Washington, D.C. – After a rare secret session of the U.S. House of Representatives that lasted until nearly midnight, U.S. Congressman Kevin Brady (R-The Woodlands) predicted that House Democrats will again reject appeals from their Democratic colleagues in the Senate and refuse to grant immunity to telecommunications companies that complied with U.S. government orders to assist following the September 11, 2001, terror attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.

“Regrettably, I witnessed a lot of closed minds at the closed session,” said Brady.

As a result, three weeks have gone by since the legal authority, which allowed the U.S. government to intercept communications from foreign terrorist organizations, has lapsed. The Senate and the White House have agreed to grant immunity, but House Democrats – at the behest of the influential trial lawyer lobby, one of their biggest financial backers – insist that telephone companies can be sued. A reported 40 lawsuits have been filed against alleged participation.

House Democrats also want to extend American constitutional protections to foreign terrorist communications.

“We are at war against an enemy where our best weapon against further attack is intercepting their cell phone calls, text messages, and web-based communications. This critical intelligence is not only important to protect America, but is also critical to real-time intelligence for our armed forces fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet, House Democrats have allowed this critical tool to expire,” said Brady.

“I understand House Democrats want to facilitate lucrative settlements for their friends in the trial lawyer lobby because they get a lot of campaign cash from them. At a time of war, it’s just sad that profits for a few lawyers prevail over America’s protection.”

The Senate has said they will likely reject the House version and the President has vowed to veto it.

“So here we go again, each day America’s intelligence forces continue to stay in the dark, unable to intercept vital communications from emerging new terrorist organizations,” said Brady, who opposes the Democrat bill.

“I call on Speaker Pelosi and the Democratic Majority to bring the Senate foreign intelligence security bill to a vote now.”

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Congressman Kevin Brady, a six-term member of Congress who serves as a Deputy Whip, sits on the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Joint Economic Committee.