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Press Releases
Search Senator Leahy’s press releases, floor statements, and Committee speeches by date or by subject.
Leahy Urges Attorney General To Implement Accountability Provisions Of Patriot Act Legislation
In advance of a Wednesday Department of Justice oversight hearing, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) today released a letter sent last month to Attorney General Eric Holder, urging the Justice Department to implement key oversight and civil liberties protections included in the Committee-passed USA PATRIOT Act Sunset Extension Act. Last year, Leahy introduced the legislation to extend expiring provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act. A bipartisan majority of the Senate Judici… Continue Reading
04.09.10
Comment On The Announced Retirement Plans Of Associate Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens
When the Supreme Court recesses on Justice Stevens' final day on the bench, it will mark the end of an extraordinary judicial career spanning four decades, including 35 years on our highest court. The last Justice from "the Greatest Generation," John Paul Stevens first answered the call to service when he joined the Navy during World War II. Our nation called on him again years later, and he returned to public service as an appellate judge before accepting President Ford's nomination to serve … Continue Reading
04.07.10
No Further Delay Of Liu Confirmation Hearing
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Wednesday responded to a letter sent yesterday by Republican members of the Committee seeking a third postponement of a hearing to consider the nomination of Professor Goodwin Liu to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. "At the time of Professor Liu's twice-rescheduled hearing, Committee members will have had more than seven weeks to review the nominee's record, and two weeks to review the materials submitted to the Committee… Continue Reading
04.05.10
Vermont’s ‘Art of Action’ Is Set To Come Alive In The Nation’s Capital
(MONDAY, April 5) - About 50 artworks crafted for an exhibit titled "Art of Action: Shaping Vermont's Future Through Art," will travel to Washington, D.C., next week where they will be on display from April 12 to 16, just steps away from the U.S. Capitol. Several of the artists will be on hand Tuesday, April 13, to meet with Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), who is hosting the display in the Russell Senate Office Building. The Vermont Arts Council, in collaboration with Lyman Orton and Janice Izz… Continue Reading
04.02.10
Burlington School District Lunch Program to Serve as National Model
Burlington, Vt. - Senator Patrick Leahy announced Friday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has selected the Burlington School District as one of 15 school districts nationwide that will be visited by the USDA Farm to School Team to learn about Burlington's farm to school program. Burlington will be used as a national example for how Farm to School programs help to better connect children to their food and create opportunities for local farmers to provide their harvest to schools in their c… Continue Reading
04.01.10
Leahy: $13.6 M. Navy Contract Extension Will Take Goodrich-Vergennes Well Past Its Milestone 2000th Helicopter Diagnostics Unit
VERGENNES, Vt. - Senator Patrick Leahy Thursday announced that the U.S. Navy will award Goodrich a new $13,642,763 contract for continued work on the company's helicopter diagnostic system, which is managed by the firm's facility here. The innovative system for helicopter safety and maintenance already has earned the company more than $100 million in defense contracts, and Leahy last month joined Goodrich employees at the facility to mark shipment of the 2000th system. Work on the new contract… Continue Reading
03.31.10
Leahy Sets Vermont-Wide Small Business Lending Conference For Monday, April 26, In Barre
With tight credit still a problem for some Vermont businesses, U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has organized a free conference for small businesses in Vermont to learn about current lending and financing options available through local banks, credit unions, nonprofits, state entities and the federal government. The conference will be held at the Barre Auditorium on Monday, April 26, 2010, from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. More details about the conference and registration information are available … Continue Reading
03.30.10
Vermont Delegation Calls on Nuclear Regulatory Commission to Reconsider Closed-Door Meeting
Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today called on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to reconsider its decision to hold a closed-door meeting with local, state and federal officials in Keene, N.H., on April 14. The Vermont delegation's letter is copied below: March 30, 2010 The Honorable Gregory B. JaczkoChairmanU.S. Nuclear Regulatory CommissionWashington, D.C. 20555-0001 Dear Chairman Jaczko: We write to follow up on the Nuclear Regulatory … Continue Reading
03.30.10
Comments On Reforms To The Electronic Communications Privacy Act
"I applaud the announcement today by Digital Due Process and the Center for Democracy & Technology that a coalition of privacy advocates, legal scholars, and major Internet and communication service providers have joined together to release a consensus set of proposals to modernize the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. I look forward to reviewing these ideas. While the question of how best to balance privacy and security in the 21st century has no simple answer, what is clear is that … Continue Reading
03.26.10
Letter from Leahy, Kerry, and Frank to World Bank President Zoellick
Congress of the United States Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Robert ZoellickPresidentThe World Bank1818 H StreetWashington, DC 20433 Dear President Zoellick: We are writing to express our concern with the World Bank's proposed loan to fund the construction of a large coal power plant for the South African utility, Eskom, that is due to come before the Bank's board in early April. As the World Bank prepares to request a general capital increase, engages in consultations on a new energy str… Continue Reading
