reports.

It also was a sobering reminder of the conditions in poor nations plagued by civil strife.

"We have just visited two of the poorest nations on the planet," Miller said Wednesday in an interview from Africa. "Liberia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Both have been through horrific conflict."

Liberia had 14 years of civil war, and the Democratic Republic of Congo is emerging from a civil war that has killed more than 5 million people, said Miller, of Raleigh.

"These societies are not the slightest threat to us economically," he said. "Their poverty is a security threat to the United States. Failed societies and ungoverned areas are where extremism and terrorism really take hold."

Miller joined a Price-led congressional trip to the region to learn more about developing countries there and assist new democracies in strengthening their legislative branches. U.S. Rep. Mel Watt of Charlotte also was on the trip.

The delegation will be in Kenya, Malawi and Mauratania before returning to the United States. 

U.S. Rep. David Price is not an easy traveler.

The Chapel Hill Democrat is going on an 11-day trip during the upcoming recess along with other members of the House Democracy Assistance Commission. (U.S. Rep. Brad Miller is joining him.)

The Washington Post's Al Kamen, who likes to critique lawmakers' junkets, called the trip to such political hotspots as Liberia, Kenya and Congo "no fun."

"In addition to meetings with heads of state, there are endless conferences and meetings about budgeting, legislative research and other exciting topics," he writes, tongue in cheek.

Price, a former professor who is something of a troubled democracy buff, has also taken trips to Lebanon, Afghanistan, East Timor, Haiti and Colombia — hardly the kinds of places you see on a poster in a travel agent's office. 

On the other hand, Mongolia's been pretty quiet since Gengis Khan died. 

The first federal spending bill out of the gate this spring has two earmarks from U.S. Rep. David Price, a Chapel Hill Democrat and the state’s only member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee.

The committee approved the Homeland Security spending bill Tuesday afternoon, Barb Barrett reports. Price is chairman of the subcommittee that wrote the $39 billion bill.

Within it, Price directed $1 million to buy communications equipment at the emergency operations center at the N.C. Department of Crime Control and Public Safety.

He also directed $5 million toward something called “Impact of Climate on Future Disasters.” The money will also go to the state public safety department, said Paul Cox, a Price spokesman. The money fill allow geospatial experts to study the long-term impacts of climate change and sea-level rise to figure out potential risks for communities, fisheries, agriculture and the environment.

Earmarks are special spending projects inserted into larger bills by specific members of Congress. They have been criticized by groups such as Taxpayers for Common Sense, a Washington organization that put together the database listing the earmarks.

Taxpayers for Common Sense listed 104 earmarks totaling $180 million in the bill.

U.S. Rep. Robin Hayes, a Concord Republican with a high hill to climb for re-election this year, also has an earmark: $468,000 for pre-disaster work in Kannapolis.

Hayes isn’t on the spending panel, but at-risk members of Congress from both sides of the aisle often receive earmarks as a way for them to curry favor back home.

Correction: An earlier version misstated Hayes' party affiliation. 

U.S. Rep. David Price, the man in Congress who sends money to the Department of Homeland Security, does not think we’re safer than we were Sept. 10, 2001, at least in a broad, world view.

In a speech this morning at a Washington think tank, Price repeatedly slammed the Bush administration’s foreign policies, saying President Bush squandered global good will after 9/11, punted on the Middle Eastern peace process and effectively issued a self-fulfilling prophecy with his “axis of evil” description of North Korea, Iraq, Iran and Syria.

Price, a Chapel Hill Democrat, said he does think the United States is better prepared to deal with specific threats in the wake of 9/11, Barb Barrett reports.

But, he said, “Winning ‘hearts and minds’ is no exercise in sentimentality; it is absolutely central to protecting our nation…”

Price has long advocated what he calls a “diplomatic surge,” saying the United States should focus its attention on diplomacy in the Middle East to attract and maintain allies rather than continuing the war in Iraq.

Price spoke to the Center for American Progress Action Fund, a progressive think tank in Washington, in what his staff called a major address on homeland security.

Price also listed his priorities as chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee on homeland security, where he is responsible for shepherding a $40 billion spending bill.

More after the jump.

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How closely tied are North Carolina's Congressional Democrats to their presidential nominee?

Though all but one of the state's seven Democratic representatives will cast their superdelegate vote for Barack Obama, they're at slightly different levels.

Here's where they stand, from closest to least close:

G.K. Butterfield: Switched endorsement from John Edwards before the South Carolina primary. Stumped in Tennessee, Louisiana and Georgia. Participated in multiple teleconferences. Talked to reporters. Served on "Truth Squad." Attended rallies. District backed Obama by 63 percent. Name-checked in acceptance speech. Still working.

David Price: Defended Obama. Endorsed before primary, after Edwards dropped out. Participated in teleconferences. District backed Obama by 66 percent. Name-checked in acceptance speech. Still working. 

Mel Watt: Previously skeptical of black candidate's chances. Endorsed before primary, after Edwards dropped out. Participated in teleconferences. Served on "Truth Squad." District backed Obama by 78 percent. Name-checked in acceptance speech.

Brad Miller: Wife sat behind Obama for acceptance speech. District backed Obama by 63 percent Stayed neutral before primary, endorsed shortly afterward.

Bob Etheridge: District backed Obama. Stayed neutral before primary. Endorsed Obama the day before Clinton dropped out. Attended Obama rally.

Mike McIntyre: District backed Clinton. Stayed neutral before primary. Endorsed Obama the day before Clinton dropped out.

Heath Shuler: Received $10,000 from Obama's PAC in 2006. District backed Clinton. Endorsed Clinton after primary. Staff says he's been too busy to think about race since then.

The state's Congressional Democrats endorsed Kay Hagan.

The seven U.S. representatives issued a joint endorsement of the Democratic nominee, who faces U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole in November.

"Kay Hagan has a decade-long record of effectiveness in the North Carolina state Senate, and has earned the distinction of being one of the Senate's top 10 most effective lawmakers for three consecutive terms," said U.S. Rep. David Price in a statement. "She's a work horse, not a show horse."

Along with Price, U.S. Reps. Mel Watt, Mike McIntyre, Bob Etheridge, Brad Miller, G.K. Butterfield and Heath Shuler backed Hagan.

"I'm so honored to receive these endorsements," Kay said. "I'm looking forward to working with them in my campaign and of course, when I am up in Washington working in the U.S. Senate."

U.S. Rep. David Price will hold a constituent town hall meeting from 7-8:30 p.m. June 16 in Durham.

The town hall is a chance for constituents in the Fourth District to talk with the Chapel Hill Democrat about issues that are important to them. The meeting is open to the public.

It will be at the Museum of Life and Science, 433 W. Murray Ave., Durham.