Unfortunately, the real debate appears to be about protecting certain frivolous lawsuits and trial lawyers. The Senate, on a strong bipartisan basis, determined that those telecommunication companies that assisted the government with the Terrorist Surveillance Program should receive civil liability protection from lawsuits. Had the Democrats in the House bothered to consult with the intelligence community, they would have learned that voluntary cooperation by private partners is essential to intelligence collection. They would have found that, without retroactive liability protection, it becomes increasingly likely that these companies will simply refuse to cooperate.

It seems safe to say that the partisans in the House did consult with some outside "experts" on this issue: the trial lawyers. It should come as no surprise that the Democrats want these suits to continue, even though there is no evidence that anyone was harmed by the program or that any laws were broken. The House Democratic leadership has chosen to politicize national security during this time of war. While the attorney general and the director of national intelligence support the Senate's bill, they have unequivocally opposed the House bill. According to House Democratic leaders, we should ignore the warnings of the experts and defer to the judgment of politicians in this election year. Clearly, they've given the American people every reason to question both their judgment and their priorities.

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Orrin Hatch is Utah's senior senator.