Political Quotes

“Let me say, with all due respect to my two colleagues, I think things can get worked out over on the House side. We always find a reason not to move ahead. One of the reasons for coming directly to the floor is, frankly, there are people who do not want any restrictions, who do not want this kind of thing to happen. This is not a new idea. The first time this was proposed statutorily was 20 years ago this year by Senator Sam Ervin. He wanted a 5-person advisory board on privacy. That is all this is, an advisory board. It has no jurisdiction over any--it cannot move into territory where it does not belong, but it can advise agencies how we can secure privacy. It can advise agencies and it can advise the private sector. I think it is needed. We can work out the House problems on this bill. I support the legislation. I wish to see protection. But when my friend, and he is my friend, from Nevada said this is not germane, this comes much closer to being germane than most amendments we consider on the floor of the Senate. We are talking about protecting people in their electronic records. That is what this bill is about. That is what this amendment is about. I hope we can approve the amendment.”