Press Room
Press Releases
Search Senator Leahy’s press releases, floor statements, and Committee speeches by date or by subject.
Reaction To The Award Of The Nobel Peace Prize To Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos
Reaction Of Senator Patrick Leahy To The Award Of The Nobel Peace Prize To Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos [BURLINGTON, Vt. (FRIDAY, Oct. 7, 2016) -- Sen. Patrick Leahy, (D-Vt., and ranking member of the Senate's State Department And Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee) for several years has been a partner in supporting and advancing President Santos' peace initiative, through Leahy's work on the Appropriations Committee and in other ways.] "Peacemaking requires courage and … Continue Reading
10.05.16
Leahy, Sanders, Welch Announce $9M To VT For Innovative 'Linking Learning To Careers' Program
Leahy, Sanders And Welch Announce $9 Million To Vermont For Innovative 'Linking Learning To Careers' Program BURLINGTON, Vt. (WEDNESDAY, October 5, 2016) - Vermont's congressional delegation - Sen. Patrick Leahy (D), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I), and Rep. Peter Welch (D) - on Wednesday announced a nearly $9 million grant to support an innovative project to help Vermont students with disabilities in transitioning to the workforce. The grant from the U.S. Department of Education to the Vermont Agency… Continue Reading
10.04.16
Leading Senators Call For The Release Of Children In Prolonged Detention & An End To Family Detention
Leading Senators Call For The Release Of Children In Prolonged Detention & An End To Family Detention WASHINGTON (Tuesday, October 4, 2016) - A group of leading Senators pressed the Obama administration to end the detention of women and children who have fled gang violence in their home countries. The letter led by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) came after world leaders met in New York for the United Nations Summit for Refugees and Migrants. In their letter to H… Continue Reading
10.04.16
Leahy Announces $9.3 M. In Grants To Support VT CRIME VICTIMS and DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SURVIVORS
Leahy Announces $9.3 Million in Grants To Support Vermont Crime Victims And Domestic Violence Survivors Rural grants will reach underserved populations MIDDLEBURY, Vt. (TUESDAY, Oct. 4, 2016) - U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on Tuesday announced that Vermont will receive $9.3 million from the U.S. Department of Justice to support victims of crime throughout the state, including survivors of domestic and sexual violence. The funding includes 12 separate federal grants that will address a w… Continue Reading
10.04.16
As Republicans’ Unprecedented Obstruction Continues, A Diminished Supreme Court Begins Its New Term With Only Eight Justices
As Republicans' Unprecedented Obstruction Continues, A Diminished Supreme Court Begins Its New Term With Only Eight Justices Leahy: "A Supreme Court of only eight justices is unacceptable and Americans deserve better. Americans should not accept a Senate that has done almost nothing to address the vacancy crisis in courts throughout our country." WASHINGTON (Tuesday, October 4, 2016) - The Supreme Court begins hearing oral arguments today without a crucial ninth justice, marking the second con… Continue Reading
10.03.16
Reaction To The Vote Rejecting The Peace Agreement In Colombia
Reaction Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt., Ranking Member, Senate Appropriations Subcommittee On The State Department And Foreign Operations) To The Vote Rejecting The Peace Agreement In Colombia Monday, Oct. 3, 2016 "The nearly even split in the vote illustrates the social, economic, and political divisions that are at the root of the conflict. Further bloodshed would only deepen those divisions. "Any peace agreement requires painful compromises, particularly when both sides are responsible f… Continue Reading
09.28.16
Statement On The Nomination of Jeffrey DeLaurentis
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Nomination of Jeffrey DeLaurentis September 28, 2016 Mr. LEAHY: Mr. President, yesterday President Obama nominated Jeffrey DeLaurentis to be United States Ambassador to Cuba. If confirmed, Mr. DeLaurentis would be the first U.S. ambassador in Havana in more than half a century. I have known Jeff DeLaurentis since he became the U.S. chief of mission in Havana, and he is the obvious choice to be ambassador. He is a career diplomat who is universally res… Continue Reading
09.28.16
Statement On Passage Of The Survivors’ Bill of Rights Act
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee, On Passage Of The Survivors' Bill of Rights Act September 28, 2016 Today, we take an important step forward for victims of crime by establishing key protections for survivors of sexual assault in our criminal justice system. I was proud to work with Senator Shaheen on this legislation when it passed in the Senate earlier this year. Her Sexual Assault Survivors' Rights Act addresses the unique challenges fa… Continue Reading
09.28.16
Leahy Praises Administration's Rule, Issued Tonight, To End Forced Arbitration In Long-Term Care Facilities
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee, On the Administration's Long-Term Care Facility Rule and Forced Arbitration September 28, 2016 [The Department of Health and Human Services has published its final regulations for long-term care facilities participating in Medicare and Medicaid. Among the new regulations is a prohibition on binding arbitration clauses in the agreements between patients and facilities. The ban on forced arbitration was recomme… Continue Reading
09.28.16
$1.4 M. Grant Will Help Shape Decisions On The Moran Plant On The BURLINGTON WATERFRONT
Leahy: $1.4 M. Grant Will Help Shape Decisions On The Moran Plant On The Burlington Waterfront BURLINGTON, Vt. (WEDNESDAY, Sept. 28, 2016) -- In a major boost to economic development efforts on the Burlington Waterfront, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced on Wednesday a $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) to the City for waterproofing and flood resiliency of the former Moran Plant. Previous high-water events on Lake Champlain have flooded the building… Continue Reading
