{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "is_view": false, "human_description_en": "where chamber = \"House\", state = \"VT\" and year = 2020 sorted by date descending", "rows": [["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/sanders-to-demand-votes-on-house-passed-2000-direct-payments-bill-and-mcconnells-bill/", "Sanders to Demand Votes on House-Passed $2,000 Direct Payments Bill and McConnells Bill", "2020-12-31", "2020", "2020-12", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, December 31  Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced on Thursday that he will challenge Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to bring his own legislation to the floor, in addition to the bill passed by the House of Representatives with support from 44 Republicans and 231 Democrats to give working-class Americans $2,000 direct payments, for an up-or-down vote.\nThe working class of America is facing more economic desperation than at anytime since the Great Depression, Sanders said. They need our help and they need it now. I'm offering a compromise path forward to resolve our current impasse and give Americans the vote they deserve on direct payments. Tomorrow, we should vote on the McConnell bill and the House-passed bill. What objection could Leader McConnell have for not voting on his own bill?\nMcConnell's legislation was introduced after the Republican Leader told the Senate that he would prioritize moving a package of President Trump's priorities, including $2,000 direct payments. Packaging a repeal of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and a Congressional inquiry into supposed voter fraud in addition to direct payments, McConnell announced that those are the three important subjects the president has linked together. This week, the Senate will begin a process to bring these three priorities into focus.\nSanders responded: McConnell began the process on Tuesday, and he should finish that work by putting his bill on the floor of the U.S. Senate for consideration before we go home for the New Year.\nSanders will ask for unanimous consent to bring both pieces of legislation up for a vote on Friday afternoon.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/vermonts-congressional-delegation-recognizes-vermont-u-s-service-academy-nominees-via-video-livestream-wednesday-december-30/", "Vermonts Congressional Delegation Recognizes Vermont U.S. Service Academy Nominees via Video Livestream  Wednesday, December 30", "2020-12-31", "2020", "2020-12", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, and U.S. Representative Peter Welch on Wednesday evening recognized 28 young Vermonters who received nominations to the United States Service Academies, Class of 2025. Each year the Vermont delegation hosts a reception at the Vermont State House for the nominees. However, for everyone's safety, this year's ceremony was held virtually.\nThe names of this year's nominees, selected by Leahy, Sanders, and Welch through a competitive vetting process, and forwarded to the Academies for final decisions, are:\nMr. Eusebio Aja IIIof Barre, Vermont (U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Naval Academy)\nNominated by: Leahy, Sanders, Welch\nMr. Matthew Bayardof Saint Albans, Vermont (U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Military Academy)\nNominated by: Leahy, Sanders, Welch\nMs. Allison Bradleyof Woodstock, Vermont(U.S. Naval Academy)\nNominated by: Leahy, Sanders, Welch\nMr. Matthew Durginof Cabot, Vermont (U.S. Military Academy)\nNominated by: Leahy, Sanders, Welch\nMr. Fletcher Footeof Newport, Vermont (U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Naval Academy)\nNominated by: Leahy\nMs. Pauline Garzaof Essex Junction, Vermont (U.S Naval Academy)\nNominated by: Leahy, Sanders, Welch\nMr. Aidan Geboof Vergennes, Vermont (U.S. Naval Academy)\nNominated by: Leahy, Sanders, Welch\nMs. Katherine Hawkoof Shelburne, Vermont (U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy)\nNominated by: Leahy, Sanders, Welch\nMs. Charlotte Hillof Williston, Vermont (U.S. Naval Academy)\nNominated by: Leahy, Sanders, Welch\nMs. Julia Hortonof Saint Albans, Vermont (U.S. Naval Academy)\nNominated by: Leahy, Sanders, Welch\nMr. Ethan Howellof Milton, Vermont(U.S. Air Force Academy)\nNominated by: Leahy, Sanders, Welch\nMr. Patrick Kwassof South Burlington, Vermont(U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Naval Academy)\nNominated by: Leahy\nMr. Joshua Lajeunesseof Montpelier, Vermont (U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, U.S. Naval Academy)\nNominated by: Leahy, Sanders, Welch\nMs. Wylie Lucasof Norwich, Vermont (U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Air Force Academy)\nNominated by: Leahy, Sanders, Welch\nMr. Ethan Melloof West Windsor, Vermont (U.S. Naval Academy)\nNominated by: Leahy, Sanders, Welch\nMr. MacKenzie Millerof Shelburne, Vermont (U.S. Air Force Academy)\nNominated by: Leahy, Sanders, Welch\nMs. Olivia Mooreof Colchester, Vermont (U.S. Military Academy)\nNominated by: Leahy, Sanders, Welch\nMs. Elizabeth Perryof Franklin, Vermont (U.S. Naval Academy)\nNominated by: Leahy, Sanders, Welch\nMr. Jackson Porterof Franklin, Vermont (U.S. Naval Academy)\nNominated by: Leahy, Sanders, Welch\nMs. Alayna Potterof Colchester, Vermont (U.S. Air Force Academy)\nNominated by: Leahy, Sanders, Welch\nMr. Michael Puchkovof Peru, Vermont (U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, U.S. Naval Academy)\nNominated by: Leahy, Sanders, Welch\nMr. Thomas Remillardof Saint Albans, Vermont (U.S. Military Academy)\nNominated by: Leahy, Sanders, Welch\nMr. Ethan Schaalof White River Junction, Vermont (U.S. Military Academy)\nNominated by: Leahy, Sanders, Welch\nMr. Brad Stankiewiczof Milton, Vermont (U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy)\nNominated by: Leahy, Welch\nMr. Alexander Stefurakof West Rutland, Vermont (U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Air Force Academy)\nNominated by: Leahy, Sanders, Welch\nMr. Peter Warholdof Norwich, Vermont (U.S. Air Force Academy)\nNominated by: Welch\nMr. Aidan Whiteof Middlesex, Vermont (U.S. Military Academy)\nNominated by: Leahy, Sanders, Welch\nMr. Andrew Zuckermanof South Londonderry, Vermont (U.S. Naval Academy)\nNominated by: Sanders, Welch", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/sanders-demands-mcconnell-hold-vote-on-2000-direct-payments/", "Sanders Demands McConnell Hold Vote on $2,000 Direct Payments", "2020-12-28", "2020", "2020-12", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, December 28 Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement in response to the House of Representatives' overwhelming 275-134 passage of $2,000 direct payments for the working class:\nThe House has passed a $2,000 direct payment for working people. It is time for the Senate to act. This week on the Senate floor Mitch McConnell wants to vote to override Trump's veto of the $740 billion defense funding bill and then head home for the New Year. I'm going to object until we get a vote on legislation to provide a $2,000 direct payment to the working class. Let me be clear: If Senator McConnell doesn't agree to an up or down vote to provide the working people of our country a $2,000 direct payment, Congress will not be going home for New Year's Eve. Let's do our job.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/sanders-calls-on-mitch-mcconnell-to-pass-2000-direct-payments-legislation-in-the-senate/", "Sanders Calls on Mitch McConnell to Pass $2,000 Direct Payments Legislation in the Senate", "2020-12-24", "2020", "2020-12", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "BURLINGTON, December 23  In response to President Trump's disapproval of the $908-billion COVID-19 relief package passed by Congress on Monday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement:\nIn America today, millions of Americans are facing economic desperation and need help now.I have been calling on Congress for months to pass legislation to provide every working class American with $2,000 a month until the pandemic ends.Now that Senator Schumer, Speaker Pelosi and President Trump have all indicated strong support for a $2,000 direct payment the ball is in Senate Majority Leader McConnell's court. I say to Senator McConnell: Let the Senate vote immediately on a stand-alone bill to provide a $2,000 direct payment for the working class and $4,000 for couples. If no Republican objects to that bill, it could pass by unanimous consent today.\nSanders is the co-author, with Senators Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.), of the Monthly Economic Crisis Support Act, which would provide $2,000 direct monthly payments to working-class Americans for the duration of the pandemic.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/daines-leahy-bipartisan-bill-promoting-affordable-health-insurance-passes-senate-heads-to-presidents-desk-", "Daines, Leahy Bipartisan Bill Promoting Affordable Health Insurance Passes Senate, Heads to Presidents Desk", "2020-12-22", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.22.20\n\t\t\t Daines, Leahy Bipartisan Bill Promoting Affordable Health Insurance Passes Senate, Heads to President's Desk  \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t . . . . Bill prevents health insurance companies from price fixing, collusion\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t U.S. SENATE U.S.Senators Steve Daines (Mont.) and Patrick Leahy (Vt.) announced that their bipartisan bill promoting access to affordable health care by increasing transparency and enhancing consumer protections in the health insurance passed the U.S. Senate and will be headed to the President's desk to be signed into law. The Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act willensure that health insurance issuers are subject to the same federal antitrust laws prohibiting unfair trade practices, such as price fixing and collusion, as virtually every other industry in our economy.\r\nOur bipartisan bill will allow for greater transparency and oversight into the health insurance industry and help make health insurance more affordable for Montanans and Americans across the country. I look forward to this commonsense bill being signed into law, Daines said. \r\nWhile ordinary Americans are suffering through an unprecedented, deadly pandemic, multi-billion dollar health insurance companies are boasting record-high profits. It makes little sense that these powerful actors should also benefit from an antiquated exemption in the law shielding them from all scrutiny and oversight by our federal antitrust authorities. Our overwhelmingly bipartisan bill would simply subject health insurance providers to our federal antitrust laws  just like every other major sector of the American economy. This is a commonsense bill that promotes competition and protects consumers, and I hope President Trumpswiftly signs it into law.Leahy said.\r\nThe bipartisan billamends the McCarran-Ferguson Act to restore the application of federal antitrust laws to the health insurance industry, but does not otherwise interfere with or impact the authority of state authorities to regulate health insurance provided under the act. This bill will help address instances of artificially higher premiums, unfair insurance restrictions, and harmful policy exclusions.\r\nBackground:\r\nOn February 19th, 2019, Senators Steve Daines and Patrick Leahyintroduced the bipartisanlegislation.\r\n###\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/sanders-leahy-welch-applaud-dam-repair-funding-for-vermont", "Sanders, Leahy, Welch Applaud Dam-Repair Funding For Vermont", "2020-12-22", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.22.20\n\t\t\t Sanders, Leahy, Welch Applaud Dam-Repair Funding For Vermont \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON, Dec. 22  Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) announced that legislation passed by Congress last night will fund critical water infrastructure projects, including three aging flood-control dams.\r\nThe Vermont delegation also announced that the state of Vermont has signed an agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to make much-needed repairs to the Waterbury Dam. The project will begin in early 2021, using $40 million in federal funding secured by the delegation.\r\nThe America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2020, to be signed into law today, includes language first authored by Senator Sanders in 2016 in the Water Resources Development Act. This year, the amendment authored by Sanders in the Senate and Welch in the House increases the authorization of federal funding to $60 million each for safety improvements at certain state-owned flood control dams constructed by the federal government before 1940. In Vermont, three dams  the Waterbury, East Barre and Wrightsville dams  are eligible to receive funding under this provision.\r\nThese dams are essential pieces of Vermont's infrastructure, said Sanders, who is a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which has jurisdiction over the water infrastructure legislation. Maintaining and repairing the dams  especially the Waterbury Dam  has long been a priority for our state. This bipartisan legislation is an important step toward rebuilding aging dams in Vermont and throughout the United States.\r\nLeahy, Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said: I have been proud to secure funding for the Waterbury Dam through the appropriations process, and I'm pleased to see the increased spending authorized by this legislation at the request of Senator Sanders and Congressman Welch.Those funds may be very helpful if the cost exceeds the $40 million already appropriated for work on this critical project, and funds may also be needed for work to the other eligible Vermont dams.\r\nI was proud to secure federal support to allow the state to begin this important, but expensive, safety and infrastructure project, said Welch, who secured authorization language in the House. With these funds, the state of Vermont will be able to complete these critical repairs with the help of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This is a perfect example of a local project that deserves federal support to protect public safety, improve environmental quality, and enhance recreational opportunities in the area for years to come.