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Search Senator Leahy’s press releases, floor statements, and Committee speeches by date or by subject.
Leahy And Other Senators Question Secretary Mattis On Cost to Taxpayers of President Trump’s Military Parade
Senator Patrick Leahy on Wednesday -- with Senators Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) -- sent a letter to Department of Defense Secretary James Mattis to explain the impact of President Trump's directive to conduct a military parade in Washington, D.C, on American taxpayers. "At a time of war, with American servicemembers serving in harm's way, such a parade seems to be inappropriate and wasteful," the senators wrote. "Every penny of the millions of dollars tha… Continue Reading
02.05.18
Leahy Statement On The Release Of The Nunes Memo
Last Friday, Devin Nunes, the House Intelligence Committee Chairman, received approval from President Trump to release a classified memo that purports to show that a FISA application to conduct surveillance of a Trump campaign aide was politically motivated. Over the weekend, the President, speaking in the third person, told us that this memo "totally vindicates 'Trump'" in the Russia investigation. Following a pattern that has become all too familiar, the President also viciously attacked the… Continue Reading
02.02.18
BREAKING: Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Release Of The Nunes Memo
For years I have been leading calls in the Senate to protect our civil liberties and reform our surveillance authorities under FISA. The President and House Republicans' decision to release the Nunes memo has absolutely nothing to do with what is wrong with FISA - including unrelated provisions that allow for warrantless surveillance of Americans. Nor does this poisoned, partisan memo have anything to do with serious oversight of FISA authorities more broadly. The memo deliberately omits key … Continue Reading
02.01.18
Leahy And Other Democratic Senators Urge President To Prioritize Rural Broadband
As the Administration prepares a broad infrastructure plan, 23 million Americans living in rural areas across the country still lack access to high-speed broadband. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) joined a letter penned by U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn) to President Trump urging him to include funding to support broadband deployment in unserved rural areas across the country. Leahy is the Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. "In an increasingly inter… Continue Reading
01.31.18
Comment Of Sen. Patrick Leahy On President’s Exec. Order To Keep GTMO Open
"For nearly two decades, Guantanamo Bay has been a stain on our American system of justice. From indefinite detentions without charges, to allegations of detainee mistreatment, to reports of government surveillance of confidential attorney-client communications, Guantanamo Bay has proven to be a Kafkaesque mockery of the rule of law. I oppose any attempts, including this executive order, to keep this irreparably flawed system open for business. And I am not alone. More than 50 retired generals, … Continue Reading
01.31.18
The #BudgetTruthSquad Fact Checks President Trump’s State Of The Union
Infrastructure: "I am asking both parties to come together to give us the safe, fast, reliable, and modern infrastructure our economy needs and our people deserve….Together, we can reclaim our building heritage. We will build gleaming new roads, bridges, highways, railways, and waterways across our land. And we will do it with American heart, American hands, and American grit." · One year after the President took office, he still has not sent Congress a detailed proposal f… Continue Reading
01.30.18
Reaction Of Senator Patrick Leahy To The President’s State Of The Union Message
Under this President, the State of our Union is suddenly tenuous, in many ways. President Trump can say he's for uniting instead of dividing the nation. He's said it before. But after a year of intensely divisive actions, petty insults and disgraceful race-baiting, those words ring hollow by now. Nor does doubling down on his broken promises to help struggling Americans sound as convincing as it once might have. The tens of billions of dollars that he wants taxpayers - not Mexico, as he p… Continue Reading
01.30.18
Statement Of Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) On The Need For A Bipartisan Agreement
The Fiscal Year began on October 1st of last year. Four months have passed-122 days-since the start of the Fiscal Year, and we still do not have a budget deal that will allow us to finish the FY 2018 Appropriations bills. Recently, President Trump has taken to Twitter accusing Democrats of holding up funding for our troops. The idea that Democrats are holding up defense spending does not pass the laugh test. Last July-nearly seven months ago-I called for bipartisan budget negotiations. I pu… Continue Reading
01.25.18
Leahy REAX To Trump Administration’s Imposition Of A Tariff That Will Punish U.S. Solar Energy Businesses & Workers
"This is a cynical, rash and shortsighted unilateral action. It will damage America's clean energy future, in Vermont and across the nation. Incredibly, the Trump Administration wants to hand new taxpayer subsidies to coal and nuclear, while slapping on new taxes - these tariffs - that hurt the thriving U.S. businesses that are installing solar equipment. They seemingly don't care about how this will hurt U.S. jobs in our domestic solar installation market. This could especially do real dama… Continue Reading
01.24.18
Leahy Committee Statement On The Nomination Of Michael Brennan to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals
As the longest-serving member of the Senate and a former chairman of this Committee, I feel obligated to speak up about the steady erosion of this body's norms and traditions. Lately, unfortunately, I have had to speak up a lot. Once again, I am concerned that the blue slip tradition that Chairman Grassley steadfastly adhered to during the Obama administration is being further tarnished today. This is not a matter of a chairman choosing a blue slip policy that differs from my own. It is a m… Continue Reading
01.22.18
