Press Room
Press Releases
Search Senator Leahy’s press releases, floor statements, and Committee speeches by date or by subject.
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy On the Supreme Court, Emergency Funding for Zika, and Judicial Nominations
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee, On the Supreme Court, Emergency Funding for Zika, and Judicial Nominations June 27, 2016 This morning, the Supreme Court in Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt reaffirmed that women - not politicians - should make their own health care choices. This was an important decision for women's health and women's constitutional rights. But the fight to protect women's health continues. And it continues tomorrow her… Continue Reading
06.27.16
Leahy Comment On Supreme Court’s Decision In Whole Woman's Health Case
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee, On The Supreme Court's Decision In Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt June 27, 2016 [In a 5-3 decision Monday in Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, the Supreme Court struck down a Texas law imposing two onerous restrictions on abortion providers requiring 1) all doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at a local hospital, and 2) all abortions be provided only in medical facilities that me… Continue Reading
06.23.16
Comments On New Bill To Require Mandatory National GMO Labeling
Leahy Comments On New Bill To Require Mandatory National GMO Labeling . . . Leahy Had Led Vermont's Successful Efforts To Derail An Earlier Bill To Nullify Vermont's Law And To Replace It With A Solely Voluntary National Scheme WASHINGTON (THURSDAY, June 23, 2016) - Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Thursday commented on a new agreement reached between Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) and the panel's ranking member, Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) for a bill to instit… Continue Reading
06.23.16
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Supreme Court’s Decision In Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee, On The Supreme Court's Decision In Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin June 23, 2016 [This is the second time in two years that the Supreme Court has taken up plaintiff Abigail Fisher's challenge to the University of Texas's admissions policy. In 2013, the Court held that the Fifth Circuit did not properly apply the demanding burden of strict scrutiny set forth in prior Supreme Court precedent. Upon revie… Continue Reading
06.23.16
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Supreme Court’s Decision In United States v. Texas
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee, On The Supreme Court's Decision In United States v. Texas June 23, 2016 [Today, in a deadlocked 4-4 decision, the Supreme Court did not render a majority decision in a case challenging guidance from the Secretary of Homeland Security, which would temporarily defer the deportation of the parents of legal permanent residents and American citizens and make them eligible for work authorization, otherwise known as… Continue Reading
06.22.16
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Need To Pass Meaningful Gun Legislation
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee, On The Need To Pass Meaningful Gun Legislation June 22, 2016 "This morning, Senate Republican leaders failed in their attempt to shift the debate away from the need to pass sensible gun legislation, and it is now time to get back to business of responsible legislating. We must strengthen our laws to make it easier to prosecute firearms traffickers and straw purchasers who put guns in the hands of terrorists a… Continue Reading
06.22.16
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy On McCain Amendment 4787 to the CJS Appropriations Bill
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee, On McCain Amendment 4787 to the CJS Appropriations Bill June 22, 2016 Earlier this week, Senate Republicans once again blocked sensible gun safety measures that the majority of Americans support. And now the Republican leadership wants to change the subject. They are resorting to scare tactics to divert the attention of the American people from their failure to act in response to mass shootings. Let's be c… Continue Reading
06.21.16
Leahy Urges Senators To Support Amendment That Gives Law Enforcement Meaningful Resources To Prevent Terrorism
Leahy Urges Senators To Support Amendment That Gives Law Enforcement Meaningful Resources To Prevent Terrorism WASHINGTON (Tuesday, June 21, 2016) - Senate Republicans who blocked sensible gun safety measures this week are now pushing an unnecessary and overly broad surveillance measure involving innocent Americans' Internet activities. Instead of trying to change the subject away from the gun debate, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) urged Senators Tuesday to support his common sense amendment to … Continue Reading
06.21.16
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy On Amendments to the CJS Appropriations Bill
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee, On Amendments to the CJS Appropriations Bill June 21, 2016 After voting down sensible gun measures earlier this week, Republicans want to change the subject. They want to resort to scare tactics to divert the attention of the American people. Now they are offering an overbroad proposal that they argue is needed to keep this country safe. Let's be clear about what we need to stay safe. We need universal bac… Continue Reading
06.21.16
At SJC Hearing On Rising Prescription Drug Prices, Leahy Calls For Congressional Action
At SJC Hearing On Rising Prescription Drug Prices, Leahy Calls For Congressional Action . . . New Leahy Bill Would Deter Big Drug Firms From Blocking Or Slowing Generic Alternatives WASHINGTON (TUESDAY, June 21, 2016) - The rising costs of pharmaceutical drugs, including critical treatments for opioid overdoses, is a harm to consumers that Congress must address, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said at a Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday. "Pharmaceutical companies should be compensated for the… Continue Reading
06.21.16
