Caroline Fredrickson Rote Quotations

The right to vote is the foundation of our democracy, and an essential protection of that right is the Voting Rights Act. Every voice must be heard and every vote must be counted. State and local governments continue to adopt voting laws, practices and procedures that deny equal access to voting - without the Voting Rights Act, there would be little protection against these efforts to deny some of us our right to vote. The Voting Rights Act is necessary to help ensure that every American citizen is able to exercise the franchise.

We must protect women's access to the full range of reproductive health services. The 'Freedom of Choice Act' puts women's health and not politics first. Lawmakers should adopt this much-needed proposal.

Serious problems remain in the Patriot Act that require serious reforms. Unfortunately, the proposed changes to the reauthorization bill do not correct the secret record search powers and do not require that there be any individualized suspicion of wrongdoing by Americans before their financial, medical, library or other records can be searched. Common sense reforms could have required that records sought be connected to a suspected terrorist or terrorist organization. We will continue to press for these and other needed reforms to protect American freedoms.

Lawmakers must not forget their oaths and disregard the administration's infringement of average Americans' constitutional rights. The White House has repeatedly admitted to the use of warrant-less wiretaps and has yet to be held accountable. Checks and balances on presidential power are essential to protect the rights of Americans.

The Patriot Act debate is far from over, and we will continue to fight for reforms to protect civil liberties. While Congress failed to adopt much-needed reforms to the law to better protect freedom and privacy, lawmakers also rejected pressure from the White House to include significant and unwarranted expansions of government power. We applaud those fair-minded lawmakers that have fought to bring the law in line with the Constitution, and together, we will continue to push for reforms to keep America safe and free.

The Constitution exists to protect rights, not undermine them.

Regardless of what happens with this agreement, Congress can, and must fix the Patriot Act to better protect the privacy and freedom of ordinary Americans. At the same time, until the Bush administration stops the illegal NSA program to spy on Americans and stops ignoring the rule of law, any reforms to the Patriot Act could be ignored under the extreme philosophy of power embraced by this president. No matter the result of the Patriot Act, we hope all senators involved in these negotiations will resist pressure from the administration. Congress must restore the rule of law and insist that innocent Americans' rights be protected against the overreaching of the White House. We can, and must, be both safe and free.