Harry Reid Act Quotations

Our support for the Patriot Act does not mean a blank check for the president. What we tried to do on a bipartisan basis is have a better bill. It has been improved.

We always said that we would accept a short-term extension to give negotiators time to get the final bill right. We will use the extension to seek a Patriot Act that gives the government the tools it needs to fight the terrorists, while still protecting the rights of innocent Americans.

We have a lot of work ahead of us, ... We still need the Voting Rights Act to be reauthorized, protect Social Security for our families, address the health care crisis disproportionately impacting Latino families, and make sure every student has access to a higher education. We need to make sure that Latinos are brought to the table, and not simply asked for their support or ignored on issues facing our country.

I hope the president and his administration will act swiftly to provide the Congress with damage assessments so that we can provide immediate relief to the people of the Gulf Coast. We must not waste any time in giving these families the resources they need.