[citation needed] Senator Kennedy put out a press release explaining the rationale behind introducing the SSPA.
[5] On Thursday, April 24, the committee approved the proposed legislation, voting 11–8 to send the bill to the full Senate for consideration.
[8] In a March 31, 2008 letter to Senator Leahy, Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey expressed strong Bush Administration opposition to the legislation, saying in his letter that the bill "would needlessly and improperly interfere with the appropriate constitutional role of both the Judicial and Executive branches in state secrets cases; would alter decades of settled case law; and would likely result in the harmful disclosure of national security information that would not be disclosed under current doctrine.
"[9] Numerous scholars and non-governmental organizations (including the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Bar Association, the Constitution Project, and the Brennan Center for Justice) issued responses to the Attorney General's letter refuting his criticisms of the bill.
These scholars and organizations noted that current laws surrounding State Secrets allow much room for abuse, and claimed that taking a new approach would not jeopardize security in any manner because each case would be left to the discretion of US courts (who have acted in good faith with regard to national security in the past).