Patrick Leahy: “I have spoken several times this year about the so-called McDade law, which was slipped into the omnibus appropriations…”

“I have spoken several times this year about the so-called McDade law, which was slipped into the omnibus appropriations bill at the end of the last Congress, without the benefit of any hearings or debate in the Senate. I have described the devastating effects that this ill-considered law is having on Federal law enforcement efforts across the country. Recent articles in the Washington Post, the Washington Times and U.S. News & World Report also describe how the McDade law has impeded Federal criminal investigations. For over a year, I have been proposing legislation to address the problems caused by the McDade law. My corrective legislation would preserve the traditional role of the State courts in regulating the conduct of attorneys licensed to practice before them, while ensuring that Federal prosecutors and law enforcement agents will be able to use traditional Federal investigative techniques. Although the bill does not go as far as the Justice Department would like--it does not establish a Federal code of ethics for government attorneys, nor does it authorize the Justice Department to write its own ethics rules-- nevertheless, the Justice Department has supported the bill as a reasonable, measured alternative to the McDade law. Congress's failure to act on this or any other corrective legislation this year means more confusion and uncertainty, more stalled investigations, and less effective enforcement of the Federal criminal laws.”