Patrick Leahy: “I join with Senator Hatch, the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, in urging passage of S. 151, the Hatch-Leahy PROTECT…”

“I join with Senator Hatch, the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, in urging passage of S. 151, the Hatch-Leahy PROTECT Act, a bill providing important new tools to fight child pornography. I commend Senator Hatch for his leadership and his unflagging efforts to protect our nation's children from exploitation by child pornographers. When Senator Hatch and I introduced this bill last month, I supported passing a bill that was identical to the measure that we worked so hard on in the last Congress. That bill had passed the Judiciary Committee and the Senate unanimously in the 107th Congress. It did not become law last year because, even though the Senate was still meeting, considering and passing legislation, the House of Representatives had adjourned and would not return to take action on this measure that had passed the Senate unanimously or to work out our differences. Although this bill is not perfect, it is a good faith effort to provide powerful tools for prosecutors to deal with the problem of child pornography within constitutional limits.”