Press Room
Press Releases
Search Senator Leahy’s press releases, floor statements, and Committee speeches by date or by subject.
On Signing Of Legislation To Extend The Bulletproof Vest Partnership
On Wednesday, the President signed a bill to reauthorize a life-saving grant program to help law enforcement agencies purchase bulletproof vests for officers. The Bulletproof Vest Partnership Program was first authored by Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) in 1998. In May, Leahy chaired a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee about the importance of the program, which has provided over $234 million in federal grants for state and local law enforcement agencies to purchase bulletproof ve… Continue Reading
10.16.08
Leahy Again Presses White House For Torture Documents
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) sent a letter Wednesday to the White House again pressing for disclosure of White House and Justice Department documents and materials related to the government's use of torture, including the technique known as waterboarding. A press account in The Washington Postrevealed the existence of two previously undisclosed White House memoranda to the CIA from 2003 and 2004. Neither the Senate Judiciary Committee nor the Senate Select Committe… Continue Reading
10.16.08
$38.7 Million In Home Energy Funds For Vermont Released Today
BURLINGTON, October 16 - The Vermont congressional delegation announced today thatVermont's share of federal funding for home heating assistance this winter will be $38.7 million. The total is $3.7 million more than was projected for Vermont even after Congress doubled funds for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. Last year, Vermont received $17 million in federal funds and the state contributed $6.3 million. The extra assistance at a time of rising home heating bills was bas… Continue Reading
10.14.08
U.S. Launches $1 M. Leahy-Led Ad Effort Aimed At Canadian Visitors In Advance Of New U.S. Border Crossing Requirements Next June
With tourism from Canada on the rise in recent years, U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced Tuesday that the U.S. State Department will launch a $1 million English and French public relations campaign in Quebec and its neighboring Atlantic Canadian provinces to raise awareness of new U.S. border crossing requirements set to begin next June. Leahy, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, secured the funding in a budget bill enacted earlier this year. Leahy chartered the o… Continue Reading
10.13.08
Statement On The President’s Signing Of S.3325, The Prioritizing Resources And Organization Of Intellectual Property Act Of 2008
President Bush today signed into law the Prioritizing Resources and Organization of Intellectual Property (PRO-IP) Act. The bill was introduced by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) For more information about the legislation, which unanimously passed the Senate in September, click here. "The intellectual property enforcement legislation that President Bush signed into law today is among the most important bills I have championed. At a time of financial and economic … Continue Reading
10.09.08
On The President’s Signing Of S.2982, The Reconnecting Homeless Youth Act Of 2008
The President on Wednesday signed the Reconnecting Homeless Youth Protection Act of 2008 into law. The legislation was introduced in May by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). The Senate Judiciary Committee, which Leahy chairs, unanimously reported the legislation in May. The law will reauthorize key federal grant programs created by the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act to provide states with grants to help the thousands of homeless young people nationwide. The law authorizes a $200,000 minimum grant … Continue Reading
10.09.08
2 Grants Secured By Senator Leahy Will Bolster Vermont’s Anti-Drug Efforts
ounter drug trafficking and to help break the cycle of drug crime and violence. These efforts were examined earlier this year in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing that Senator Leahy (the panel's chairman) brought to Rutland. Senator Leahy, also a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, secured these funds in the Justice Department's FY 2008 budget bill. They are now being released to Vermont. VERMONT DRUG TASK FORCE: $951,434 These funds will be used for the Task Force… Continue Reading
10.08.08
Leahy Secures Workforce Training Funds To Recruit, Hire And Train 18 Upper Valley Residents …New Worker Recruitment Office Opens In Windsor
WINDSOR, Vt. - (Wednesday, Oct. 8) -- U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced Wednesday the opening of a Windsor, Vt., worker recruitment office by Vermont HITEC, a non-profit workforce development organization. The new Vermont HITEC office, funded in part by a Leahy-secured $191,000 U.S. Department of Labor grant, will allow Vermont HITEC to recruit and train 18 Upper Valley residents as Computer Numeric Controlled (CNC) machine operators and establish a regional advanced manufacturing insti… Continue Reading
10.06.08
Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, To President Bush’s Speech On The Federal Judiciary
"The balance on our nation's federal courts is precarious, with seven out of the nine Supreme Court Justices and 60 percent of all Federal judges appointed by Republican Presidents. The impact of President Bush's appointments is being harshly felt by ordinary Americans who are being denied their day in court and denied the protection that federal and state laws designed to help them were intended to provide. We cannot afford more of the same if Americans' rights and liberties are to be preserve… Continue Reading
10.03.08
To The Attorney General Consolidated Guidelines For FBI Domestic Operations
