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Search Senator Leahy’s press releases, floor statements, and Committee speeches by date or by subject.
Statement of Vice Chairman Leahy (D-Vt.) Opposing the Motion to Proceed to H.R. 2470
Today, we will vote on whether to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 2470, the House Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Energy and Water, and the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bills. I strongly urge Senators to vote no. The underlying House bills are good bills. If this were a vote to consider the House bills, it would be easy. But that is not what we are doing. Senator McConnell has made clear that H.R. 2470 is simply a vehicle for considerati… Continue Reading
09.18.19
Leahy: Vermont Tapped To Receive Grant To Create A Dairy Business Innovation Initiative
(WEDNESDAY, September 18, 2019) - Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy (D), Vice Chairman of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, Wednesday announced that the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets (VAAFM) will soon receive funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to create regional a Dairy Business Innovation Initiative. Leahy, a leading member of the Agriculture Committee, helped lead the effort to authorize the new dairy innovation program in the 2018 Farm Bill. Throug… Continue Reading
09.18.19
Air Force Answers Question About Afterburner Use For F-35s On National Guard Bases
The following is a response provided to Senator Leahy by the Air Force to his inquiry about whether the Headquarters of the Air Force was directing Air National Guard units to plan for additional afterburner use. The Vermont Air National Guard (VTANG) has long said that VTANG "does not intend to fly more than 5 percent of takeoffs with afterburners." An internal email from Air Combat Command shared with opponents of the F-35 in Vermont claimed a contractor had said noise studies for Joint Reserv… Continue Reading
09.17.19
Leahy, Sanders Welch Spotlight Friday Deadline For VT Dairy Farmers To Enroll In Dairy Margin Coverage Program
(TUESDAY, Sept. 17, 2019) -- Senator Patrick Leahy (D), Senator Bernie Sanders (I) and Representative Peter Welch (D) are reminding Vermont dairy farmers that signup for the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program ends this Friday, Sept. 20, giving producers just a few more days to enroll. As a result of the low dairy prices early this year, signing up for the DMC program now will assure most farmers of payments this year. More than 500 eligible Vermont dairy producers have already signed up and re… Continue Reading
09.13.19
Leahy Advances Funding To Repair Waterbury Dam
(FRIDAY, Sept. 13, 2019) - Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Friday announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee has approved $20 million to repair certain high-risk dams, including the Waterbury Dam, in the Senate's annual Energy and Water Appropriations bill. The bill was unanimously reported by the committee on Thursday and must be approved by the full Congress and signed into law by the President. Leahy said: "The Waterbury Dam and the Waterbury Reservoir draw people from around Vermont a… Continue Reading
09.12.19
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy On Falun Gong Congressional Record
Mr. LEAHY. Throughout my years in the Senate I have met with people from around the world who have been persecuted by their own governments. But the stories I have heard from survivors and family members of the victims of China's efforts to silence and eliminate religious minorities continue to shock me. The Chinese government systematically brutalizes millions of people, including Tibetan Buddhists, Uyghur Muslims, and Falun Gong practitioners. Those who practice Falun Gong use meditation and … Continue Reading
09.12.19
Republicans Reject Amendment Preventing President Trump From Stealing From The Military And Military Families To Pay For Ineffective Border Wall
(THURSDAY, Sept. 12, 2019) - Senate Appropriations Committee Republicans Thursday rejected an amendment offered by Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense Vice Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) meant to protect funding appropriated for the military and military families from being raided by President Trump to pay for an ineffective, vanity wall along the southern border. Leahy said: "The power of the purse is the Constitu… Continue Reading
09.12.19
Senate Republicans Reject Investing In American Communities, And Instead Vote To Fund Trump’s Ineffective Vanity Wall
(THURSDAY, Sept. 12, 2019) - Senate Appropriations Committee Republicans Thursday rejected a proposal by Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to invest in American communities, instead directing billions of taxpayer dollars to President Trump's ineffective border wall. The Leahy proposal would redirect $5 billion from the Republicans' allocations for the Appropriations Committee's 12 subcommittees, commonly referred to as 302(b)s, from President Trump's ineffective wall to investments i… Continue Reading
09.10.19
Leahy Honored With ‘Congressional Champion Award’ For His Leadership In Addressing Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) In Former Conflict Zones
(TUESDAY, Sept. 10, 2019) - Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Tuesday was recognized for his long leadership on efforts to end the use of cluster munitions, anti-personnel landmines, and other unexploded ordnance (UXO), which continue to kill innocent civilians long after conflicts have ended. Legacies of War, a nonprofit, nonpartisan project dedicated to raising awareness about the history of the Vietnam War-era bombing during the secret war in Laos, presented Leahy with the Congressional Champio… Continue Reading
09.10.19
Vice Chairman Leahy Floor Address On President Trump Raiding Military Dollars For The Wall, And On The Assault On Congress's Constitutional Powers Of The Purse
Last week the Administration announced that it was raiding $3.6 billion from military construction projects to pay for President Trump's ineffective and controversial border wall. A new middle school at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, a child development center at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, a new elementary school in Puerto Rico, and a fire-rescue station at Tyndall Air Force base in Florida, are among the projects canceled on orders from a President who apparently values a cynical campaign pro… Continue Reading
09.09.19
What is the Cost Of President Trump’s Wall?
