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Search Senator Leahy’s press releases, floor statements, and Committee speeches by date or by subject.
Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Nomination of Judge Brian Wimes of Missouri
Today, the Senate will finally vote on the nomination of Brian Wimes to fill a judicial vacancy in the U.S. District Court for the Western and Eastern Districts of Missouri. This nomination has had the support of both his home state Senators, Senator McCaskill and Senator Blunt. The Judiciary Committee voted to report the nomination favorably over four months ago. There is no justification for this unnecessary delay. The Senate is still so far this year only considering judicial nominations… Continue Reading
04.23.12
Leahy: VAWA Reauthorization Addresses Unmet Needs Of Victims
(Monday, April 23, 2012) - The Senate is set to consider legislation to reauthorize the landmark Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act later this week, and Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) is urging the Senate to pass the bipartisan legislation. Leahy has been pressing for consideration of the legislation since the Judiciary Committee approved the bill in February. The legislation is cosponsored by a total of 61 Senators. A comprehensive Committee Report was filed earlier this year. This … Continue Reading
04.20.12
Leahy Urges House Passage Of Food Safety Accountability Act
(Friday, April 20, 2012) - Following this week's announcement by the Food and Drug Administration that raw tuna from a California supplier has sickened more than 100 people in 20 states, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) is again urging the House of Representatives to consider the Food Safety Accountability Act, a bill that will hold criminals accountable for those who knowingly violate food safety standards and place tainted food products on the market. The non-controversial Food Safety Accountabi… Continue Reading
04.20.12
In New Video, Senators Underscore Support For U.S. Efforts To Capture Joseph Kony
The day before the Kony 2012 movement's global day of action, U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), John Kerry (D-Mass.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) released a new video on the Senate's efforts to support the removal of Joseph Kony and his top lieutenants in the Lord's Resistance Army from the battlefield in central Africa. Former U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), is also featured in the video, which is aimed at the mill… Continue Reading
04.19.12
Senator Leahy Speaks Out About North Korea’s Gulags
Senator Leahy Commemorates Holocaust Remembrance Day and spotlights the crimes against humanity being committed behind the walls of North Korea's gulags. (Congressional Record) Holocaust Remembrance Day And N. Korea's Gulags MR. PRESIDENT, today, Thursday, April 19, is Holocaust Remembrance Day. Observances and remembrance activities are taking place across the Nation in civic centers, schools, churches and synagogues, on military bases and in workplaces. As always, the United States… Continue Reading
04.19.12
Leahy: Time For Senate To Consider Bipartisan VAWA Reauthorization Bill
(Thursday, April 19, 2012) - Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the lead author of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, spoke on the Senate Floor Thursday about the importance of reauthorizing the landmark law that has been at the foundation of the nation's response to domestic and sexual violence since 1994. The Senate Majority Leader has moved to proceed to the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, queuing up Senate consideration of the legislation when the chamber concludes work… Continue Reading
04.19.12
Governor Shumlin, Congressional Delegation Announce $11 Million For Bridge Work
MONTPELIER, Vt. (THURSDAY, April 19) - Gov. Peter Shumlin and Vermont's Congressional Delegation - Sen. Patrick Leahy, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Rep. Peter Welch - Thursday announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved over $11 million under the Public Assistance program related to the extensive work done on Bridge 501 along the Vermont Railway line in White River Junction following Tropical Storm Irene. The total estimated cost for the project currently stands at $1… Continue Reading
04.19.12
Leahy: Navy Awards $8.1 M. Contract To Kaman Composites
(THURSDAY, April 19) - Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced that Vermont-based Kaman Composites has landed part of a major contract to provide parts for Sikorsky's MH-60R helicopter, a new variant of the Navy's helicopter replacing the SH-60B Seahawks. . Kaman manufactures radomes, enclosures designed to protect a helicopter's radar antenna, which are made of a composite materials that allows radar waves to pass through the material. Kaman, which subcontracts with primary contractor Lockhee… Continue Reading
04.18.12
Leahy, Franken, Bingaman, Whitehouse, Brown, Coons, Blumenthal Introduce Bill To Protect Consumers Using Generic Drugs
(Wednesday, April 18, 2012) - Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) introduced legislation Wednesday to address a recent Supreme Court decision that threatens to undermine the safety of consumers taking generic drugs. The legislation is cosponsored by Senators Al Franken (D-Minn.), Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Christopher Coons (D-Del.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). In a 2011 case, Pliva v. Mensing, a 5-4 majority of the U.S. Supreme Court held that … Continue Reading
04.18.12
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act
[On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid moved to proceed to the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, signaling that the Senate will likely turn to the legislation after it completes work on postal reform legislation.] "The landmark Violence Against Women Act continues to reflect a bipartisan commitment to addressing the devastation wrought by domestic and sexual violence. When then-Senator Biden and Senator Hatch first introduced this initiative in 1994, it drew support from Demo… Continue Reading
04.18.12
Leahy Chairs Hearing For Nominations To Privacy Board
