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Search Senator Leahy’s press releases, floor statements, and Committee speeches by date or by subject.
Comment Of Appropriations Vice Chair Patrick Leahy On His ‘No’ Vote On Cloture On The GOP Stop-Gap Spending Bill
"I'm relieved there is an end in sight to this Trump Shutdown. But Republican leaders and President Trump have left too much undone - from a bipartisan budget deal, to disaster relief, to community health centers, to the opioid crisis, to DACA. There are many pressing and unfinished priorities, and I cannot give my support to yet another short-term, stopgap measure that, yet again, keeps budget priorities on autopilot, without the ability to adjust for changing priorities since these budget le… Continue Reading
01.20.18
Senate Floor Address Saturday Afternoon By Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Leahy On The Trump Shutdown
Mr. President, months ago, President Donald Trump called for a government shutdown, and through his leadership of chaos and his inability to govern or keep his word, he got exactly what he wanted. Make no mistake, it is the Majority's responsibility to produce a bill to send to the President. If they cannot get 60 votes because they refuse to negotiate with Democrats, that is THEIR responsibility. All they needed was nine Democrats, and they could not get it done - in fact they lost four of … Continue Reading
01.18.18
Senate Appropriations Vice Chairman Leahy Statement Opposing The Fourth Continuing Resolution
Mr. President, here we go again. In 1995, Republicans shut down our government - seeking to recklessly cut education programs and environmental programs and raise Medicare premiums on millions of senior citizens. In 2013, Republicans once again sought to strip the health care of millions of Americans by shutting down the government in a failed effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act. An effort they continued this summer instead of negotiating a bipartisan budget deal that could have averte… Continue Reading
01.18.18
Senate Appropriations Vice Chair Leahy Announces His Opposition To The Fourth Continuing Resolution
Democrats have been ready and willing to negotiate a spending agreement since June. The House bill does not address the needs of our military, our veterans, or the opioid epidemic, and it does not protect the DREAMers. Instead of working on these important matters, congressional Republican leadership spent the last year overturning consumer protections, stripping health care from millions of Americans, and passing a massive tax cut for big corporations and wealthy Americans to be paid for by m… Continue Reading
01.17.18
Remarks of Senator Patrick Leahy At The Congressional Medal Ceremony For Senator Bob Dole
Bob, what a flood of memories come to the surface, to be here with you and Elizabeth. Marcelle and I feel blessed for the opportunities we've had to spend time with you both on so many occasions, but especially at your wedding reception. I've enjoyed and learned much from working with Senator Bob Dole, with Majority Leader Bob Dole, and with Republican Leader Bob Dole, beginning when I was a young member of the Senate. And as time went on, also as a not-so-young member of the Senate. Beyond … Continue Reading
01.17.18
Remarks Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Passing Of Tim O’Connor
The O'Connors have been friends since I was a young lawyer starting my practice. Tim had such a great sense of humor, especially when it involved the Irish. I told Martha this morning how I will miss him but that I'll look, every day, at the walking stick he brought me from Ireland. Marcelle and I remember so fondly the meals at their home, and how they cared for us and our children. His love of our state was matched by his devotion to his family. Tim lived his life with a commitment to m… Continue Reading
01.16.18
Leahy Statement On On S. 139, the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017
In about an hour, the members of this body will vote whether or not to cut off debate and block any amendments on a fundamentally flawed piece of legislation that fails to reform one of our most important surveillance tools. Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act was intended to provide for vast and powerful surveillance of foreigners overseas. And it does. But the fact that it is an effective surveillance tool used against foreigners abroad is not what you will hear concern about today. You… Continue Reading
01.16.18
Leahy, Rubio, Colleagues Urge DOJ To Require China-Controlled Media Operating in the U.S. To Register As Foreign Agents
U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) today led a bipartisan group of senators in urging Attorney General Jeff Sessions to detail the Department of Justice's (DOJ) efforts requiring Chinese state-controlled media outlets operating in the U.S. to register as foreign agents. All of the signatories serve on either the Senate Judiciary Committee, with jurisdiction over the Department of Justice and enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), or the Senate Select… Continue Reading
01.16.18
Leahy Plays Matchmaker, Arranging For Donation Of 25 U.S. Senate Surplus Computers To Vermont Classrooms
Senator Patrick Leahy has arranged for a shipment of 25 surplus computers to five Vermont Schools through the U.S. Senate's Computers for Schools programs. Overseen by the Senate's Sergeant At Arms, the program was established to offer surplus computers to classrooms across the country. Leahy worked with Vermont Agency of Education officials to identify Vermont schools with the highest needs for computers. They jointly identified five schools, which have now received five computers each. Don… Continue Reading
01.12.18
Guest Column from Appropriations Vice Chair Patrick Leahy, On The Budget Showdown
The Clock Is Ticking, And The People Are Watching Once again Congress finds itself lurching toward another manufactured made-in-Washington crisis. We are four months into a new fiscal year, and our government is still operating under last year's fixed funding levels with little flexibility to adapt to today's world. We have not reauthorized the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), putting the health care of 9 million children, including more than 4700 Vermont children, at risk. And 800,0… Continue Reading
