Press Room
Press Releases
Search Senator Leahy’s press releases, floor statements, and Committee speeches by date or by subject.
Leading Senate Democrats Join Together To Support Consumers, Open Internet For All
(Friday, January 16, 2015) - Democratic Senators Patrick Leahy (Vt.), Ron Wyden (Ore.), Al Franken (Minn.), and Cory Booker (N.J.) issued a joint comment Friday in response to proposed legislation released by Republican members of Congress. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will soon vote on updated open Internet rules that will affect millions of Americans, and Republicans recently unveiled proposed legislation intended to preempt the FCC from enacting new net neutrality rules. The De… Continue Reading
01.16.15
Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee, On Voting Rights & Martin Luther King Jr. Day
"One year ago today, on the eve of the weekend celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s holiday, I introduced legislation to restore key protections of the Voting Rights Act that were gutted by the Supreme Court's Shelby County decision. Despite repeated efforts, not a single Senate Republican would join me in this effort to protect Americans from racial discrimination in voting. House Republicans refused to act, failing to even allow a hearing on this fundamental issue to our democracy. Whil… Continue Reading
01.16.15
Leahy: Vermont Boys & Girls Clubs To Receive $550,000
(FRIDAY, Jan. 16, 2015) - Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Friday announced that the Boys & Girls Clubs of Vermont will receive $550,000 in federal grants to fund activities and programs administered by five organizations in Vermont, an increase of nearly 10 percent over the previous year. Leahy, long the Senate's leading champion of the Boys & Girls Clubs, said: "The Boys & Girls Clubs play vital roles in our communities across Vermont. They serve as on the front line in creating sa… Continue Reading
01.16.15
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy Saudi Arabia’s Crackdown on Human Rights Defenders
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, on January 12 in Saudi Arabia a prominent human rights lawyer, Mr. Waleed Abu al-Khair, was handed a five-year extension to his ten year prison sentence. Mr. Abu al-Khair, who is the founder and director of the watchdog group Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi Arabia, was also fined, banned from travel outside the county for fifteen years after his release, and his websites will be shut down. What were the crimes that brought about this sentence? He was charged with har… Continue Reading
01.16.15
Advisory About Senator Leahy’s Congressional Delegation Mission To Cuba
Comment of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), who is heading the upcoming congressional delegation visit to Cuba: "This is the first congressional mission to Cuba since the change of policy announced by the President on December 17, the day Alan Gross returned home. We have all been to Cuba before, and we strongly support the President's new direction for our policy toward Cuba. We are going this time to discuss our expectations, and the Cubans' expectations, for the normalization of relations. … Continue Reading
01.14.15
Leahy Welcomes Proposals To Promote Broadband Access For Americans
"I welcome the President's focus on deploying high-speed broadband and improving competition in communities across America, particularly in rural areas. Broadband is long past the point of being a luxury - it is a necessity, and the gap between urban and rural America is not closing nearly fast enough. The lack of adequate choices for consumers is also one of the main reasons why the FCC must act swiftly to protect an open Internet. I stand ready to work with the President and other Members o… Continue Reading
01.14.15
Lake Champlain Water Quality Efforts Net $16 M. Over 5 Years Under New USDA Regional Conservation Partnership Program
(WEDNESDAY, Jan. 14, 2015) -- Efforts to improve Lake Champlain's water quality got another major boost Wednesday, coming hard on the heels of a succession of other announcements of funding for Lake cleanup efforts in recent months. Grants under a new U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) resource conservation program in last year's Farm Bill were announced Wednesday in Washington by USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and were hailed at an afternoon event at the Vermont State House by Governor Peter S… Continue Reading
01.13.15
Leahy Calls On Congress To Close Tax Loophole For Corporate Misconduct
(Tuesday, January 13, 2015) - Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on Tuesday introduced legislation to close a tax loophole that allows businesses to write off the punishment they receive for corporate wrongdoing as an ordinary business expense. The No Tax Write-Offs for Corporate Wrongdoers Act provides a commonsense fix to eliminate this tax break for corporate misconduct. "Under current law, a corporation or individual business owner may deduct the cost of court-… Continue Reading
01.12.15
Leahy, Sanders, Welch: Final Signup Figures For New Dairy Margin Protection Program Show Majority of Vermont Dairy Farmers Are Taking Advantage Of Program
(MONDAY, Jan. 12, 2015) -- Vermont's congressional delegation - Sen. Patrick Leahy (D), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) and Rep. Peter Welch (D) - applauded USDA's Monday announcement that 582 Vermont dairy farms - 67 percent of Vermont's registered dairy farms -- and more than 23,000 of the nation's dairy operations - more than half of the country's dairy farms -- enrolled in the new Margin Protection Program (MPP) that was created by the 2014 Farm Bill. The voluntary program offers financial assistan… Continue Reading
01.12.15
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee, On the President’s Proposals to Protect American Consumers
[The President announced on Monday a new commitment to protecting Americans from data breaches and requiring businesses to take steps to notify consumers and protect personal data. In each of the last four Congresses, Leahy has introduced the Personal Data Privacy and Security Act to set a national standard for data breach notification, and to require businesses that collect and store consumers' sensitive personal information to safeguard that information from cyber threats. Last year, Leahy c… Continue Reading
