mr. chairman , i rise today to express my support for the patriot act .  as we all learned on september 11 , 2001 , terrorists will use any and all means available to them to attack the united states of america .  since its passage following the september 11 attacks , the patriot act has played a key role in a number of successful operations to protect innocent americans from terrorists .  the patriot act removed major legal barriers that prevented the law enforcement , intelligence , and national defense communities from talking and coordinating their work to protect the american people and our national security .  now fbi agents , federal prosecutors , and intelligence officials can protect our communities by mr. chairman , the simple truth is that while key provisions of the patriot act are set to expire , as we have learned twice in the past two weeks from events in great britain the terrorist threat that faces the world will not expire .  southern nevada is visited by over 35 million people each year ; many of these tourists are our friends from foreign countries .  unfortunately we have learned that mixed in with these friendly tourists are some who wish to inflict harm on our nation .  this sentiment is supported by the fact that we now know that planning meetings of the 9/11 hijackers took place in las vegas .  while this may not be a perfect bill , i do believe that the legislation before us today reflects a compromise that includes the proper balance between security and privacy to face the challenges of the current world we live in as well as the necessary safeguards to protect our fellow citizens against an over-encroaching government .  i understand and appreciate the privacy concerns that have been expressed by many and will continue to protect civil rights and insist that the proper and regular oversight exists when possible infringements on americans ' civil rights are concerned .  