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Search Senator Leahy’s press releases, floor statements, and Committee speeches by date or by subject.
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Passing Of Barrie Dunsmore
Marcelle and I are just two of the countless Vermonters whose lives were brightened by having known Barrie. As Vermonters we have been enriched and enlightened, and sometimes challenged, by his perceptive commentaries, in which he shared his experience and his sharp insights, drawn from a remarkable career that spanned the globe. He had a great sense of history, which too often is missing today. I looked forward to each of his essays, which I frequently shared with my staff and others. At th… Continue Reading
08.25.18
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Death Of Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.)
Marcelle and I are saddened by this loss, and we send our love and our respects to Cindy and their entire family. I think of the last time we met and said goodbye. We both were hopeful that it would not be the last time. He loved his country, and we also both respected and were willing to defend the Senate's special and independent role in American government. In the Navy and in his public service, his goal was not to bide time, but to make a difference. I know that he felt, as I do, that… Continue Reading
08.24.18
BREAKING: Leahy REAX To WH Decision To Redirect Humanitarian & Other U.S. Aid Away From West Bank And Gaza
"After a year and eight months in office, President Trump has yet to announce anything remotely resembling a coherent policy to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Instead, the White House has engaged in a series of provocative and harmful acts which have exacerbated tensions and set back prospects for constructive negotiations. Inhabitants of Gaza are already suffering severe hardships under the tyranny of Hamas and border restrictions imposed by Israel. It is the Palestinian people, v… Continue Reading
08.24.18
Vermont Highlights Of The Senate-Passed Defense, LHHS Appropriations Package
The Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Programs "Minibus" appropriations bill, accounting for 65 percent of all discretionary spending in the annual federal budget, includes significant wins spearheaded by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, for Vermont families. The Senate passed the bill Thursday night in a strong bipartisan vote of 85 to 7. LIHEAP: The package includes $3.69 billion for LIHEAP, a $50 million… Continue Reading
08.24.18
Leahy Champions Fight Against Opioids In Senate-Passed Appropriations Bill
Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) led the fight against the opioid epidemic in another Senate-passed appropriations bill Thursday, securing $3 billion in new funding to address the crisis. The bill also contains Leahy-authored legislation to establish three "Rural Centers of Excellence on Substance Use Disorders" and directs $10 million to a new research program in the Department of Defense to study alternatives to opioids for chronic pain management. In 2017… Continue Reading
08.23.18
Senate Passes Defense, LHHS "Minibus" Appropriations Bill
The Senate Thursday passed the Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Programs "Minibus" appropriations bill, accounting for 65 percent of all discretionary spending, notching the latest bipartisan achievement in returning the appropriations process to regular order and fulfilling core goals of the bipartisan budget deal signed into law in February. The bill passed with broad bipartisan support by a vote of 85 to 7. Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman L… Continue Reading
08.23.18
Appropriations Vice Chair Leahy Statement On Senate Passage Of The Defense, LHHS “Minibus” Appropriations Bill
The Senate, and Congress as a whole, best serves the American people when we reach real, bipartisan solutions. Today, the Senate will pass its third bipartisan appropriations package, completing Senate consideration of nine of the 12 appropriations bills reported by the Senate Appropriations Committee and accounting for 87 percent of all discretionary spending. We are proving that when we put partisan politics aside, we can do the work of the American people. This progress would not have bee… Continue Reading
08.23.18
Leahy Joins Merkley And Other Senate Democrats In Standing With Saudi Women And Pushing For Human Rights Progress
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has joined with Oregon's Senator Jeff Merkley, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in announcing the introduction of a resolution standing with Saudi women and pushing for human rights progress in Saudi Arabia. Merkley was joined on the resolution by Leahy, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Ron Wyden (D-OR). Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia expelled the Canadian ambass… Continue Reading
08.22.18
Leahy Floor Statement On Arbitrary Detention In South Sudan
Mr. President, several of the warring parties in the South Sudanese civil war, including President Kiir and the leader of the main opposition party, Riek Machar, recently signed a power-sharing deal to ostensibly bring to an end a conflict that has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths and the largest refugee crisis in Africa. Today in South Sudan there are nearly 200,000 people sheltering at UN peacekeeping bases, 4.5 million people have been forcibly displaced, and an estimated 7 millio… Continue Reading
08.22.18
Leahy Floor Statement On Arrests Of Women Activists In Saudi Arabia
Mr. President, an unrelenting government crackdown on the women's rights movement is taking place in Saudi Arabia. This is the subject of a Senate Resolution, of which I am an original cosponsor, introduced today by Senator Merkley. It is widely known that Saudi Arabia has a long history of subjugating and discriminating against women and girls. Today, despite talk of reform, Saudi authorities continue to arbitrarily arrest and detail women's rights activists and supporters, including Samar … Continue Reading
08.22.18
Leahy Floor Statement On The Guilty Plea Of Michael Cohen And Conviction Of Paul Manafort
