Harry Reid: “words to express my consternation are difficult to come by right now. First, to express my appreciation to Senator…”

“words to express my consternation are difficult to come by right now. First, to express my appreciation to Senator Baucus for his tireless efforts. Montana is a State without a lot of people. It is a State that grows hardy stock. I have been there. Every time I have been there, it has been with Senator Baucus. It is a beautiful State--big sky country. Senator Baucus does not have many people in his State that this legislation he is attempting to put forward would help. He is doing it for the precious people in the world, not just the one he talked about with the name Precious, but precious people who have no place else to go than to someone like Senator Baucus, who is a leader from the State of Montana, who finds himself in a situation of responsibility in which he must reach out. He first is a Senator from the State of Montana. But most important, his title is a U.S. Senator. He is concerned about the people of Louisiana, about the people who may not be named Precious, but they are precious. People in the State of Arkansas, because of close proximity to the areas where the hurricane struck, took in as many as 65,000 people. They are not all there now--most of them are there--but wherever they have gone, they have left in the State of Arkansas a lot of unpaid bills. That is not because they are trying to get away from responsibilities they have. It is because this Government has programs that are supposed to protect people such as Precious.…”