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Press Releases
Search Senator Leahy’s press releases, floor statements, and Committee speeches by date or by subject.
Chairman Leahy Releases Fiscal Year 2023 Senate Appropriations Bills
(Thursday, July 28, 2022) - Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Thursday released the Chairman's mark of the 12 senate appropriations bills. The nearly $1.7 trillion fiscal year 2023 appropriations package includes $653 billion in non-defense discretionary spending, a 10.1 percent increase over fiscal year 2022; $850 billion in defense discretionary spending, an 8.7 percent increase over fiscal year 2022 and consistent with the bipartisan National Defense Authorizatio… Continue Reading
07.27.22
Adams, Collins, Leahy, Maloney, Rouzer Celebrate $8 Billion Victory For Affordable Housing
Today, Congresswoman Alma Adams (D-NC), Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Susan Collins (R-ME), and Representatives Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) and David Rouzer (R-NC) announced their legislation, the LIFELINE Act, led to the publication of revised guidance by the Treasury Department that will unlock an additional $8 billion for affordable housing from the American Rescue Plan Act's State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund. "Too many families in Charlotte, North Carolina, and across the country are s… Continue Reading
07.27.22
Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy On Sri Lanka
The corrupt Rajapaksa brothers, with the backing of the military and police, ran Sri Lanka as a family business while the people suffered every hardship, abuse, and indignity. They and other senior officials in their government and the security forces should be prosecuted and appropriately punished, and the country finally put on a path of representative democracy that renounces politics based on ethnicity and repression. ###… Continue Reading
07.26.22
Durbin, Leahy Call On Administration To Take An Unequivocal Position Against The Use Of Torture-Derived Evidence
In response to a new letter from the Biden Administration, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today released a joint statement expressing disappointment with the Administration for failing to take a firm and unequivocal position against the use of torture-derived evidence: "This is not a difficult question: Are we going to stand on principle and repudiate uneq… Continue Reading
07.20.22
(UPDATE as of July 20 a.m.): Statement From The Office Of Senator Patrick Leahy
Senator Leahy has continued to make progress in his rehabilitation after surgery on June 30 to repair and replace a fractured hip that he suffered from a fall at his house in McLean, Virginia. On Tuesday, Senator Leahy's surgical team found it necessary to perform an additional surgery to help advance his recovery. Senator Leahy was back in his rehabilitation room by Tuesday evening and is once again working diligently with the physical therapists to return home as soon as possible. Senator… Continue Reading
07.18.22
Leahy REAX To Treasury Dept.’s Announcement Of $57.9M. Investment In Vermont To Support Underserved Entrepreneurs And Small Business Growth Through The State Small Business Credit Initiative Program
[The federal State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) empowers small businesses to access desperately needed capital to invest in job-creating opportunities. The program was first authorized under the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 and then reauthorized under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. As Chair of Senate Appropriations Committee, Leahy fought for the inclusion of $10 billion for Treasury for SSBCI and an all-state minimum allocation for the program in the American Rescue Plan… Continue Reading
07.18.22
Sens. Moran, Leahy, Brown Introduce Resolution Honoring 20th Anniversary Of McGovern-Dole Food For Education And Child Nutrition Program
U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) - members of the Senate Hunger Caucus - today introduced a resolution expressing their commitment to build on 20 successful years of the George McGovern-Robert Dole Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program. Since its establishment in 2002, the George McGovern-Robert Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program has provided nutritional resources, literacy and primary education for scho… Continue Reading
07.12.22
Van Hollen, Leahy, Murphy, Durbin Press Administration For Answers On US Review Into Death Of American Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh
Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pressing for answers regarding the United States Security Coordinator's (USSC) recent review into the shooting death of American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. In their letter, the Senators note the USSC review does not meet Blinken's call for "an independent, credible investigation" and ask that they be provided USSC's work… Continue Reading
07.05.22
Statement From The Office Of Senator Patrick Leahy
Senator Leahy continues to recover from his hip replacement surgery. He has been discharged as an inpatient and has now transitioned to rehabilitation where he will continue to recover and focus on his physical therapy regimen. Patrick and Marcelle deeply appreciate the outpouring of concern and support from family, friends, colleagues and supporters. They have been overwhelmed with that warmth and would like everyone to know that they will respond to everyone in good time, but for now they a… Continue Reading
06.30.22
UPDATE (6:30pm) -- Statement From The Office Of Senator Patrick Leahy
Senator Leahy is comfortably recovering at a Washington area hospital after successful surgery, after the fall at his home Wednesday night that broke his hip. His doctors chose to do routine hip replacement surgery, which they completed this afternoon. He is expected to begin a physical therapy regimen after sufficient healing that will allow Patrick and Marcelle to begin taking their daily long walks together again. Patrick and Marcelle are overwhelmed and humbled by the outpouring of suppor… Continue Reading
