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Search Senator Leahy’s press releases, floor statements, and Committee speeches by date or by subject.
Appropriations Vice Chairman Leahy Statement On Senate Passage Of The Interior, THUD, FSGG & Agriculture “Minibus” Appropriations Bill
Today, we are voting on final passage of the second "minibus" package of appropriations bills, and I urge an "aye" vote. This bill contains the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies bill, the Financial Services and General Government and Related Agencies bill, the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies bill, and the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies bill. Each of these were reported by the Appropriations Committ… Continue Reading
08.01.18
Senate GOP Blocks The Leahy Election Security Grants Amendment, Which Would Help States Bolster Voting And Election Security
Despite gaining the support of a majority of senators voting, an amendment to bolster election security efforts by the states, offered by Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), was blocked Wednesday by Senate Republicans. Leahy's amendment would strengthen election security ahead of the 2018 midterms by providing $250 million in grants to states. The amendment to one of the four annual Appropriations bills pending on the Senate Floor fell on a vote of 50 to 47, ga… Continue Reading
07.31.18
Leahy Statement Urging A Senate Floor Vote On His Election Security Grant Amendment
I want to thank the Senior Senator from Alabama for working closely with me throughout this process. We are continuing to work on a managers' package, and I urge the Senate to bring up my election security grants amendment soon. The Senate must act as a coequal branch of government in defending against a threat to our democracy. The threat is very real. Our intelligence community unanimously agrees that Russia interfered in the 2016 elections, and that there is an imminent threat to the … Continue Reading
07.27.18
Leahy Comment On The Senate Judiciary Committee's Incomplete Records Request For Judge Brett Kavanaugh
Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee failed the American people. In a stark departure from bipartisan precedent, Senate Republicans are seeking to prevent the Senate from fulfilling its obligation to review the full record of a nominee for a lifetime appointment to our nation's highest court. We must ask: What do Senate Republicans so badly want to hide? After Senate Republicans travelled to the White House to discuss what documents they should request, they decided the American people do n… Continue Reading
07.26.18
Leahy And Others Introduce Bill To Penalize Voter Intimidation And Efforts To Suppress the Vote With False Information
Aiming to combat efforts to intimidate or disenfranchise voters, U.S. Senators Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Doug Jones (D-Ala.) Thursday introduced legislation to prohibit and penalize knowingly spreading of misinformation, such as incorrect polling locations, times, or the necessary forms of identification in order to suppress voter turnout. Leahy said: "Protecting Americans' constitutional right to vote should not be a partisan issue. There are few … Continue Reading
07.26.18
On Deadline Day To Reunite Separated Families, Durbin & Senators Call For DOJ Investigation of "Zero Tolerance" Immigration Policy
Today, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with 30 other senators, sent a letter to Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael Horowitz calling for an investigation into DOJ's role in the creation and implementation of the Trump Administration's "zero-tolerance" immigration policy. The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General are conducting reviews of the zero-tolerance pol… Continue Reading
07.26.18
Appropriations Vice Chairman Leahy REAX To House Appropriations Committee Passing The DHS Appropriations Bill
[The House Appropriations Committee Wednesday passed the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill out of the House Appropriations Committee, continuing a partisan process of passing bills that have no chance of passing the Senate. The House bill contains $5 billion for a border wall, $3.9 billion more than the President's request, along America's Southern Border. It also includes drastic increases for Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and an additional 3,500 detention bed… Continue Reading
07.26.18
Appropriations Vice Chair Patrick Leahy’s Floor Statement Just Now On The Election Security Grants Amendment That He Has Introduced
Today, Congress must heed the clear warnings of our Intelligence Community and take an important step - a meaningful step -- toward defending our democracy. If we do nothing, we leave our elections vulnerable to an aggressive foreign adversary fully intent on destabilizing our country. To this Vermonter, and many of the Senators in this chamber, this is a simple choice, and a solemn responsibility. Today, the Senate must vote on my amendment to provide $250 million dollars in grants to the s… Continue Reading
07.24.18
Leahy, Senate Democrats File Amendment To Bolster Election Security Ahead Of 2018 Midterms
Senate Democrats, led by Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Tuesday filed an amendment to bolster election security against Russian attacks and other hostile foreign powers ahead of the 2018 midterm elections. The amendment would provide $250 million for State Election Security Grants. Leahy said: "If you believe that Russia is fully intent on destabilizing our democracy yet again in November - as all of our national security and law enforcement officials do -… Continue Reading
07.24.18
Senate Floor Remarks Of Senator Patrick Leahy Supporting Appropriations Amendment On State Election Security Grants
I come to the floor today to talk about an amendment I will be offering that provides $250 million dollars for State Election Security Grants to protect our upcoming elections from attacks by Russia and other hostile foreign powers - which we know are growing and active threats. After our Intelligence Community's unanimous assessment that Russia interfered in our 2016 election, Congress came together and appropriated $380 million dollars for State Election Security Grants in the FY 2018 Omnibu… Continue Reading
