Harry Reid: “a small number of provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act are due to expire. Senate Democrats stand ready to provide law…”

“a small number of provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act are due to expire. Senate Democrats stand ready to provide law enforcement with all necessary tools to keep Americans safe from terrorism. Democrats supported the original PATRIOT Act that was passed in 2001. We supported the reauthorization bill that passed the Senate unanimously this past summer. And we support reauthorization of the PATRIOT Act now with modest improvements. A reauthorization bill should continue to provide the Government with the tools it needs to fight terrorism but must also include sufficient checks to protect against potential governmental abuse of these expansive powers. There is widespread bipartisan support for a reauthorization bill that will protect both national security and the rights of innocent Americans. I applaud Senators Sununu, Craig, Murkowski, and Hagel for their principled stand on this issue. I urge the White House to work with these Senators and with Senators Leahy and Specter to craft a bill that all Senators can support. If a compromise cannot be reached before the end of this week, we are willing to enact another short-term extension of the current law. There has already been discussion of a 6-week extension of the act to give negotiators time to finalize a long-term reauthorization bill. That approach will be satisfactory to this side of the aisle. We do not want the PATRIOT Act to expire. There is no reason it should. ____________________”