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Search Senator Leahy’s press releases, floor statements, and Committee speeches by date or by subject.
Senators Leahy, Grassley, Feinstein, And Cornyn Raise Concerns About EPA’s FOIA Rule
(MONDAY, July 22, 2019) - Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), and John Cornyn (R-Texas) - all senior members of the Senate Judiciary Committee with exclusive jurisdiction over the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) - sent a bipartisan letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler raising serious concerns with the EPA's recent "FOIA Regulations Update" final rule, asking him to reconsider the rule or provide sufficien… Continue Reading
07.19.19
Vermont Receives $98,918 To Connect Schools And Local Farms Under Leahy-Authored Farm To School Program
(FRIDAY, July 19, 2019) - A program long championed by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) will invest $98,918 in bolstering efforts to bring local agriculture into the classrooms and cafeterias of Vermont schools. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced Farm to School grants to connect child nutrition programs with local farmers. Leahy said: "Tying local agriculture to our schools not only provides our children with healthy meals and improved nutrition, it encourages a long standing … Continue Reading
07.19.19
Reflections On The Moon Landing
By Patrick Leahy This week America celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of a monumental achievement for our country and all of humankind, the Apollo 11 mission that landed the first human beings on the Moon. Like families across America, and across the world, our family gathered in front of the television in our living room that Sunday night of July 20, 1969, to watch this history unfold. I was State's Attorney then, and we lived in a duplex in Burlington. Our five-year-old son Kevin asked if … Continue Reading
07.19.19
Leahy, Murray And Welch Reintroduce Legislation To Curtail Warrantless Vehicle Checkpoint Stops And Property Searches Away From The Border
(FRIDAY, July 19, 2019) - U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) late Thursday reintroduced their legislation to strengthen privacy protections in the United States by limiting the unreasonably large "border zone." Representative Peter Welch (D-Vt.) introduced an identical version of the bill in the House of Representatives. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers currently have broad legal authority to stop vehicles without a warrant or even reasonable suspicion o… Continue Reading
07.18.19
Comment On The July 14th Washington Post Editorial On Former Guatemalan Attorney General Thelma Aldana
The editorial is titled, "The Trump administration should fight graft and impunity in Guatemala. It's doing the opposite." It is available at this LINK: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-trump-administration-should-fight-graft-and-impunity-in-guatemala-its-doing-the-opposite/2019/07/14/26f8e8be-a418-11e9-bd56-eac6bb02d01d_story.html Senator Leahy: "Thelma Aldana is a courageous, respected prosecutor who, at great personal risk, took on the forces of corruption and impunity in Guatem… Continue Reading
07.16.19
Reaction To The Passing Of Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens
Reaction Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) To The Passing Of Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens The first vote I ever cast for a Supreme Court Justice was for John Paul Stevens, a true champion of the law, of decency, and of equal justice for all. He is already sorely missed. I'll miss my conversations with him and all I learned from him. Marcelle and my thoughts and prayers are with the Stevens family this evening. # # # # #… Continue Reading
07.16.19
Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Murder Of Jamal Khashoggi
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary killings, Ms. Agnes Callamard, recently released her report on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi after a six-month investigation.I encourage everyone to read the report, and I want to share several of her findings: Mr. Khashoggi was murdered and dismembered inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in an extrajudicial killing that violated numerous international laws and for which the Government of Saudi Arabi… Continue Reading
07.08.19
Udall, Leahy, Van Hollen Request GAO Investigation into Full Costs, Legal Compliance for Trump Fourth of July Event
(MONDAY, July 8, 2019) - U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.), ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee overseeing the Department of Interior's budget, Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Monday requested a Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation into the costs and impacts associated with President Trump's expanded Fourth of July events and into whether t… Continue Reading
06.28.19
Schatz, Leahy, Other Senators: Census Should Stay On Schedule, Omit Citizenship Question
(FRIDAY, June 28, 2019) - On Friday Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) joined Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai'i) and 27 other senators in calling for Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to meet the administration's previously set deadline of July 1 to begin printing materials for the 2020 Census and move forward without adding a politically motivated question about citizenship. Their call comes a day after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration's rationale for adding the question "appea… Continue Reading
06.27.19
House Passes Bipartisan Senate Supplemental To Address Humanitarian Crisis At The Southern Border
(Thursday, June 27, 2019) Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Thursday welcomed the House passage of the $4.6 billion emergency supplemental appropriations bill to address the escalating humanitarian crisis on the southern border. The bill is a bipartisan compromise forged between Leahy and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), which passed the Senate earlier this week with an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 84 to 8. The bill now heads t… Continue Reading
06.27.19
