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Search Senator Leahy’s press releases, floor statements, and Committee speeches by date or by subject.
Vermont Harvests 6th Largest Share Of Rural Renewable Energy Grants And Loans
(TUESDAY, Nov. 9) -- Vermont's Congressional Delegation - Senator Patrick Leahy (D), Senator Bernie Sanders (I) and Congressman Peter Welch (D) - reported Tuesday that 18 Vermont farms and rural businesses will share $3,750,930 in grants and loans to support energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy projects. The loans and grants are being made through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). The Vermont projects include nearly $2 million in grant… Continue Reading
10.29.10
Senators Query Secretary Clinton On Pending Decision On TransCanada Tar Sands Pipeline
(FRIDAY, Oct. 29) - Led by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), 11 U.S. senators are raising questions about the pending approval of the TransCanada Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. In a letter sent Thursday to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the lawmakers sought answers to a series of concerns they have about the pipeline. Signing the letter, in addition to Leahy and Merkley, are Senators Roland Burris (D-Ill.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), Kirsten Gillib… Continue Reading
10.27.10
Comments Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The President’s Remarks On Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) released the following comments today following remarks by President Obama and Vice President Biden recognizing Domestic Violence Awareness Month. "The President and Vice President have announced an unprecedented initiative to reduce domestic and sexual violence, and to assist the survivors of these terrible crimes. These are important issues that I have consistently worked to address in Congress, and I support the administration's efforts. "The Violence Aga… Continue Reading
10.25.10
Leahy Secures $65,000 For Guilford Country Store
GUILFORD, Vt. (MONDAY, Oct. 25) - U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy Monday told members of the Friends of Algiers Village and project partners working to reopen the Guilford Country Store that he has secured a $65,000 grant in partnership with the Preservation Trust of Vermont to help with their efforts. During a news conference at the store, leadership from the Friends of Algiers Village estimated the store would reopen next summer. "I have long believed that Vermont's village stores help define our st… Continue Reading
10.22.10
Vermont Passport Office To Open In February, Creating Jobs And Easing Vermonters’ Travel
ST. ALBANS, Vt. (FRIDAY, Oct. 22) - U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on Friday toured the State Department's new Vermont Passport Agency office under construction in St. Albans, as Vermont prepares to join the ranks of fewer than two dozen states with such passport offices. During the visit State Department officials told Leahy that they expect to open the new facility to the public early next year, in February. The new office will occupy St. Albans' ornate former Post Office building on S… Continue Reading
10.22.10
Leahy Announces Effort To Make Lighter, Longer Lasting Lithium Iron Battery At Energizer St. Albans Facility
ST. ALBANS, Vt. (FRIDAY, Oct. 22) - During a tour of the Energizer factory in St. Albans on Friday, U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy announced he is working on securing a $1 million U.S. Department of Defense research and development contract that will help Energizer develop an advanced lithium-iron disulfide battery. The contract would build on a multi-year long effort by Energizer, partially funded with a 2008 $2.4 million Leahy-secured contract, to reduce the weight, increase the energy output and m… Continue Reading
10.20.10
Vermont Delegation: New Funding Bolsters St. Albans Streetscapes Project
(WEDNESDAY, Oct. 20) - U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and U.S. Representative Peter Welch (D-Vt.) Tuesday announced that St. Albans has been awarded a $125,000 federal grant for its ongoing streetscapes project. The grant, awarded by the Department of Transportation, will fund continued downtown improvements. In FY2009, Welch secured $380,000 in funding for sidewalk, streetlight, signage and aesthetic upgrades to Main Street and Taylor Park as part of a comprehen… Continue Reading
10.20.10
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Inspector General's Report On Implementation Of The Sentinel Project
"The FBI's efforts to improve its case management system have been riddled with error. Years have been wasted, as well as millions in taxpayer dollars. It is disheartening that once again, the Department of Justice's Inspector General has found that the FBI's current effort, the Sentinel case management program, continues to have costly delays and to fall short of its performance goals. Information exchange is critical to protecting our national security. These stumbles continue to be alarmin… Continue Reading
10.19.10
Leahy: MSA Newport Garners $21 Million In Helmet Contracts
NEWPORT, Vt. (TUESDAY, Oct. 19) - During a tour of MSA's (Mine Safety Appliances Co.) Newport factory on Tuesday, U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy announced three new orders, under competitively bid contracts totaling $21 million, for the Army's Advanced Combat Helmets (ACH). Leahy visited the facility to meet again with employees and to see the new work being done by MSA after a slowdown following the expiration of $6.4 million in earlier contract work secured by Leahy in 2008 and 2009. "It is t… Continue Reading
10.18.10
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Department Of Justice’s Antitrust Lawsuit Against Blue Cross Blue Shield Of Michigan
"I applaud the Department of Justice for employing our nation's antitrust laws to break-up the stranglehold that massive insurance companies have on our healthcare industry. Given that much of the health insurance industry activity is shielded from the antitrust laws by an antiquated exemption, it is perhaps not surprising that insurers are also engaging in anticompetitive conduct that falls outside the exemption. "Only when Congress passes the Health Insurance Industry Antitrust Enforcement … Continue Reading
10.15.10
