Patrick Leahy: “before I start, with the distinguished senior Senator from Pennsylvania in the Chamber, I totally appreciate what he…”

“before I start, with the distinguished senior Senator from Pennsylvania in the Chamber, I totally appreciate what he said about the problems of being the leader on a committee and having to make the decisions of how you are going to get a bill through. I was chairman of the committee when we put through the first PATRIOT Act. I remember the balancing act we went through at that time and how difficult it was to get a bill through. And that PATRIOT Act is this PATRIOT Act. It contains a number of items that I wrote. I also note that throughout, the chairman and I have kept in very close contact. We have spoken several times. I have considered during my 31 years in the Senate that one of the things which has given me the greatest sense of satisfaction is the relationship the distinguished chairman and I have in getting things through, and we have. I am concerned because we have come so close on this. As Senator Salazar noted, yesterday was the anniversary of the adoption of the Bill of Rights of the Constitution. Yesterday we engaged in debate seeking to protect and reserve those rights under the USA PATRIOT Act. I thank Senators Sununu, Feinstein, Craig, Wyden, Feingold, Salazar, and Obama for their thoughtful remarks, their willingness to work in a bipartisan way which, after all, is the best tradition of the Senate. Let all Members understand, this is a vital debate. The terrorist threat to America's security is very real.…”