03.26.10
Records in Real Time
The Freedom of Information Act has done a lot to make government more transparent. But in Washington - where need-to-know is the favorite status symbol - most agencies still ignore the legal deadlines and take months, even years, to respond to requests. Senators Patrick Leahy, a Democrat of Vermont, and John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, have introduced a bill that would push the bureaucracy to release information more quickly. It is an important and needed fix. The Freedom of Information Act, w… Continue Reading
03.26.10
The Leahy Letter - March 26, 2010
March 26, 2010 - Health Care Reform Edition Comprehensive Health Care Reform Signed Into Law On March 23, 2010, Senator Leahy was on hand at the White House ceremony as President Obama signed into law the historic Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This new law is the most comprehensive health care reform since the creation of the Medicare program in 1965 and will provide health insurance for more than 32 million uninsured Americans and improve the health insurance system fo… Continue Reading
03.25.10
Comment On The Senate's Passage of The Health and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010
"Today, the Senate completed the next step in reforming our nation's health insurance system by passing a series of improvements to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. We should all support these improvements. They include closing the Medicare "donut hole," making coverage more affordable, and creating a more equitable distribution of Medicaid reimbursements to states like Vermont that have acted early on reform. I worked with Senate and House Leadership to ensure Vermont and othe… Continue Reading
03.25.10
Vermont Delegation Heralds Grant For Vermont Council on Rural Development
U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders and Congressman Peter Welch announced Thursday that the Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) has been awarded a $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce. The grant, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), will complete the funding needed to launch VCRD's "e-Vermont: The Vermont Community Broadband Project", which will stimulate broadband use in 24 Vermont towns by identifying best practices for increasing … Continue Reading
03.25.10
Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Leahy-Sponsored Bills To Assist Refugees
The Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday advanced two pieces of legislation sponsored by Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.). The Refugee Opportunity Act and the Return Of Talent Act will help continue long-held U.S. policy of rewarding refugees who help the country, and refugees who help those in need beyond the country's borders. The Refugee Opportunity Act will create an exception to the physical presence requirement for refugees who, during their firs… Continue Reading
03.24.10
Statement On The Constitutionality Of The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act
Earlier this week, we saw what I have called the dawn of a new day of hope for tens of millions of Americans who have fallen through the cracks - or who worry with good reason that they may fall through the cracks - of our broken health insurance system. The signing into law of comprehensive health insurance reform by President Barack Obama ranks with the creation of Social Security and Medicare as a defining moment and legislative achievement. Congress and Presidents from both parties tried t… Continue Reading
03.24.10
Republicans Object To The Hearing On The Nominations Of Liu And Mueller
POSTPONEMENT NOTICE FOR A COMMITTEE HEARING The hearing on "Nominations" scheduled before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary for Wednesday, March 24, 2010, at 2:30 pm has been postponed due to Republican objection and will be rescheduled at the earliest possible time. By order of the Chairman. Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee,On Republican Objection To The Hearing On The Nominations Of Goodwin Liu To The United States Court Of App… Continue Reading
03.24.10
US Senate committee takes testimony on drug crime
Strapped by shrinking budgets, state and local officials told members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday they need Uncle Sam's help now more than ever in combatting drug crime. The panel _ represented by U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont and U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island _ took testimony from national drug czar Gil Kerlikowske, the director of the Vermont State Police, Barre Mayor Thomas Lauzon and three other people with varying perspectives on the problem.… Continue Reading
03.24.10
Republican Objections Now Stall Even Committee Progress
(Wednesday, March 24, 2010) - A Senate Judiciary Committee hearing scheduled to consider pending nominations, including a critical circuit court nomination, has been suspended because Senate Republicans have not yet consented to allowing the hearing to proceed Employing a little used rule requiring the Senate's unanimous consent to permit committees to hold hearings and meetings, Republicans have not yet consented to permit several Committees to meet Wednesday afternoon, including an important… Continue Reading
03.24.10
Statement On Justice for Jamie Leigh Jones
Yesterday, I was pleased to learn that a brave young woman, Ms. Jamie Leigh Jones, will finally have her day in court. Ms. Jones testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee last year about how the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Federal Arbitration Act has hampered American employees from having their civil rights protected. Ms. Jones was a compelling witness; her case deserves the attention of every Senator. When she was just 20-years-old and was working overseas for the military c… Continue Reading
