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Search Senator Leahy’s press releases, floor statements, and Committee speeches by date or by subject.
Leahy Ushers Legislation To Reduce Rape Kit Backlogs Through The Senate Thursday Night
(THURSDAY, Sept. 18, 2014) - U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on Thursday praised the Senate's passage of legislation to reauthorize the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Reduction Program and urged Senators to support passage of a broader criminal justice bill - the Justice For All reauthorization bill - in the upcoming lameduck session. Leahy late Thursday brought the bill directly to the Senate Floor and asked unanimous consent for the Senate to pass it. He secured that… Continue Reading
09.18.14
Leahy: $650,000 In Grants Available To Organizations To Address Water Quality And Conservation Concerns On Lake Champlain
(THURSDAY, Sept. 18, 2014) - Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Thursday joined the Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP) in announcing $650,000 in federal funding available to local watershed groups, towns and other organizations in Vermont and New York in the continued effort to implement a long-term management plan for Lake Champlain. The funding will play a key role in assisting local organizations respond to serious water quality and conservation concerns on the lake as well as working to enhance … Continue Reading
09.18.14
Leahy Bills OKd by Judiciary Committee…To Reduce Prison Recidivism And Crack Down On Human Trafficking Involving Runaway And Homeless Youths --
(Thursday, September 18, 2014) -- The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved bipartisan legislation authored by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to reauthorize the Second Chance Act, a law that supports state and local reentry programs to reduce recidivism. In recent months, the Committee has considered ways to reduce prison costs for federal, state and local governments. Approval of the Second Chance Act on Thursday is the latest in that effort. The bill extends a 2008 law aimed at t… Continue Reading
09.18.14
Leahy, Sanders, Welch, Shumlin: $891,697 Awarded Under Farm Bill For Economic And Community Development In Northern Vermont
(THURSDAY, Sept. 18, 2014) - Vermont's congressional delegation -- Senator Patrick Leahy (D), Senator Bernie Sanders (I) and Representative Peter Welch (D) - and Governor Peter Shumlin (D) Thursday announced that the State will receive $891,679 in Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) funds for economic development projects in Northern Vermont. This is a $400,000 increase over funds awarded in Vermont last year. The NBRC funds will be disbursed in five grants to five organizations in Nor… Continue Reading
09.17.14
Leahy Panel Hears Testimony Urging FCC To Support NET NEUTRALITY --
An Overwhelming Call To Protect A Free & Open Internet A record 3.7 million Americans have weighed in with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on its proposed rules to protect an open Internet. An overwhelming number of these comments from hardworking Americans called on the FCC to enact meaningful rules that will protect consumers and preserve competition online. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), author of the bicameral Online Competition and Consumer Ch… Continue Reading
09.17.14
Leahy Chairs SJC Hearing On Protecting an Open Internet
(Wednesday, September 17, 2014) - Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) is chairing a hearing this morning entitled "Why Net Neutrality Matters: Protecting Consumers and Competition Through Meaningful Open Internet Rules." The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is currently undertaking a rulemaking to restore open Internet protections in light of a D.C. Circuit Court decision earlier this year. Leahy also chaired a field hearing on the issue in Vermont in July. Testimon… Continue Reading
09.17.14
Leahy, Sanders, Welch: USDA Awards $658,175 In Research Grants for UVM
(Wednesday, September 17) - Senator Patrick Leahy (D), Senator Bernie Sanders (I) and Representative Peter Welch (D) Wednesday announced the University of Vermont Extension program received two grants totaling over $650,000 for agricultural research. The grant announcement is the most recent step in implementing the 2014 Farm Bill. Leahy, the senior most member on the Senate Agriculture Committee, was a conferee on the bill. The grants will be used to study soil quality on Vermont farms, foc… Continue Reading
09.16.14
Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On The Anniversary Of The Constitutional Convention
Tomorrow we will mark Constitution Day - a day set aside to reflect on our nation's charter and how it has shaped what it means to be American. On September 17, 1787, George Washington, James Madison, and their fellow Framers made the momentous decision to sign the Constitution and send it along to the American people for ratification - marking a new beginning in our nation's profound experiment in democracy. As important as the original charter continues to be, the Founders did not design it … Continue Reading
09.16.14
Leahy & Matsui in The Hill: Keep the Internet Free and Open for All
(Tuesday, September 16, 2014) - Below is the text of an op-ed coauthored by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) published today in The Hill on the issue of net neutrality. The two joined together in June to introduce the Online Competition and Consumer Choice Act, legislation directing the FCC to ban paid prioritization agreements online. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is currently undertaking a rulemaking to restore o… Continue Reading
09.16.14
Comment of Senator Patrick Leahy On Vermont Health Connect
"Vermont has been, and continues to be, a leader in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. I am glad that Governor Shumlin is taking this critical step to fix Vermont Health Connect to ensure that it works as intended to help thousands of Vermonters gain access to quality health insurance. He is absolutely right that technology offers us benefits but also additional challenges when it comes to health care, and making these systems in Vermont and everywhere work as they should, and maki… Continue Reading
09.15.14
