 United States Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), the ranking minority member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the Committee's chairperson, wrote the league a letter threatening to reconsider the antitrust exemption currently enjoyed by the NFL under United States law.Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts had pressured the league and cable companies to settle their dispute so "no die-hard Pats fans will be shut out from watching their team take aim at football history.