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Search Senator Leahy’s press releases, floor statements, and Committee speeches by date or by subject.
On Deadline Day To Reunite Separated Families, Durbin & Senators Call For DOJ Investigation of "Zero Tolerance" Immigration Policy
Today, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with 30 other senators, sent a letter to Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael Horowitz calling for an investigation into DOJ's role in the creation and implementation of the Trump Administration's "zero-tolerance" immigration policy. The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General are conducting reviews of the zero-tolerance pol… Continue Reading
07.26.18
Appropriations Vice Chairman Leahy REAX To House Appropriations Committee Passing The DHS Appropriations Bill
[The House Appropriations Committee Wednesday passed the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill out of the House Appropriations Committee, continuing a partisan process of passing bills that have no chance of passing the Senate. The House bill contains $5 billion for a border wall, $3.9 billion more than the President's request, along America's Southern Border. It also includes drastic increases for Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and an additional 3,500 detention bed… Continue Reading
07.26.18
Appropriations Vice Chair Patrick Leahy’s Floor Statement Just Now On The Election Security Grants Amendment That He Has Introduced
Today, Congress must heed the clear warnings of our Intelligence Community and take an important step - a meaningful step -- toward defending our democracy. If we do nothing, we leave our elections vulnerable to an aggressive foreign adversary fully intent on destabilizing our country. To this Vermonter, and many of the Senators in this chamber, this is a simple choice, and a solemn responsibility. Today, the Senate must vote on my amendment to provide $250 million dollars in grants to the s… Continue Reading
07.24.18
Leahy, Senate Democrats File Amendment To Bolster Election Security Ahead Of 2018 Midterms
Senate Democrats, led by Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Tuesday filed an amendment to bolster election security against Russian attacks and other hostile foreign powers ahead of the 2018 midterm elections. The amendment would provide $250 million for State Election Security Grants. Leahy said: "If you believe that Russia is fully intent on destabilizing our democracy yet again in November - as all of our national security and law enforcement officials do -… Continue Reading
07.24.18
Senate Floor Remarks Of Senator Patrick Leahy Supporting Appropriations Amendment On State Election Security Grants
I come to the floor today to talk about an amendment I will be offering that provides $250 million dollars for State Election Security Grants to protect our upcoming elections from attacks by Russia and other hostile foreign powers - which we know are growing and active threats. After our Intelligence Community's unanimous assessment that Russia interfered in our 2016 election, Congress came together and appropriated $380 million dollars for State Election Security Grants in the FY 2018 Omnibu… Continue Reading
07.24.18
Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Leahy Statement On The FY 2019 Interior, FSGG, and Agriculture "Minibus" Appropriations Bill
I am pleased to join Chairman Shelby as we prepare to debate the second set of appropriations bills to reach the Senate floor this session. This "minibus" contains four important bills for Fiscal Year 2019: the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies bill, the Financial Services and General Government bill, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies bill, and the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies bill. Each of th… Continue Reading
07.20.18
Delegation Announces $400,000 for Vermont Technical College’s Dental Program
Vermont's congressional delegation announced Friday that Vermont Technical College received $400,000 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to develop a program to educate dental therapists, which will help expand access to much-needed oral health care throughout Vermont. The $400,000 in federal funds will play an instrumental role in establishing and implementing a dental therapy education program at Vermont Technical College. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said, "Access to dental … Continue Reading
07.19.18
In First Bipartisan Statement, Leahy And Other Senators Urge President Trump To Keep Families Together
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) is part of a bipartisan group of senators, led by Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), and Susan Collins (R-Maine), who Thursday sent a letter to President Trump, asserting that the default position of the United States should be to keep families together. The letter is signed by more than two dozen senators in all. The letter is the first bipartisan statement firmly opposing the family separation policy and urging the… Continue Reading
07.19.18
Leahy REAX To The White House's Refusal To Summarily Reject Putin's Proposal To Make Former U.S. Ambassador McFaul Available To The Russian Government For Interrogation
"It is beyond belief that the White House would even contemplate the ludicrous notion of turning over to Russian President Putin a former U.S. ambassador and public servant for doing his job and standing up for our national interests and values. The Administration needs to immediately and unequivocally reverse course. Their silence and actions already have undermined the confidence of other U.S. diplomats posted overseas that their government will defend them. President Trump must not cave to… Continue Reading
07.18.18
Leahy Floor Statement On President Trump's Helsinki Summit With Russian President Putin