There have been a number of headline-grabbing days during the first 18 months of the Trump administration. Yesterday will likely rank among the most extraordinary. And among the most troubling. The President of the United States was effectively identified by his longtime lawyer and confidant as an unindicted co-conspirator in their efforts to commit criminal campaign finance violations. If true, then-candidate Trump arranged payments to two women he had affairs with in violation of federal l… Continue Reading
08.22.18
Leahy Floor Statement On The Vetting Of Supreme Court Nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh
We are now less than two weeks away from Judge Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Two weeks away and the Committee has received only six percent of his total White House records according to the National Archives. And not a single one of the records we have received has been provided by the National Archives. That is because the Archives will not complete its review of the limited-number of records requested by Chairman Grassley until October-a month after… Continue Reading
08.20.18
Statement Of Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy On The “Minibus” Appropriations Bill
Today the Senate begins consideration of the Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related agencies "Minibus" appropriations bill. This will be the third appropriations package brought to the Senate floor this year, and once we complete action, the Senate will have passed nine out of the 12 committee-reported appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2019. I want to thank Chairman Shelby for his commitment to a bipartisan process, and his friendship, that have made this prog… Continue Reading
08.17.18
Leahy To McGahn: What Was Discussed At Private White House Meeting That Led Republicans To Abruptly Change Course On Kavanaugh Documents
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), on Friday, asked White House Counsel Don McGahn for information on a pivotal July 24, 2018, meeting with Judiciary Committee Republicans that shaped their document request. Prior to the private meeting, Republican leadership seemed poised to request records that Judge Kavanaugh authored, generated, or contributed to as White House Staff Secretary. In an abrupt change of course after the meeting, Republicans refused to request any of Judge Kavanaugh's records from… Continue Reading
08.16.18
BREAKING NEWS From Senator Feinstein, Senator Leahy, And Senator Durbin: Documents Indicate That Kavanaugh Misled Senate; Make Them Public
Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) Thursday asked Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) to join a request for Judge Kavanaugh's Staff Secretary records and to publicly release the documents now. Feinstein is the Judiciary Committee's Ranking Member, and Leahy and Durbin are also senior members of the committee. The senators emphasize the fact that documents that are currently "committee confidential" contain information indicati… Continue Reading
08.16.18
Senator Patrick Leahy's Remarks Today At The Judiciary Committee, On The Vetting Of SCOTUS Nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh
There are so many things wrong with the Judiciary Committee's vetting of Judge Kavanaugh that it is hard to know where to begin. The White House was well aware of Judge Kavanaugh's lengthy, controversial record as a political operative when the President selected him. But the President selected him nonetheless. Now the burden falls to this Committee to review his record. To date, we are failing miserably. The methodical review of a Supreme Court nominee's full record is not optional. It is… Continue Reading
08.10.18
Senator Leahy Comment On Kavanaugh Hearing Date Announcement Circumventing Vetting Process
Comment of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) On the Senate Judiciary Committee scheduling a confirmation hearing before it will receive Judge Kavanaugh's political record August 10, 2018 There are so many things wrong with the Judiciary Committee's vetting of Judge Kavanaugh that it is hard to know where to begin. The review of his record has gone from being shameful to an outright sham. The nonpartisan National Archives cannot complete its review of the limited documents requested by Chairman Gra… Continue Reading
08.10.18
Scott, Congressional Delegation Announce $2.8 Million In Northern Border Regional Commission Grants to Northern Vermont
Gov. Phil Scott, U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, U.S. Rep. Peter Welch and officials from the Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) announced Friday that 14 Northern Vermont organizations, including the town of Fairfax, will receive $2.8 million in federal grants to spur job creation, build essential infrastructure and train new workers. Fairfax will use a $263,055 grant to expand water and wastewater infrastructure to the new home of maple products business Runamok Maple, enabling the company's e… Continue Reading
08.08.18
Blumenthal & Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats, Including Leahy, File FOIA Request To Compel Release Of Kavanaugh Documents
In the absence of action by Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans to seek the full scope of documents necessary to properly consider Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and every Democratic member of the Senate Judiciary Committee filed several Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests today to compel the release of all records involving Brett Kavanaugh during his time as an associate in the White House Counsel's office and as White House Staff S… Continue Reading
08.07.18
Vermont Delegation Announces $19 Million in Federal Funds for Clean Water in Vermont
Vermont's congressional delegation announced on Tuesday a combined $18.97 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to Vermont's Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF). The CWSRF program is a federal-state partnership that provides communities a permanent, independent source of low-cost financing for a wide range of water quality infrastructure projects. The DWSRF is a federal-state partnership to help ensure safe drinking … Continue Reading
