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Search Senator Leahy’s press releases, floor statements, and Committee speeches by date or by subject.
Vermont Wins Two Grants For Regional Development
BURLINGTON, Vt., Oct. 2 - The Northern Border Regional Commission has awarded grants totaling $373,447 for regional development projects in Vermont, Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) announced today. The grants will support the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail in Lamoille County and develop key regional business clusters in the Northeast Kingdom. The $249,982 grant for the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail will be leveraged by a $5.2 million grant Sanders p… Continue Reading
10.01.12
Comments Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Expiration Of The Current Farm Bill At Midnight Sunday Night
[Current Farm Bill programs expired Sunday night (Sept. 30, last night) at Midnight, with no new Farm Bill in place. House leaders failed to bring a Farm Bill to the House Floor after the Senate passed a bipartisan Farm Bill on June 21 with a strong bipartisan vote. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the most senior member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, And Forestry, led efforts to include several key components in the Senate Farm Bill, including a new dairy safety net program … Continue Reading
10.01.12
Comment of Senator Patrick Leahy On DHS Deferred Action Policy For Same Sex Partners
[Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano recently announced that DHS's prosecutorial discretion policy concerning immigrants that pose no risk to national security will expressly cover those in same-sex relationships. The policy will direct immigration officials to consider LGBT family ties when evaluating eligibility for relief under administration policy. The announcement follows up on Napolitano's announcement in June concerning deferred action for qualifying young people… Continue Reading
09.28.12
President Friday Signs Into Law Leahy-Authored Bill To Renew Successful Job-Creating Foreign Investment Program
(FRIDAY, Sept. 28, 2012) - President Obama Friday signed into law legislation authored by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) that will extend a successful, job-creating immigrant visa program that has helped promote economic growth in Vermont and in communities throughout the country. Without Leahy's bill the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Center program would have expired this weekend, on Sunday, Sept. 30. Leahy's new charter will extend the program for three years. The EB-5 program enjoys broad… Continue Reading
09.27.12
Remarks Of Senator Patrick Leahy At Jay Peak For The Announcement Of A $500 Million Economic Development Initiative Made Possible By The EB-5 Program
It is a great pleasure to be with all of you today. And it is even more special to be here on the heels of Congress' passage of a reauthorization for the EB-5 Regional Center Program. I'm delighted that we persevered right to the end of the congressional session and that my bill reached the President's desk right on time for today's announcements. About a year ago, the Vermont Chamber of Commerce recognized Bill as Vermont's 2011 Citizen of the Year - largely in recognition of what he has … Continue Reading
09.25.12
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy On President Obama’s Announcement Of New Initiatives To Fight Human Trafficking
[TUESDAY, September 25 -- Judiciary Committee Chairman Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) is the lead sponsor of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA). Leahy introduced the bipartisan legislation last June, and last November he moved the bill through the Judiciary Committee with a bipartisan vote. The legislation currently has 52 cosponsors, including 14 Republicans. The latest proposal is the fourth reauthorization of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which was first… Continue Reading
09.24.12
Senate Republicans Leave Town After Blocking Dozens Of Judicial Nominations
(Monday, September 24, 2012) -The Senate recessed last week with 15 district court nominees left pending on the executive calendar, and another four circuit court nominees also still awaiting Senate approval. With court vacancies at historic highs, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) blasted Republicans for allowing just two pending district nominees to be confirmed before leaving town. "We all know that justice delayed is justice denied. By denying confirmation votes to … Continue Reading
09.21.12
Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Amendment Of Senator Rand Paul
Mr. President, we were all outraged by the video that denigrated the Muslim faith, and the mob violence - some of it reportedly encouraged by Al Qaeda or other extremist groups - against our embassies and diplomats in Egypt, Libya, Pakistan, and other countries around the world. Secretary of State Clinton said it well: "The United States rejects both the content and message of that video . . . and deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others." The Secretary … Continue Reading
09.20.12
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Leahy Criticizes Unprecedented Partisan Obstruction Of Consensus District Court Picks
(Thursday, September 20, 2012) - Senate Republicans objected today to approving the 17 district court nominees who have been pending on the Senate calendar since as far back as April, including those who enjoy the support of their home state Republican Senators. Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has repeatedly called for the Senate to clear the backlog of nominations, and criticized the partisan obstruction of consensus picks today.] # # # # # Statement of Senator Patr… Continue Reading
09.20.12
Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Legislation To Implement Patent Law Treaties To Help U.S. Businesses Overseas
(Thursday, September 20, 2012) -- The Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday approved legislation to implement a pair of patent law treaties that will help American businesses expand into foreign markets by reducing obstacles for obtaining patent protection overseas. Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the ranking member, introduced bipartisan implementing legislation for the treaties last month, and there is a companion bill in the House. The legislation was approved… Continue Reading
