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Search Senator Leahy’s press releases, floor statements, and Committee speeches by date or by subject.
Bipartisan Group Of Senators Urge Action On Patent Reform Legislation
(Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2010) - A bipartisan group of 25 Senators Wednesday sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) urging him to schedule a vote on the bipartisan Patent Reform Act. The legislation will make the first reforms to the nation's patent laws in more than 55 years, and will update the patent system to improve patent quality and increase certainty among parties in litigation. Leading signatories to the letter include Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leah… Continue Reading
09.15.10
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy On New SEC Guidance Interpreting The FOIA Exemptions In Wall Street Reform Bill
"While I commend the Commission for taking steps this week to clarify how it will interpret these new FOIA exemptions, I remain troubled by the Commission's attempts in recent weeks to retroactively apply these exemptions to pending FOIA matters, and by the Commission's past statements that these exemptions would shield all examination information from public scrutiny. Given the great need to restore transparency and public confidence in our financial system, I believe that corrective legislatio… Continue Reading
09.15.10
Vermont Farmer Testifies Before Senate Panel, On Organics - Live Webcast Information
Today's Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on Organics will be webcast starting at 10 a.m. To access the live webcast, go to the Senate Agriculture Committee's main site at http://ag.senate.gov/site/index.html and then click the "Live Webcast" link at the bottom of the home page. Or, go directly to http://ag.senate.gov/site/webcast.html . The webcast will stream in real time (a short delay may be expected depending on internet connection speed) and can easily be viewed on any computer with … Continue Reading
09.14.10
Leahy, Sanders, Welch Commend Administration's Prompt Handling Of $19 Million In Emergency Education Aid To Vermont
(TUESDAY, Sept. 14) - U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan Tuesday night announced that Vermont is set to receive $19 million in emergency education funds that were passed by Congress in August. The new law is intended to save tens of thousands of teaching jobs in America's classrooms and to boost Medicaid payments to states. The measure, supported by Senator Patrick Leahy (D), Senator Bernie Sanders (I), and Congressman Peter Welch (D), also set aside about $37 million for state-run Medicaid h… Continue Reading
09.14.10
Vermont Receives $1.47 Million In Federal Grants To Help Crime Victims
(Tuesday, Sept. 14) - Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced Tuesday that Vermont has been awarded more than $1.47 million in federal grants to help victims of crime. The grants come from the Crime Victims Fund, the primary source of federal financial aid for crime victims, and are administered through the U.S. Department of Justice. "The need for victim assistance and compensation has grown over the years, and the Crime Victims Fund has been a mainstay for crime victims in states like Vermon… Continue Reading
09.14.10
Senate Breaks Months-Long Filibuster On Small Business Jobs Bill
(Sept. 14) - The U.S. Senate Tuesday narrowly broke a months-long Republican filibuster by voting 61-37 to advance a small business jobs bill that will boost commercial lending and provide tax relief to small businesses in Vermont and nationwide. U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), who voted in favor of the bill, expects the Senate to give final approval to the bill on Thursday. The Small Business Job Creation Act modernizes the application process for U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)… Continue Reading
09.13.10
Leahy Again Calls For Votes On Long-Pending Judicial Nominations
(Monday, September 13, 2010) - Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Monday afternoon spoke on the Senate floor, urging prompt action on more judicial nominations that have been reported by the Judiciary Committee. The Senate confirmed the nomination of Jane Stranch of Tennessee to fill a vacancy on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in a bipartisan vote of 71-21. Her nomination languished on the Senate's calendar since being reported by a bipartisan majority of the Judici… Continue Reading
09.13.10
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The FBI Release Of Crime Statistics For 2009
"Many feared that the current economic crisis would contribute to large-scale increases in crime. Instead, according to the FBI's crime statistics for 2009, last year saw more than a five percent decrease in violent crime nationwide. Vermont also saw a significant decrease in violent crime. State and local law enforcement officials in Vermont deserve our thanks for their relentless work to reduce crime on our streets and in our neighborhoods. "Renewed attention by Congress and by the Obama a… Continue Reading
09.13.10
Leahy Introduces Food Safety Accountability Act
(Monday, September 13, 2010) - Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) today introduced legislation to hold violators of food safety standards accountable for their crimes. The legislation follows a bill introduced by Leahy before the August recess, and will strengthen criminal penalties for food safety violators. The Food Safety Accountability Act, introduced Monday, creates a new criminal offense in the criminal code for any individual or corporation that knowingly distributes tainted food products, … Continue Reading
09.13.10
Vermont Congressional Delegation Hails Energy Grant For Barre-Based Company
, September 13 - The U.S. Department of Energy awarded $620,000 to Northern Power Systems of Barre, Vt., to help boost the speed and scale of midsize wind turbine technology, Vermont's congressional delegation announced today. Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) said the grant will accelerate the development of wind turbines manufactured in the United States. The delegation had urged U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu to support the p… Continue Reading