Leahy Urges Senators To Support Justice For All Reauthorization Act
(Monday, September 15, 2014) - In a floor statement Monday, U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) called on Senators to support passage of the Justice for All Reauthorization Act, a bipartisan bill that seeks to help ensure that the criminal justice system functions fairly. "As a former prosecutor, I have great faith in our criminal justice system and in the men and women who have dedicated their lives to making it work. But I also know that our system is not perfect.… Continue Reading
09.12.14
Leahy, Sanders, Welch: Grant Will Help Expand The Lund Center’s Help To Pregnant And Postpartum Women In Conquering Substance Abuse
(THURSDAY, Sept. 12, 2014) -Senator Patrick Leahy (D), Senator Bernie Sanders (I), and Representative Peter Welch (D), announced a $524,000 grant to provide residential treatment for pregnant or postpartum women who are suffering from substance abuse in Vermont. The grant was awarded to the Lund Family Center in Burlington to extend outreach and support to as many as 645 low-income pregnant or postpartum women over three years. In a joint statement, Leahy, Sanders and Welch said: "Addiction t… Continue Reading
09.12.14
Leahy, Sanders, Welch: VT Nets $2.3 Million For Rural Development
(FRIDAY, Sept. 12, 2014) -- Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Congressman Peter Welch (D-VT) Friday announced $2.3 million in funding for rural development in Vermont. The funding, under the new Farm Bill, has been awarded to 13 organizations across the state through 16 grants and loans by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and will be utilized to foster job growth, economic development and community initiatives. In a joint statement, Leahy, Sanders and We… Continue Reading
09.11.14
Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy, Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On The Proposed Constitutional Amendment To Permit Campaign Finance Reform To Stem The Flood Of ‘Dark Money’ Into The Political Process
[The Senate held the showdown vote Thursday afternoon on the proposed constitutional amendment. In a vote of 54-42, the Senate fell six votes short of the 60 votes needed to invoke cloture and prevent a filibuster on the resolution. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, supported it and successfully steered it through the Judiciary Committee's approval of the proposed amendment earlier this summer. Following is his closing statement in the week-long debate… Continue Reading
09.11.14
Leahy, Sanders, Welch: Grants Totaling $8.8 M. Will Help Newport’s Airport In Accommodating The Area’s Growth And Change
(THURSDAY, Sept. 11, 2014) -- Senator Patrick Leahy (D), Senator Bernie Sanders (I) and Representative Peter Welch (D) Thursday joined Federal Aviation Administrator Michael P. Huerta in announcing that the Newport State Airport will receive two FAA grants totaling $8.8 million to help with the airport's expansion. The grants to the airport in Newport, Vt., come on the heels of a Federal Aviation Administration grant of $8.1 million to Rutland-Southern Vermont Regional Airport for safety improv… Continue Reading
09.11.14
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Ebola Crisis
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, over the past several months the world's attention has been focused on the Russian invasion of Crimea and fighting in the eastern Ukraine, the explosion of violence in Gaza, the flood of migrant children from Central America, and the horrific death and destruction in Iraq and Syria. In each of these places vast numbers of innocent people have suffered terribly, and our own policies and capability to respond have been severely tested. Yet one of the most urgent, dif… Continue Reading
09.10.14
Reaction Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) To President Obama’s Announcement That The Administration Will Train And Equip Syrian Rebels That Oppose ISIS
"There is no place in the 21st Century for a terrorist organization that so devalues human life as to summarily execute and otherwise brutalize people for no reason other than their religious, ethnic or national affiliation in an attempt to establish their own religious state. ISIS poses a serious threat to the security of anyone it encounters, including Americans. It is a blight on that region and an affront to civilization itself. The President, who has wisely rejected the deployment of U.S… Continue Reading
09.09.14
Judiciary Chairman Leahy Announces Sept. 17 Hg. On Protecting An Open Internet
(Tuesday, September 9, 2014) - Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced on Tuesday that he will convene a Judiciary Committee hearing next week to receive testimony about the importance of maintaining a free and open Internet. The hearing comes as the Federal Communications Commission approaches the final stages in its work to replace open Internet rules that were struck down by the D.C. Circuit in January's Verizon v. FCC decision. Leahy recently joined with Congre… Continue Reading
09.08.14
Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On Judicial Nominations
Today we will finally vote on the confirmation of Jill Pryor of Georgia to fill a judicial emergency vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. Her nomination has been pending in the Senate since February 2012-more than two and a half years, which is longer than any other currently pending judicial nominee. She received the American Bar Association's highest rating of unanimously well qualified and has the support of both of her Republican home state Senators-Senator Chambliss an… Continue Reading
09.08.14
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On S.J. Res. 19 – A Constitutional Amendment Relating to Contributions and Expenditures Intended to Affect Elections
Today, the Senate will hold its first vote relevant to Senate Joint Resolution 19 - a constitutional amendment that would restore to Congress and the States the authority to set reasonable limits on contributions and expenditures in our elections. The amendment would also allow Congress and the States to distinguish between natural persons and corporations when shaping legislation regarding the financing of elections. The need for the States and for Congress to have this ability is fundamental… Continue Reading