\r\nThe Waterbury Dam Spillway Refurbishment project is a major public safety and environmental restoration priority for Vermont, said Peter Walke, Commissioner of Vermont's Department of Environmental Conservation. We are grateful for the support of Vermont's Congressional Delegation for securing a $40M federal appropriation for the project, and to the US Army Corps of Engineers for supporting this project at the national and local level. My team will be working in tight coordination with the Army Corps to get this project started early in 2021.\r\nThe federal government built the Waterbury, East Barre and Wrightsville dams in the 1930s after the devastating 1927 flood caused massive destruction and loss of life in the Winooski River basin from Central Vermont to Burlington. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers designed, and the Civilian Construction Corps built, the three flood-control dams on tributaries of the Winooski River to reduce the risk of future flooding. The federal government later transferred ownership of the dams to the state of Vermont, but did not include any provisions for the maintenance of the dams. The Waterbury Dam, in particular, now has major repair needs, due to this lack of support from the federal government.\r\nThe Vermont Congressional delegation remains committed to passing aggressive water infrastructure funding next year, including critical provisions to improve drinking water, which was passed this year by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/sanders-leahy-welch-applaud-dam-repair-funding-for-vermont/", "Sanders, Leahy, Welch Applaud Dam-Repair Funding for Vermont", "2020-12-22", "2020", "2020-12", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, Dec. 22  Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) announced that legislation passed by Congress last night will fund critical water infrastructure projects, including three aging flood-control dams.\nThe Vermont delegation also announced that the state of Vermont has signed an agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to make much-needed repairs to the Waterbury Dam. The project will begin in early 2021, using $40 million in federal funding secured by the delegation.\nThe America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2020, to be signed into law today, includes language first authored by Senator Sanders in 2016 in the Water Resources Development Act. This year, the amendment authored by Sanders in the Senate and Welch in the House increases the authorization of federal funding to $60 million each for safety improvements at certain state-owned flood control dams constructed by the federal government before 1940. In Vermont, three dams  the Waterbury, East Barre and Wrightsville dams  are eligible to receive funding under this provision.\nThese dams are essential pieces of Vermont's infrastructure,said Sanders,who is a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which has jurisdiction over the water infrastructure legislation. Maintaining and repairing the dams  especially the Waterbury Dam  has long been a priority for our state. This bipartisan legislation is an important step toward rebuilding aging dams in Vermont and throughout the United States.\nLeahy, Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said: I have been proud to secure funding for the Waterbury Dam through the appropriations process, and I'm pleased to see the increased spending authorized by this legislation at the request of Senator Sanders and Congressman Welch.Those funds may be very helpful if the cost exceeds the $40 million already appropriated for work on this critical project, and funds may also be needed for work to the other eligible Vermont dams.\nI was proud to secure federal support to allow the state to begin this important, but expensive, safety and infrastructure project,said Welch, who secured authorization language in the House. With these funds, the state of Vermont will be able to complete these critical repairs with the help of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This is a perfect example of a local project that deserves federal support to protect public safety, improve environmental quality, and enhance recreational opportunities in the area for years to come.\nThe Waterbury Dam Spillway Refurbishment project is a major public safety and environmental restoration priority for Vermont,said Peter Walke, Commissioner of Vermont's Department of Environmental Conservation. We are grateful for the support of Vermont's Congressional Delegation for securing a $40M federal appropriation for the project, and to the US Army Corps of Engineers for supporting this project at the national and local level. My team will be working in tight coordination with the Army Corps to get this project started early in 2021.\nThe federal government built the Waterbury, East Barre and Wrightsville dams in the 1930s after the devastating 1927 flood caused massive destruction and loss of life in the Winooski River basin from Central Vermont to Burlington. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers designed, and the Civilian Construction Corps built, the three flood-control dams on tributaries of the Winooski River to reduce the risk of future flooding. The federal government later transferred ownership of the dams to the state of Vermont, but did not include any provisions for the maintenance of the dams. The Waterbury Dam, in particular, now has major repair needs, due to this lack of support from the federal government.\nThe Vermont Congressional delegation remains committed to passing aggressive water infrastructure funding next year, including critical provisions to improve drinking water, which was passed this year by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/sanders-statement-on-passage-of-covid-19-relief-package/", "Sanders Statement on Passage of COVID-19 Relief Package", "2020-12-22", "2020", "2020-12", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, December 21  Upon the Senate's passage of the $908-billion COVID-19 spending package, Sen. Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement:\nTonight, Congress passed a $908-billion COVID-19 relief bill that extends unemployment benefits through the early spring, and provides support for small businesses, schools, healthcare, nutrition, rentalassistance, child care, broadband, the Postal Service, as well as funding to help distribute vaccines.\nDuring the last several weeks, I have been working very hard, along with Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, to provide direct payments to working families throughout the country. Our goal was to replicate what was in the CARES bill of March, which was $1200 for every working-class adult and $500 for each child. While we did not get as much as we wanted, because of opposition from the Republican leadership and too many Democrats, the bill does include a $600 direct payment for every working-class American earning less than $75,000 a year, and a $1,200 direct payment for couples making less than $150,000 a year, plus $600 for each child. That means that the average family of four will receive a direct payment of $2400.\nWhile including these direct payments ultimately improved this bill, given the enormous economic desperation that so many working families across this country are now experiencing, there is no question but that this legislation did not go anywhere near far enough.\nWhen President-Elect Biden assumes office next month and when the Senate comes back into session in January, I will immediately begin fighting for another relief bill to help America's working familiesincluding another round of direct payments and more relief for the unemployed, the hungry, the uninsured and those who owe back rent and are behind on their mortgage payments. In this unprecedented crisis, it is imperative that we do everything we can to protect the working families of our country, the elderly, the children and the poor.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/appropriations-vice-chair-leahy-announces-vermont-highlights-of-govt-funding-bill", "Appropriations Vice Chair Leahy Announces **VERMONT HIGHLIGHTS** Of Govt. Funding Bill", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.21.20\n\t\t\t Appropriations Vice Chair Leahy Announces **VERMONT HIGHLIGHTS** Of Govt. Funding Bill \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON (MONDAY, Dec. 21, 2020)  Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Monday evening announced key Vermont highlights of the bipartisan agreement to fund the government for the remainder of fiscal year 2021, which includes the COVID relief package to provide relief to the thousands of Vermonters suffering during an unprecedented health and economic crisis.\r\nAs the Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Leahy secured several key priorities for Vermont in the fiscal year 2021 spending package. The overall bill  which includes the 12 annual Appropriations bills that fund the federal government  totals more than $2.3 trillion in funding for programs across the federal government and efforts to combat the pandemic and provide relief to the American people.\r\nLeahy said: The Omnibus Appropriations Bill is the product of hard work and compromise, and Vermonters can be proud of what is in this package. From expanding broadband access and stimulating economic development and job creation, to investing in our great Lake Champlain and Vermont's dairy industry, to providing help for those who continue struggling with the scourge of opioids, it will provide desperately needed relief to Vermonters and invests in our communities. In terms of COVID relief, the direct payments included in this package are a fraction of what they should be after months of obstruction and delay by Republican leadership, but it is a start, and I will continue to fight for the help that Vermonters need and deserve.\r\nThe agreement includes significant investments across Vermont and the nation in education and early childhood programs, substance abuse and mental health services, food and nutrition programs, and increases for housing and homeless services to help those who are the most vulnerable.\r\nThe relief package to address the ongoing pandemic includes extensions of pandemic unemployment programs through March, direct payments to qualifying individuals and families of $600, and makes critical investments in education, transit and the nation's health systems. It invests $325 billion in small businesses, including allowing many small businesses to access a second draw from the popular Payroll Protection Program. The package also provides billions of dollars to support vaccine production and distribution, as well as contact tracing. It also makes investments in broadband expansion. It provides billions for schools so that when kids and teachers return to school they can do it safely.\r\nA full summary of the Fiscal Year 2021 Omnibus Appropriations Bill is available HERE.\r\nLeahy's full statement is available HERE.\r\nVermont Highlights Of The Omnibus Appropriations Package\r\nSince becoming the Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Leahy has placed Vermont at the center of negotiations on the annual government funding bills. His efforts have significantly increased the resources available to and investments in Vermont, including a 241 percent increase in funding for the Lake Champlain Program. Key priorities secured by Leahy in this package include:\r\nBroadband: Nearly 20 percent of Vermont households lack access to modern broadband connection speeds. Broadband access can grow rural economies and connect our communities. The coronavirus pandemic has brought to light major gaps in access, from sustaining and building small businesses to allowing citizens their day in court. Leahy secured new language in the bill to allow Vermont communities that were not previously eligible to apply for ReConnect loans and grants. The bill includes $635 million for the ReConnect program to expand access to high-speed broadband to unserved and under-served rural areas. This is especially important as our country faces an unprecedented health and economic crisis when many families rely on broadband for work, school, and access to justice.\r\nLake Champlain: Lake Champlain is the crown jewel of Vermont's rich environmental treasures. It has world-class warm and cold water fisheries and spectacular scenery, provides drinking water for more than 200,000 people, and is the economic engine that drives the region. Since becoming Vice Chairman, Leahy has increased funding for the Lake Champlain Basin Program and the Leahy Center for Lake Champlain by 241 percent. The bill includes $15 million for these programs, which is $1.5 million more than fiscal year 2020.\r\nFood Systems Center: Leahy worked closely with the University of Vermont to establish a Food Systems Center in collaboration with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Centers to research how local, regional, and global food systems can provide nutritious and culturally appropriate food, regardless of individual life circumstances. The bill includes $11 million for this center, which is a $6 million increase over fiscal year 2020.\r\nDairy Business Innovation Center: Vermont hosts one of three dairy innovation centers that Leahy helped to establish in the 2018 Farm Bill. Vermont's center provides technical and financial assistance that helps dairy producers diversify their products, demonstrate innovative on-farm production practices, and adapt to emerging market trends with the overall goal of improving dairy farm viability. The Dairy Business Innovation Initiative is funded at $22 million, which is a $2 million increase over fiscal year 2020.