09.08.10
Leahy Says Obama’s Plan For R&D Tax Credit Would Mean Jobs In Vermont
MONTPELIER, Vt. (WEDNESDAY, Sept. 8) - U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy and members of Vermont's business community praised President Barack Obama's call Wednesday to renew, expand, simplify and make permanent the federal research and development tax credit. Leahy said the credit, which allows businesses to write off portions of their revenues spent on research, would help Vermont businesses put people back to work. "This is a sensible and fiscally responsible way to create jobs now, with the research… Continue Reading
09.05.10
Senator Leahy Comments On State Department Report On Merida Funding And The Leahy Human Rights Conditions
Following is the reaction of Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee that funds the State Department and foreign aid programs, and author of the human rights conditions on U.S. aid to Mexico, to the Secretary of State's report that Mexico is meeting the conditions: "The United States and Mexico share an interest in stopping the drug related violence and other lawlessness that has engulfed Mexico, and we have provided more than $1.3 billion in aid in the past three yea… Continue Reading
09.03.10
A Leahy-Secured $125,000 Grant Shifts Into Gear The Long-Awaited Reconstruction Of Springfield’s Burned-Out Ellis Block
SPRINGFIELD, Vt. - During a groundbreaking ceremony at the Ellis Block in Springfield on Friday, U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy announced he has secured a $125,000 federal appropriation to help rebuild workforce housing and a theater lost to a 2008 fire. The appropriation, finalized earlier this summer, ensured that the project could break ground. Housing Vermont and an affiliate of the Springfield Housing Authority have partnered to redevelop Main Street's historic Ellis Block, which was destroyed b… Continue Reading
09.02.10
Feingold, Leahy Unveil No Child Left Behind Reforms
As students across the country head back to the classroom, U.S. Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Pat Leahy (D-VT) unveiled two bills Thursday aimed at reforming the No Child Left Behind education law. The Feingold-Leahy bills, which will be introduced when the Senate reconvenes after the August recess, are designed to provide relief for states and local school districts from the one-size-fits-all approach of the No Child Left Behind Law and increase resources for states to improve the quality o… Continue Reading
08.31.10
Comments To The President’s Address To The Nation On Drawdown Of U.S. Forces From Iraq
Seven years after the war in Iraq began, and after enormous sacrifices by our troops and their families, at long last we are finally winding down the U.S. presence there. Many Americans will remain in Iraq as the drawdown continues, and our thanks and our prayers go to them and to all of our men and women in service who are still far from home. I opposed going to war in Iraq, and invading Iraq was a costly foreign policy blunder that harmed U.S. interests on many fronts. President Obama pledg… Continue Reading
08.30.10
Leahy: Drug Abuse Program Grants To Vermont Will Help ‘Drill Down’ On Solutions To Substance Abuse And Drug-Related Crime
Two Chittenden County anti-drug coalitions are getting grants from the federal Drug Free Communities program, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced Monday. The grants for countering drug and alcohol abuse, totaling just over $200,000, have been awarded to the Essex CHIPS coalition ($125,000) and the Burlington Partnership for a Healthy Community ($93,917). The Vermont coalitions are two of only 169 programs across the country to receive funding, while more than 500 programs applied. The Dr… Continue Reading
08.27.10
Leahy, Sanders and Welch Commend Agency’s Decision To Accept Prized Expanse On Lake Memphremagog For Conservation And Recreation, Meeting Donor’s Deadline
Vermont's Congressional Delegation -- Senator Patrick Leahy (D), Senator Bernie Sanders (I), and Congressman Peter Welch (D) -- on Friday congratulated the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the agency's newly announced decision to acquire the Dunn Estate on Lake Memphremagog. The picturesque Dunn property includes more than over 400 acres and more than a mile of frontage on Lake Memphremagog. The land was bequeathed to the federal government for the people of Vermont and the natio… Continue Reading
08.27.10
Vermont Receives $5.7 Million For Local Renewable Energy and Smart Grid Efforts
Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today announced $5.7 million in federal funding to help Vermont households utilize "smart meter" systems and install solar thermal and solar hot water technologies. The non-profit Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, which operates Efficiency Vermont, will administer a $700,000 project to complement smart grid technology being deployed across the state due to an earlier $69 million stimulus investment.… Continue Reading
08.26.10
Looming Disaster Averted In Vermont Apple Harvest
A looming disaster threatened by the combination of early-maturing apples and a hitch with visas for the guest workers to pick them has been averted, according to Senator Patrick Leahy and Vermont apple growers. With apple crops ripening 10 days to 14 days early this year, at least 19 orchards in Vermont and New York, and many more throughout the Northeast, had encountered an extra form-filing step in the annual process of recruiting temporary workers from Jamaica. The added step - Request For… Continue Reading
08.25.10
The Leahy Letter - August 25, 2010
Vermont Senators Introduce Dairy Market Stabilization Act Last month, with the Ethan Allen Farm as a backdrop, Senator Leahy joined Senator Sanders to unveil legislation to stabilize dairy prices and preserve the family farms that have been a fixture of Vermont's economy and culture for centuries. Over the last 20 years, dairy boom and bust cycles have seen the price per hundredweight soar to $19.30 in 2004 before crashing to $11.90 in 2006. Prices recovered in 2007 to $21.80 before plummeting … Continue Reading