09.28.16
Leahy, Sanders, Welch: Joint Statement On Rutland's Designation As A Refugee Resettlement Site
Leahy, Sanders And Welch Issue Joint Statement On Rutland's Designation As A Refugee Resettlement Site Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2016 "We learned this morning that the City of Rutland will receive refugees who have fled the relentless violence in Syria and Iraq, sometimes with just the clothes on their backs. The vast majority of refugees admitted from Syria have been women and children, and when we see the photographs of children fleeing this awful tragedy, we see our own children and are called … Continue Reading
09.28.16
Statement on Recent Events in Ethiopia
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt) On Recent Events in Ethiopia Congressional record September 27, 2016 MR. LEAHY. Mr. President, I want to bring the Senate's attention to the Ethiopian government's brutal crackdown on protestors over the past nine months. According to Human Rights Watch, more than 500 people have been killed by Ethiopian security forces in anti-government demonstrations since November 2015, including over 100 gunned down in early August of this year alone. These prote… Continue Reading
09.28.16
Statement On Aya Hijazi
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy On Aya Hijazi Congressional Record September 27, 2016 Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I want to speak about a matter in Egypt, a long-time ally of the United States, a country with a rich history and culture, but whose people have suffered for years due to corrupt, repressive governments and an anemic economy that stagnates under excessive statist control. This is the situation despite more than $75 billion in U.S. economic and military aid for Egypt over the past … Continue Reading
09.27.16
The President's Intention To Nominate Jeffrey DeLaurentis As U.S. Ambassador To Cuba
Reaction Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt., Ranking Member, Senate State Department And Foreign Operations Subcommittee) To The President's Announcement Of His Intention To Name Jeffrey DeLaurentis As U.S. Ambassador To Cuba Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2016 "I have known Jeff DeLaurentis since he became the U.S. Chief of Mission in Havana, and he is the obvious choice to be Ambassador. He is a career diplomat who is universally respected by his peers, and by Democrats and Republicans in Congress, for his… Continue Reading
09.27.16
Statement On the Supreme Court Nomination of Chief Judge Merrick Garland
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee, On the Supreme Court Nomination of Chief Judge Merrick Garland September 27, 2016 Eleven years ago this week, following the death of Chief Justice Rehnquist, the Senate confirmed Chief Justice John Roberts to the Supreme Court. After his Judiciary Committee hearing in September, he was given full and fair consideration by the Senate and confirmed about two weeks later on September 29. This ensured that the … Continue Reading
09.27.16
In Wake Of Massive Data Breach Affecting Millions Of Customers, Leahy Leads Senators In Pressing Yahoo! For Answers
Following Massive Data Breach Affecting Millions Of Customers, Leahy Leads Senators In Pressing Yahoo! For Answers WASHINGTON (Tuesday, September 27, 2016) - Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the author of a comprehensive data security and breach notification bill that requires companies to take reasonable steps to secure their customers' sensitive data and notify customers in the event of a hack, called on the leader of Yahoo! to disclose how a massive hack at their company went unnoticed for two… Continue Reading
09.27.16
Senator Patrick Leahy and Senator Benjamin Cardin On Recent Developments in the Philippines and Indonesia
Colloquy Senator Patrick Leahy and Senator Benjamin Cardin On Recent Developments in the Philippines and Indonesia Congressional Record September 26 2016 MR. LEAHY: Mr. President, according to recent reports, more than 3,000 people have been killed in the Philippines in the twelve weeks since President Duterte announced his campaign to wipe out illicit drug use. More than 1,000 of those deaths were at the hands of the Philippine National Police during counternarcotic operations, compared to 6… Continue Reading
09.26.16
Signing Of Final Peace Agreement In Colombia
Reaction Of Senator Patrick Leahy To The Sept. 26 Signing Of A Final Peace Agreement In Colombia, Ending 5 Decades Of Civil War Monday, Sept. 26, 2016 "Today was a very long time in coming. During decades of war that killed hundreds of thousands and uprooted millions, every Colombian citizen and family paid a price. President Santos staked his political reputation on the negotiations, the outcome of which was never certain. He deserves great credit for having the vision and the courage for sta… Continue Reading
09.26.16
Leahy Leads Senators In Demanding Answers From DHS On Use Of Private Prisons
Senator Leahy Leads Senators In Demanding Answers From DHS On Use Of Private Prisons WASHINGTON (MONDAY, Sept. 26, 2016) - Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), with other leading senators, pressed the Obama administration Monday on the use of private prisons and contract facilities by the Department of Homeland Security. The letter comes amid an internal review at DHS regarding its use of private prisons, and the senators urged DHS to ensure the review was meaningful and genuine. In their letter to … Continue Reading
09.23.16
Leahy, Brown & Leading Democratic Senators Call On Wells Fargo To End Use Of Forced Arbitration On Consumers
Leahy, Brown & Leading Democratic Senators Call On Wells Fargo To End Use Of Forced Arbitration So That Consumers Can Seek Justice In Court WASHINGTON (FRIDAY, Sept. 23, 2016) - Democratic Senators led by Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Banking Committee Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) are calling on Wells Fargo to end the use of forced arbitration clauses that prevent customers whose names were used to open fraudulent accounts from seeking justice in cour… Continue Reading
