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Search Senator Leahy’s press releases, floor statements, and Committee speeches by date or by subject.
Senate Confirms Two Judicial Nominations
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) praised the Senate Democratic majority's work in confirming judicial appointments Tuesday night, as the Senate reached a milestone with the confirmation of two nominees for lifetime appointments to the federal bench. In just three and a half years, Democrats have now matched the total number of President Bush's judicial appointments confirmed by Republicans in the more than four years in which they held the majority. With Tuesday's conf… Continue Reading
07.22.08
Leahy Joins Democratic Senators In Introducing Legislation To Improve Voter Registration Access For Veterans
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) joined with Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), John Kerry (D-Mass.) and others today to introduce legislation to require the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide voter registration services to veterans in the department's care. The senators introduced the legislation after receiving a response from Veterans Affairs Secretary James B. Peake earlier this month, again denying the senators' request that Secretary Peake designate VA facilities as voter registration… Continue Reading
07.21.08
Reaction To Attorney General Mukasey’s Call For Congressional Action On Rules For Detainee Hearings
The Supreme Court's 5-4 decision in Boumediene v. Bush last month reaffirmed our core American values by concluding that detainees at Guantanamo have the right to bring habeas corpus claims in federal court. I applauded that decision because I have maintained from the beginning that the provisions of the Military Commission Act that purported to strip away those rights were unconstitutional and un-American. The Judiciary Committee has held a wide range of hearings on issues of detainee right… Continue Reading
07.17.08
Senate Appropriations Committee Approves Fiscal Year 2009 State And Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill
The Senate Appropriations Committee today approved Fiscal Year 2009 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations legislation that strengthens American diplomacy, advances international security, invests in clean energy, and promotes international economic development and global health. The legislation provides $36.62 billion in discretionary funding, which is $3.82 billion above the FY 2008 enacted level. In addition, $3.42 billion was provided as FY 2009 bridge funding in the recently enacted … Continue Reading
07.17.08
Opening Remarks At The Appropriations Committee Markup For The FY2009 State, Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill
Thank you Mr. Chairman. I want to thank you and Senator Cochran for the allocation we received this year. Senator Gregg and I have worked together to produce this bipartisan bill. He and his staff have been extremely helpful and I thank him for it.Without taking the time to go into detail about this bill, I want to highlight a few items: There are no congressionally directed spending items in this bill. No organization, other than the United Nations or a multilateral organization that the U.S.… Continue Reading
07.17.08
Two More Lifetime Judicial Appointments ConfirmedTwo More Lifetime Judicial Appointments Confirmed
The Senate Thursday confirmed two nominees for lifetime appointments to the federal bench, bringing the total number of judicial nominations confirmed this Congress to 56. Two additional nominations remain pending on the Senate's executive calendar, and confirmation votes on those nominations could occur as early as next week. The Senate confirmed the nominations of Paul Gardephe and Kiyo Matsumoto for district court seats in New York. Under the Democratic leadership in the Senate, the pac… Continue Reading
07.17.08
Statement On Judicial Nominations
Today we continue to make progress by confirming two more nominations for lifetime appointments to the Federal bench: Paul Gardephe for the Southern District of New York and Kiyo Matsumoto for the Eastern District of New York. These nominees each have the support of the New York Senators, who worked with the White House to identify a slate of consensus nominees. I thank Senators Schumer and Clinton for their consideration of these nominees. I also thank Senator Schumer for chairing the hea… Continue Reading
07.16.08
Leahy, Boxer Solicit Testimony From EPA Administrator Senate Judiciary Committee To Hold Hearing On White House Interference In EPA Decision Making
The chairs of two Senate Committees today requested sworn testimony from the administrator of the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) at a hearing scheduled in the Senate Judiciary Committee for July 30. In a letter sent Wednesday, Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) invited EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson to testify before the Judiciary panel about the EPA's refusal to provide Congress wit… Continue Reading
07.16.08
Statement on Global HIV/AIDS, Malaria, And Tuberculosis Programs Senate Floor
Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I support this bill, which extends the authorization of United States HIV/AIDS programs administered by the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator, and includes several important changes to the former authorization act. I commend Senators Biden and Lugar, and their capable staff, for the outstanding work they have done, over many months, to get this bill through committee and to the Senate floor. This administration will not be remembered for its foreign policy achiev… Continue Reading
07.16.08
Leahy Presses Mukasey For Analysis Of Executive Privilege Request
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), today pressed Attorney General Michael Mukasey on his recent request that the President to claim executive privilege, thereby exempting Mukasey himself from complying with a subpoena to provide documents to a House Committee investigating the leak of undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity. In a letter sent to President Bush dated July 15, Mukasey requested that the President assert executive privilege, shielding Mukasey an… Continue Reading
