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Press Releases
Search Senator Leahy’s press releases, floor statements, and Committee speeches by date or by subject.
Leahy, Senate Democrats To Attorney General Barr: Immediately Halt Efforts To Gut The Affordable Care Act In Court
. . . As Supreme Court ACA Hearing Approaches and Republicans Ram Through a Supreme Court Nominee in an Illegitimate Process, Democratic Lawmakers Highlight How an ACA Repeal Can Impact Health Coverage for Americans Who Contract COVID-19. . . . "It is unconscionable for the Department of Justice to pursue this lawsuit in the midst of this unprecedented public health crisis, and we urge you to rescind your support of these efforts immediately." Text of Letter WEDNESDAY, Oct. 21, 2020) -- Senat… Continue Reading
10.21.20
Statement On The Need For A Comprehensive COVID Relief Bill
We are in the middle of the most devastating public health crisis in modern history, and the American people are paying a terrible price. Nearly 220,000 people have died in just ten months. That is significantly more than the number of Americans who died in the Korean, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan wars combined. Remember when President Trump called himself a "war president"? Has he acted like one? He called the virus a hoax, and he's been AWOL ever since. Millions have lost their job… Continue Reading
10.20.20
Vermont Agriculture Update
Vermont Agriculture UPDATE - *** Under Pilot Pgm., VT Dairy Farmers For 1st Time Can Be Paid Directly For Work In Protecting Water Quality *** Ironing Out The Bump In Federal Hemp Standards Recent federal actions will help Vermont's newest agricultural business sector (hemp), as well as the state's most longstanding farm sector (dairy), according to Senator Patrick Leahy. ENLISTING DAIRY FARMERS IN PROTECTING WATER QUALITY: On the more traditional farm… Continue Reading
10.19.20
Leahy And Sanders Seek Swift Release Of LIHEAP Heating Help
(MONDAY, Oct. 19, 2020) - With winter around the corner and heating costs projected to increase this season, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) joined a bipartisan coalition of 40 senators in urging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to release funds for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) as swiftly and at the highest level possible under the current continuing resolution. The senators say federal LIHEAP funding is a crucial… Continue Reading
10.15.20
Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Recent Fighting In The South Caucuses
"I am deeply troubled by the recent military aggression in the South Caucuses, apparently initiated by Azerbaijan, including reports of possible war crimes and mounting civilian casualties. There is a real risk that this protracted conflict could spiral out of control, provoking the involvement of the armed forces of regional powers. That would be a disaster for the civilian population. The immediate priority must be maintaining an unconditional ceasefire as sought by the Minsk Group. But re… Continue Reading
10.15.20
Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Senate Judiciary Committee Executive Business Meeting
This Committee may not be through the confirmation hearings for Judge Barrett, but we are now officially through the looking glass. As if ramming through confirmation hearings just two weeks after Judge Barrett's nomination and less than three weeks before an election amid a pandemic affecting Committee members wasn't enough of a sham, we are now proceeding to advance her nomination before her hearings have even concluded. Before we even have a chance to ask the nominee all of our questions. … Continue Reading
10.14.20
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy At The Conclusion Wednesday Night Of Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s Testimony
"This unseemly and hypocritical push to ram a Supreme Court nominee through with just days before an election in which millions already have voted is not only an affront to the American people, but it damages the Senate and our courts. Republicans have cleared the Senate's decks - not to work on much-needed COVID relief, but to spend two of the last weeks before the election on this mad rush to swing the balance of the Supreme Court for decades. "This president and Senate Republicans also clea… Continue Reading
10.13.20
Vermont Delegation Demands Postmaster General Deliver and Install Critical Mail Processing Machine to White River Junction Facility
Senator Bernie Sanders (I), Senator Patrick Leahy (D), and Representative Peter Welch (D) on Tuesday sent a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy demanding the immediate delivery and installation of the new AFCS 200 cancellation machine at the White River Junction mail processing facility, a machine that is critical to the efficient handling of the mail. In the letter, Leahy, Sanders, and Welch wrote, "While we have been promised for months that a new AFCS 200 cancellation machine will be in… Continue Reading
10.13.20
Reaction To The Decision By The Trump Administration To Grant A Visa To Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo
"Indonesian Minister of Defense Prabowo has been credibly implicated in gross violations of human rights, including kidnapping, torture, and disappearances, and under our law he is ineligible to enter this country. By granting him a visa, the President and Secretary of State have shown once again that for them 'law and order' is an empty slogan that ignores the imperative of justice. The State Department should apply the law and deny him a visa, and the Pentagon should reaffirm its commitment … Continue Reading
10.12.20
Leahy Highlights Health Care Story And Effects Of Supreme Court Overturning ACA In Vermont
WASHINGTON (MONDAY, Oct. 12, 2020) - Just now, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) shared the story of Martha Richards, a Vermonter who is enrolled in the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) expanded Medicaid program. Senators are highlighting the devastating effects of the Supreme Court potentially overturning the ACA in the midst of a global pandemic. The ACA provides insurance for more than 20 million Americans and protections for the 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions. … Continue Reading