01.11.15
Woodstock Middle/High School
On February 11, 2015, Senator Leahy held an online chat with Woodstock Union High School's AP Government class. Senator Leahy was impressed by the students' engagement on topics such as Cuba, immigration, and clashes between police officers and citizens throughout the country. Senator Leahy was especially engaged in the students' highlighting of the Mount Anthony Union High School's "professional integrity audit" of Fox News after Bill O'Reilly aired a rather negative segment on Bennington, Verm… Continue Reading
01.08.15
Leahy Joins In Offering Bipart. Senate Res. Thanking Pope Francis For Role In Rls. Of Alan Gross, Impr. Relations With Cuba --
U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Susan Collins (R-ME) today introduced a resolution commending Pope Francis for his leadership in helping to secure the release of Alan Gross, and for working with the governments of the United States and Cuba to achieve a more positive relationship. "Pope Francis seems to find new ways every day to make the world a little better," said Durbin. "Over the p… Continue Reading
01.08.15
Leahy Introduces Bipartisan Bill To Reauthorize Lifesaving Bulletproof Vest Grant Program
(Thursday, January 8, 2015) - Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on Thursday introduced bipartisan legislation cosponsored by Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to reauthorize the lifesaving Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program, a federal grant program that helps state and local law enforcement agencies purchase bulletproof vests for officers working in the field. The program has issued more than one million lifesaving vests to 13,000 state and local law enforce… Continue Reading
01.07.15
Senator Leahy and Congresswoman Matsui Reintroduce Landmark Net Neutrality Legislation
(Wednesday, January 7, 2015) -Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), member of the House Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee, on Wednesday reintroduced bicameral legislation to require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to ban so-called "paid prioritization" agreements between a broadband provider and a content provider. Reintroduction of the legislation comes as the FCC prep… Continue Reading
01.06.15
Leahy, Feinstein Re-Offer Bill To Restrict Use Of Cluster Munitions That Can Harm Innocent Civilians
Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) today led a group of lawmakers in introducing the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act of 2015, which would restrict the use of dangerous cluster munitions. In the Senate, the legislation is also co-sponsored by Senators Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Ron W… Continue Reading
01.06.15
Senator Leahy Reintroduces Bill to Ensure Equal Treatment For All Spouses Under The Copyright Act
Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on Tuesday joined with Senators Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Al Franken (D-Minn.) to reintroduce legislation that would close a loophole in the Copyright Act that discriminates among lawfully married couples. Today's bill introduction comes as Florida becomes the 36th state to allow all couples to marry. A provision in the Copyright Act grants rights to the surviving spouse of a copyrig… Continue Reading
12.29.14
Leahy: Senate Must Reauthorize Lifesaving Bulletproof Vest Grant Program Next Year
MONDAY, December 29, 2014 - Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) will reintroduce legislation next month to reauthorize the lifesaving Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program, a federal grant program that helps state and local law enforcement agencies purchase bulletproof vests for officers working in the field. Leahy, a former prosecutor, coauthored the original law establishing the matching grant program, which has issued more than one million lifesaving vests to state and local law enforcement … Continue Reading
12.23.14
Is 53 Years Long Enough To Conclude That Our Cuba Policy Has Failed?
Is 53 Years Long Enough To Conclude That Our Cuba Policy Has Failed? By Patrick Leahy On December 17th, President Obama and President Raul Castro made history. After 53 years of animosity rooted in the Cold War, they finally put our two countries on a new path. I worked for two years to help obtain Alan Gross' release from a Cuban prison, and flying to Cuba to bring him home was a joyous experience I will cherish always. Mr. Gross' case was the catalyst that finally brought to an end a policy… Continue Reading
12.23.14
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt., Senate President Pro Tempore and Dean of the Senate, chairman of State Department and Foreign Operations for the Appropriations Committee), On Adriana Perez
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt., Senate President Pro Tempore and Dean of the Senate, chairman of State Department and Foreign Operations for the Appropriations Committee), On Adriana Perez Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2014 "In February 2013, during one of our trips to Cuba my wife Marcelle and I agreed to meet with Adriana Perez. She made a personal appeal to Marcelle. She was 43 years old and afraid that she would never have the chance to have a child as she did not expect her husband to ever … Continue Reading
12.19.14
Leahy Commends U.S. Attorney Tristram Coffin For Years Of Service To Vermont
(Friday, December 19, 2014) - U.S. Attorney Tristram Coffin on Friday announced that he will be leaving his position next month after serving as Vermont's top federal prosecutor since 2009. U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) praised Coffin for his years of service, and he committed to working quickly to find a highly qualified nominee to serve as Vermont's next U.S. Attorney. "Tris Coffin is a tough and fair prosecutor, and has been an effective law enforcement leader in Vermont. I join my fe… Continue Reading