01.12.18
Statement On Hector Timerman
Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy On Hector Timerman January 12, 2018 On December 6, 2017, former Argentine Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman, along with former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and others, was indicted for "concealment." The judge responsible for the indictments accused the defendants of conspiring with Iran to undermine the criminal investigation of the 1994 attack on the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people and in… Continue Reading
01.12.18
Comment On The President’s Vulgar And Racially Charged Remarks In A White House Meeting On DACA And Immigration
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The President's Vulgar And Racially Charged Remarks In A White House Meeting On DACA And Immigration Jan. 11, 2018 "The President's vulgar remarks, and the sentiments they represent, were breathtakingly offensive. Worse, they displayed ignorance of American ideals, and of the strength we derive from E Pluribus Unum. This is not who we are." # # # # #… Continue Reading
01.12.18
The Clock Is Ticking, And The People Are Watching
Once again Congress finds itself lurching toward another manufactured made-in-Washington crisis. We are four months into a new fiscal year, and our government is still operating under last year's fixed funding levels with little flexibility to adapt to today's world. We have not reauthorized the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), putting the health care of 9 million children, including more than 4700 Vermont children, at risk. And 800,000 DREAMers live under a cloud of uncertainty an… Continue Reading
01.12.18
Sen. Leahy & Gov. Scott: Leahy And Scott Make Joint Recommendation For Vermont’s Next U.S. Marshal
NEWS from Senator Leahy and Governor Scott Senator Leahy And Governor Scott Make Joint Recommendation For Vermont's Next U.S. Marshal (FRIDAY, Jan. 12, 2018) -- U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Vermont Governor Phil Scott (R) have recommended Essex Police Chief Brad LaRose to President Trump to be Vermont's next U.S. Marshal. >If nominated and confirmed, LaRose would oversee all U.S. Marshals Service operations in Vermont. With offices in Burlington, Rutland, and Brattleboro, the Mar… Continue Reading
01.11.18
Lee And Leahy: Joint Statement On The Senate’s Upcoming Debate On FISA Sec. 702, And Their USA Liberty Act Reforms
Today the House of Representatives passed the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017, by a vote of 256 to 167. The bill would reauthorize Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act. The House also rejected an amendment offered by Congressman Amash (R-Mich.) -- by a vote of 233 to 183 - which would have provided an overhaul of Section 702 with reforms intended to protect Americans' privacy rights. Statutory authorization for Section 702 will expire after January 19, 2018. Following is the jo… Continue Reading
01.11.18
Congressional Record Statement on Landmines
Mr. President, according to Landmine Monitor, which is the world's best source of data on the production, use, export, stockpiling, and clearance of landmines, cluster munitions, and other unexploded ordnance, 2016 was a terrible year for casualties caused by mines and other UXO. In 2016, the Monitor recorded 8,605 casualties, of which at least 2,089 people were fatalities. That is the highest number since 1999 and it includes the most casualties of children ever recorded. Civilians represe… Continue Reading
01.10.18
Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Patrick Leahy, In Senate Floor Address, As Deadline Nears For Completion Of Budget Negotiations
Just last week we began the Second Session of the 115th Congress. It is 2018 and we should be talking about what we can accomplish for the American people in the New Year. Instead, we face a long list of unfinished business from 2017, and a very short window in which to get it done. We are four months into Fiscal Year 2018, and we still do not have a budget deal. Our agencies are operating under last year's funding levels with little flexibility to adjust for the problems of today. We stil… Continue Reading
01.09.18
Leahy And Sanders Help Net Neutrality Resolution Reach 40-Vote Milestone In The Senate
Vermont's U.S. Senators, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I), are among those who have helped reach the milestone of 40 senators joining Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) in signing on in support of a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval to overturn the anti-consumer regulations passed in December by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and supported by Donald Trump to end net neutrality. At a press conference in the Capitol, Markey and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.… Continue Reading
01.05.18
Statement Of Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt., Vice Chair of the Appropriations Committee), On The Trump White House Threat To Cut Off Aid To Vulnerable Palestinian Refugees
"Only this White House would be so cynical and delusional to think, after needlessly inciting the Palestinians' outrage over Jerusalem, that cutting off aid for Palestinian refugees would force their leaders to negotiate a peace agreement. UNRWA, which has been consistently supported by Democratic and Republican administrations, provides healthcare, education and other basic services to vulnerable refugees - men, women, and children, many of them hosted by Jordan and other U.S. allies - whose a… Continue Reading
12.22.17
Leahy Congressional Record Statement On Threats To Worldwide Press Freedom
Mr. President, we are all too familiar with President Trump's "fake news" mantra, which he has repeatedly used to discredit unfavorable news reports and undermine the credibility of the media in our country. This mantra, and the accompanying threats to freedoms of speech and of the press, have now spread far beyond our borders. Autocrats and dictators around the world are enthusiastically using the concept of "fake news," and the legitimacy granted to it by the President of the United States, … Continue Reading