09.20.12
Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Foreign Prison Conditions Improvement Act of 2012
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am very pleased to join today with the senior Senator from Oklahoma, Senator Inhofe, in introducing legislation that has already attracted broad support from across the social and political spectrum. This bill, titled the Foreign Prison Conditions Improvement Act of 2012, seeks to address a much neglected, global human rights and humanitarian problem - the inhumane treatment of people in foreign prisons and other detention facilities. On any given day, millions of… Continue Reading
09.19.12
Remarks Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Launch of the “National Inventory of the Collateral Consequences of Conviction”
Thank you, Rich, for your very kind remarks and for all your hard work on this issue. I can honestly say that, if not for the dedicated attention to this issue from Vermonters, and from you in particular, we would not be standing here today. Spurred on by Rich and others of you here today, I worked to pass into law a provision requiring the National Institute of Justice at the Department of Justice to study the collateral consequences of criminal convictions federally and in every state. Once… Continue Reading
09.19.12
Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing On Hate Crimes And The Threat Of Domestic Extremism
(Wednesday, September 19, 2012) - The Senate Judiciary Committee is currently hold a hearing on "Hate Crimes and the Threat of Domestic Extremism." Chairman Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) helped to pass the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which was enacted in 2009 and broadened federal hate crimes law to include crimes based on gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. Senator Leahy also called on the Justice Department to allow for the collectio… Continue Reading
09.19.12
Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy On the Release Of the Department Of Justice’s Inspector General’s Office Report On ATF’s Operation Fast & Furious And Operation Wide Receiver
When Attorney General Holder first learned that tactics being used by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in gun trafficking investigations during the current and previous administrations allowed guns to be taken into Mexico, he put an immediate stop to those tactics and referred the matter to the Department of Justice's Inspector General's Office for a thorough, independent, and nonpartisan investigation. The report released by the Inspector General today should finall… Continue Reading
09.19.12
Leahy Welcomes Collins’ Support Of Uniting American Families Act
(Wednesday, September 19, 2012) - Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) welcomed Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) today for becoming the first Republican cosponsor of legislation to update U.S. immigration law to permit American citizens to sponsor same-sex "permanent partners" applying for legal residency in the United States. "I commend Senator Susan Collins for cosponsoring my Uniting American Families Act today," Leahy said. "With this decision, Senator Collins has demonstr… Continue Reading
09.19.12
Senators Introduce Bill to Reauthorize the Older Americans Act
, Sept. 19 - Comprehensive legislation was introduced today in the Senate to reauthorize and expand the Older Americans Act, the landmark law that supports Meals on Wheels and other essential programs for seniors. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging, introduced the bill with 14 co-sponsors, including Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). "Millions of seniors today are hurting financially and we must give them the support they need to stay healthy … Continue Reading
09.18.12
Leahy, Sanders, Welch Announce $1.9 Million For Burlington Area Transit Improvements
(TUESDAY, Sept. 18, 2012) - U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and U.S. Representative Peter Welch (D-Vt.) announced Tuesday that the Federal Transit Administration is releasing $1,948,000 to the Chittenden County Transportation Authority (CCTA) to design the new downtown transit center in Burlington, expand commuter service to Hinesburg, and upgrade bus shelters throughout the system. The Vermont congressional delegation secured the funding in legislation … Continue Reading
09.17.12
Leahy Marks One Year Anniversary Of Leahy-Smith America Invents Act
(Monday, September 17, 2012) - Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) heralded the one year anniversary of the bipartisan Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, which was signed in to law by President Barack Obama on September 16, 2011. "One year ago, I was pleased to stand on a stage at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia with House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office David Kappos, … Continue Reading
09.14.12
Leahy, Welch, Sanders Push For Stopgap Patch For The Dairy Safety Net Until New Farm Bill Is Enacted
(FRIDAY, Sept. 14, 2012) - With hopes rapidly fading for a new Farm Bill before the current one expires at the end of September, dairy policy leaders in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House -- led by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Representative Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and joined by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) -- are pushing for a temporary fix for the dairy safety net until the new dairy program that is included in both the Senate and House versions of the Farm Bill becomes law and can be put in pl… Continue Reading
09.14.12
Congress Clears Leahy Bill To Renew Job-Creating Foreign Investment Program That Has Spurred Investments Across Vermont
(FRIDAY, Sept. 14, 2012) - Legislation authored by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to continue a successful, job-creating immigrant visa program was approved Thursday evening by the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill, which already has passed the Senate, now goes to the President's desk for signing. The House vote was 412 to 3. Leahy's measure, which passed the Senate in August, would extend the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Center program for three years. Cu… Continue Reading
