Patrick Leahy: “Today we continue to debate and consider the Court Security Improvement Act of 2007. It should not be a struggle to…”

“Today we continue to debate and consider the Court Security Improvement Act of 2007. It should not be a struggle to enact this broadly supported consensus legislation. We made some progress yesterday but failed to get to final passage of this important legislation. I hope we can get there later today. I would like to thank the majority leader for his support and leadership on this bill. Senator Reid knows all too well about the need for greater court security since the last courthouse tragedy occurred in Nevada. Nobody has been a stronger supporter of this legislation. He helped us pass similar protections twice last year. It is no surprise to me that yesterday he met with the head of the U.S. Marshals Service. Sadly, they reported a 17 percent increase in attacks this year. We cannot delay our response any further in the face of this trend. The tragic murder of Judge Lefkow's husband and mother in her home State of Illinois serves as a terrible reminder of why we need this legislation.”