\r\nFarm to School: The Farm to School grant program was authored by Leahy in the 2010 Healthy and Hunger-Free Kids Act and modeled after Vermont's successful farm to school program. The bill includes $12 million for the program, which has now reached more than 33,000 schools across the country. This is a $3 million increase over fiscal year 2020. These grants will help Vermont farms increase their sales to local schools and promote lifelong healthy eating habits among Vermont's students.\r\nRural Centers of Excellence On Substance Use Disorders: Rural areas like those in Vermont face unique challenges in confronting addiction, including a higher rate of lethal overdoses. In 2019, Leahy authored language in the Labor-HHS Appropriations Act to establish three Rural Centers of Excellence on Substance Use Disorders, including the center hosted by the University of Vermont and the University of Vermont Medical Center. The center supports Hub and Spoke, Community Reinforcement Approach, technical assistance, education and outreach, and other evidence-based methods to address the opioid epidemic in rural communities. The bill includes $10 million for the centers.\r\nNoise Abatement: The bill includes new funds to help mitigate noise caused by military aircraft and language secured by Leahy to ensure that the communities surrounding Burlington International Airport have access to these funds. The bill includes $50 million for the program.\r\nInnovation  eVTOL: Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing (eVTOL) technology is an expanding field with the potential to provide inexpensive and efficient transportation. The bill includes $25 million in new funding to support the Air Force Agility Prime innovative acquisition program in developing this new technology, which companies like Burlington's BETA Technologies can access.\r\n# # # # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/merkley-colleagues-push-22-financial-services-companies-to-prioritize-american-health-safety-economic-security-by-not-insuring-arctic-drilling-", "Merkley, Colleagues Push 22 Financial Services Companies to Prioritize American Health, Safety, Economic Security by Not Insuring Arctic Drilling", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.21.20\n\t\t\t Merkley, Colleagues Push 22 Financial Services Companies to Prioritize American Health, Safety, Economic Security by Not Insuring Arctic Drilling  \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON, D.C.  Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley teamed up with U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) to press executives of 22 financial services companies to not insure any oil and gas developments in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, citing significant financial risk, catastrophic damage to one of the world's most delicate ecosystems, and the acceleration of climate chaos.\r\nThe senators' letterswhich were sent to AIG, Allianz, Aviva, AXIS, Chubb, CNA, Generali, Liberty Mutual, Lloyd's, Markel, Munich Re, QBE, RLI, SCOR, Sompo, Swiss Re, Talanx, The Hartford, Tokio Marine, Travelers, WR Berkley, and Zurich Cantonal Bankfollow a series of efforts by the Trump administration to auction off Arctic Refuge oil and gas leases in the coming weeks before the Biden administration is sworn in.\r\nThe Arctic is on the frontline of climate crisis, warming at three times the rate of the rest of the world. Fossil fuel extraction in these areas risks exacerbating climate chaos and irreparably damaging the local environment, the lawmakers wrote.\r\nIn addition to highlighting the detrimental impacts of boosting the use of fossil fuels on the future of our planet, the senators emphasized the financial risks of investing in Arctic oil extractionrisks that have led 27 major financial institutions, including five major American banks, to decide not to invest in Arctic oil and gas development projects.\r\nOil and gas development in the Arctic is increasingly financially risky. Arctic drilling operations would face extreme and treacherous conditions with severely limited access to respond to an oil spill or an accident. The environmental, social, and governance factors linked with these developments will likely expose your company to unnecessary reputation, legal, and financial risk, they continued.\r\nIn light of their grave concerns, the senators requested that the companies not insure the exploration, production, or transportation of oil and gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; implement a formal policy prohibiting new insurance products or the extension of existing insurance productssuch as surety bonds, commercial multiple peril insurance, and reinsuranceto cover Arctic oil and gas projects; and rule out investments in companies involved in Arctic Refuge development. The lawmakers requested that these new policies and announcements be made publicly, and that the executives inform the lawmakers of the actions they take regarding the requests by December 31.\r\nThe full text of the letter is available here and follows below.\r\n###\r\nAs you may be aware, the Trump Administration recently finalized plans to sell oil leases in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in the final days of their administration. Any companies interested in leasing in the Arctic Refuge will be looking for new insurance coverage for their planned developments. Exploring drilling in the Arctic Refuge is financially risky given the historic low of oil prices and the transition away from fossil fuels happening around the world.\r\nWe ask that you put the health and safety of the planet and the people dependent upon the Arctic Refuge first and not insure any oil and gas developments in the Arctic Refuge.\r\nThe Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is one of the world's most delicate ecosystems. It is a sacred space to the Gwich'in people and has supported the lives and livelihoods of Indigenous populations and subsistence hunters for thousands of years. It is also home to endangered species such as bowhead whales, polar bears, and ringed seals and it supports critically important fisheries and migratory birds. The Arctic is on the frontline of climate crisis, warming at three times the rate of the rest of the world. Fossil fuel extraction in these areas risks exacerbating climate chaos and irreparably damaging the local environment.\r\nOil and gas development in the Arctic is increasingly financially risky. Arctic drilling operations would face extreme and treacherous conditions with severely limited access to respond to an oil spill or an accident. The environmental, social, and governance factors linked with these developments will likely expose your company to unnecessary reputation, legal, and financial risk. In light of this financial risk 27 major financial institutions,[1] including five major American banks, have already decided not to invest in oil and gas development in the Arctic.\r\nIn addition, this development is fraught with legal challenges. There are four active lawsuits challenging the Arctic Refuge leasing program including multiple complaints filed by several tribal communities who depend on the Arctic Refuge and its natural resources to sustain their communities, cultures, and ways of life.\r\nWe ask that your company:\r\n \r\nNot insure the exploration, production, or transportation of oil and gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge;\r\n  \r\nImplement a formal policy prohibiting new insurance products or the extension of existing insurance contracts to cover the exploration, production, or transportation of oil and gas in the Arctic Refuge, including surety bonds, commercial multiple peril insurance, and reinsurance;\r\n  \r\nRule out investments in companies involved in Arctic Refuge development and those that do not have policies prohibiting their own involvement in the Arctic Refuge; and\r\n  \r\nMake these new policies and announcements open to the public.\r\n \r\nWe request that you consider the policy changes listed above regarding oil and gas development for the protection of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the health and safety of the communities it serves. Please respond to inform us about the actions you take regarding our requests by December 31st. Thank you for your attention to this important matter.\r\nSincerely,\r\n    \r\n\r\n[1] https://www.banktrack.org/campaign/banks_and_arctic_oil_and_gas", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-on-fy-2021-omnibus-appropriations-bills-and-covid-relief-package", "Statement On FY 2021 Omnibus Appropriations Bills And COVID Relief Package", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.21.20\n\t\t\t Statement On FY 2021 Omnibus Appropriations Bills And COVID Relief Package \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t . . . . Senate Floor\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t After months of delay and painstaking negotiation, this afternoon we will have before us a spending package that includes all 12 appropriations bills for fiscal year 2021, and a vitally important COVID relief package. It provides funding for programs that are critically important to the American people, and I urge its swift passage. We are already 2 months and 20 days into the fiscal year. We cannot delay further.\r\nAs Vice Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, I worked hard to reach agreement on this omnibus appropriations bill that will fund the federal government through the remainder of the fiscal year, without relying on a long-term continuing resolution. This was no easy task.\r\nThe budget caps were very lean this year, providing a less than one percent increase in non-defense discretionary spending to meet the needs of a nation reeling from the worst public health pandemic in a century. This would have been difficult under ordinary circumstances, but was made even more difficult given the global health and economic crisis we face. Yet, within this tight topline, we have produced a bill that provides important increases in programs that serve the American people and invest in our economy. \r\nImportantly, this bill drives the final stake through the heart of the Trump Administration's effort to substantially diminish the role of government in helping Americans in need and promoting economic growth.\r\nPresident Trump's first budget proposed to substantially diminish the role of government, proposing to cut non-defense spending by 9 percent in fiscal year 2018, and 18 percent by 2021. He proposed to completely eliminate programs millions of Americans rely on every day, such as Low Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP), Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), HOME, Legal Services Corporation, Food for Peace, Community Services Block Grant, and Community Development Banks. He proposed deep cuts for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), environmental programs, nutrition programs, rental assistance, and foreign assistance. Notwithstanding the President's promises to invest in infrastructure, he proposed deep cuts in transit, Amtrak, Essential Air Service, and Clean and Safe Drinking Water grants. For four years, Congress, on a bipartisan basis, rightly rejected these ill-conceived, arbitrary, and reckless cuts. And this year we do the same.\r\nThis agreement is the product of weeks of hard work and compromise. This is not the bill I would have written on my own. It includes things I support and things I oppose. But on balance, passage of this bill is unquestionably in the interest of the American people.\r\nThe omnibus spending bill includes increases for education and early childhood programs. It provides more funding for substance abuse and mental health services, services that are of the utmost importance in these extremely difficult times. It provides more for food assistance programs both at home and abroad, assistance that is desperately needed as many families struggle to survive during this pandemic. And it includes increases for housing and homelessness services to help those who are the most vulnerable. These are all programs that Democrats fought hard to include.\r\nEvery member in this chamber has something in this omnibus that they can take home to their constituents. Vermonters can be proud of what is in this package, too. At long last, this bill will expand access to critical broadband funding for Vermont, which, since the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was passed in 2009, has been unable to tap critical federal resources to help bring reliable Internet access to the entire State. Never more than now has the lack of reliable, high-speed Internet been felt more starkly in the rural corners of Vermont.\r\nThere's much more. Like other industries, the dairy industry across the country is struggling. This bill makes many investments in dairy innovation centers, one of which is established in Vermont, to improve the economic viability and resilience of dairy producers. It invests in the continued cleanup of Lake Champlain, the crown jewel of Vermont. It supports the Northern Border Regional Commission, which spurs economic development and job creation, and, thanks to dedicated funding, this year, will support broadband initiatives in Vermont, and neighboring New York, New Hampshire and Maine. And we continue to provide the tools needed by so many communities in Vermont and across the nation as they grapple with a worsening opioid epidemic and record fatal drug overdoses. These are just a few of the important federal programs included in the omnibus spending bill that will support Vermont, our economy, and our communities.\r\nWhile I support this agreement, I am deeply disappointed that the Congress is so unforgivably late in completing our work. There is absolutely no reason why this bill could not have been finished months ago.\r\nThe Senate Appropriations Committee failed to mark up a single Appropriations bill this year, and the Senate never considered a single appropriations bill on the floor. This is unacceptable. Members of this body want and deserve a voice in what goes into these bills on behalf of their constituents and we must give them that opportunity. We must do better in the 117th Congress.