"The American people deserve a vigilant Justice Department that does not sacrifice or endanger their rights and privacy, but accomplishing this goal takes clear rules, bright lines and close oversight. As a former prosecutor I know that this can be done. These new investigative guidelines unnecessarily blur those lines. "I remain disappointed that, despite several bipartisan requests to share these guidelines with members of the Judiciary Committee so that the Committee could provide meani… Continue Reading
10.02.08
On The Indictment Of A Former Congressional Candidate For Obstruction Of Justice
The Department of Justice on Wednesday announced that a federal grand jury in Santa Ana, Calif., has indicted former Republican congressional candidate Tan Nguyen on a federal obstruction of justice charge. Nguyen allegedly provided investigators with misleading statements letters sent to Latino voters in California's 47th Congressional District before the November 2006 elections. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has pressed the Justice Department to aggressively pursu… Continue Reading
10.02.08
Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy, Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On Executive Nominations
Today, the Senate confirmed five more executive nominations that were reported by the Judiciary Committee, including the nomination of Greg Garre to be Solicitor General of the United States, one of the highest and most prestigious positions at the Department of Justice. The nominations that consider today also include Jeffrey Leigh Sedgwick to run the Department's Office of Justice Programs, George W. Venables to be United States Marshal for the Southern District of California, Brian Albrit… Continue Reading
10.01.08
Colloquy Between Senator Patrick Leahy And Senator Christopher Dodd
Senator LEAHY: As the Senate considers extraordinary legislation to address the current economic crisis I believe it is imperative for the record to reflect the intent behind the provisions I worked with Senator Dodd to include in this legislation. In an effort to ensure that there is no doubt about what we intended, I would ask the Banking Committee Chairman, Senator Dodd whether it is his understanding that our efforts to ensure that any actions taken by the Treasury Secretary, under the aut… Continue Reading
10.01.08
Statement In Support Of The Financial Bailout Package
This financial crisis is rooted in material actions involving executive greed and ineptitude, flawed economic policies, and the incompetence of on-the-scene regulatory agencies. And we are dealing with this crisis at the unfortunate intersection of two toxic trends: the loss of confidence in our financial system, and the public's loss of confidence in the Bush Administration. Many have come to agree with those of us who have long felt that 'trust me' is not enough when this White House asks fo… Continue Reading
10.01.08
On Senate Passage Of S.1703, Trafficking In Persons Accountability Act Of 2007
I am pleased that today the Senate has passed the Trafficking in Persons Accountability Act of 2007, which would improve our efforts to stop the abominable practice of human trafficking in the United States and around the world. This modern-day form of slavery forces, defrauds or coerces victims into sexual or labor exploitation. It is the world's fastest growing criminal enterprise and generates $9.5 billion annually, $4 billion of which goes to the prostitution industry. Nearly one million … Continue Reading
09.30.08
Statement On Passage Of H.R. 6353, The Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act Of 2007
Mr. President, I am pleased that the Senate will pass the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act, H.R. 6353 - an important bipartisan bill that would create new tools for Federal law enforcement to prosecute those who illegally sell drugs online, and allow state authorities to shut down rogue online pharmacies even before they get started. Last week, the House of Representatives passed this important legislation. Earlier this year, the Senate passed a version of this bill, and… Continue Reading
09.30.08
Senate Passes Leahy-Championed Bill To Protect Vessel Hull Designers
The Senate Tuesday unanimously adopted a bipartisan bill that will protect the work and innovation of ship designers across the country. The legislation, which passed the House in July, was also introduced in the Senate by Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). The Senate last year unanimously approved similar legislation, and the updated bill passed today provides additional clarification for the U.S. Navy's fleet. The legislation was introduced in the Senate by Leahy and Ju… Continue Reading
09.30.08
On H.R. 7084, The Webcaster Settlement Act Of 2008
I am pleased that the Senate has passed the Webcaster Settlement Act of 2008, a short but important bill for all of us who love to listen to music online. I have long championed the development of new business models for transmitting music to the public, and I have been delighted to see the webcasting community grow and prosper. From tiny operations serving the smallest of musical niches, to collegiate stations playing cutting edge performers, to large established webcasters providing a whole … Continue Reading
09.30.08
Bill To Reauthorize Leahy-Authored Bulletproof Vest Program
09.29.08
About The Bailout Package Defeated Monday In The House Of Representatives
From the start, the Bush-Paulson plan smacked too much of the top-down fiscal policy that has gone so wrong over the last decade. Our concern should be about how the credit crisis threatens ordinary Americans and we should not wring our hands if inept CEOs lose their jobs or their golden parachutes. Vermonters are worried about tightening credit that would erode the value of their homes and squeeze their businesses, farms and families. The spectacle of our having to fight to make commonsense … Continue Reading