In 2016, the Russian government waged a covert, multifaceted, criminal campaign to interfere in our elections, intended to help then-candidate Donald Trump win the presidency. We still do not know the full impact of Russia's interference. But it is beyond debate that it happened. Russia used inflammatory propaganda - actual fake news -- attempting to suppress Democratic turnout and boost support for Donald Trump. They also stole communications belonging to the Democratic National Committee a… Continue Reading
07.18.18
Leahy Floor Statement On The Nomination Of Ryan W. Bounds And The Abandonment Of The Senate's Blue Slip Tradition In Judicial Confirmations
As the longest-serving member of the Senate - and a former Chairman of the Judiciary Committee - I again feel obligated to speak up about the steady erosion of the norms and traditions that protect the Senate's unique constitutional role with respect to lifetime appointments to our federal courts. We should all be alarmed by the Judiciary Committee's abrupt change in course when it comes to its respect for blue slips - a change that coincides with a change in the White House. For much of this … Continue Reading
07.18.18
Leahy Applauds $2 Million Grant To Address Youth Homelessness In Vermont
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) hailed the announcement this week that the Vermont State Housing Authority (VSHA) will receive from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) a fiscal year 2017 grant of $2 million to address youth homelessness. The funds, as part of HUD's Youth Homelessness Demonstration Project, are being granted to VSHA on behalf of the Vermont Balance of State Continuum of Care, and in partnership with the Vermont Agency of Human Services and the Vermont Coalit… Continue Reading
07.18.18
Leahy Floor Statement on Political repression in Niger
Mr. President, as Vice Chairman of the Appropriations Committee I want to draw the Senate's attention to the plight of civil society leaders in Niger, where political and civil rights have been deteriorating over the last several years. This disturbing trend threatens the U.S. - Niger partnership, and should concern each of us. Mahamadou Issoufou was elected President of Niger in 2011, and in the following years worked cooperatively with Niger's international partners, including the United St… Continue Reading
07.16.18
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The President’s Remarks At The Trump-Putin News Conference
This is the undermining of our security interests and of the American rule of law. It is as dangerous as it is shameful. It is all the more indefensible now that President Trump feels a need to stand up for Putin and Russia. As a Vermonter and United States senator I stand up for America.… Continue Reading
07.14.18
Top Senators Tell Trump: Do Not Meet Putin Alone
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Sat., July 14, 2018 WASHINGTON - Today, a group of top Senate Democrats wrote to President Trump, urging him in the strongest possible terms to avoid meeting alone with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a letter to the White House, Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Senate Foreign Relations Ranking Member Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Senate Judi… Continue Reading
07.13.18
Sens. Cruz, Leahy, Rubio, and Menendez Pen Letter to Liu Xia
U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) sent a letter to Liu Xia following her release from Chinese imprisonment. She and her late husband Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr. Liu Xiaobo have battled to promote democracy and freedom in China. "Over the past eight years you have responded to the abuses imposed by the Chinese government and Communist Party with endurance and grace," the senators wrote. "Your perseverance has inspired the … Continue Reading
07.13.18
BREAKING: Leahy REAX To The Indictment Of 12 Russian Intelligence Officers For Crimes Related To Interference In The U.S. Election
An indictment charging 12 Russian intelligence officers with conspiring to interfere with our presidential election is no witch hunt. I agree with Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein that as Americans we must stand together against any and all foreign interference in our democracy. Ahead of his private meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Trump should know that Putin is going to lie to his face and deny any involvement in attacking our democracy. Our President should take t… Continue Reading
07.12.18
“Minibus” Conference Committee Delayed
Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Thursday expressed disappointment following the delay of the first Appropriations Conference Committee Meeting of the fiscal year 2019 appropriations process. Leahy is hopeful the meeting will be rescheduled and intends to offer an amendment that would facilitate funding for the VA Choice program, which was transferred only recently to the discretionary side of the budget as part of the VA MISSION Act. The House and Senate app… Continue Reading
07.11.18
Leahy Floor Statement On The Nomination Of Brian Benczkowski
Today, the Senate is considering one of the most troubling executive branch nominations that this president has made to date: the nomination of Brian Benczkowski to lead the Criminal Division of the Justice Department. It is enough to oppose Mr. Benczkowski's nomination because he is objectively unqualified for this important position. But beyond that, there are compelling reasons to believe that it would be uniquely reckless to confirm him to this position. Speaking about Mr. Benczkowski's l… Continue Reading
07.09.18
BREAKING: Statement Of Senator Leahy On The Nomination Of Judge Kavanaugh To The Supreme Court Of The United States
I have served on the Senate Judiciary Committee for the nomination hearings of every sitting member of the Supreme Court. I have never seen so much at stake with a single seat as I do today. A woman's right to make her own health decisions, marriage equality, efforts to curb global warming emissions, core post-9/11 civil liberties - all were upheld because of Justice Kennedy's vote. All that, and much more, is at risk today. The Constitution doesn't direct the President to nominate justices… Continue Reading
