Profile of Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, Senate Majority Leader

In 20 years in the Senate, Senator Reid has a reputation as a consensus-builder and accomplished legislator.

Reid was elected to be Senate Majority Leader for the 110th Congress (2007-08) in which Democrats hold a tenuous 51-49 edge over Republicans. On August 19, 2005, Reid's office announced that the Senator suffered a mild stroke.

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")

"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