Leahy And Perdue Introduce Bipartisan Bill To Renew And Expand Emerging Farm To School Efforts
(THURSDAY, June 27, 2019) - U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), David Perdue (R-GA), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), and Susan Collins (R-Maine), Thursday introduced legislation to extend a key nutrition program for school-aged children. The bipartisan Farm to School Act of 2019 will increase the federal resources committed to helping to bring fresh, local foods to schools nationwide. It also helps set the stage for action as Congress begins the process of reauthorizing child nutrition programs. Com… Continue Reading
06.27.19
Leahy And Perdue Introduce Bipartisan Bill To Renew And Expand Emerging Farm To School Efforts
(THURSDAY, June 27, 2019) - U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), David Perdue (R-GA), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), and Susan Collins (R-Maine), Thursday introduced legislation to extend a key nutrition program for school-aged children. The bipartisan Farm to School Act of 2019 will increase the federal resources committed to helping to bring fresh, local foods to schools nationwide. It also helps set the stage for action as Congress begins the process of reauthorizing child nutrition programs. Com… Continue Reading
06.26.19
Leahy And Others Call For IG Investigation At USDA Amid Reports Of Scientific Data Suppression
(WEDNESDAY, June 26, 2019) - Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), with Senators Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), and 16 other senators, Wednesday sent a letter to Ms. Phyllis K. Fong, the Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), to request an investigation into potential instances of suppression and alteration of scientific reports, documents, or communications produced by USDA. The senators also called for the Inspector General to investigate instances of re… Continue Reading
06.26.19
Senate Floor Address On The Emergency Supplemental For The Humanitarian Crisis At The Southern Border
Address of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Vice Chairman, Appropriations Committee, On The Emergency Supplemental Appropriation for Humanitarian Assistance and Security at the Southern Border Senate Floor Wednesday, June 26, 2019 Last week, Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Appropriations Committee came together and approved - 30 to 1 - an emergency supplemental to address the most urgent, humanitarian needs at our southwest border. This bill reflects weeks of good-faith negotiations to … Continue Reading
06.25.19
Saudi Arabia False Emergencies Act Is Approved By The Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Saudi Arabia False Emergencies Act Cosponsored By Leahy, Is Approved By The Senate Foreign Relations Committee WASHINGTON (TUESDAY, June 25, 2019) - U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) issued the following statement after the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday approved their bipartisan legislation limiting the ability of the President to… Continue Reading
06.21.19
Statement On The Scourge of Landmines in Yemen
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Scourge of Landmines in Yemen Congressional Record June 20, 2019 Mr. LEAHY.I have spent much of my career in the Senate working to eradicate landmines, which kill and maim far more civilians than combatants.These insidious, inherently indiscriminate weapons often remain active for years or even decades after the fighting has ended and the soldiers have left, lying in wait for the unsuspecting footstep of a child on her way to school, or a farmer workin… Continue Reading
06.20.19
Bipartisan Senate Bill Aims to Provide Flexibility to Summer Meal Programs
Boozman & Leahy lead introduction of the Hunger-Free Summer for Kids Act of 2019 WASHINGTON (THURSDAY, June 20, 2019) - A bipartisan group of senators are leading the charge to make federal child nutrition programs more efficient, flexible and better equipped to reach children in need during the summer months. Senators John Boozman (R-AR) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) -along with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Sherrod Brown (D-OH… Continue Reading
06.20.19
Blumenthal, Leahy And Others File ‘Duty To Report’ Amendment To Defense Bill, To Protect Elections From Foreign Interference
. . . Would Require Federal Campaigns To Report Offers Of Help From Foreign Governments Leahy: 'Americans running for office shouldn't have to be told to report offers of foreign assistance in our elections. But sadly, President Trump does.' WASHINGTON (THURSDAY, June 20, 2019) - Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), with Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and 12 other senators, have filed an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to help protect U.S. elections … Continue Reading
06.20.19
Senate Appropriations Committee Approves $4.6 Billion Supplemental To Address The Humanitarian Crisis At The Southern Border
(WEDNESDAY, June 19, 2019) - The Senate Appropriations Committee Wednesday approved a bipartisan emergency supplemental to address the humanitarian crisis on our country's southern border in a vote of 30 to 1. The supplemental totals $4.6 billion, $400 million less than the Trump Administration's revised request, including $2.88 billion for the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), the office charged with caring for unaccompanied minors. Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Le… Continue Reading
06.19.19
Statement on LGBTQ Discrimination By The Trump Administration And The Nomination of Matthew Kacsmaryk To Be U.S. District Judge For The Northern District Of Texas
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) On LGBTQ Discrimination by the Trump Administration and the Nomination of Matthew Kacsmaryk to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Texas Congressional Record June 19, 2019 Later this month our nation will mark the 50th anniversary of the momentous uprising at the Stonewall Inn, an occasion that led to June being designated as Pride Month. From parades and celebrations to quiet remembrances, millions of Americans are reflecting on the p… Continue Reading
