Press Room
Press Releases
Search Senator Leahy’s press releases, floor statements, and Committee speeches by date or by subject.
REAX Of Senator Patrick Leahy, Vice Chairman Of The Senate Appropriations Committee, To President Trump’s Threat To “Shutdown” The Federal Government In September
Threatening to shut down the government, on the heels of a successful, bipartisan agreement, is a sour and shameful note to kick off negotiations for FY 2018. Governing by tweet and manufacturing a crisis before our work even begins is no way to lead. The 2013 shutdown dealt a devastating blow to economic growth, amounting to an estimated $1.5 billion lost for each of the 16 days of the shutdown. That is economic growth we can never get back. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers wer… Continue Reading
05.01.17
Vermont Highlights In The Budget Agreement Negotiated By Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Leahy And Other Appropriations Leaders
Senate and House Appropriations Committee leaders on Sunday night completed lengthy and intense negotiations on a budget bill to fund the government through the rest of this fiscal year (through Sept. 30). This is the first budget agreement negotiated under Leahy's new role as Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. The budget agreement - expected to reach the House and Senate floors this week for approval - would avert a government shutdown when the current stop-gap government … Continue Reading
05.01.17
Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy Statement On Funding Legislation
I am glad that we were able to reach a bipartisan agreement to keep the government of the American people open for business and avoid the devastating consequences of a government shutdown. I am especially glad this agreement does not include a single penny for the construction of a misguided wall along our southern border. A wall the president promised Mexico would pay for, and a wall that would be nothing more than a bumper sticker monstrosity. This bipartisan agreement eliminates more th… Continue Reading
04.28.17
Appropriations Vice Chairman Leahy On Senate Floor, About One-Week Continuing Resolution To Prevent Government Shutdown
Mr. President, the Senate is considering a stopgap Continuing Resolution to keep the government of the American people open for business. I will support this one-week CR, because I believe we are close to a bipartisan agreement that would avoid the devastating consequences of a government shutdown, and save the Congress from once again facing the disruption and humiliation of failing to meet Congress's obligation to fund the basic functions of our government. But we should not be in this situ… Continue Reading
04.27.17
Leaders Of Senate and House Judiciary Committees Reintroduce Bipartisan Legislation To Counter Rising Prescription Drug Prices
Top leaders on the Senate and House Judiciary Committees led by Senator Patrick Leahy on Thursday introduced legislation to combat anticompetitive practices used by some brand-name pharmaceutical and biologic companies to block entry of lower-cost generic drugs. The Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples (CREATES) Act would deter pharmaceutical companies from blocking cheaper generic alternatives from entering the marketplace. The bill is sponsored by Leahy and cosponsored b… Continue Reading
04.27.17
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) On Introduction of the Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples (CREATES) Act
Over the past few years, the national headlines have been dominated by stories about the high cost of pharmaceuticals. We have seen jaw-dropping examples, such as the unconscionable price increase overnight by Turing Pharmaceuticals of their drug for patients with HIV, from $13.50 to $750 per pill. Pharmaceutical companies should be compensated for their important work developing lifesaving treatments. But when companies engage in predatory practices at the expense of consumers, we must act.… Continue Reading
04.27.17
Statement Of Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) On One-Week Continuing Resolution
[Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Thursday issued the following statement regarding the majority's intention to advance a one-week stopgap Continuing Resolution.] I am glad that bipartisan negotiations to reach a sensible agreement are moving forward, but it is disheartening that Republicans have once again proposed to punt Congress's basic responsibility to fund the functions of our government. Our work could have been completed in November, but at the reque… Continue Reading
04.26.17
Leahy And 13 Other Senators Urge The Newly Confirmed Deputy Attorney General: ‘APPOINT A SPECIAL PROSECUTOR – IMMEDIATELY’
(WEDNESDAY, April 26, 2017) -- Following Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein's confirmation late Tuesday, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) led a group of 14 senators, including Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), in urging him to immediately appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Since Attorney General Jeff Sessions' has recused himself, Rosenstein is now responsible for leading the Department of Justice's investigation. "We write … Continue Reading
04.26.17
Leahy Joins In Introducing Tax Fairness ‘Buffett Rule’
On the same day that President Donald Trump unveiled a tax overhaul proposal that would slash taxes for some of the wealthiest Americans and dramatically increase the national debt, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Congressman David Cicilline (D-RI) introduced legislation to prevent America's top earners from paying lower tax rates than middle-class families. Senator Patrick Leahy is an original cosponsor of The Paying a Fair Share Act, which would ensure that multi-million-dollar earners … Continue Reading
04.25.17
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy Subcommittee on the Department of State and Foreign Operations Hearing on U.S. Assistance for Egypt
Less than three weeks ago Egypt's President el-Sisi visited Washington where he met with President Trump, other U.S. officials, and Members of Congress. So this is a timely and important opportunity to discuss U.S. aid for Egypt. Since 1946, American taxpayers have provided more than $79 billion in economic and military aid for Egypt, and that does not include excess defense equipment valued at billions of dollars. I suspect very few Egyptians know this, which might be one reason why polls in… Continue Reading