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy Hearing on “The CREATES Act: Ending Regulatory Abuse, Protecting Consumers, and Ensuring Drug Price Competition”
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing Before the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights on "The CREATES Act: Ending Regulatory Abuse, Protecting Consumers, and Ensuring Drug Price Competition" June 21, 2016 In recent months, the high cost of prescription drugs has been front and center in national news. Last year, American consumers learned of the unconscionable price-hike by Turing of… Continue Reading
06.21.16
Leahy Comment On The Unanimous Well-Qualified Rating of Chief Judge Merrick Garland By The American Bar Association
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee, On The Unanimous Well-Qualified Rating of Chief Judge Merrick Garland by the American Bar Association June 21, 2016 "Senate Republicans who are blocking Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland are out of excuses. Today the American Bar Association announced its rating of Chief Judge Garland's nomination, unanimously awarding him its highest rating of 'Well-Qualified' to serve on the Supreme Court. Senate Repu… Continue Reading
06.21.16
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy On Judicial Nominations June 21 2016
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee, On Judicial Nominations June 21, 2016 Today this Committee holds a nominations hearing for four judicial nominees, including one circuit court nominee, Jennifer Puhl, for the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. The other three would fill district court vacancies in South Carolina, Idaho, and New York. This is just the fourth judicial nominations hearing of this year - and it should not be the last. In 2008 … Continue Reading
06.20.16
Reaction of U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt., Ranking Member, Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee On The State Department And Foreign Operations) To Global Witness Report On Attacks Against Environmental Activists Worldwide
"Global Witness documents the shocking pattern of harassment and killings of environmental activists who courageously defend their land and water from the rapacious greed of multinational extractive industries in search of quick profits, often with the support of corrupt governments. Berta Caceres' death in Honduras made headlines around the world because of her notoriety, but there have been many like her who died in obscurity. Governments should be defending these people, not treating them l… Continue Reading
06.20.16
One Week After Mass Shooting In Orlando, Leahy Urges Senators To Support Common Sense Legislation To Make Our Communities Safer
(Monday, June 20, 2016) - A Vermont teen recently penned an open letter urging Senator Leahy and all Senators to "do something. Something big," in response to the mass shooting in Orlando that took 49 innocent lives. The letter was written by a Vermont teenager named Ella Staats, and it appeared in the Vermont Digger as part of the Young Writers Project. On Monday, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) took to the Senate floor to respond to Ms. Staats and all Americans who are calling on Congress to r… Continue Reading
06.20.16
One Week After Mass Shooting In Orlando, Leahy Urges Senators To Support Common Sense Legislation To Make Our Communities Safer
(Monday, June 20, 2016) - A Vermont teen recently penned an open letter urging Senator Leahy and all Senators to "do something. Something big," in response to the mass shooting in Orlando that took 49 innocent lives. The letter was written by a Vermont teenager named Ella Staats, and it appeared in the Vermont Digger as part of the Young Writers Project. On Monday, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) took to the Senate floor to respond to Ms. Staats and all Americans who are calling on Congress to r… Continue Reading
06.20.16
Leahy: “Today – and every day – I stand with refugees”
(Monday, June 20, 2016) - Marking World Refugee Day, Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) called on lawmakers to stand with refugees escaping violence and persecution around the world-and to reject divisive rhetoric. "World Refugee Day is a day we remember our common humanity and the moral imperative to love and care for one another," Leahy said. "I can think of no better time than now to pause and remember those fundamental principles." He added: "The rhetoric of … Continue Reading
06.20.16
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee, Commemorating World Refugee Day
Today, we commemorate World Refugee Day. It is a day we make clear that we stand with those who have survived the horrors of war, torture, and persecution. It is a day when we remember our common humanity and the moral imperative to love and care for one another. I can think of no better time than now to pause and remember those fundamental principles. The rhetoric of hate and intolerance has reached a frightening pitch in this country, much of it directed against innocent victims of persecut… Continue Reading
06.20.16
Leahy And Community Leaders Gather To Announce More Than $1 Million In New Funding To Help Connect Healthy Families, Farm And Food
BURLINGTON, Vt. (MONDAY, June 20, 2016) - Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Monday announced more than $1 million in new grants to support local agriculture and promote healthy communities. The grantees include Green Mountain Farm to School and Wholesome Wave, the Vermont Department of Health, and the University of Vermont Center for Rural Studies. The grants were awarded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) and the Agriculture and Food R… Continue Reading
06.16.16
Leahy Named A Top Negotiator On CARA Act To Address Opioid
Leahy Named A Top Negotiator On LegislationTo Address Opioid Epidemic . . . Leahy To Join House-Senate Discussions On Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act WASHINGTON (THURSDAY, June 16, 2016) - The Senate on Thursday named Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) as a key negotiator in bipartisan, bicameral discussions on legislation to address the nation's opioid crisis, which has deeply impacted Vermont and other states. "I am a proud cosponsor of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, and … Continue Reading