Comment Of Appropriations Vice Chair Patrick Leahy On His ‘No’ Vote On Cloture On The GOP Stop-Gap Spending Bill
"I'm relieved there is an end in sight to this Trump Shutdown. But Republican leaders and President Trump have left too much undone - from a bipartisan budget deal, to disaster relief, to community health centers, to the opioid crisis, to DACA. There are many pressing and unfinished priorities, and I cannot give my support to yet another short-term, stopgap measure that, yet again, keeps budget priorities on autopilot, without the ability to adjust for changing priorities since these budget le… Continue Reading
01.20.18
Senate Floor Address Saturday Afternoon By Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Leahy On The Trump Shutdown
Mr. President, months ago, President Donald Trump called for a government shutdown, and through his leadership of chaos and his inability to govern or keep his word, he got exactly what he wanted. Make no mistake, it is the Majority's responsibility to produce a bill to send to the President. If they cannot get 60 votes because they refuse to negotiate with Democrats, that is THEIR responsibility. All they needed was nine Democrats, and they could not get it done - in fact they lost four of … Continue Reading
01.18.18
Senate Appropriations Vice Chairman Leahy Statement Opposing The Fourth Continuing Resolution
Mr. President, here we go again. In 1995, Republicans shut down our government - seeking to recklessly cut education programs and environmental programs and raise Medicare premiums on millions of senior citizens. In 2013, Republicans once again sought to strip the health care of millions of Americans by shutting down the government in a failed effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act. An effort they continued this summer instead of negotiating a bipartisan budget deal that could have averte… Continue Reading
01.18.18
Senate Appropriations Vice Chair Leahy Announces His Opposition To The Fourth Continuing Resolution
Democrats have been ready and willing to negotiate a spending agreement since June. The House bill does not address the needs of our military, our veterans, or the opioid epidemic, and it does not protect the DREAMers. Instead of working on these important matters, congressional Republican leadership spent the last year overturning consumer protections, stripping health care from millions of Americans, and passing a massive tax cut for big corporations and wealthy Americans to be paid for by m… Continue Reading
01.17.18
Remarks of Senator Patrick Leahy At The Congressional Medal Ceremony For Senator Bob Dole
Bob, what a flood of memories come to the surface, to be here with you and Elizabeth. Marcelle and I feel blessed for the opportunities we've had to spend time with you both on so many occasions, but especially at your wedding reception. I've enjoyed and learned much from working with Senator Bob Dole, with Majority Leader Bob Dole, and with Republican Leader Bob Dole, beginning when I was a young member of the Senate. And as time went on, also as a not-so-young member of the Senate. Beyond … Continue Reading
01.17.18
Remarks Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Passing Of Tim O’Connor
The O'Connors have been friends since I was a young lawyer starting my practice. Tim had such a great sense of humor, especially when it involved the Irish. I told Martha this morning how I will miss him but that I'll look, every day, at the walking stick he brought me from Ireland. Marcelle and I remember so fondly the meals at their home, and how they cared for us and our children. His love of our state was matched by his devotion to his family. Tim lived his life with a commitment to m… Continue Reading
01.16.18
Leahy Statement On On S. 139, the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017
In about an hour, the members of this body will vote whether or not to cut off debate and block any amendments on a fundamentally flawed piece of legislation that fails to reform one of our most important surveillance tools. Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act was intended to provide for vast and powerful surveillance of foreigners overseas. And it does. But the fact that it is an effective surveillance tool used against foreigners abroad is not what you will hear concern about today. You… Continue Reading
01.16.18
Leahy, Rubio, Colleagues Urge DOJ To Require China-Controlled Media Operating in the U.S. To Register As Foreign Agents
U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) today led a bipartisan group of senators in urging Attorney General Jeff Sessions to detail the Department of Justice's (DOJ) efforts requiring Chinese state-controlled media outlets operating in the U.S. to register as foreign agents. All of the signatories serve on either the Senate Judiciary Committee, with jurisdiction over the Department of Justice and enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), or the Senate Select… Continue Reading
01.16.18
Leahy Plays Matchmaker, Arranging For Donation Of 25 U.S. Senate Surplus Computers To Vermont Classrooms
Senator Patrick Leahy has arranged for a shipment of 25 surplus computers to five Vermont Schools through the U.S. Senate's Computers for Schools programs. Overseen by the Senate's Sergeant At Arms, the program was established to offer surplus computers to classrooms across the country. Leahy worked with Vermont Agency of Education officials to identify Vermont schools with the highest needs for computers. They jointly identified five schools, which have now received five computers each. Don… Continue Reading
01.12.18
Guest Column from Appropriations Vice Chair Patrick Leahy, On The Budget Showdown
The Clock Is Ticking, And The People Are Watching Once again Congress finds itself lurching toward another manufactured made-in-Washington crisis. We are four months into a new fiscal year, and our government is still operating under last year's fixed funding levels with little flexibility to adapt to today's world. We have not reauthorized the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), putting the health care of 9 million children, including more than 4700 Vermont children, at risk. And 800,0… Continue Reading