\r\nI thank Chairman Shelby, Chairwoman Lowey, and Ranking Member Granger for their cooperation and partnership as we worked through our differences on the omnibus spending bill, and I urge all members to support it.\r\nAlso before us today is a much-delayed COVID relief package. It, too, is the product of bipartisan compromise, and while it falls short in some critical areas, I support the agreement.\r\nThis package is also long overdue. The American people have been waiting for help for far too long as the Republican leadership took a wait and see approach. For 270 days, Leader McConnell and Senate Republicans have blocked every reasonable attempt to provide desperately needed relief. Instead, they focused their time and energy on packing the Federal courts with far-right extremist judges. In the meantime, millions of American families have suffered needlessly.\r\nThis package is far from perfect, but time is not on our side and we cannot let the perfect be the enemy of the good.\r\nThis bill provides much-needed investments in our economy with support for small businesses. It provides relief for unemployed workers by extending unemployment benefits into March. It makes investments in vaccine production and distribution. It supports health providers, educators, farmers and transportation providers. It provides critical investments to expand broadband in rural and low-income areas, access which is vitally important in these difficult times when many schools and businesses are only operating remotely. It also includes another round of direct payments to millions of Americans still struggling to pay their mortgage or rent, feed their families, heat their homes, and meet their monthly obligations.\r\nAt my urging this bill also includes $4 billion in emergency funding for The GAVI Alliance, for the procurement and delivery of vaccines to countries around the world whose rudimentary public health systems are being overwhelmed by COVID-19, and whose economies are in free fall due to the virus. Global health experts say more is needed, but this is a welcome and good first step. This significant infusion of funds will enable GAVI to immediately begin ratcheting up its response in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. We cannot defeat this global pandemic, and international travel and commerce will not recover, without fighting the virus overseas. Millions of Americans are living, traveling, and working abroad. If the virus is spreading anywhere, it threatens people everywhere. \r\nI support this package. But let me be clear  this COVID bill is only a first step. We must do more. Vermonters, and the American people, need more.\r\nThe direct payments included in this package are but a fraction of what we should have provided given the dire financial situation of millions of people across this nation. People are hungry. Unemployment continues to plague our economies. Families are struggling to pay their rent and put food on the table. I will continue to fight for more.\r\nState and local governments have laid off over 1.3 million teachers, first responders and other employees since March. They need our help. Tragically, rates of spousal abuse and child abuse have increased during the crisis and we should be providing funds for Violence Against Women Act and child abuse prevention grants. Vermonters are facing the coldest, darkest months of winter and are struggling to heat their homes, and families need help paying their utility bills through the LIHEAP program.\r\nWe are making progress in delivering a vaccine to the American people, but this pandemic is far from over. I will be the first at the negotiating table to work with President Biden in the 117th Congress to address the many needs that remain unmet in this bill.\r\nI urge all members of this chamber to vote aye when the bill comes over from the house today. And I yield the floor.\r\n# # # # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/vice-chairman-leahy-releases-fiscal-year-2021-omnibus-appropriations-bill", "Vice Chairman Leahy Releases Fiscal Year 2021 Omnibus Appropriations Bill", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.21.20\n\t\t\t Vice Chairman Leahy Releases Fiscal Year 2021 Omnibus Appropriations Bill \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON (Monday, Dec. 21, 2020)  Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Monday released the $1.4 trillion fiscal year 2021 Omnibus Appropriations bill.\r\nLeahy said: This agreement is the product of weeks of hard work and compromise. This is not the bill I would have written on my own. It includes things I support and things I oppose. But on balance, passage of this bill is unquestionably in the interest of the American people, and both the House and the Senate should act on it quickly.\r\nLeahy's full statement is available HERE.\r\nThe bill includes critical funding for programs that help grow our economy and support working families. Importantly, it includes increased funding for education, early childhood programs, mental health services, and desperately needed food assistance programs to help families struggling in this unprecedented health and economic crisis. It provides increases for affordable housing and homelessness services to help those who are most vulnerable, especially in these uncertain times. Democrats fought for these increases and they would not be available under a continuing resolution. \r\nA full summary of the bill is available HERE.\r\nBill text is available HERE.\r\nA breakdown by Appropriations Subcommittee is available below:\r\nAgriculture\r\nCommerce, Justice, Science\r\nDefense\r\nEnergy and Water\r\nFinancial Services and General Government\r\nHomeland Security\r\nInterior and Environment\r\nLabor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Programs\r\nLegislative Branch\r\nMilitary Construction and VA\r\nState, Foreign Operations and Related Agencies\r\nTransportation, Housing and Urban Development\r\nA summary of the much needed COVID Relief Package, as produced by the Senate Minority Leader's office, is available HERE.\r\n# # # # #\r\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-on-attorney-general-william-barr-and-the-future-of-the-department-of-justice-senate-floor", "Statement On Attorney General William Barr And The Future Of The Department Of Justice Senate Floor", "2020-12-19", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.19.20\n\t\t\t Statement On Attorney General William Barr And The Future Of The Department Of Justice Senate Floor \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tAs William Barr's second tenure as Attorney General is coming to an end, it is important for the Senate to reflect upon his legacy, and upon the challenges now facing the Department of Justice.\r\nThe Office of Attorney General fills a unique role within our system of government. Created by the Judiciary Act of 1789, an Attorney General is not a traditional member of the President's cabinet. As Supreme Court Justice James Iredell observed in 1792, the position is not called the Attorney General of the President, but Attorney General of the United States. This is because an Attorney General's client is not the president, but the American people. An Attorney General's duty is not to defend the president, but to uphold the rule of law  and do so with integrity and independence.\r\nPresident Trump has a very different view. He views the Office of Attorney General as an extension of his political power, to be wielded like a weapon to further his agenda. He believes it exists to benefit him personally, to target his opponents and protect him and his friends. His view stands in stark contrast to everything the Attorney General is supposed to represent.\r\nIt came as no surprise, then, that during his nomination hearing Mr. Barr was questioned about which type of Attorney General he would be: the president's lawyer, or an impartial pursuer of justice. He was adamant that while he may sympathize with the President's policy choices, his role as a policy advisor would be distinct from that of the nation's chief law enforcement officer. If confirmed, he assured us, his job would not be to protect the President.\r\nThirty years ago I voted for Mr. Barr to serve as Attorney General to then-President George H.W. Bush. I had my disagreements with him then, several in fact. But when I heard in late 2018 that President Trump intended to nominate him for a second tenure as Attorney General, I was hopeful. After the short, yet disastrous tenure of an unqualified Acting Attorney General who eagerly bent to the will of President Trump, I was hopeful that Mr. Barr would restore some independence to the office.\r\nAfter careful consideration, however, I voted no on his confirmation. Mr. Barr has long-held, expansive views of executive power. Prior to his nomination, he shared those views with the President in a bizarre, 19-page memorandum making the case that a president can obstruct a criminal investigation with near impunity. It was clear to me that Mr. Barr's views would be weaponized by President Trump, a man who derides any limits on his authority. The President, I said at the time, needed a much tighter leash.\r\nBy any measure, the last two years have been worse than I feared. Time and again, Attorney General Barr has acted in the best interests of Donald Trump, not the country. He has intervened and overruled career prosecutors only in cases to benefit the President and his friends. He has departed from Department norms, misrepresented the Department's work, and eroded public trust in the Department as a result. I will speak to just a handful of examples.\r\nUnited States v. Roger Stone\r\nIn late 2019, a jury convicted former Trump campaign advisor Roger Stone for obstructing a bipartisan congressional investigation, lying under oath, and witness tampering. Consistent with sentencing guidelines, prosecutors recommended a seven to nine-year sentence. President Trump immediately took to Twitter to criticize the prosecution. Attorney General Barr intervened just hours later, overruling the prosecutors and disregarding the sentencing guidelines.\r\nWhat happened next reminded me of something Judge Michael Mukasey said when testifying in support of Mr. Barr at his confirmation hearing. Judge Mukasey said if Mr. Barr ever failed to serve with independence, he would find a mound of resignations on his desk. Well, in this instance, all four career prosecutors withdrew from the case. Two resigned from the Justice Department altogether. At sentencing, Judge Amy Berman Jackson took the rare step of defending both the career prosecutors and their sentencing recommendation, stating that it was true to the record and in accordance with law and DOJ policy.\r\nAttorney General Barr's intervention left me with one question: Could anyone other than the President's close friend  a man who, according to Judge Jackson, was prosecuted for covering up for the President  receive such leniency from the Attorney General?\r\nUnited States v. Flynn\r\nThen there is former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. The Attorney General's intervention in the Flynn case went a step further: Despite the fact that Flynn had twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, Barr's Justice Department moved to dismiss the case altogether, prompting the lead prosecutor to withdraw.\r\nThe sentencing judge, Emmet Sullivan, ordered a review of the motion to drop the charges, and appointed a former federal judge, John Gleeson, to serve as an amicus curiae. Judge Gleeson did not mince words: He advised the court that Barr's grounds for seeking dismissal were conclusively disproven and amounted to an unconvincing effort to disguise as legitimate a decision to dismiss that is based solely on the fact that Flynn is a political ally of President Trump. Not long after President Trump fully pardoned Flynn.\r\nThe Mueller Report\r\nMany of Attorney General Barr's departures from Department norms originated with his now-infamous handling of the Special Counsel's report on Russian interference. The Mueller report amounted to a 448 page presentment of misconduct that reached the highest levels of the Trump campaign and administration. Yet the Attorney General's summary of the report  the only information he allowed the public to see for weeks  left Americans with the opposite impression: that the report effectively exonerated the President. Special Counsel Mueller wrote to the Attorney General at the time, concerned that the Attorney General failed to capture his conclusions and created confusion that undermined public confidence in the investigation.\r\nIndeed, that appears to have been the Attorney General's intent. Many others agree. Federal Judge Reggie Walton wrote that the inconsistencies between his statements and the report cause the Court to seriously question whether Attorney General Barr made a calculated attempt to influence public discourse about the Mueller Report in favor of President Trump despite certain findings in the redacted version of the Mueller Report to the contrary. That statement, from a sitting federal judge about a sitting Attorney General, is as damning as it gets.\r\nSoon after, the Attorney General began falsely claiming that the investigation was started without any basis and was politically motivated. This is despite the fact that an exhaustive Inspector General's report refuted both claims.\r\nThe Attorney General was not content with simply mischaracterizing the Russia investigation. He launched counter-investigations into the Justice Department's own investigators. He personally travelled to Italy in a desperate attempt to dig up exculpatory evidence. Ignoring Department policies, he regularly commented on the ongoing investigation led by U.S. Attorney John Durham. Documents from the Durham investigation were even shared with the White House, according to the President's chief of staff. Then Durham's top aide abruptly resigned, reportedly due to pressure to release their findings before the election.