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Search Senator Leahy’s press releases, floor statements, and Committee speeches by date or by subject.
SJC Ranking Member Leahy Calls On Chairman Grassley To Send SCOTUS Nominee Committee Questionnaire & Schedule Confirmation Hearing THIS MONTH
(Thursday, April 14, 2016) - Chief Judge Merrick Garland was nominated nearly one month ago to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court. On Thursday, Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) called on committee Republicans to support a full and fair process for the nominee. And consistent with committee tradition, Leahy also urged Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) to join him in sending the nominee a committee questionnaire and to schedule a confirmation hearing this month. "Chief J… Continue Reading
04.14.16
Senate Judiciary Committee Advances FBI Whistleblower Protection Bill
The Senate Judiciary Committee today advanced a bill introduced by Chairman Chuck Grassley and Ranking Member Patrick Leahy to improve the process for FBI employees who report fraud, waste or misconduct. The bipartisan FBI Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act establishes key FBI whistleblower safeguards similar to the protections already in place at other federal law enforcement and civil service agencies. It also improves efficiency, oversight, and independence in the investigation and adj… Continue Reading
04.13.16
Ending Tax Breaks For Corporate Wrongdoing
Vermonters, like millions of Americans across the country, are preparing for another tax deadline. Middle class families work hard all year and, come Tax Day, many of us question whether our tax system is fair. And no wonder. Billion-dollar corporations routinely write off their most egregious misconduct as nothing more than the cost of doing business, saving millions of dollars. And, in some cases, padding the wallets of wealthy CEOs. This is not only unfair to hardworking families who str… Continue Reading
04.13.16
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) On the House Judiciary Committee Approving the Bipartisan Email Privacy Act
"Last year we partnered with Chairman Goodlatte and Ranking Member Conyers to protect Americans' privacy in the USA FREEDOM Act, and now we applaud them for their leadership in moving the Email Privacy Act through the House Judiciary Committee. This bill has unprecedented support from all corners of Congress and for good reason: It ensures that the same privacy protections that apply to documents stored in our homes extend to our emails, photos, and information stored in the cloud. These crit… Continue Reading
04.13.16
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee, Hearing on “The Distortion of EB-5 Targeted Employment Areas: Time to End the Abuse” April 13, 2016
It is not often that all four leaders of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees sit in the same room, on the same side of an issue. But that is what you are seeing today. Chairman Grassley, Chairman Goodlatte, Ranking Member Conyers and I are committed to bringing much-needed reforms to the EB-5 Regional Center program. This program was designed to bring jobs to underserved areas, but in reality it has become an unintended boon for some of the wealthiest business districts in the country. Th… Continue Reading
04.12.16
Comment of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) On The Passing Of Former Vermont Supreme Court Chief Justice Frederic Allen
"Marcelle and I were deeply saddened to hear of the passing of former Vermont Supreme Court Chief Justice Fred Allen. Fred was a World War II veteran, a noted trial lawyer and a guiding force on Vermont's highest court for 12 years. He dedicated his life to public service and to our Green Mountain State and its people, and he leaves behind an enduring legacy. Our thoughts and prayers are with Karen and their two sons. " # # # # #… Continue Reading
04.12.16
Threat To Indonesia's Orangutans
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, a December 16, 1997, New York Times article entitled "Asia's Forest Fires, Scant Mercy for Orangutans'' described the widespread illegal logging and slash and burn agriculture that posed an existential threat to the orangutan, one of the world's only four species of great apes. It was after reading that article and speaking to scientists who had devoted their lives to saving the orangutan from extinction that I started a program in the foreign aid budget to help protect… Continue Reading
04.12.16
On Equal Pay Day, Leahy Calls For End To Discrimination Affecting American Women In The Workforce
(TUESDAY, April 12, 2016) - Hardworking women in Vermont and across the country face persistent gender discrimination with every paycheck, a glaring problem that Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said everyone from business leaders to Congress must address in order to ensure equal opportunity for all workers. In Equal Pay Day remarks Tuesday morning on the Senate Floor, Leahy said: "The United States is often looked to as a leader in the global landscape, setting the gold standard for others. Unf… Continue Reading
04.11.16
Senator Patrick Leahy On A Tribute to Maurice Geiger
Mr. President, I rise to recognize Maurice Geiger, known by family and friends as Maury, an extraordinary individual who, although a long-time resident of Conway, New Hampshire with his wife Nancy is deserving of the title of honorary Vermonter. Maury Geiger's lengthy career began in the U.S. Navy back in the 1950s, from where he went on to Georgetown Law School and jobs at the Bureau of Prisons and the Department of Justice. He later served as a county prosecutor in New Hampshire, founded th… Continue Reading
04.11.16
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Unstoppable Bob Gray
Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to an extraordinary Vermonter, Robert Hawkes Gray. Bob, as he is known to family and friends, grew up in Putney where his parents worked at the Putney School, his father Edward in charge of buildings and grounds and his mother Mabel ran the kitchen. Ed's ability to fix anything, and Mabel's cooking and way of keeping order, are remembered vividly and fondly to this day by thousands of Putney graduates. Bob attended Putney where he learned to ski cross coun… Continue Reading
