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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 Second Anniversary Of The Citizens United Decision
Two years ago, with the stroke of a pen, five Supreme Court justices acted in a case known as Citizens United to overturn a century of law designed to protect our elections from corporate spending. They ran roughshod over longstanding precedent to strike down key provisions of our bipartisan campaign finance laws, and ruled that corporations are no longer prohibited from direct spending in political campaigns. I was troubled at the time and remain troubled today that in that case, the Supreme … Continue Reading
01.24.12
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The President’s State Of The Union Message Tuesday
"In the year ahead, Congress can put the people's business on hold with more of the same partisan hostage taking as last year, or Congress can do the hard work of accelerating the economic recovery and opening the doors of opportunity. The choice could not be clearer, and I've heard the answer first-hand, again and again in recent weeks as I've gone around Vermont. The American people do not have the luxury of another year of congressional game playing and wheel spinning. The President laid o… Continue Reading
01.24.12
Remarks Of Senator Leahy In Advance Of Data Privacy Day
[Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) released the following statement today, in advance of Data Privacy Day, which will be celebrated on Saturday, January 28.] Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, Commemorating Data Privacy Day January 24, 2012 On January 28, 2012, privacy advocates, industry leaders and government officials from across our Nation will celebrate Data Privacy Day 2012. I am pleased to join these stakehol… Continue Reading
01.23.12
Leahy: Senate Should Focus On Stopping Online Theft That Undercuts Economic Recovery
(Jan. 23, 2012) - U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) spoke Monday on the Senate floor about the critical need for legislation to address online theft of copyrighted and trademarked goods. Since Leahy first announced in June 2010 his intention to introduce legislation to address online theft by foreign, rogue websites, he worked with Senators, stakeholders, and other interested parties to craft bipartisan legislation to increase the tools law enforcement and rights holders have available to them… Continue Reading
01.23.12
Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy On Judicial Nominations
As last year drew to a close, I spoke about the Senate's lost opportunity to take long overdue steps to address the serious vacancies crisis on Federal courts throughout the country. With nearly one out of every 10 Federal judgeships vacant, the Senate should not have adjourned with 21 judicial nominations on the calendar and stalled from having a vote. Regrettably, Senate Republicans chose to end last year using the same obstructionist tactic that they used the year before. They continue to … Continue Reading
01.23.12
VAWA Reauthorization First Legislative Order Of Business In 2012 For SJC
(Monday, Jan. 23, 2012) - The first order of legislative business for the Senate Judiciary Committee this year will be the reauthorization of the landmark Violence Against Women Act, Committee Chairman Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has announced. Leahy and Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) introduced bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the law in November 2011. Leahy has scheduled the Committee's first mark-up session on the legislation for this Thursday. First enacted in 1994, the Violence Agai… Continue Reading
01.23.12
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy On Supreme Court Decision In United States v. Jones
"The Supreme Court's unanimous decision today in U.S. v. Jones is a victory for privacy rights and for civil liberties in the digital age. The Court's determination that the government must obtain a search warrant before attaching a GPS device to a suspect's car to monitor that suspect's location highlights the many new privacy threats posed by new technologies and the pressing need to update our federal privacy laws. Last year, I introduced legislation to update the Electronic Communications … Continue Reading
01.20.12
Comments Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Supreme Court’s Decision On The Texas Redistricting Case
"The Supreme Court's decision today to reject an interim map for legislative districts in Texas drawn by a Federal District Court risks making the upcoming elections more chaotic in that state. But nothing in today's decision undermines the continuing importance of preserving equal access for all Americans to the democratic process. Ensuring that the Texas legislature draws maps sufficiently protecting the constitutional right to vote of its growing number of Latino citizens is at the heart of… Continue Reading
01.20.12
Leahy, Sanders, Welch, Shumlin: Vermont Nets $21.6 M. In Post-Irene Community Development Funds
BURLINGTON, Vt., (FRIDAY, Jan. 20) - In a keenly awaited step along Vermont's path to recovery from Irene, Senator Patrick Leahy (D), Senator Bernie Sanders (I), Congressman Peter Welch (D) and Governor Peter Shumlin (D) Friday announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is releasing $21.6 million in community rebuilding funds to Vermont from a newly enacted appropriations bill. This is one of the largest single releases of federal disaster relief grants to Vermont… Continue Reading
01.20.12
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy On Postponement Of The Vote On Cloture On The Motion To Proceed To The PROTECT IP Act
"The United States Senate has identified a problem directly affecting American jobs, American workers and American consumers. When I first came to Congress, it was the practice of the Senate to debate competing ideas to address such a problem; regrettably, that is not the practice today. "The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously reported the PROTECT IP Act in May. Since then, I have worked with both Senators and stakeholders to identify concerns and find meaningful ways to address them. On… Continue Reading
