Orrin Hatch: “The constitution of conspiracy to use an explosive to commit a felony is already provided for in precedent law, 18…”

“The constitution of conspiracy to use an explosive to commit a felony is already provided for in precedent law, 18 U.S.C. 844(h). Thus, anyone who trains a terrorist to make a bomb as part of such a conspiracy would certainly be prosecuted under current law. I want to make it clear that I do not entirely disagree with Senator Biden's position. However, we have been facing down this problem for a year now. Friday is the day where we commemorate this awful tragedy. Frankly, we have gone through every detail in this bill, and we have not been able to get it exactly to Senator Biden's desire, or even mine, but this is it. This is the bill. And anything short of this is going to amount to losing the bill. Like I said, I do not entirely disagree with Senator Biden's position. However, there are many who have raised first amendment and intellectual property concerns about this provision. They are legitimate concerns. As the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, which handles all of the patents, copyrights, and trademark issues, I can say they are legitimate. So, consequently, we have included a study in the bill to ensure that we can criminalize efforts to distribute bombmaking materials without impinging upon constitutional freedoms.”