(Wednesday, April 18, 2012) - The Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday held a hearing to consider the President's nominees to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. The Board was originally created by Congress in 2004, at the recommendation of the 9/11 Commission, and located within the Executive Office of the President. However, in 2007, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, worked to make the Board an independent entity within the Executive Bran… Continue Reading
04.17.12
USDA Opens Application Process For New Leahy-Led Farm To School Grant Program
(TUESDAY, April 17) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Tuesday launched a new program authored by Senator Patrick Leahy to expand farm to school links between local farms and school lunchrooms. The agency opened the application process for grants under the Farm To School program, which Leahy (D-Vt.) included in major legislation, enacted in 2010, that reauthorized school lunch and child nutrition programs. Vermont has been a national leader in the budding farm to school movement and … Continue Reading
04.16.12
Thacker Confirmed To Fourth Circuit; Nominee Is Just Second Circuit Nomination Confirmed This Year
(Monday, April 16, 2012) - The Senate Monday night confirmed the long-pending nomination of Stephanie Thacker to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. The nomination is just the second nomination confirmed this year to fill vacancies on Courts of Appeals around the country. Her nomination was confirmed by a vote of 91-3. Thacker was reported to the full Senate for consideration in November, with the unanimous support of the 18-member Senate Judiciary Committee. Sev… Continue Reading
04.16.12
Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy On Applying 'Buffett Rule' Fairness to The U.S. Tax Code
Mr. President, I rise today in strong support of the Paying a Fair Share Act, which would apply the so-called "Buffett Rule" to the U.S. Tax Code. This commonsense bill would ensure that taxpayers at the top of the economic ladder pay at least the same tax rate paid by hardworking middle-class families. No longer should handsomely compensated CEOs or those who live off trust funds pay a lower effective tax rate than the people who work for them. It is remarkable, and regrettable, that such a… Continue Reading
04.16.12
Leahy: Senate Should Consider VAWA Reauthorization Without Delay
(Monday, April 16, 2012) - Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Monday again urged the Senate to consider legislation to reauthorize the landmark Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Leahy is the lead author of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, bipartisan legislation to strengthen and improve the 1994 law which has become the bedrock of the nation's response to domestic and sexual violence. Leahy introduced the legislation in November with Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho). The bill is cospon… Continue Reading
04.14.12
Statement Released By Senator Patrick Leahy For Presentation To The Public Gathering About The Future Of Vermont Yankee
My highest concern about Vermont Yankee has always been the safety of Vermonters and everyone living near the plant. Everything else is secondary. While the Atomic Energy Act gives the Nuclear Regulatory Commission exclusive jurisdiction over safety issues, I was not alone last year in spotlighting the irony of NRC's renewal of Vermont Yankee's license just as similar reactors in Japan were careening perilously out of control. Even today this plant is running at less than full power because o… Continue Reading
03.30.12
Reaction of Senator Leahy -- Rising Dairy Feed Prices Trigger 1st MILC Payments To Dairy Farmers Since 2010
USDA Thursday announced the first payments to farmers since April 2010 under the basic dairy safety net program, the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) Program. The new payments are triggered mostly by rising feed prices. The MILC Program kicks in when milk prices fall substantially below the costs of production. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) says the cost pressures facing farmers spotlight the need for effective reforms in dairy programs in the upcoming 2012 Farm Bill. Leahy is the most senio… Continue Reading
03.29.12
Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Leahy, Grassley Bill To Reauthorize Drug Free Communities Program
(Thursday, March 29, 2012) - The Senate Judiciary Committee approved legislation authored by the Committee's Chairman, Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), and Ranking Member, Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), to reauthorize the critical Drug Free Communities (DFC) Program, which provides valuable grants to help community coalitions respond to serious drug and substance abuse problems in their communities. "The myth persists that drug abuse and drug-related crime are only big-city problems, but rural America, includi… Continue Reading
03.29.12
Leahy Speaks At Senate Hearing About Impact Of Citizens United
(THURSDAY, March 29) - Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy spoke Thursday at a Senate hearing in Washington about his concerns about the impact of the Supreme Court's 2010 decision in Citizens United. Leahy chaired the first congressional hearing following the 2010 decision in Citizens United. The decision is just one of a series of narrowly decided cases considered by the Supreme Court. In many of them, including Citizens, just five Justices, comprising what is considered the conservative bloc of … Continue Reading
03.28.12
Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Repeal Big Oil Tax Subsidies Act
Mr. President, it is long past time to close the wasteful tax loopholes for Big Oil. Over the past 10 years, the five biggest private sector oil companies -- BP, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, and ConocoPhillips -- have amassed combined profits of almost $1 trillion. Last year was no different. Due to skyrocketing prices for oil, these same five corporations raked in a record-breaking $137 billion in profits. Despite this massive windfall, Big Oil continued to receive billions of dollars in tax… Continue Reading
