Remarks of Sen. Richard Durbin

Source: Congressional Record, July 29, 2005, S9561.
Remarks of Sen. Richard Durbin (IL) during debate on the USA PATRIOT
AND TERRORISM PREVENTION REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2005.

"Let me say a word as I close. One of the most unlikely groups became so
important in this debate--the American Library Association. I cannot recall
a time in recent memory when this organization showed such leadership. Time
and again, they came forward to tell us that they wanted to protect the
privacy of their patrons at libraries across America who might come in and
take out a magazine or book, and they certainly didn't want to do that with
the knowledge that the Government could sweep up all of the library records
and sift through them to see if anybody had checked out a suspicious book.
They sent us petitions gathered from libraries across the Nation, and I
think they really did good work on behalf of our Constitution and our rights
and liberties guaranteed under the Bill of Rights. I wish to dedicate any
success we have with this revision of the PATRIOT Act to the American
Library Association and all those who stood with them in asking that we make
meaningful changes to the act without eliminating the important provisions
that continue to make America safe."