WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) announced that he will vote for U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan's confirmation to the Supreme Court when she is considered by the full Senate in the next few weeks, stating:

"Elena Kagan is extraordinarily qualified to be a Supreme Court Justice not only based on her intellectual gifts, but also in terms of her experience, temperament, professionalism, and her commitment to the principles that sustain this country based on the Constitution of the United States.

"She has a sterling reputation as a brilliant legal scholar and is someone who is well-regarded as a consensus builder and problem solver.

"I have studied her record and it is clear that Elena Kagan has dedicated her life's work to upholding and defending the Constitution.

"She is someone who has a deep sense of respect for the service of veterans and members of the armed services. Under her leadership, military recruiting at Harvard Law remained steady and even increased in some years.

"She brings not only great knowledge of the Constitution, but also the understanding that this is a document that unites us--our aspirations, our ideals, our hopes, our wishes for the future--it links us to the past, and it unites us as we go forward into the future.

"Elena Kagan will make an outstanding Justice, and I look forward to her becoming the fourth woman in American history to serve on the high court."

Like Elena Kagan, Reed attended Harvard Law School.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote next week to forward Kagan's nomination to the full Senate.