Mitch Landrieu: “I begin as my leader is in the Senate to say the bill they most certainly have presented for our consideration is one…”

“I begin as my leader is in the Senate to say the bill they most certainly have presented for our consideration is one that needs attention and needs deliberation. The PATRIOT Act is a very important part of the security of our Nation. We can debate the inside and pieces of it, but I strongly suggest to the leadership that protecting America is more than just the chapters and statutes related to the PATRIOT Act. Protecting America is about protecting patriots in the gulf coast, in Louisiana, in Mississippi--not just citizens who are patriots, taxpayer citizens, hard-working citizens who have come to believe the notion that in America they are safe, or should be safe, and if disaster does strike, the government, with the private sector and with their own effort, will be there to help. What about the patriots on the gulf coast who are veterans themselves, the 400,000 veterans in Louisiana, the 250,000-plus veterans in Mississippi--just for two States that were affected--men and women who have put on the uniform, served their time, true patriots. What are we doing to secure their homes, their schools, their churches? I suggest to the leadership that while the PATRIOT Act itself has many pieces of what helps make America secure, it is one piece but not the only piece. We should most certainly not be comfortable leaving here without securing the homes and businesses and dreams of average Americans, patriots, on the gulf coast.…”