Kent Conrad: “Last Friday I was necessarily absent from the Senate to survey recent flood damage in North Dakota. For a period of…”

“Last Friday I was necessarily absent from the Senate to survey recent flood damage in North Dakota. For a period of three days, rain, hail and tornadoes inundated northeast North Dakota and, sadly, four people lost their lives. My duty was to my constituents who were in the middle of another devastating natural disaster. As a result, I missed one vote Friday morning. For the record, had I been present, I would have voted yes on adoption of the conference report to S. 761, the Electronic Signatures Act. The legislation will have an important impact on the electronic marketplace and how business is conducted via the Internet. My vote would not have changed the outcome of this vote.”