\r\nThe Attorney General did all of this while ignoring a subpoena from the House of Representatives to obtain an unredacted copy of the Mueller report.\r\nImpeding Congressional Oversight\r\nIn fact, Attorney General Barr has evaded transparency and impeded once-standard congressional oversight no matter the topic. He refused to testify before the House. He was held in contempt for refusing to respond to House subpoenas related to the administration's pretextual justification for adding a citizenship question to the Census. He supported efforts to cover-up the President's Ukraine scandal, for which the President was impeached. He supported the unprecedented purging of multiple inspectors general. And he rebuffed congressional oversight at every turn. This may not bother my Republican friends now. But the political winds have already shifted. And it harms all of us when congressional prerogatives are so blatantly disregarded.\r\nDefending Trump Personally\r\nWhile Attorney General Barr has defended President Trump at seemingly every turn, he went a step further in September by attempting to literally defend the President's personal interests. The Attorney General moved to intervene and dismiss a civil defamation case that alleged that the President lied about a decades-old sexual assault. A federal court flatly rejected the attempt.\r\nLafayette Square Protestors\r\nAttorney General Barr's interventions on behalf of the President extended beyond legal issues, to PR issues as well. At the height of a national reckoning on issues of racial injustice, the White House stated that it was the Attorney General who ordered the clearing of peaceful protestors at Lafayette Square. Barr denied he gave the order, but did not deny that he encouraged it. Peaceful protestors were cleared with rubber bullets and tear gas so that the President could stage a photo-op in front of St. John's Church. It was a grotesque display of unnecessary force.\r\nSowing Doubt About the Election\r\nMost recently, the Attorney General's obedience to the President resulted in him falsely claiming that mail-in ballots  used since the Civil War and relied upon by millions of Americans during this pandemic  opened the floodgates to widespread fraud. Voting experts described his claims as farcical. In echoing the President's conspiracy theories, the Attorney General revealed how little he knew about basic election laws and the safeguards in place. His apparent intent was not to inform the public, but to sow doubt among the public in the integrity of their vote.\r\nAttorney General Barr then re-wrote the Department's policy on election-related investigations, prompting the head of the Department's Election Crimes Branch to resign his post in protest.\r\nNeed For New Leadership\r\nFor each of these actions, Attorney General Barr was publicly badgered by President Trump to act. It may be that Attorney General Barr believes he withstood the pressure. There may be some lines that he declined to cross  such as fabricating evidence of widespread voter fraud. But we must never excuse the many lines that he did cross. Critically, when a President pressures an Attorney General to serve their personal interests, it is all the more incumbent on the nation's top law enforcement officer to avoid any appearance of impropriety, and to refuse the request  not meet him half way.\r\nIt brings me no joy to say this. I have known Attorney General Barr for a long time. But he has failed in his duty to impartially and equally uphold the rule of law. The Attorney General represents the United States, and all of its 330 million Americans. Too often, Attorney General Barr represented the interests of just one. By serving as a yes man when the law, the country, and the Department needed him to say no, Attorney General Barr has damaged the hallowed office he has temporarily occupied.\r\nNow the hard work to repair the damage must begin. In November, the American people elected to take the country in a different direction. I served alongside President-Elect Biden for decades in the Senate and on the Judiciary Committee. He understands the unique role of the Justice Department. He will not rely on it to do his personal bidding. No matter who the President-Elect chooses as the next Attorney General, I have no doubt that he or she will operate with the utmost integrity, guided by the law and the facts.\r\nAs we begin to close the book on this dark chapter in our nation's history  with a pandemic that has left more than 310,000 Americans dead, and with the outgoing President's relentless attacks on the foundations of our democracy  I am hopeful that brighter days are ahead. I am confident we will have leaders focused on following the evidence, adhering to the rule of law, pursuing equal justice, and acting in the best interests of the nation, not just of one man.\r\nThe thousands of hardworking and dedicated men and women of the Justice Department deserve at least this much. As do all Americans. And indeed the founding principles and traditions of the 230 year-old Office of the Attorney General demand nothing less.\r\n# # # # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/senator-bernie-sanders-receives-covid-19-vaccine-from-u-s-capitol-physician-dr-brian-p-monahan/", "Senator Bernie Sanders Receives COVID-19 Vaccine from U.S. Capitol Physician, Dr. Brian P. Monahan", "2020-12-19", "2020", "2020-12", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  December 19  U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders received the COVID-19 vaccine from U.S. Capitol physician, Dr. Brian P. Monahan on Saturday.\nSanders said, Following the advice of the Office of the Attending Physician, today I received the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine. As the vaccine is being distributed, we must all continue wearing masks and engage in social distancing. That is how we will beat this virus and end this terrible pandemic.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/over-2000-vermonters-join-sanders-for-virtual-seniors-town-hall/", "Over 2,000 Vermonters Join Sanders for Virtual Seniors Town Hall", "2020-12-18", "2020", "2020-12", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "BURLINGTON  December 18  U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders held a virtual town hall Thursday evening to provide an update from Congress and to hear the thoughts and concerns of older Vermonters.\nOver 2,000 Vermont seniors joined Sanders for the town meeting which was held via phone call and streamed live on Sanders' website. Each December, Sanders hosts holiday meals for seniors throughout the state. However, for everyone's safety, this year's event was held virtually. Sanders participated by video from his Senate office in Washington, D.C. \nOur senior meals and town meetings are always a highlight of the holiday season. While we couldn't be together in person this year, I'm very pleased we had the opportunity to gather virtually, said Sanders. Especially at a time when many seniors are unable to be with friends and family, I thought it was important to continue this annual event and hear from my constituents about the issues that matter most to them, as well as the challenges they are facing.\nAfter Sanders' introductory remarks, Vermonters asked questions on a wide range of issues. Areas of interest ranged from ways to expand and protect Medicare and Social Security, to struggles affording housing, heat, food, and prescription medications. With negotiations continuing in Congress, the COVID-19 relief package was on the minds of many who participated in the town hall. Many asked Sanders about the effort he is leading to ensure that a direct payment provision is included in the final relief bill, as well as his hope that Congress and a Biden Administration will continue to work on and pass additional, much-needed emergency relief in the new year. If approved, these direct payments to Vermonters would add about $350 million to the local economy.\nIt's interesting that all of the questions tonight touched on issues that millions and millions of people are struggling with. Whether it's inadequate Social Security benefits, whether it's the high cost of prescription drugs, whether it's the housing crisis, whether it is student debt. Whether it is the inability of people to afford to keep warm in the winter time, you have asked exactly the questions that are on the minds of people all over this country, said Sanders.\nA few seniors on the call shared their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. One Vermonter expressed concerns about how the current economic crisis will affect their long-term financial stability, as well as their children's, particularly considering they all are struggling with immense student loan debt. Paul from Johnson, VT said, I'm committed to what I do for work, and I'm committed to my kids. Everything that I have surplus for savings, goes to my kids. In today's economy, my oldest is unemployed because of the pandemic. My daughter is barely working. I have a parent plus loan and my kids have student loans. The payments are suspended right now because of the pandemic. I'm just ignoring it right now. I don't need the stress.\nWhile another Vermonter from Williamstown, VT spoke of their difficulty affording basic necessities with their current monthly Social Security and veterans benefits totaling just $1,400, saying I'm going to have to keep us going on a small check each month. It's going to raise just about $12 this year. Where does that come out being fair at all?\nThis is America. People should not be hungry. People should not be homeless. People should not be unable to afford the medicine they need, not be in a position where they can't afford to go to a doctor. This should not be happening, said Sanders. So the struggle that we face now is to change the priorities of this country to invest in ordinary people, so that all of us can live with dignity and enjoy life as we should be able to.\nSanders ended the event by encouraging Vermonters to call his office should they need assistance, and promising to do everything possible in Washington to ensure Vermont seniors get the help they need when the need it. I am very proud to fight in Congress on behalf of older Vermonters said Sanders. I wish everybody a very wonderful holiday season, and I'm sure that the new year is going to be a better one for all of us. I will hopefully be able to get to see you all in person in the not too distant future.\nVermonters in need of assistance can reach Senator Sanders office by phone at 800-339-9834 or online at sanders.senate.gov.\nTo watch the town hall, click here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/sanders-delivers-floor-speech-urging-senate-to-pass-1200-in-direct-relief-to-working-class/", "Sanders Delivers Floor Speech Urging Senate to Pass $1,200 in Direct Relief to Working Class", "2020-12-18", "2020", "2020-12", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, December 18 Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) went to the Senate floor this afternoon to seek unanimous consent to pass legislation he had introduced earlier today to provide direct payments to working families across the United States.\nSanders' proposal provides a direct payment of $1,200 for every working-class American, $2,400 for couples, and $500 for children. He was joined on the floor by Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who spoke in support of the legislation.\nSanders stated, If this country means anything, if the U.S. government means anything, it means that we cannot turn our backs on that suffering, and that we cannot leave Washington for the holidays to go back to our families unless we address the pain and anxiety of other families throughout this country.\nRead the legislation here.\nSanders' speech can be watchedhere, and the prepared remarks can be read below:\n  Mr. President, this country faces the worst set of public health and economic crises that we have faced in over a hundred years.\nAs a result of the pandemic more people are becoming infected than ever before. Hospitalization is higher than ever before. And more people are dying than ever before. We all hope and pray that the new vaccine will be distributed as quickly as possible and that it will put an end to this nightmare. But, today, the truth is that millions of low-income and middle class families are suffering in a way that we have not seen since the Great Depression.\nToday, the reality is that over half of our workers are living paycheck to paycheck  trying to survive on $10 or $12 an hour. The reality is that millions of senior citizens all over this country are trapped in their homes, unable to see their kids or grandchildren, unable to go to a grocery store, and are trying to survive on $12 or $14,000 a year.\nIn addition, millions more with disabilities are also suffering.\nFurther, in America today, one out of four workers are either unemployed or make less than $20,000 a year. And, in the midst of this pandemic, because we are the only major country on earth not to guarantee healthcare to all, some 92 million Americans are uninsured or under-insured  unable to go to a doctor when they need to.\nIn addition, over 30 million of our people face eviction and the hunger rate in America is the highest it has been in decades.\nMr. President, that is where we are today economically.\nAnd if this country means anything, if the U.S. government means anything, it means that we cannot turn our backs on that suffering, and that we cannot leave Washington for the holidays to go back to our families unless we address the pain and anxiety of other families throughout this country.\nMembers of Congress should also be aware that we are far behind other major countries in terms of protecting working families during this pandemic. Not only, does every other wealthy country guarantee healthcare to all, as a human right, almost all of them are providing far more generous benefits to the unemployed and the struggling in their countries than we are.