Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada:
Reid was elected Senate Majority Leader for the 112th Congress (2011-2012), a leadership post he held in the two previous terms.
Over more than two decades in the Senate, tough-minded Reid has a reputation as a consensus-builder and an unusually adept legislator, especially during the Obama administration by forging and passing bills on health care reform, financial regulation reform, and economic stimulus funding.
Recent Notability:
Reid was elected to be Senate Majority Leader for the 110th Congress, and reelected to lead Senate Democrats in the 111th Congress, from 2009-2010. Reid was first election leader of Senate Democrats in 2004.
Sen. Reid's tough-minded agility as a legislator has been key to passing President Obama's legislative agenda, including health care reform, financial regulatory reform, and in 2009, the $787 billion economic stimulus bill.
Major Areas of Interest:
Prior Experience:
Personal Data:
Birth - December 2, 1939 in Searchlight, Nevada
Education - BA from Utah State University, JD from George Washington University
Family - Married, five children, 15 grandchildren
Faith - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ("Mormon")
Interesting Personal Note:
Memorable Quotes:
"I'm not a big Greenspan fan. I voted against him two times. I think he's one of the biggest political hacks we have in Wshington."
"Embryonic stem cell research provides us the hope of new cures and therapies and we should embrace this research oportunity and not allow radical ideology to stand in the way. President Bush has made the wrong choice, putting politics ahead of safe, responsible science"
"I personally believe that much of what goes on in America today is governed by wealth and power. ... But one thing they do not control –wealth and power does not control the Internet. Through the Internet, regular ordinary people have a voice. That’s why I go out of my way to communicate any way that I can on the Internet and I think the blogs are a tremendously important way for the American public to find out what’s really going on."
"The most successful social program in the history of the world is being hijacked by Wall Street. Yes, Social Security is a good program. And if the president has some ideas about trying to improve it, I'll talk to him, and we as Democrats will. But we are not going to let Wall Street hijack Social Security. It won't happen. They are trying to destroy Social Security....They are trying to destroy Social Security by giving this money to the fat cats on Wall Street, and I think it's wrong. " NBC News' Meet the Press, December 5, 2004