Q: What Is The Cost Of Less Than 23 Miles Of President Trump's Ineffective Border Wall? A: Stealing From Children of Military Families. To build less than 23 miles of his ineffective border wall, President Trump cancelled 11 projects to replace schools and build a child development center on American military bases around the world. This included the School at Fort Campbell in Kentucky, Butner Elementary School in North Carolina, and the Ramey Unit School in Puerto Rico, impacting thousands … Continue Reading
09.04.19
Leahy: Vermont Will Receive $4 Million Grant To Continue Expansion Of State’s Opioid Response Strategies
(WEDNESDAY, Sept. 4, 2019) -- Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Wednesday announced that the Vermont Department of Health will soon receive its third State Opioid Response (SOR) grant of $4,020,896 from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Vermont now has been awarded a total of $10,140,700 from SAMHSA through SOR grants since the inception of the grant program. This funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health … Continue Reading
09.03.19
Leahy, Durbin, Schatz REAX To President Trump Robbing From The Military To Pay For His Vanity Wall
"Military construction projects are carefully scrutinized by Congress. We work with the military services to validate and review these projects thoroughly. It is vital that we balance their operational necessity with existing fiscal constraints. "The President is robbing the men and women of our armed services of funds meant for critical construction projects that are necessary to serve our troops, support our allies, deter our adversaries, and care for our military families - all to build … Continue Reading
09.03.19
Leahy Announces $9.5 Million CDC Grant To Improve Tracking and Prevention Of Opioid-Related Overdoses in Vermont
BURLINGTON, Vt. (TUESDAY, Sept. 3, 2019) -- Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Tuesday announced that the Vermont Department of Health will receive a three-year, $9.5 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to support a comprehensive statewide response to opioid-related overdoses, while strengthening Vermont's prevention efforts. The grant will increase the state's ability to track and respond to overdoses, including th… Continue Reading
08.27.19
Preservation Trust of VT Nets $747,000 From Leahy-Authored Historic Revitalization Grant Program
BURLINGTON, Vt. (TUESDAY, Aug. 27, 2019) - Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Tuesday announced that the Preservation Trust of Vermont has been awarded a $747,000 Historic Revitalization Subgrant Program grant, administered by the National Park Service. The grant was among the largest nationwide of nine released from the new, Leahy-created program to invest in historic preservation in rural communities around the country. Leahy said: "Vermont's successes again have offered a model for an important … Continue Reading
08.21.19
Senators Leahy, Murray, and Peters Ask Government Accountability Office (GAO) For Review of Border Patrol Checkpoints
(TUESDAY, Aug. 20, 2019) - Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) on Tuesday requested that the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) conduct a comprehensive review of the Border Patrol's use of interior immigration checkpoints as part of their border security mission and their compliance with the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects the right of Americans to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreas… Continue Reading
08.15.19
Senators Schumer And Leahy Call On President Trump To Fully Withdraw $5 Billion Budget Request For Expensive, Ineffective Border Wall, Instead Use Requested Funds For Other Pressing Needs, Such As Proven Initiatives To Address Threat Of Gun Violence And White Supremacist Extremism
Senators Schumer And Leahy Send Letter To President Trump Requesting That He Fully Withdraw His DHS Budget Request For Border Wall Funding And Instead Use Requested Funds, In Part, To Address The Threat Of Gun Violence And White Supremacist Extremism In America The Senators' Letter Comes Amid Continued Calls From The American People For Greater Investment In Addressing Threat Of Gun Violence And Follows FBI Director Wray's Call For More Resources To Protect Americans From Rising Threat Of Domes… Continue Reading
08.09.19
Statement On International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples
Today, on the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, we celebrate the unique contributions and achievements of the world's indigenous peoples and reaffirm our commitment to advancing their rights and supporting their struggles both at home and around the world. Indigenous peoples live in over 90 countries and represent some 5,000 distinct cultures. Their contributions to the global community are incalculable.They are guardians of the world's biological diversity and stewards of th… Continue Reading
08.08.19
Vermont Receives $6.6 Million Through Leahy-Created National Centers Program To Address Rural Addiction
BURLINGTON, Vt. (THURSDAY, Aug. 8, 2019) -- Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Thursday announced that the University of Vermont is receiving $6.6 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Health Resources and Services Administration's Rural Communities Opioid Response Program for Rural Centers of Excellence on Substance Use Disorders. Drawing on the groundbreaking work being done at the University of Vermont and the UVM… Continue Reading
08.07.19
Leahy Joins Senator Blumenthal And Four Others In Demanding That FDA Direct Sunscreen Makers To Clearly And Accurately Inform Consumers About Their Products
(WEDNESDAY, Aug. 7, 2019) -- In a letter on Wednesday, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) joined Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and four other senators in calling on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to swiftly implement new regulations requiring that non-prescription, commercially-available sunscreens are safe, effective, and labeled clearly and accurately. Although experts agree that sunscreen is vital to protect skin from the sun's potentially harmful UV rays, the sunscreen industry has… Continue Reading