\nMr. President, several months ago I introduced legislation along with Senator Kamala Harris, now our vice president-elect, and Senator Markey, that, would during the course of this economic crisis, provide $2,000 a month to every working class person in this country. And, frankly, that is exactly what we should be doing.\nBut, unfortunately, given the conservative nature of the Senate, I understand that is not going to happen.\nYes, at a time of massive wealth and income inequality, at a time when huge corporations were making record breaking profits, the Republican leadership in the Senate was able to provide a trillion dollars in tax breaks to the 1% and large corporations.\nYes, at a time when climate change threatens the planet, the Congress was able to provide hundreds of billions in corporate welfare to the fossil fuel industry.\nYes, just the other day, the House and the Senate were able to pass a $740 billion military budget  the largest in history and more than the next ten nations combined.\nBut, in the midst of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, Congress is somehow unable to respond effectively to the needs of working families.\nMr. President, as you know, I have recently introduced legislation to provide every working class American an emergency payment of at least $1,200, $2,400 for couples and $500 for their kids.\nThis is not a radical idea. This is an approach that President Trump is supporting. This is an approach that President-elect Biden is supporting. This is an approach that, according to a recent poll, is supported by 75% of all Americans, including 77% of Democrats and 72% of Republicans.\nFurther, importantly, this amount of direct payment is exactly what Congress passed unanimously 9 months ago as part of the $2.2 trillion CARES Act.\nLet me repeat. In March, every member of the House and Senate, appropriately, voted to provide a direct payment of $1,200 for working-class adults, $2,400 for couples and $500 for their kids.\nMr. President. That was the right thing to do 9 months ago. Given that the crisis, in many ways is worse today, it is exactly what we should be doing right now.\nMr. President, as a result of the pandemic, the government told restaurants, bars, retail stores, movie theaters, schools, malls and small businesses all over this country: Shut your doors. It is too dangerous for you to be open now.\nBut what the government has not done, Mr. President, is to provide the workers who have lost their jobs and lost their incomes with the support they need to pay their bills.\nThe $600 a week in supplemental unemployment benefits that Congress passed unanimously in March expired in July  over 5 months ago.\nAnd during that time  the Republican Senate has done nothing to help working families pay their rent, feed their families, go to a doctor or pay for their life-saving prescription drugs. And, the Senate has not done enough to provide struggling small businesses with the help they desperately need.\nFurther, Mr. President, as bad as the economy has been in general it has been far worse for African Americans and Latinos. During the pandemic, nearly 60% of Latino families and 55% of African American families have either experienced a job loss or a pay cut.\nMr. President, for 9 months, we asked tens of millions of working people in our country to survive on one $1,200 check  with no healthcare, no hazard pay, no rent relief. Nothing.\nMeanwhile, Mr. President, I should mention that over this same 9 month period, 651 billionaires in America became over $1 trillion richer.\n$1 trillion for billionaires. One $1,200 check for the working class. That is unconscionable. That is immoral and that has got to change.\nNow, Mr. President, let us remember that way back in May, the House passed the $3.4 trillion HEROES Act which, among other things, included $600 a week in supplemental unemployment benefits and another direct payment of $1,200 for working class adults, $500 for their kids, and generous support for small businesses, hospitals, state and local governments and schools.\nIn other words, that $3.4 trillion bill was a serious effort to address the real crises facing this country.\nI should also add that in July, the House passed another version of the bill  this one for $2.2 trillion.\nThat same month, Senate Majority Leader McConnell, proposed a $1.1 trillion bill that also provided a $1,200 direct payment for the working class and $500 for their children.\nAnd then, in October, Secretary Mnuchin, in negotiations with Speaker Pelosi, proposed a COVID-relief plan for $1.8 trillion.\nSo, in the last number of months we have had major proposals of $3.4 trillion, $2.2 trillion, $1.8 trillion, and $1.1 trillion.\nAnd yet today, after months of negotiating by the so-called gang of 8, we are now down to just a $908 billion bill that includes $560 billion in offsets in unused money from the CARES Act.\nSo, from an original House bill passed in May calling for $3.4 trillion in new money, we are now down to $348 billion in new money  roughly 10% of what Democrats thought we originally needed.\nMr. President, in my view, the $348 billion in new money is totally inadequate given the nature of the unprecedented crises that we face.\nThe American people cannot wait any longer. They need economic relief now.\nEvery working class American needs $1,200, $2,400 for couples and $500 for kids.\nAnd let me be clear what I am talking about now is money that must not be taken from other important priorities like 16 weeks of supplemental unemployment benefits, aid for small business, nutrition, housing, education and the other important provisions in this bill.\nMr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 5063, which I introduced earlier today that would provide a $1,200 direct payment to every working class adult, $2,400 for couples and $500 for their children, that the bill be considered read three times and passed, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/patents-for-humanity-legislation-championed-by-leahy-and-grassley-passes-senate-unanimously-and-heads-to-presidents-desk-for-signature", "Patents For Humanity Legislation, Championed By Leahy And Grassley, Passes Senate Unanimously And Heads To Presidents Desk For Signature", "2020-12-16", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.16.20\n\t\t\t Patents For Humanity Legislation, Championed By Leahy And Grassley, Passes Senate Unanimously And Heads To President's Desk For Signature \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t . . . Bill Would Codify Program That Encourages And Rewards Use Of Patented Technology To Tackle Humanitarian Needs\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t WASHINGTON (WEDNESDAY, Dec. 16, 2020) -- The Patents for Humanity Program Improvement Act, authored and long championed by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), passed the Senate unanimously on Tuesday night. This bipartisan bill encourages and rewards the use of patented technology to address humanitarian needs.\r\nPatents for Humanity is the United States Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) awards competition which recognizes innovators who use game-changing technology to meet global humanitarian challenges. Winners of the program receive a certificate to accelerate certain processes at the USPTO; for example, accelerated review of another application or reexamination request. This legislation would codify the program and allow winners to transfer these certificates to a third party, which the USPTO and small start-up companies have long said will help this vital program grow and even attract small inventors who might not use the certificates themselves.\r\nThe Patents for Humanity program has already made a critical difference across the world. Winners have worked to improve nutrition, provide clean drinking water and sanitation, fix broken bones in remote hospitals that lack x-ray technology, bring solar-powered energy to villages that are off the power grid, and combat the problem of dangerous counterfeit drugs, among other achievements. Leahy and Grassley both spoke at the virtual 2020 awards ceremony. Details on the 2020 award winners can be found here.\r\nLeahy and Grassley have introduced similar legislation in the past, and in the 114th Congress the bill passed the Senate unanimously. In this Congress, for the first time, an identical bill was introduced in the House of Representatives, led by Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.), which passed the House by voice vote in June. This legislation passed the Senate by unanimous consent Tuesday night, and the bill will now make its way to President Trump to be signed into law.\r\nLeahy said: We are now one step closer to codifying and improving the Patents for Humanity program, which has a proven track record of addressing some of the most pressing global needs. The program illuminates our commitment to be the example for the world in intellectual property, and I'm hopeful the President will quickly sign this legislation into law. Leahy added, I am also thankful for Senator Grassley's partnership on this issue over the years, and I also want to also thank Congresswoman Lucy McBath for leading the House companion legislation, as well as USPTO Director Andre Iancu for his support for the legislation and his commitment to this program.\r\nGrassley said: American innovators are not only a driving force behind our economy, their work product often helps to make the world a better place. By enhancing the Patent and Trademark Office's Patents for Humanity program, this legislation will incentivize and reward innovators for using their talents to help individuals and communities in need across the globe. Having passed the House and now the Senate, I look forward to this bill's quick enactment into law.\r\nAdditional background on the USPTO Patents for Humanity Program is available online. Text of the Leahy-Grassley bill is also available online.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tDavid Carle (w/Leahy), 301-872-0665\r\nTaylor Foy (w/Grassley), 202-224-6708\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/sanders-helps-lead-fight-for-direct-payments/", "Sanders Helps Lead Fight for Direct Payments", "2020-12-16", "2020", "2020-12", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, December 16  Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has been leading the fight in Washington to provide direct benefits to working families as they struggle through the pandemic and economic downturn. Sanders is fighting for $1,200 for every worker earning less than $75,000 a year, and $2,400 a couple earning less than $150,000 a year. Each child would receive a benefit of $500. This is what existed in the CARES Act passed in March.\nCurrently, negotiations have the benefit set at $600 per adult and $600 per child. At this level, approximately 445,000 Vermont adults and 153,000 children  roughly 93 percent of the state's population  would receive these benefits. This amounts to over $345 million in direct benefits going to Vermonters, which will be an important economic stimulus.\nSanders said: At a time when many Vermonters are struggling to put food on the table, pay their rent or mortgage, or have the necessary income to go to the doctor, it is imperative that Congress provide direct payments for working families. I am glad that we are making progress on this issue, but more has to be done, and I will continue that fight.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/sanders-on-manchin-romney-deal-congress-cannot-go-home-until-working-class-receives-1200-direct-payments/", "Sanders on Manchin-Romney Deal: Congress Cannot Go Home Until Working Class Receives $1,200 Direct Payments", "2020-12-14", "2020", "2020-12", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, December 14  Sen. Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement in response to the Manchin-Romney COVID19 legislation to be released this afternoon:\nAs a result of the pandemic, tens of millions of Americans are facing economic desperation.They can't afford to pay their rent and face eviction, they can't afford to go to the doctor, they can't afford to feed their children and they are going deeper and deeper into debt.Congress cannot go home for the Christmas holidays until we pass legislation which provides a $1,200 direct payment to working class adults, $2,400 for couples, and a $500 payment to their children. This is what Democrats and Republicans did unanimously in March through the CARES Act.This is what we have to do today.