01.19.12
Reaction Of Senator Patrick Leahy To The Federal Court Ruling On Vermont Yankee
"I share Governor Shumlin's disappointment with the court's ruling. While the Atomic Energy Act gives the federal government exclusive jurisdiction to license the use of nuclear materials, our state clearly needs and deserves a role in any decision about continued operation of this plant. Vermont has vital economic and energy reliability interests in this plant's operations and this plant's future." # # # # #… Continue Reading
01.19.12
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy On DOJ’s Action Against MegaUpload.com And Online Infringement
"Today's action by the Department of Justice against the leaders of MegaUpload.com shows what law enforcement can do to protect American intellectual property that is stolen through domestic websites. Unfortunately, there are no tools in the arsenal to protect that same American intellectual property from theft by websites hosted and operated overseas. Why should we give greater protections to criminals engaging in the same conduct overseas? Meaningful legislation to stop online infringement … Continue Reading
01.19.12
Vermont Receives Home Heating Aid
, Jan. 19 - Vermont's congressional delegation - U.S. Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) - announced today the release of $4.9 million for Vermont under the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The latest allotment released by the U.S. Department on Health and Human Services brings Vermont's total this year to $19.5 million this winter, down from $26 million in 2010. The state of Vermont has committed $6.1 million to help make up … Continue Reading
01.18.12
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The President’s Decision On The Keystone XL Pipeline
"I commend the President for standing up to strong-arm tactics that are intended to politicize this issue, short-circuit the environmental review process and force an arbitrary deadline. This inherently dirty tar sands project would be a wasteful diversion from the cleaner and more sustainable energy future and energy security that are so important to our country and our economy. "The first Keystone pipeline has ruptured many times already. Even when it was obvious that this blighted tar sand… Continue Reading
01.18.12
Leahy And Shumlin: Vermont’s DR Power Equipment Is State’s First Manufacturer To Attract Investor Visa Capital
WINOOSKI, Vt. (WEDNESDAY, Jan. 18) - During a tour of a new assembly line at DR Power Equipment in Winooski Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Gov. Peter Shumlin (D-Vt.) and Country Home Products CEO Joseph Perrotto announced that the company has attracted more than 20 foreign investors who will contribute more than $10 million in capital through Vermont's EB-5 Regional Center Program. The capital will help the firm retain about 200 jobs at the company's Vergennes headquarters and Wino… Continue Reading
01.18.12
The PROTECT IP Act: Targeting Websites DEDICATED To Infringement
For Background Purposes The PROTECT IP Act: Combating Online Infringement Creating American Jobs, Promoting America's Economy, Protecting American Consumers Websites "going dark" today in protest of the PROTECT IP Act will not be affected by enactment of the legislation. The PROTECT IP Act Narrowly Defines An Infringing Website as One Dedicated to Infringement The PROTECT IP Act defines an "Internet site dedicated to infringing activities" as an Internet site that: "[H]as no significant … Continue Reading
01.17.12
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The PROTECT IP Act
"Every year, American businesses and the American economy bleed billions of dollars to online infringement and piracy. Tomorrow, some U.S.-based websites that will not be affected by the PROTECT IP Act have announced that they will self-censor their content. At the end of the day, it is still American businesses, American consumers and American workers that are feeling the brunt of this problem. "We should all be telling Americans about the scope of this problem and the damage it does to our … Continue Reading
01.17.12
Pressed By Leahy To Update Bat Mortality Figure, Agency Announces Five-Fold Increase In Estimate Of Bats Killed By White-Nose Syndrome
At the urging of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), a federal agency Tuesday updated and greatly increased its estimate of bat mortality from white-nose syndrome (WNS), the devastating disease decimating bat populations in Vermont and across the United States. Leahy has long led efforts in the Senate Appropriations Committee for research funding to counter WNS, a wildlife crisis of unprecedented scale. In December Leahy wrote to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe asking for an update… Continue Reading
01.15.12
Leahy And Schumer Secure Funds To Prevent Shutoff Of Flood Gauges In Champlain Basin
(SUNDAY, Jan. 15) - U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) have secured funding to prevent the imminent shutdown of river and lake gauges in the New York-Vermont Lake Champlain basin that proved their worth again last year during spring floods and Tropical Storm Irene. For years Leahy, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has secured year-to-year funding for the 18 gauges - 9 in Vermont and 9 in New York -- which are operated by the U.S. … Continue Reading
01.13.12
Leahy: Senate Should Debate How To Fight Online Infringement
"If there is one thing upon which there is consensus in the United States Senate it is that we need to consider ways in which American law enforcement can protect American consumers and defend American intellectual property rights against foreign criminals who are stealing American creative products and the jobs that go with them. When introducing the PROTECT IP Act in May 2011, the bill's leading cosponsors called this a 'common-sense bill,' stating that it would 'add another tool to the toolb… Continue Reading
