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Search Senator Leahy’s press releases, floor statements, and Committee speeches by date or by subject.
Leahy, Sanders and Welch Announce $700,000 In Brownfields Grants For Southern Vermont
Senator Patrick Leahy, Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Peter Welch announced Thursday that three southern Vermont organizations will share a total of $700,000 in Brownfields Program assessment and cleanup grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Brownfields grants allow communities to assess and clean up contaminated properties to facilitate their redevelopment and reuse. In a joint statement, Leahy, Sanders and Welch said: "EPA Brownfield assessment and cleanup grants … Continue Reading
05.26.17
Reaction of Senator Patrick Leahy To The ABC News Report Of Photos And Videos Of Torture By Iraqi Forces Allied With The United States And Canada
"The photos are sickening. They clearly depict war crimes. That they were brazenly lauded by the unit's leader suggests that they were far from aberrations. It is my understanding that the United States no longer supports the Iraqi unit involved, but we should insist that the individuals responsible, and particularly the leaders, be prosecuted and appropriately punished. The fact that U.S. military personnel praised the Iraqi unit's cooperation is deeply disturbing and requires further inves… Continue Reading
05.26.17
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy On The President in Saudi Arabia
Mr. President, while the Office of Management and Budget was putting the finishing touches on its Orwellian-themed "A New Foundation for American Greatness," the President's fiscal year 2018 budget, which proposes to eliminate or drastically reduce funding for a vast array of critical programs on which the American people -- including the most vulnerable among us -- depend, the Trump family was being feted by one of the world's wealthiest and repressive regimes. Not only has the Saudi family us… Continue Reading
05.25.17
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Freedom for Americans to Travel to Cuba Act of 2017
Mr. President, today I am very pleased to join my friend, the junior Senator from Arizona, in introducing the Freedom for Americans to Travel to Cuba Act of 2017. I will have more to say about this bill, and United States policy toward Cuba, in the weeks and months ahead. My purpose in speaking today is simply to point out that 54 Democratic and Republican members of the Senate have cosponsored this bill to allow Americans to travel to Cuba in the same way that they can travel to any other cou… Continue Reading
05.25.17
Flake, Leahy Reintroduce Bill Restoring Freedom to Travel to Cuba
U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Sen. Patrick Leahy today introduced the Freedom for Americans to Travel to Cuba Act of 2017. The bill, which is cosponsored by 53 of their Senate colleagues, would eliminate restrictions on travel to Cuba by American citizens and legal residents. Specifically, the bipartisan legislation ends restrictions under laws enacted in 1996 and 2000 that prevent American citizens and legal residents from travelling to… Continue Reading
05.24.17
Reaction Of Senator Patrick Leahy To The New CBO Score For The House-Passed Trumpcare Bill To Repeal and Replace The Affordable Care Act
Trumpcare fails every test and should not be foisted on the American people. It would take away insurance coverage from 23 million people. It would make it more difficult for families and individuals needing maternity, opioid addiction treatment and mental health care to afford the medical help they need, piling on 'thousands of dollars' in extra out-of-pocket charges in states using waivers. From bungled start and through every horrifying twist and turn, this is one of the most egregious a… Continue Reading
05.24.17
Reaction Of Senator Patrick Leahy To The Joint Review Of The Inspectors General Of The Departments Of Justice And State On Three Deadly Force Incidents In Honduras
"I commend the Inspectors General for conducting this review, without which we would have piecemeal accounts rather than the truth. "The review unmasks egregious events and conduct, as well as the subsequent efforts to hide the truth about what happened. "This report is nothing less than a wholesale indictment of the DEA and Honduran police for three poorly planned operations that resulted in the use of deadly force -- in one case, the shooting deaths of four innocent civilians -- and of incom… Continue Reading
05.24.17
Leahy Statement On President Trump’s Plan To End Funding For International Family Planning
Mr. President, there are far too many illogical, arbitrary, and harmful cuts in spending, and wholly unbalanced priorities, in the President's proposed fiscal year 2018 budget to list at one time. I will have plenty more to say about that in the weeks and months ahead. But I do want to take a moment to highlight one, as it illustrates the foolhardy way this Administration has sought to appease right-wing ideologues rather than do what is truly in the national interest. For fiscal year 2017, t… Continue Reading
05.24.17
Appropriations Vice Chair Patrick Leahy Addresses The Senate On Wednesday Morning On The Trump Budget
Yesterday, we received President Trump's first budget submission. He calls it "A New Foundation for American Greatness." This could not be further from the truth. Instead of building a foundation for the American people, it pulls the rug out from under them. The President's budget displays a fundamental lack of understanding of the role of government of, by and for the people in supporting the middle class, lifting up the most vulnerable among us and serving our values and interests as a na… Continue Reading
05.23.17
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy Department of State and Foreign Operations Hearing United States Assistance for Central America
For most of the 20th Century, there is a concern that United States policy toward Central America consisted primarily of propping up corrupt, abusive regimes led by families of oligarchs who benefited from the exploitative practices of U.S. corporations. During the Cold War, the armies of those regimes - trained and equipped by the United States - committed atrocities in the name of anti-communism. Democratic movements were crushed; their leaders assassinated. To this day, almost no one has b… Continue Reading