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-on-the-fy2021-national-defense-authorization-actconference-report", "Statement On The FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act Conference Report", "2020-12-11", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.11.20\n\t\t\t Statement On The FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act Conference Report \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t . . . . Congressional Record\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t Mr. President, the Senate has before it today the result of a compromise. The conference report that will result in the adoption of the National Defense Authorization Act NDAAfor fiscal year 2021 is neither the bill the Senate approved, nor the one the House passed. I am pleased that this conference report cures many of the problems that led to my vote to oppose the Senate bill. Specifically, the conference report is void of the authority for funds to support testing of a new nuclear device, which was included in the Senate bill. This sends an important message to the world about Congress's support for U.S. leadership in armed control. Further, the conference report advances the progress we have made with regard to Vietnam. This NDAA sends a clear message that Congress believes in the importance of cooperation with Vietnam, both to advance our shared security interests and to address some of the worst consequences of that war. The conference report will extend the authorization for the Department of Defense to help decontaminate the Bien Hoa Airbase from the lingering poison of dioxin, and it includes new authorization to help the Government of Vietnam locate and identify some of its hundreds of thousands of MIAs, as they have helped us locate our own MIAs over so many years. The bill will also help the veterans of that war who were exposed to dioxin. The expansion of presumption of exposure included in this bill will mean that Americans suffering from a number of linked ailments can spend their time seeking treatment, rather than jumping through bureaucratic and legal hoops. For many veterans exposed to airborne toxic substances through burn pits, this bill also includes a number of provisions to make it easier to identify their exposure and for them to make connections needed while seeking medical care. It continues the march towards rectifying the Department of Defense's PFOS/ PFOA usage. While there is much to be done in both these areas, this is a positive step forward. This bill is imperfect, but of particular concern to me is the addition in conference, without proper vetting or evaluation, of several provisions that undermine the Freedom of Information Act, our Nation's premier transparency law. Many of these provisions were in neither the Senate nor the House bill. For a number of years, I have worked in a bipartisan manner with other members of the Judiciary Committee to consult with the Senate Armed Services Committee to provide the feedback and expertise in FOIA matters, as it relates to proposals within the NDAA. That inclusive process, where committees of jurisdiction are consulted on their areas of expertise, has ensured that the NDAA does not become a vehicle for unwise or harmful policies. This time, however, a number of provisions needlessly piercing holes in FOIA were inserted during conference negotiations without any consultation with the Judiciary Committee. Unsurprisingly, a process that took place behind closed doors resulted in policies undermining the American people's ability to know what their government is doing. Unfortunately, this is slowly becoming a routine practice, and it must not happen again. I want to put everyone on notice: I will insist that the Judiciary Committee and those of us who worked for many years on these matters are consulted on provisions that fall within the purview of our committee before they are included in the NDAA. That consultation process has produced good outcomes for the American people for years. Let's not change it now. With these concerns in mind, on balance, this is a defense authorization bill that I will support. It advances our efforts to reconcile with our history and address the naming of our military bases after Confederate generals, something over which the President inexplicably threatened to veto the bill. It rejects the President's demands to repeal section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, something that advances his personal war, but which demands careful consideration and should not be used as hostage bait. This conference report authorizes over $740 billion in spending. The defense of our Nation and our international role in providing security and promoting stability demand significant investments. I hope, however, that in future years, Congress will thoughtfully consider the skewed balance of our defense investments against other critical domestic needs. These are difficult questions, but ones that demand debate and honest review.\r\n###\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/klobuchar-leahy-introduce-jamal-khashoggi-press-freedom-accountability-act-", "Klobuchar, Leahy Introduce Jamal Khashoggi Press Freedom Accountability Act", "2020-12-10", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.10.20\n\t\t\t Klobuchar, Leahy Introduce Jamal Khashoggi Press Freedom Accountability Act  \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t . . . . Honoring the memory of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, legislation would ensure governments that commit human rights abuses against journalists are held accountable by the United States\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t WASHINGTON  U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced legislation to ensure governments that commit human rights against journalists abuses are held accountable by the United States. It is widely believed that Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post journalist and resident of the U.S., was murdered in Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul under orders from the Saudi government because of his writings in opposition to Saudi government policies.\r\nTo help protect journalists across the world, the Jamal Khashoggi Press Freedom Accountability Act would place targeted sanctions, restrict foreign aid, and increase reporting on human rights abuses committed against journalists by foreign governments.\r\nWe must ensure that journalists in the United States and around the world are able to do their jobs without fear of harm, Klobuchar said. It is unacceptable to suppress, imprison, and violently target the press, and the Jamal Khashoggi Act would ensure that the United States holds foreign governments who attempt to do so accountable.\r\nIt is shocking that journalists today in many countries are increasingly the targets of harassment, threats, wrongful imprisonment, and assassination, Leahy said. Jamal Khashoggi's gruesome murder shined a spotlight on the peril journalists face every day. It is why the United States, where a free press is the cornerstone of our democracy, should do everything possible to defend the rights and safety of journalists and ensure that those who seek to intimidate and silence the press are held accountable.\r\nRepresentative Adam Schiff (D-CA) leads companion legislation in the House of Representatives.\r\nThis legislation, named in honor of the late Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, would build upon the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act to strengthen the United States' commitment to hold to account those who would target journalists for violence and persecution, said Rep. Adam Schiff. A free and independent media is essential for a free society, and the United States must stand with journalists around the world who risk their lives to expose corruption, to give expression to independent and critical voices, and to tell the difficult stories that must be told. I thank Senator Klobuchar for leading this important effort in the Senate.\r\nSenator Klobuchar's bill is an important step to expand accountability for those who commit violence against journalists worldwide, providing a measure of protection for the reporters who risk imprisonment, torture, and even death for the work they do every day discerning and reporting the facts, said Thomas O. Melia, Washington Director of PEN America. Enacting this bill will not only shore up the free press as a bulwark of global security and democracy; it will enhance accountability for those responsible for gross human rights violations against journalists.\"\r\nThe Jamal Khashoggi Press Freedom Accountability Act is endorsed by Reporters Without Borders; PEN America; Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED), Freedom House and the Committee to Protect Journalists.\r\nThe Jamal Khashoggi Press Freedom Accountability Act will:\r\n \r\nBuild upon the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act by requiring the Department of State to document electronic surveillance and online harassment against journalists in its annual human rights reports.\r\nRequire the US government to place targeted sanctions against a foreign person if they commit a gross violation of human rights against a journalist.\r\nRestrict foreign aid to government entities in the event that a senior official commits a gross violation of human rights against a journalist.\r\n \r\nIn October, Klobuchar and Leahy led a group of 10 senators in a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urging the Administration to increase its efforts to protect journalists around the world and hold foreign leaders accountable for suppressing freedom of the press.\r\n###\r\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/murphy-leahy-menendez-van-hollen-wyden-statement-on-sentencing-of-walid-fitaihi-in-saudi-arabia", "Murphy, Leahy, Menendez, Van Hollen, Wyden Statement On Sentencing Of Walid Fitaihi In Saudi Arabia", "2020-12-10", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.10.20\n\t\t\t Murphy, Leahy, Menendez, Van Hollen, Wyden Statement On Sentencing Of Walid Fitaihi In Saudi Arabia \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTONU.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), along with U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), on Thursday released the following statement on the sentencing of an American citizen, Walid Fitaihi, in Saudi Arabia:\r\nWe are appalled that Walid Fitaihi has been sentenced to six years in prison by a Saudi court on politically motivated charges. We have repeatedly called for the release of Dr. Fitaihi since his arrest in 2017, and supported Secretary Pompeo's direct appeals to Saudi authorities to resolve his case. Unfortunately, the Saudi government has ignored these bipartisan appeals, despite clear implications for the U.S.-Saudi relationship, the senators said.\r\nThe senators continued: Fitaihi is a dual American-Saudi citizen who was sentenced, in part, for the supposed crime of obtaining U.S. citizenship without permission from the Saudi government. He was also sentenced for offending foreign countries' with his peaceful speech on Twitter, where he posted messages in support of democratic protests across the Arab world in 2011. The Saudi government should immediately release Dr. Fitaihi, lift the travel ban on his family, and drop these baseless and politically motivated charges. The persecution of American citizens, which also includes the ongoing detention of Salah al Haidar and Bader al Ibrahim, is unacceptable.\r\n###\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/sanders-gillibrand-warren-merkley-markey-and-wyden-urge-colleagues-to-defend-working-class-in-covid-19-relief-proposal-2/", "Sanders Demands Direct Payments for Working Families", "2020-12-10", "2020", "2020-12", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, December 10 Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) stated today on the Senate floor that given the enormity of the current economic crisis, the Senate must pass a $1,200 direct payment for working class adults and $500 for their children as part of any COVID-19 relief package. He is filing an amendment today to the one-week Continuing Resolution to do just that.\nSanders said that it would be unacceptable for Congress to adjourn for the holidays while turning its back on the economic desperation facing tens of millions of Americans.\nIn a speech on the floor today, he stated: When a national emergency occurs the United States government must respond. And we are in an economic emergency today. To get out of Washington, to turn our backs on the suffering of so many of our people would be immoral, would be unconscionable, and cannot be allowed to happen.\nSanders' speech can be watchedhere, and the prepared remarks can be read below:\nMr. President: This country today faces an unprecedented crisis both in terms of the pandemic and the economic meltdown.\nI understand that there are negotiations going on in terms of coming up with an economic package dealing with COVID-19 relief. I applaud the hard work that each of the negotiators are doing. But the truth is that the results up to this point are totally unsatisfactory given the economic desperation facing tens of millions of working families.\nBack in March, at the beginning of the pandemic, the United States Congress unanimously  Democrats and Republicans  worked with President Trump to come up with an economic package that went a long way toward preventing absolute misery and destitution for so many of our people. Through no fault of their own, COVID-19 resulted in millions of people losing their jobs and their income. And, in response, Democrats and Republicans in the Congress came together, worked with the President of the United States and, in a very significant way, responded to that crisis.\nMr. President, what I don't understand is that at a time when, in many ways, the crisis is worse today than it was in March, why we are not responding accordingly. In March, we passed the $2.2 trillion CARES Act which included a $600 supplement to unemployment benefits for 4 months, and a $1,200 direct payment for every working class adult plus $500 for their kids.\nOnce again, we did this unanimously and we did it by working with President Trump.\nIf we could do it together in March, if we could succeed 9 months ago by working together, there is no reason why we cannot do the same thing right now. And that is why I will insist that any agreement in terms of a COVID-19 relief package must include not only strong unemployment benefits, but a $1,200 direct payment for the working families of this country similarly structured to what was included in the CARES package of March.\nAnd I will be introducing an amendment to the 1-week Continuing Resolution to make sure that that occurs  that every working class adult in this country receives another $1,200 direct payment, plus $500 for their kids.\nMr. President, every member of this body wants to get out of Washington to get home to their families for the holiday season. And put me at the top of that list.\nBut at a time when so many American families are suffering, when so many people don't know how they're going to feed their kids or prevent being evicted from their homes, or how they're going to pay for a doctor's visit, we cannot leave Washington and return to our families unless we address the economic suffering that so many other families are facing.\nWhen a national emergency occurs the United States government must respond. And we are in an economic emergency today. To get out of Washington, to turn our backs on the suffering of so many of our people would be immoral, would be unconscionable, and cannot be allowed to happen.