07.16.08
Hearing On “How The Administration's Failed Detainee Policies Have Hurt The Fight Against Terrorism: Putting The Fight Against Terrorism On A Sound Legal Foundation”
In the wake of the tragic attacks on September 11, 2001, and toward the end of President Bush's first year in office, this country had an opportunity to show that we could fight terrorism, secure our nation, and bring the perpetrators of those heinous acts to justice, all in a way that was consistent with our history and our most deeply valued principles. A number of us reached out to the White House in an effort to craft a thoughtful, effective bipartisan way forward. The White House, support… Continue Reading
07.15.08
Senate Judiciary Committee To Examine Supreme Court Decisions On Corporate Misconduct
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) today announced a Committee hearing scheduled for July 23 to look at how recent decisions by the Supreme Court have shielded corporations engaged in misconduct. The hearing follows an examination by the Senate panel last month of how the Supreme Court's recently concluded term favored big business over protecting the rights of individuals relating to health care, retirement, financial services and employment issues. Recent Supreme Court… Continue Reading
07.15.08
Hearing On “The Google-Yahoo Agreement And The Future Of Internet Advertising”
The Internet has opened new means of communication, new ways to promote ideas, and new ways to buy and sell products and services. The explosion of free and easily accessed content on the Internet has been driven by a successful and competitive online advertising industry. The online advertising industry in the U.S. reportedly surpassed $25 billion last year. As more people use the Internet more often and with increased purposes, advertisers will similarly move to online platforms to move th… Continue Reading
07.14.08
Vermont Center For Crime Victim Services Gains $764,896 Grant From U.S. Department Of Justice
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced Monday that the Vermont Center for Crime Victim Services, based in Waterbury, will receive a $764,896 grant from the Office on Violence Against Women at the U.S. Department of Justice. The funds come from the STOP (Services-Training-Officers-Prosecutors) Violence Against Women Formula Grants Program, originally established in 1994 by the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). VAWA was reauthorized in 2006 under legislation that Leahy helped shepherd through Con… Continue Reading
07.14.08
Comment On House Passage Of S. 231, A Bill To Reauthorize The Byrne Grant Program
The House of Representatives today passed S. 231, a bill to reauthorize the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program through 2012. The reauthorization is an extension of the authorization contained in the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2005. The grant program is administered by the Department of Justice. The Senate passed the legislation in June 2007. The bill will now be sent to the President for signature. "Congress has now passed a key bill to reauthorize th… Continue Reading
07.14.08
On House Passage Of H.R. 3564, The Regulatory Improvement Act Of 2007
The Regulatory Improvement Act reauthorizes the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) through 2011. The Administrative Conference was last funded in 1995. In 2004, Justices Breyer and Scalia both testified in support of reauthorizing ACUS. Congress reauthorized appropriations for the Administrative Conference for fiscal years 2004-2007, but funds were never appropriated. The Senate passed the bill in June. It will now head to the President's desk for signature. "I am please… Continue Reading
07.14.08
Senator Leahy Addresses Medical Coding Graduates At Fletcher Allen Health Care
The Honorable Patrick J. Leahy, U.S. Senator addressed graduates of a medical coding training program developed by Fletcher Allen Health Care and Vermont HITEC today in a ceremony held at Fletcher Allen Health Care. Senator Leahy has been instrumental in securing funding for many of the recent training programs developed by Fletcher Allen and Vermont HITEC as well as the Fletcher Allen Health Care Workforce Development Institute, created in partnership with Vermont HITEC to help Fletcher Allen… Continue Reading
07.14.08
Comments To Override The President’s Veto Of The Medicare Reimbursement Act
"Vermonters depend on Medicare insurance being there when they need it. Overriding this veto helps keep that promise by averting disastrous cuts that would have affected all Vermonters who rely on Medicare. I'm proud that there was a strong showing in Congress to stand up to the President and to the wealthy corporate interests who opposed this bill." # # # # #… Continue Reading
07.14.08
Comment On Consideration Of Judicial Nominations
"The continued attempt by Senate Republicans to make a partisan, election-year issue out of judicial nominations would be laughable if they were not tragically ignoring the real priorities of hardworking Americans. Ironically, confirmation of judicial nominees is the one area where the numbers have actually improved during the Bush presidency. Since the years in which Republicans pocket filibustered more than 60 of President Clinton's moderate and qualified judicial nominees and judicial vacan… Continue Reading
07.10.08
On Senate Appropriations Committee Decision To Fund National Archives And Records Administration Office To Process Agency FOIA Requests
The Senate Appropriations Committee today reported a bill to provide $1 million to fund the new Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) in the National Archives and Records Administration. The action follows action by the Committee last month on the Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill, rejecting the Bush administration's efforts to fund the functions of OGIS in the Department of Justice rather than the National Archives. The OGIS was established in the Leahy-Cornyn OPEN Gover… Continue Reading
