Mr. Kris, the MCA allows the United States to seek protective orders for information that the United States has supplied to the defense through discovery.

As the President has stated, the United States is a nation of laws and we must abide by court rulings.

Mr. Kris, do you believe that Congress should correct this anomaly?

Mr. Kris, the courts' interpretation of the MCA makes it harder to pursue a capital case...

Mr. Kris, I understand that there is an ambiguity in the MCA as to whether it allows presentations in support of a motion to protect classified evidence to be presented ex parte.

Why don't we make all crimes Federal crimes then?

But you suggest, or I believe you state in your testimony that this bill is so vaguely worded that all rape cases could be covered by this statute, making a monumental change in Federal law.

I believe that if they are harassed or discriminated against unfairly, we probably have the laws--I believe we have the laws to fix it.

I think you are incorrect in referring to Senator Hatch's question about the need to prove animus or ill will.

I think it is overly broad. I'm pretty confident of that.

I would just say that Senator Hatch doesn't agree, and neither does the Civil Rights Commission of the United States, who opposes this legislation.

A lot of the cases they cite, isn't it a fact that the defendants were convicted, some given the death penalty, some given life without parole, and they're cited in a way that suggests that somehow justice didn't get done in those cases?

That's the kind of thing we get into when you have such a broad problem.

The elderly are not a protected group, security guards are not a protected group, soldiers are apparently not a protected group.

So it wouldn't be the words, but it would be the actual sexual orientation, or gender, or race of the person that would make the decision?

We are a Nation of laws and not of men. That's a fundamental principle of this Republic.

I would just note that perhaps the authorization of funding to create tasks forces and studies of these kind of crimes would be an appropriate role for the Federal Government.

The kind of crime we had at the Holocaust Museum is just heartbreaking and unacceptable.

Well, isn't that contrary to the American heritage of law?

I believe deeply in the Federal legal system, that we need to get it right.

I am sorry that a number of our members will not be able to be here today because of the health care matter.

I share those concerns. Senator Hatch and I have, I guess for 9 years, had legislation to make a substantial improvement in that.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I appreciated the opportunity to discuss with you some of the details of the confirmation hearing for Judge Sotomayor.

It bothers me that you had no real concern, or the President did not, about releasing portions of those memoranda that deal explicitly with techniques that could be used, information that I think could be helpful to the enemy.

I would suggest we have a hearing on that. It is a matter that is worthy of our attention.