06.30.22
Statement From The Office Of Senator Patrick Leahy
This morning, Senator Leahy will undergo surgery to repair a broken hip that he suffered as a result from a fall at his house in McLean, Virginia, Wednesday night. Having been born blind in one eye, the Senator has had a lifelong struggle with reduced depth perception. He has taken some remarkable dingers over the years but this one finally caught up with him. His doctors determined that the best course of action would be to have surgery to repair his hip as soon as possible. He is expecte… Continue Reading
06.25.22
Statement On Signing Of The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act For Commonsense Gun Safety Reforms
[The new law includes Senator Leahy's bill to strengthen penalties for straw purchasing and gun trafficking. And as President Pro Tem of the U.S. Senate, Leahy and Speaker Pelosi signed the bill, the required step before transmitting it to the President.] Today the President signed into law a much-needed step forward to addressing our nation's gun violence epidemic. As we continue marking mass shootings with more and more frequency, and the nation calls on its elected officials to legislate … Continue Reading
06.24.22
Reaction To The Supreme Court’s Opinion In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization
[Patrick Leahy is the President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate, and a former Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He is the current Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.] Today's opinion from a narrow majority of the Court is not the end of abortion. It is the end of a woman's right to safe reproductive health care. It is the end of women's choice. It sets us back. It does not move us forward. What message does this send to women? That their choice - that their… Continue Reading
06.23.22
Statement On The Urgent Need For Additional COVID Funding
As Senators prepare to return to their home states for the July 4th holiday, it is frustrating that we have once again kicked the can down the road on providing the needed funding to address the ongoing COVID pandemic. For months, the Administration, scientists, and health care experts have raised the alarm that we do not have the resources we need to stay ahead of this virus. And with COVID, if you are not staying ahead of it, you are slipping behind, to the detriment of all Americans. To ke… Continue Reading
06.23.22
Statement On The Supreme Court Decision In Bruen
"How ironic that on this, the day the United States Senate is poised to act for the first time in decades on commonsense gun safety legislation, the Supreme Court has created greater uncertainty for states as they try to address the dangers of gun violence. Commonsense safeguards can be enacted to provide for the safety of our children and our communities, while respecting the constitutional right enshrined in the Second Amendment. "The conservative majority of the Supreme Court got it wrong … Continue Reading
06.22.22
Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy Hearing On: “The Patent Trial And Appeal Board: Examining Proposals To Address Predictability, Certainty, And Fairness”
Patents drive our economy, allowing innovators to do what they do best while knowing they can reap the benefits of their hard work. Good quality patents thus give small businesses and inventors certainty that they can defend their inventions from others who didn't put in the work. Without the rights guaranteed by patents, the engine of our economy, American innovation, simply would not be as strong. Given the power that a patent conveys, though, a patent issued by the U.S. Patent and Tradema… Continue Reading
06.21.22
Senator Menendez, Congressman Lieu Lead Colleagues In Introducing Resolution In Observance Of World Refugee Day
On the heels of World Refugee Day (June 20), U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Representative Ted Lieu (D-CA-33) were joined by 20 of their Senate colleagues, 67 of their House colleagues, and 11 leading refugee advocacy and human rights organizations in unveiling a resolution reaffirming the United States' commitment to promote the welfare of refugees and displaced persons worldwide - including children - as they flee conflict, persecuti… Continue Reading
06.21.22
Statement On Commemorating World Refugee Day 2022
On June 20, yesterday, we commemorated World Refugee Day, an important reminder that we must rededicate ourselves to a cornerstone of our Nation's founding - providing refuge to the persecuted and oppressed. Since the days of the earliest European settlers, America has provided safe harbor to waves of refugees throughout our history. Many Americans today can trace their ancestry back to refugees who fled their homelands seeking freedom and security. Welcoming refugees is not just something Ameri… Continue Reading
06.21.22
Reaction To The White House Announcement Of Changes To U.S. Anti-Personnel Landmine Policy
"It is an important step which makes official what has been de facto U.S. practice for two decades. The Administration has recognized what our NATO allies declared long ago: Inherently indiscriminate weapons that disproportionately harm civilians have no place in the 21st Century, and those who use them - like Russia in Ukraine today - should be universally condemned. I commend President Biden for taking this step, which further aligns U.S. policy with the international treaty. It mirrors bi… Continue Reading
06.16.22
Statement On Passage Of The PACT Act
The passage of The Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022, or PACT Act, is an example of what can happen when the Congress puts aside partisanship and comes together for the good of the country, and importantly, our veterans. Each of us, in every state and in every Congressional district across the country, has a friend, a neighbor, or a constituent, a veteran or an active duty servicemember, who has become sick or died from exposure… Continue Reading