Vermont Delegation Shares Morses Line Public Comments With Secretary Napolitano
On October 15, the Vermont congressional delegation directed a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, detailing public comments in support of keeping the Morses Line Port-of-Entry open. Click here to read the full text of the delegation letter.… Continue Reading
10.15.10
Sanders Calls for Emergency Social Security Boost, Leahy Backs Proposal to Help Seniors and Disabled
BURLINGTON, Vt., Oct. 15 - After the federal government announced today that more than 58 million Americans on Social Security will go a second straight year without a cost-of-living raise, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said he wants a Senate vote in November on his proposal to provide $250 emergency payments to seniors and the disabled. "It makes a lot more sense to me to protect some of the most vulnerable people in our country with the equivalent of a cost-of-living adjustment than it does to … Continue Reading
10.13.10
Leahy: Vermont Boys & Girls Clubs To Receive $1 Million
RUTLAND, Vt. (WEDNESDAY, Oct. 13) - Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Wednesday announced that Vermont's Boys and Girls Clubs have been awarded more than $1 million by the U.S. Department of Justice to help fund activities and programs administered by the Clubs. Leahy announced the award during a tour of the Boys and Girls Club in Rutland. The Rutland Boys and Girls Club is one of six active Clubs in Vermont, and it has been awarded a $200,000 grant from the Justice Department. In March, the Club re… Continue Reading
10.12.10
Comment On President Obama’s Signing Of S.1132, The Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act Improvements Act
"I commend President Obama for signing this important bill for the benefit of our Nation's hardworking law enforcement officers. The dedicated public servants who are trained to uphold the law and keep the peace deserve our support, not just in their professional lives, but also when they are off-duty or retire. When Congress passed the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act in 2004, we showed our confidence in the men and women who protect our communities, our states and the country. By signing… Continue Reading
10.12.10
Leahy And Sanders: New HDQ For National PTSD Center Is A Mark Of Nation’s Support Of Veterans In Need
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, Vt. - To U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the new headquarters building here for the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) says much about the four-decade passage of PTSD to being understood and treated as a front-burner veterans medical issue. Leahy and Sanders made that observation Tuesday while taking part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the facility, which is housed on the campus of the VA Medical Center at White Rive… Continue Reading
10.08.10
Vermont Delegation: Health Care Law Invests In Vermont Primary Care
, October 8 - Community health centers at Springfield, Plainfield and Richford were awarded $4.3 million in the first round of grants under a new health care law, the Vermont congressional delegation announced today. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) fought for $11 billion in The Affordable Care Act to expand health centers and double to 40 million the number of patients served nationwide over the next five years. "A week after breaking ground on the new health center in Burlington, it is extreme… Continue Reading
10.07.10
Vermont Delegation: Only 10 Days Old, Newly Signed Small Business Jobs Bill Has Already Cleared The $1.5 M. Loan Backlog Of Vermont Firms Wanting To Grow And Hire; 25 New Vermont Jobs On Tap
(THURSDAY, Oct. 7) -- Senator Patrick Leahy (D), Senator Bernie Sanders (I) and Representative Peter Welch (D) announced Thursday that loan funds from the Small Business Jobs Act signed by President Obama last week (Sept 27) have already cleared the backlog of business expansion loans that had been approved, but not yet funded, for small businesses in Vermont. The lawmakers report that the U.S. Small Business Administration has awarded $1.5 million in loans to five Vermont firms that had applie… Continue Reading
10.07.10
Leahy: 2 Cornerstones Of Southwestern Vermont's Economy Are Able To Stay Strong In A Difficult Economy With New Contracts And New Partners
BENNINGTON, Vt. (THURSDAY, Oct. 7) - During separate tours of Bennington's Energizer and Vermont Composites factories Thursday, U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy pointed to new research and development contracts at Energizer and new defense contracts at Vermont Composites as cornerstones of Southwestern Vermont's economic future. Leahy visited the two facilities to announce a $2 million contract at Energizer and to see the work Vermont Composites is doing on several military airframes. "Energizer and … Continue Reading
10.05.10
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy On President Obama’s Signing Of The Leahy “Freedom of Information Act Amendments To The Securities And Exchange Act, Investment Company Act And Investment Advisers Act Of 2010”
"This is a rare and welcome win for FOIA and for the public's right to know. I am pleased that President Obama has signed S.3717 into law. We quickly identified the problem, and with the Obama Administration's support we promptly acted to solve it. By repealing the exemptions to FOIA for the SEC that were enacted in the Wall Street reform bill, Congress and the administration have signaled a commitment to ensuring that FOIA remains an effective tool to provide public access to information abo… Continue Reading
10.04.10
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy On Justice Department Action Against American Express, MasterCard, And Visa To Eliminate Rules Restricting Price Competition
"The Justice Department's agreement with MasterCard and Visa is intended to prevent payment processors from barring a merchant from offering a discount, product or enhanced service to a consumer for using one brand or type of credit card over another. These are the same merchant restrictions that I fought to purge from the debit card market as a conferee on the Wall Street Reform Bill, and I applaud the Justice Department for using the antitrust laws to protect competition in a way that allows … Continue Reading
