Orrin Hatch: “shortly after the September 11 attack on America, the President of the United States asked Congress to pass legislation…”

“shortly after the September 11 attack on America, the President of the United States asked Congress to pass legislation that would provide our law enforcement and intelligence agencies the tools they needed to wage war on the terrorists in our midst. These tools represent the domestic complement to the weapons our military currently is bringing to bear on the terrorists' associates overseas. At the same time, the President asked that, in crafting these tools, we remain vigilant in protecting the constitutional freedoms of all Americans--certainly of all law-abiding Americans. After several weeks of negotiations with Chairman Leahy, the House of Representatives, and the administration, we have developed bipartisan consensus legislation that will accomplish both of these goals. It enhances our ability to find, track, monitor, and prosecute terrorists operating here in the U.S. without in any way undermining civil liberties. We can never know whether these tools would have prevented the attack on America, but, as the Attorney General has said, it is certain that without these tools we did not stop the vicious acts of last month. I personally believe that if these tools had been in law--and we have been trying to get them there for years--we would have caught those terrorists. If these tools could help us now to track down the perpetrators--if they will help us in our continued pursuit of terrorists--then we should not hesitate to enact these measures into law.”