Press Room
Press Releases
Search Senator Leahy’s press releases, floor statements, and Committee speeches by date or by subject.
Leahy: FOIA Anniversary Time For Renewed Open Government Commitment
(Wednesday, June 25, 2008) - Open government advocate Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) urged Congress today to renew efforts to improve government transparency and strengthen the nation's open government laws in advance of the upcoming anniversary of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). July 4 will mark the 42nd anniversary of the signing of the Freedom of Information Act, a law that continues to bring transparency to actions of the federal government at a time when excessive government secrecy has… Continue Reading
06.25.08
Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee On The Constitution “Laptop Searches And Other Violations Of Privacy Faced By Americans Returning From Overseas Travel”
I am glad Senator Feingold has convened this important hearing to examine intrusive practices by the Department of Homeland Security at our Nation's ports of entry. These practices affect the privacy interests of American citizens. Americans understand that it is the Federal Government's responsibility to ensure that anyone entering the United States complies with the law. There is no dispute about this basic principle. But Americans also want their government's policies to respect and pres… Continue Reading
06.25.08
Leahy Statement On FISA Legislation ?Chairman Will Support Efforts To Strike Immunity Provisions
Leahy Statement On FISA Legislation Chairman Will Support Efforts To Strike Immunity Provisions WASHINGTON (Wednesday, June 25, 2008) - Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) delivered the following remarks today as the Senate prepares to debate the FISA Amendments Act of 2008. Leahy said he intends to oppose the Senate's motion to proceed to the legislation, and that he will support efforts to strike provisions in the bill that fail to provide accountability for the Bus… Continue Reading
06.25.08
Reaction On The Supreme Court Ruling In Exxon v. Baker
More than a decade ago, the Exxon Valdez was run aground by a drunk captain, leading to one of the worst - and preventable - environmental disasters to reach American shores. A jury determined that Exxon Mobil knowingly and repeatedly allowed a relapsed alcoholic to operate a ship filled with oil through Prince William Sound. That jury found Exxon to be liable for $5 billion for its actions. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals cut those damages in half. For more than a decade, Exxon Mobil has… Continue Reading
06.24.08
Statement At Hearing On “From Nuremburg To Darfur: Accountability For Crimes Against Humanity”
I am very pleased that the Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law is convening today's hearing on the crucial issue of holding people accountable for crimes against humanity. I thank Senator Durbin for chairing it, and the witnesses for being here today. I was proud to work with Senator Durbin in creating the Human Rights and the Law Subcommittee, which is working on important and difficult legal issues that have increasingly been … Continue Reading
06.24.08
Opening Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy
The Senate tonight will vote on three pending judicial nominations, including two circuit court nominations to fill the final vacancies on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The three nominees from Michigan, Judge Helene White and Raymond Kethledge for the Court of Appeals, and Steven Murphy for the Eastern District of Michigan, provided testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee at a May 7 hearing, and were reported by the Committee on June 12. Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) deli… Continue Reading
06.24.08
Senate Passes Leahy-Obama Sponsored Measure To Commemorate Freedom Summer
The Senate Tuesday night unanimously passed a resolution introduced by Sen. Barak Obama (D-Ill.) and co-sponsored by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to commemorate the 44th anniversary of the1964 deaths of three civil rights workers, a tragedy that sparked events across the country that changed the course of the civil rights movement. The summer of their deaths became known as "Freedom Summer." Leahy has worked in the Senate towards passage of the Emmett Till Unresolved Civil Rights Crime Act, a bi… Continue Reading
06.24.08
Opening Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy
The Senate tonight will vote on three pending judicial nominations, including two circuit court nominations to fill the final vacancies on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The three nominees from Michigan, Judge Helene White and Raymond Kethledge for the Court of Appeals, and Steven Murphy for the Eastern District of Michigan, provided testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee at a May 7 hearing, and were reported by the Committee on June 12. Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) deli… Continue Reading
06.24.08
On Department Of Justice Intern And Honors Programs
"Today's troubling report from the Inspector General confirms what our oversight efforts in this Congress have uncovered about the politicization of hiring practices at the Department. It confirms our findings and our fears that the same senior Department officials involved with the firing of United States Attorneys were injecting improper political motives into the process of hiring young attorneys. I suspect further reports from the Inspector General will continue to shed light on the extent… Continue Reading
06.16.08
Leahy Provisions Holding Private Security Contractors And War Profiteers Accountable Under U.S. Law Added To Iraq Supplemental Appropriations Bill
Three measures sponsored by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to hold private security contractors and war profiteers accountable under U.S. law for the first time were approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee Thursday afternoon and included in the Senate version of the emergency supplemental spending bill for Iraq, Afghanistan, and key domestic programs. In response to the killings of 17 innocent civilians by Blackwater security guards in Iraq last September, a provision to close a jurisdictio… Continue Reading