04.25.17
Leahy And Grassley Reintroduce Bipartisan Legislation To Encourage The Humanitarian Work Of American Innovators
Senators Patrick Leahy and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Tuesday reintroduced bipartisan legislation to encourage and reward the use of patented technology to address humanitarian needs. The bipartisan introduction comes on the eve of World Intellectual Property Day on Wednesday, a day to celebrate and learn about the role of intellectual property rights in promoting innovation. The Patents for Humanity Program Improvement Act, S.927, builds on an existing award program at the U.S. Patent and Tra… Continue Reading
04.25.17
Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Nomination Of Sonny Perdue To Be Secretary of Agriculture
Mr. President, today I will vote for Sonny Perdue to be the next Secretary of Agriculture. Governor Perdue, with his lifetime of experience with farming and agribusiness, stands out as one of the few nominees to this Cabinet who appears well qualified for the position to which he has been nominated. But to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and American Agriculture, Governor Perdue must represent the broad spectrum of interests before USDA and do all he can to hear from all sides, b… Continue Reading
04.24.17
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy On Ambassador Nikki Haley on Human Rights
Mr. President, on April 19, CNN published a guest column by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, entitled "An unprecedented step on human rights." At a time when President Trump has praised Egypt's President el-Sisi and Turkey's President Erdogan, both of whom are responsible for brutal crackdowns on dissent and for subverting the institutions of democracy, and after the White House lifted human rights restrictions on the sale of military equipment to Bahrain and Secretary of Stat… Continue Reading
04.21.17
Members of Congress Raise Ethics Concerns about Deputy White House Counsel
U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Conn.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), and Representative Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Friday sent a letter to Stefan Passantino, Deputy White House Counsel and Designated Agency Ethics Official (DAEO), questioning his previous financial connections to Carl Icahn, as well as other Trump Administration officials, and the resulting conflicts of inter… Continue Reading
04.12.17
Leahy, Sanders Join In Reintroducing Bill To Simplify Tax Filing
Vermont's U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D) and Bernie Sanders (I) have joined Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and others in announcing that they will reintroduce the Tax Filing Simplification Act of 2017 to simplify and decrease the costs of the tax filing process for millions of American taxpayers. This year taxpayers will spend an average of 13 hours preparing and filing their returns, and will pay $200 for tax preparation services -- a cost equal to almost 10 percent of the average federal… Continue Reading
04.07.17
Leahy, Sanders And Other Democratic Senators Demand Fair and Consistent Treatment of Student Loan Borrowers in Public Service
Sen. Patrick Leahy and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) joined a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos led by Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), and Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and sent by a total of 36 senators. The letter expresses concern over announcements that borrowers may not be able to rely on notices they have previously received about their eligibility for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). Leahy said: "The Public Service Loan Forgiven… Continue Reading
04.07.17
Feinstein and Leahy, Joined By Others In Senate And House, Introduce Cluster Munitions Bill
Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Patrick Leahy and Congressman Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) have introduced the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act, a bill to restrict the use and export of dangerous cluster munitions. Cluster munitions are bombs, rockets or artillery shells that contain submunitions that, when deployed, can leave behind unexploded ordnance. This unexploded ordnance can be buried in land, hidden from view or lay in plain sight and be mistaken for toys or even air-drop… Continue Reading
04.07.17
Dear Colleague Letter To Secretary Of State Rex Tillerson Regarding Military Assistance To Honduras
April 5, 2017The Honorable Rex TillersonSecretary of StateDepartment of StateWashington, DC 20520 Dear Secretary Tillerson: We write to urge the Administration to enforce conditions in U.S. law on assistance to, and investment in, Honduras. Over the past few years, Honduras has become an increasingly dangerous place for social and political activists, particularly indigenous rights activists. On January 31st, the nongovernmental organization Global Witness published a report which concludes t… Continue Reading
04.07.17
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Vice Chairman, Senate Appropriations Committee, On Air Strikes in Syria
"After the appalling chemical weapons attack on Syrian civilians, including children, believed to have been perpetrated by the Syrian government, I said Bashar al-Assad was a war criminal and must be held accountable. Last night the President launched a limited attack on the base that apparently carried out those attacks. "When brutality, like we have seen against the citizens of Syria by their own government, shocks our consciences, the desire to act decisively is strong. We must keep in min… Continue Reading
04.06.17
Full Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Nomination Of Judge Neil Gorsuch To The Supreme Court Of The United States
Just two days ago, the Judiciary Committee reported the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch by the narrowest margin, a party-line vote. Yet the Majority Leader has already filed cloture to cut off debate on this nominee. And he has promised to use whatever tactic is necessary to ensure this nominee is confirmed, no matter the concerns of the minority or millions of other Americans. Today is just the seventy-fifth day of the Trump administration. Only 75 days of having Republican control of both… Continue Reading
