Ben Cardin: “I am proud that our new Members of the Senate have made this a priority. I think it is important that the taxpayers have…”

“I am proud that our new Members of the Senate have made this a priority. I think it is important that the taxpayers have confidence that the money we appropriate will be spent appropriately, and that has not been the case in the reconstruction of Iraq. The FBI has indicated that the number of hate crimes reported is unacceptably high in all communities in America today. Today, we are going to have an opportunity to do something about that. We are going to have an opportunity to support S. 1105, the Matthew Shepard Act. I am proud to be a cosponsor of that bill, and I thank the senior Senator from Massachusetts, Mr. Kennedy, for bringing forward this issue.”