06.03.08
Time To Clarify Military Roles In Disaster Relief Here At Home
Never the squeaky wheel, but ever ready in an emergency, the National Guard too often is easy to take for granted. But when cities flood, hillsides are engulfed in flame, storms lash our communities, or terrorism strikes, the Guard is promptly on the scene, saving lives and restoring order. The military side of our preparedness grid is in better shape than it was in the late-summer of 2005 when Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast. National Guard units from across the country str… Continue Reading
05.29.08
Praise New Treaty Banning Cluster Munitions, Call On United States To Join Pact
U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) Thursday hailed a new international agreement to ban the vast majority of cluster munitions, and called on the United States to join the agreement. Under the treaty announced Wednesday in Dublin, Ireland, 111 nations agreed to stop producing and using cluster munitions. The agreement also calls on signatories to destroy all cluster munitions stockpiles within eight years. The United States declined to sign on to the agreement. … Continue Reading
05.29.08
Praise New Treaty Banning Cluster Munitions, Call On United States To Join Pact
U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) Thursday hailed a new international agreement to ban the vast majority of cluster munitions, and called on the United States to join the agreement. Under the treaty announced Wednesday in Dublin, Ireland, 111 nations agreed to stop producing and using cluster munitions. The agreement also calls on signatories to destroy all cluster munitions stockpiles within eight years. The United States declined to sign on to the agreement. … Continue Reading
05.22.08
‘Got MILC’ Across The Finish Line -- Vermont Delegation Performs Traditional ‘Milk Toast’ As Renewal Of The MILC Program’s Charter Finally Becomes Law Senate Joins House In Overriding President’s Veto Of The Farm Bill
Capping months of effort by the Vermont Congressional Delegation, the MILC Program - the basic safety net for dairy farmers when milk prices plummet - became law Thursday afternoon when the U.S. Senate joined the U.S. House of Representatives in overriding President Bush's veto of a new 5-year Farm Bill. The Vermont Congressional Delegation - Sen. Patrick Leahy (D), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) and Rep. Peter Welch (D) - toasted the victory in the U.S. Capitol with champagne glasses of milk, a tradi… Continue Reading
05.22.08
SJC: Panel Holds Hearing On Civil Legal Assistance To Low-Income Americans
(Thursday, May 21, 2008) - The Senate Judiciary Committee capped a full week this afternoon with a hearing to explore efforts being made by the Legal Services Corporation to provide low-income Americans with the representation necessary to navigate the judicial system. Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy's statement follows. Watch the hearing live and read witness testimony online.… Continue Reading
05.21.08
Hearing On “Exploring The Skyrocketing Price Of Oil”
I thank the witnesses for being here today. And some of you, to your credit, were more forthcoming than others in answering the questions on both sides of the aisle. Of course, the bottom line is very simple: People we represent are hurting. Your companies, the foreign oil interests, are profiting. And we need to get this somehow into balance. I think the price of oil has to reflect market fundamentals. If oil returns to $35 to $65 a barrel, as some of you have said, then we could bring g… Continue Reading
05.21.08
Oil Executives Testify Before Senate Panel
(Wednesday, May 21, 2008) - Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) convened a hearing this morning to examine the explosive rise in oil prices in recent months. The hearing featured testimony from executives of five major oil companies - ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Chevron, BP America and Shell. In his opening remarks, Leahy highlighted the story of a Vermont business owner, Warren Hill, whose family settled in Vermont more than 200 years ago. Mr. Warren's logging and truck… Continue Reading
05.21.08
On The Merida Initiative Congressional Record
MR. LEAHY. The Fiscal Year 2008 supplemental appropriations bill provides $450 million for the Merida Initiative, including $350 million for Mexico and $100 million for Central America, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. This is the first installment of an ongoing commitment to help our neighbors to the south respond to the growing violence and corruption of heavily armed drug cartels. It represents a ten-fold increase in assistance for Mexico in a single year. The Merida Initiative is a par… Continue Reading
05.20.08
Comment On Senator Edward Kennedy’s Medical Condition
"The concern that has rippled through the Senate is a sign of his importance to the Senate and to the Senate family. The news has saddened us all. "Ted Kennedy and his family have suffered so much, and they have endured with strength and courage. Marcelle and I take comfort in having seen his resilience and his fighting spirit through all these years. We hope and pray for his full recovery, and we offer our best wishes to Vicki and to all in the Kennedy family." # # # # #… Continue Reading
05.20.08
Senate Confirms Agee For Fourth Circuit Court Of Appeals
The Senate today unanimously confirmed the nomination of G. Steven Agee for a seat on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. It is the second appellate confirmation this year, and the sixth judicial nomination to be confirmed by the Senate. Earlier today, Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) spoke on the Senate floorabout the Agee nomination and the Committee's continued work in reducing vacancies on the Federal bench. Agee was nominated by the President to fill a long-standing va… Continue Reading