05.23.17
Comments Of Appropriations Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy On Vermont’s Priorities And President Trump’s Budget
[President Donald Trump on Tuesday released his budget proposal for fiscal year 2018. Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Tuesday morning issued a statement on the budget as a whole. Leahy also issued the following statement on the Trump budget's devastating cuts to Vermont priorities.] Rural America, including rural states like Vermont, is MIA in the President's budget. His budget eliminates key investments in rural communities, leaving them without federal part… Continue Reading
05.23.17
Statement Of Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy On The Trump Budget
[President Donald Trump Tuesday released his budget proposal for fiscal year 2018. The proposal is the latest iteration of the administration's budget since the release of the so-called "Skinny Budget" in March. Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Tuesday issued the following statement.] The President's budget displays a fundamental lack of understanding of the role of government of, by and for the people in supporting the middle class, lifting up the most vulner… Continue Reading
05.18.17
Reaction Of Senator Patrick Leahy After His Latest Meeting Today With Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos
"President Santos met with key senators and described both the significant achievements -- best illustrated by the peace agreement ending 50 years of armed conflict -- and the significant challenges ahead. In many respects the agreement represents the end of the beginning, and I hope the Trump Administration will include sufficient funds in the fiscal year 2018 budget proposal to support its implementation. With our help, it is now up to the Colombian Government, the FARC leaders and the Colom… Continue Reading
05.18.17
Leahy And Collins Reintroduce Bipartisan Legislation To Combat Illegal Straw Purchasing And Firearms Trafficking
Senators Patrick Leahy and Susan Collins (R-Maine) on Thursday unveiled legislation to combat straw purchasing and illegal trafficking in firearms. Introduced during Police Week, The Stop Illegal Trafficking in Firearms Act of 2017 would give law enforcement officials critical tools to more effectively investigate and deter straw purchasers and illegal weapons traffickers. Under current law, straw purchasing is not explicitly a crime, and it is only unlawful to transfer a firearm if the transf… Continue Reading
05.18.17
Leahy REAX On The Attacks In Front Of The Turkish Embassy
"The unprovoked, vicious attack on peaceful protestors by Turkish security agents was appalling and a graphic reminder of how political dissent in Turkey is routinely crushed with impunity. This is not the way we do things in America, and we have to stand up for universal values. This shameful incident also calls again into question President Trump's praise for President Erdogan, whose consolidation of power threatens the foundation of Turkey's democracy. Those responsible for this abuse of a… Continue Reading
05.18.17
Leahy Leads Letter To Trump Organization Requesting Answers On President’s Compliance With Constitution
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), joined by 16 other senators, sent a letter Thursday pressing the Trump Organization and the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust for answers about each entity's financial relationship to the President, and about the President's compliance with the Constitution. The letter comes as President Trump is set to leave on Friday for his first foreign trip, which includes stops in two countries - Saudi Arabia and Israel - where there have been questions of possible conflicts o… Continue Reading
05.18.17
Leahy Introduces Legislation To Encourage Museum Donations
With tax reform discussions emerging in Congress, Senator Patrick Leahy on Thursday - National Museum Day -- introduced legislation to encourage donations of museum-quality contemporary art. Leahy's Artist-Museum Partnership Act of 2017 would grant tax deductions to artists equal to the fair market value of their work that they donate to museums. Under current law, artists are only able to deduct the cost of materials used, while collectors can deduct the work's fair market value. This bill wo… Continue Reading
05.17.17
Leahy Opposes Associate Attorney General Nomination And Reiterates Call For Independent Investigation
With a cascading series of events over the past week bringing the country to the brink of a constitutional crisis, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) took to the Senate Floor Wednesday to oppose the nomination of Rachel Brand to be the Associate Attorney General and to again demand a special counsel and an independent investigation into the potential Russian interference in the 2016 election. Leahy said: "Every day seems to bring new, disturbing revelations involving this President and his administ… Continue Reading
05.17.17
STATEMENT OF SENATOR PATRICK LEAHY (D-VT.), ON THE NEED FOR A SPECIAL COUNSEL
Pending before the Senate is the nomination of Rachel Brand to be the Associate Attorney General of the United States. The United States. Not of the President. Her nomination to the third most senior position at the Department of Justice comes at an unprecedented time of chaos and upheaval - not only at the Justice Department, but also at the White House, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and across much of this administration. The events of this past week have given me, and many members… Continue Reading
05.17.17
Leahy And Sanders Join Warren And Others In Introducing Student Loan Refinancing Bill
Senators Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders are original cosponsors of a bill introduced Wednesday by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-2) and 136 of their congressional colleagues -- the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act -- in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House. The legislation would allow those with outstanding student loan debt to refinance at the interest rates offered to new federal borrowers in the 2016-2017 school year. A previous version of the bill… Continue Reading