07.24.18
Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Leahy Statement On The FY 2019 Interior, FSGG, and Agriculture "Minibus" Appropriations Bill
I am pleased to join Chairman Shelby as we prepare to debate the second set of appropriations bills to reach the Senate floor this session. This "minibus" contains four important bills for Fiscal Year 2019: the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies bill, the Financial Services and General Government bill, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies bill, and the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies bill. Each of th… Continue Reading
07.20.18
Delegation Announces $400,000 for Vermont Technical College’s Dental Program
Vermont's congressional delegation announced Friday that Vermont Technical College received $400,000 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to develop a program to educate dental therapists, which will help expand access to much-needed oral health care throughout Vermont. The $400,000 in federal funds will play an instrumental role in establishing and implementing a dental therapy education program at Vermont Technical College. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said, "Access to dental … Continue Reading
07.19.18
In First Bipartisan Statement, Leahy And Other Senators Urge President Trump To Keep Families Together
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) is part of a bipartisan group of senators, led by Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), and Susan Collins (R-Maine), who Thursday sent a letter to President Trump, asserting that the default position of the United States should be to keep families together. The letter is signed by more than two dozen senators in all. The letter is the first bipartisan statement firmly opposing the family separation policy and urging the… Continue Reading
07.19.18
Leahy REAX To The White House's Refusal To Summarily Reject Putin's Proposal To Make Former U.S. Ambassador McFaul Available To The Russian Government For Interrogation
"It is beyond belief that the White House would even contemplate the ludicrous notion of turning over to Russian President Putin a former U.S. ambassador and public servant for doing his job and standing up for our national interests and values. The Administration needs to immediately and unequivocally reverse course. Their silence and actions already have undermined the confidence of other U.S. diplomats posted overseas that their government will defend them. President Trump must not cave to… Continue Reading
07.18.18
Leahy Floor Statement On President Trump's Helsinki Summit With Russian President Putin
In 2016, the Russian government waged a covert, multifaceted, criminal campaign to interfere in our elections, intended to help then-candidate Donald Trump win the presidency. We still do not know the full impact of Russia's interference. But it is beyond debate that it happened. Russia used inflammatory propaganda - actual fake news -- attempting to suppress Democratic turnout and boost support for Donald Trump. They also stole communications belonging to the Democratic National Committee a… Continue Reading
07.18.18
Leahy Floor Statement On The Nomination Of Ryan W. Bounds And The Abandonment Of The Senate's Blue Slip Tradition In Judicial Confirmations
As the longest-serving member of the Senate - and a former Chairman of the Judiciary Committee - I again feel obligated to speak up about the steady erosion of the norms and traditions that protect the Senate's unique constitutional role with respect to lifetime appointments to our federal courts. We should all be alarmed by the Judiciary Committee's abrupt change in course when it comes to its respect for blue slips - a change that coincides with a change in the White House. For much of this … Continue Reading
07.18.18
Leahy Applauds $2 Million Grant To Address Youth Homelessness In Vermont
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) hailed the announcement this week that the Vermont State Housing Authority (VSHA) will receive from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) a fiscal year 2017 grant of $2 million to address youth homelessness. The funds, as part of HUD's Youth Homelessness Demonstration Project, are being granted to VSHA on behalf of the Vermont Balance of State Continuum of Care, and in partnership with the Vermont Agency of Human Services and the Vermont Coalit… Continue Reading
07.18.18
Leahy Floor Statement on Political repression in Niger
Mr. President, as Vice Chairman of the Appropriations Committee I want to draw the Senate's attention to the plight of civil society leaders in Niger, where political and civil rights have been deteriorating over the last several years. This disturbing trend threatens the U.S. - Niger partnership, and should concern each of us. Mahamadou Issoufou was elected President of Niger in 2011, and in the following years worked cooperatively with Niger's international partners, including the United St… Continue Reading
07.16.18
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The President’s Remarks At The Trump-Putin News Conference
This is the undermining of our security interests and of the American rule of law. It is as dangerous as it is shameful. It is all the more indefensible now that President Trump feels a need to stand up for Putin and Russia. As a Vermonter and United States senator I stand up for America.… Continue Reading
07.14.18
Top Senators Tell Trump: Do Not Meet Putin Alone
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Sat., July 14, 2018 WASHINGTON - Today, a group of top Senate Democrats wrote to President Trump, urging him in the strongest possible terms to avoid meeting alone with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a letter to the White House, Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Senate Foreign Relations Ranking Member Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Senate Judi… Continue Reading