04.11.16
Senate Finally Acts to Confirm First Judicial Nominee In Two Months, But Dozens More Await Action—Including SCOTUS Nominee
(Monday, April 11, 2016) - After previously blocking his nomination, Senate Republicans today are finally allowing the confirmation of Waverly Crenshaw, an African-American nominee who will fill a judicial emergency vacancy on the district court for the Middle District of Tennessee. However, 19 more judicial nominees are awaiting Senate action on the floor and dozens more are pending in the Judiciary Committee-including D.C. Circuit Chief Judge Merrick Garland, President Obama's nominee to fill… Continue Reading
04.07.16
Merrick Garland Waits As Senate Obstructionists Outsource Their Work To Moneyed Interest Groups
Senate Republicans are creating a toxic dynamic that ensures outside interest groups have the floor to themselves. Rather than rolling up their sleeves and considering Chief Judge Merrick Garland's record for themselves, Republicans have outsourced their job to moneyed interest groups whose only goal is to smear the nominee's admirable record of public service. These outside groups are not accountable to the American people. Nor do they have the American people's interest in mind. They are priv… Continue Reading
04.07.16
Camel’s Hump Middle School
On April 7, 2016, Senator Leahy held an online chat with the seventh graders of Camel's Hump Middle School. The Senator was impressed by the students' questions, especially their interest in his work in Cuba and about the upcoming election. He also enjoyed discussing his reasons for wanting to become a Senator, and about his favorite things to do when he is home in Vermont.… Continue Reading
04.07.16
Republican Obstruction Threatens Confirmation Of Consensus Nominees
(Thursday, April 7, 2016) - While Senate Republicans refuse to consider a Supreme Court nominee this year they are also blocking dozens of lower court nominees from being confirmed. The pattern of obstruction is leading to the least productive record for approving judicial nominees in more than half a century. The Senate Judiciary Committee has not held a confirmation hearing for lower court nominees since January, and the full Senate has not voted to confirm a single judicial nominee since Fe… Continue Reading
04.07.16
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee, Executive Business Meeting
Mr. Chairman, today I hope we will finally vote to report out three judicial nominees who have been on the agenda for nearly two months. Committee members want to continue to discuss how this Committee should function - but that cannot be used as an excuse to further delay action on lower court nominees or legislation. We have not had a hearing for a single judicial nominee since January. It is now April. There are 29 judicial nominees waiting for a hearing, including 3 circuit court nomine… Continue Reading
04.06.16
America’s next president must continue Obama’s progress on clean energy
So much of America's future is at stake in the 2016 presidential election. But let's focus for a moment on just one area - energy and the environment - where the Obama administration has made startling progress that could be reversed if either of the GOP front-runners becomes president. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, arguably President Obama's best Cabinet appointment, has been leading a quiet revolution in clean-energy technology. Innovation is transforming this industry, costs are plummeting … Continue Reading
04.04.16
Joint Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy, Senator Bernie Sanders And Congressman Peter Welch On The Air Force’s Announcement About F-35A Stationing At Burlington International Airport
[(MONDAY, April 4, 2016) -- The Secretary of the Air Force on Monday announced that the new F-35A Lightning II fighter will be stationed at Burlington in the Summer of 2019, several months earlier than expected. Vermont's congressional delegation - Senator Patrick Leahy, Senator Bernie Sanders and Congressman Peter Welch - issued the following joint statement after the announcement.] "According to the Air Force, their decision to slightly advance the timetable for basing in Burlington was driv… Continue Reading
04.04.16
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee On Senate Passage of S.1890, The Defend Trade Secrets Act
Today, the Senate is voting on legislation that will provide a valuable tool to protect against trade secret theft. This legislation is supported by businesses from diverse sectors of our economy, including companies large and small. In Vermont, trade secrets protect the specialized knowledge of woodworkers who have made heirloom products for generations, and cutting-edge start-ups that are shaping the future of plastics, software, and green technology. Trade secrets protect the recipes for Ve… Continue Reading
04.04.16
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee, On The Supreme Court’s Decision In Evenwel v. Abbott
[In a line of cases beginning with Reynolds v. Sims in 1964, the Supreme Court established the "one person, one vote" principle, which provides that electoral districts need to have roughly equal populations so that no person's vote is worth more than another's. In Evenwel v. Abbott this term, the Court considered what metric should be used to count electoral district population consistent with "one person, one vote." Today, the Supreme Court unanimously decided 8-0 that every individual, ev… Continue Reading
04.01.16
Leahy, Sanders, Welch File Brief To DC Circuit Court Supporting Clean Power Plan
(FRIDAY, April 1, 2016) - Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Representative Peter Welch (D-Vt.) Friday joined 205 other current and former members of Congress in filing an amicus brief supporting the Clean Power Plan (CPP), which would protect public health and create jobs by setting the first-ever carbon pollution standards for power plants, the nation's largest source of greenhouse gasses. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is conside… Continue Reading