10.12.20
Opening Statement On The Nomination Of Justice Amy Coney Barrett To Be Associate Justice Of The United States Supreme Court
I have served in the Senate for 46 years, a span that includes 20 Supreme Court nominations and 16 confirmation hearings. None - not one - looked anything like this one. We are less than two weeks removed from Justice Ginsburg being laid to rest. It is true that it is the responsibility of this Committee to consider her replacement on the Supreme Court. But this is not how we should do it. We should not have had a nomination ceremony before Justice Ginsburg was even buried, while the nation… Continue Reading
10.09.20
Leahy Joins In Letter To Postmaster General DeJoy Requesting Immediate Action To Address Impacts To Election Mail Delivery Caused By USPS Failure To Update Voter Address Changes
(FRIDAY, Oct. 9, 2020) - On Friday, U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) and Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Ranking Member of HSGAC, led 17 of their Senate colleagues in a letter to Postmaster General DeJoy raising concerns about recent reports that for three weeks in August, the United States Postal Service (USPS) failed to update address changes in the National Change of Address Linkage database (NCOALink), which most state… Continue Reading
10.09.20
Leahy, Booker, Harris Press Chairman Graham Not To Conduct Supreme Court Hearings Without COVID-19 Testing Procedures In Place
(FRIDAY, Oct. 9, 2020) - Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Senator Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) Friday pressed Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) not to proceed with Supreme Court confirmation hearings next week unless stringent COVID-19 testing procedures are implemented immediately. Pointing out that two Judiciary Committee members have tested positive for COVID-19 and others have thus far refused to be tested, the senators told Graham that without … Continue Reading
10.05.20
Leahy Tests Negative For Covid-19
"Senator Leahy was tested for COVID-19 earlier today since he attended the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday, where it is now known that two senators were present who have tested positive for the virus. While he did not come into close contact with these two senators for an extended period of time, he took the test at the advice of the Capitol Physician. The test was negative and Senator Leahy continues to exhibit no symptoms for the virus. "Given the potential exposure of the … Continue Reading
10.03.20
Judiciary Committee Democrats to Chairman Graham
(SATURDAY, Oct. 3, 2020) - Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today led all 10 Judiciary Committee Democrats in calling on Chairman Lindsey Graham to delay the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett after President Trump and committee members Senators Mike Lee and Thom Tillis tested positive for the coronavirus. "To proceed at this juncture with a hearing to consider Judge Barrett's nomination to the Supreme Court threatens the health … Continue Reading
09.30.20
Statement On The Passage Of The FY 2021 Continuing Resolution
Today the Senate will vote on a continuing resolution to keep the government funded through December 11, 2020. I strongly urge all members to vote aye. The last thing our country needs is a government shutdown in the middle of a global pandemic and an unprecedented economic crisis. The bill we are considering passed the House by a wide margin, a rarity these days in Washington. It provides funding for the government through December 11 at fiscal year 2020 funding levels and under the same te… Continue Reading
09.28.20
Leahy, Sanders And Welch Press USDA On Food Box Contract
(MONDAY, Sept. 28, 2020) - Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Representative Peter Welch (D-Vt.) have sent an oversight letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, following the Department's award of the Farmers to Families Food Box contract to two out-of-state entities. The Delegation's letter raises concerns about the continuity of operations in Vermont's feeding program through October, the end of the federal program. The Abbey Group, a food service company … Continue Reading
09.28.20
Leahy, Sanders, Welch: Vermont Community Lenders Net $1.15 Million In Federal Funds to Increase Lending, Investment And Business Support
(MONDAY, Sept. 28, 2020) -- Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Representative Peter Welch (D-Vt.) announced Monday that three Vermont organizations have received $1.15 million in federal funds from the U.S. Treasury Department's Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund. The grants will enable financial institutions to provide business development support and increase lending and investment activity in low-income and economically distressed communiti… Continue Reading
09.26.20
Comment On President Trump's Nomination Of Judge Amy Coney Barrett To The U.S. Supreme Court
Yesterday, I stood by Justice Ginsburg as she lay in state at the U.S. Capitol, honoring her life, her legacy, and our friendship. Today, barely a week after she passed, President Trump has nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill her seat on the Supreme Court. Justice Ginsburg hasn't even been laid to rest yet. There is no mystery surrounding the Republicans' mad rush to fill this vacancy before an election that is just 38 days away. Just one week later the Supreme Court will hear argument… Continue Reading
09.24.20
Statement On The Motion To Proceed To The Continuing Resolution
In a few moments we will vote on the motion to proceed to H.R. 8337, the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and other Extensions Act of 2020. I urge all members to vote aye. This bill provides funding for the government through December 11 at fiscal year 2020 funding levels and under the same terms and conditions contained in the fiscal year 2020 appropriations laws. It also includes several authorization matters to extend programs that otherwise would expire, including important health and… Continue Reading