\nAgain, we must make certain that every working family in this country receives a $1,200 direct payment, plus $500 for their kids.\nMr. President, let me be as clear as I can be. Today, as a result of the horrific pandemic and economic meltdown, the American working-class is hurting like they have never hurt before.\nYesterday alone, over 220,000 Americans were diagnosed with COVID-19 and, tragically, over 3,000 died from this horrific virus.\nIn other words, more Americans were killed by the coronavirus yesterday than were killed on 9-11.\nFurther, Mr. President, the working class of this country is in the worst financial shape since the Great Depression of the 1930s.\nTens of millions of our fellow citizens have lost their jobs. They have lost their incomes. They have lost their health insurance. They have depleted their life savings. They cannot afford to pay the rent. They cannot afford to put food on the table. And they are scared to death that any day now they will get a knock on the door from the sheriff evicting them from their homes and throwing them and their belongings out on the street.\nIn America today, over half our workers are living paycheck to paycheck while 1 out of every 4 workers in this country are either unemployed or make a starvation wage of less than $20,000 a year.\nDuring the holiday season over one-third of Americans expect to lose income and are already having a difficult time paying for basic household expenses.\nIn America today, hunger is at its highest level in decades, more than 500,000 Americans are homeless and over 30 million tenants are on the brink of eviction.While 15 million Americans have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, over 90 million Americans are uninsured or under-insured and cannot afford to go to a doctor when they get sick.\nAnd as bad as the economy has been in general it has been far worse for African Americans and Latinos. During the pandemic, nearly 60% of Latino families and 55% of African American families have either experienced a job loss or a pay cut.\nMeanwhile, Mr. President, not everyone is hurting in America. While the middle class is collapsing and poverty is growing, we are witnessing a massive increase in income and wealth inequality. Over the past 9 months, 650 billionaires have seen their wealth go up by over $1 trillion and now own over twice as much wealth as the bottom 50 percent of Americans.\nThat is the state of the economy in America today. The very rich get much, much richer, while tens of millions of Americans get poorer and poorer and face an unprecedented level of economic desperation.\nMr. President. This is the United States of America, the richest country in the history of the world. No one should be going hungry. No one should have to live in fear of becoming homeless. No one should be denied the health care that they need, especially during the worst public health crisis in over a hundred years.\nBut that is precisely what is going on all over America as we speak.\nMr. President. This is an unprecedented moment in American history and the Senate needs to take unprecedented action now to improve the lives of the American people. If we could act effectively in March through the CARES Act, we can act effectively today as we enter the holiday season.\nI very much appreciate the hard work that has gone into the current $908 billion proposal being drafted by a number of Democratic and Republican Senators. But, simply stated, given the horrific extent of the current crisis and the desperation that working families all over this country are experiencing, this proposal does not go anywhere near far enough. In truth, rather than the $3.4 trillion which we Democrats called for in the HEROES Act and passed in the House, this bill only allocates $348 billion in new money. The remaining $560 billion are funds transferred from the CARES Act that have not yet been obligated.\nIn other words, this bill is allocating roughly 10% of what was passed in the House. That's absurd.\nUnlike the CARES Act, which we passed in March, this proposal only provides a $300 supplement for unemployed workers rather than $600 a week. Further, unlike the $1,200 direct payment for every working class individual and $500 for each child, it provides absolutely no direct payment.\nMoreover, this proposal does nothing to address the health care crisis impacting tens of millions of Americans who cannot afford medical care and has totally inadequate financial assistance for the most vulnerable.\nThe American people need help and they need help now.\nWe have got to make sure that every working class American receives at least $1,200 in direct payments and that we do not provide a liability shield to corporations who break the law.\nWe cannot continue the status quo of coming in at 5:30pm on Monday and leaving at 2pm on Thursday  while nothing gets done to help millions of Americans living in economic desperation.\nWe've got to be working 24 hours, 7 days a week until we pass a bill that provides emergency assistance to the American people in their time of need.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/sanders-hawley-introduce-1200-direct-payments-amendment-to-attach-to-end-of-year-legislation/", "Sanders, Hawley Introduce $1,200 Direct Payments Amendment to Attach to End-of-Year Legislation", "2020-12-10", "2020", "2020-12", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, December 10  Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) are introducing a bipartisan amendment to attach to must-pass legislation to be considered by Congress, which would provide $1,200 in direct payments to working-class adults and $500 to each of their children.This amendment, similar to what was passed in the CARES Act, would be attached to must-pass legislation to keep the government going.\nIn the midst of this terrible pandemic and economic crisis, this amendment would make certain that working families get the urgent, direct support they need to survive,said Sanders.A direct payment of $1,200 for adults and $500 for kids would help desperate families pay rent and heating bills, put food on the table, and be able to go to the doctor.In the midst of so much economic desperation, Congress cannot go on recess without providing this $1,200 emergency assistance to the American people in their time of need.I look forward to working across the aisle with Senator Hawley to ensure that the United States Senate passes this amendment.\nIt would be a dereliction of duty if Congress adjourns for Christmas without having a vote on providing working families with direct payments,said Hawley.Working people are struggling. And they should be the first people given relief, not last. The crisis of rising unemployment claims, ever-expanding food lines, evictions, and growing credit card debt has been staring us in the face for months. It's time we do something about it and provide emergency relief to Americans.\nThe amendment is modeled on the $1,200 direct payment for working-class adults plus $500 for their children passed by Congress unanimously in the $2.2 trillion CARES Act in March and signed into law by President Trump.\nWatch Sanders' and Hawley's floor remarks on this proposalhere.\nRead the text of the amendmenthere.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-on-house-passage-of-a-one-week-continuing-resolution", "Statement On House Passage Of A One Week Continuing Resolution", "2020-12-09", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.09.20\n\t\t\t Statement On House Passage Of A One Week Continuing Resolution \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tI am glad that the House passed a one week continuing resolution that will allow us the time we need to complete our work on full year appropriations bills, and I urge the Senate to take up and pass it as soon as possible. We cannot  and will not  allow government funding to lapse in the midst of an unprecedented health and economic crisis. Chairwoman Lowey, Ranking Member Granger, Chairman Shelby, myself, and our staff, have been tirelessly working through the nights and the weekend to reach an agreement, and we will continue to do so. \r\nTime and again, appropriators have shown that we can reach a bipartisan compromise that funds the government and addresses the nation's priorities. I believe we are very close to reaching that compromise once again, and I look forward to continuing this work on behalf of my home state of Vermont and the American people.\r\n# # # #\r\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/house-passes-antitrust-whistleblower-protections-authored-by-grassley-leahy-", "House Passes Antitrust Whistleblower Protections Authored by Grassley, Leahy", "2020-12-08", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.08.20\n\t\t\t House Passes Antitrust Whistleblower Protections Authored by Grassley, Leahy  \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON(Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020)  The U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday passed legislation by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) granting protections to whistleblowers who shine a light on violations of antitrust laws. The Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act, which unanimously passed the Senate last year, must now be signed by the President to become law.\r\nCompetition is essential for a thriving, affordable and innovative marketplace. When our antitrust laws are violated, consumers are often left paying the price. The Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act encourages and shields from reprisal private sector employees to shine a light on activities that violate our antitrust laws. This bipartisan bill is an important step to safeguarding fair marketplaces as well as the whistleblowers who support them. It's earned broad support in both chambers of Congress, and I urge President Trump to sign it into law without delay, Grassley said.\r\nOur country has a proud history of protecting whistleblowers who expose wrongdoing, beginning when the Continental Congress unanimously passed the first whistleblower law 242 years ago. Today, Congress honors that longstanding tradition by unanimously passing the bipartisan Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act that I co-authored with Senator Grassley. In an era where dominant corporations aggressively seek to expand their profits and quash competitors, our laws should protect whistleblowers who take significant risks to report criminal antitrust violations like price fixing that undermine free and fair competition. That's exactly what our legislation would do. I urge President Trump to sign this commonsense, bipartisan bill into law without delay, Leahy said.\r\nThe Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act extends whistleblower protections for employees who provide information to the Department of Justice related to criminal antitrust violations. The Senate unanimously passed a similar version of the legislation in 2013, 2015 and 2017.\r\nThe Grassley-Leahy bill is based on recommendations from aGovernment Accountability Office reportreleased in July 2011. The bill allows an employee who believes he or she is the victim of retaliation to file a complaint with the Secretary of Labor, and provides for that employee to be reinstated to their former status if the Secretary finds in their favor. Grassley and Leahy authored similar whistleblower statutes as part of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002.\r\nAdditional original cosponsors of this bill include Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Ct.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).\r\nText of theCriminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Actis availablehere.\r\n# # # # #\r\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/sanders-gillibrand-warren-merkley-markey-and-wyden-urge-colleagues-to-defend-working-class-in-covid-19-relief-proposal/", "Sanders, Gillibrand, Warren, Merkley, Markey and Wyden Urge Colleagues to Defend Working Class in COVID-19 Relief Proposal", "2020-12-08", "2020", "2020-12", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, December 8  Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.),Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.),Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)urged Senate Democrats today to recognize the enormity of the economic and public-health crisis posed by COVID-19 and join them in demanding that any new COVID-19 relief proposal includes a $1,200 direct payment to adults and $500 to their children, while rejecting provisions to give a liability shield to corporations who threaten the health and safety of workers and customers.\nIn a letter to their colleagues, the Senators note that COVID-19 is infecting nearly 200,000 Americans and killing 2,000 Americans daily, and argue that a bipartisan proposal under negotiation does not go anywhere near far enough, as America experiences the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Only $348 billion in new money is currently allocated in that proposal, the Senators point out, even though the Trump Administration and a bipartisan coalition in the House supported over $1.8 trillion in COVID-19 relief that also included another $1,200 direct payment.\nIt would be unacceptable to take a major step backwards from those previous efforts by passing legislation that only included $348 billion in new money, the Senators wrote to their Democratic colleagues.\nThe lawmakers further expressed their opposition to a get-out-of-jail free card to companies that put the lives of their workers and customers at risk currently under consideration in a bipartisan COVID-19 relief measure, and cited concerns from labor groups that granting immunity would make the country less safe at the exact moment when the COVID-19 pandemic is entering a new, dangerous phase. The letter's signatories also registered their agreement with President-elect Biden that a $1,200 direct payment should be included in this proposal, as over half of American workers live paycheck to paycheck and one in four are either unemployed or make less than $20,000 a year, while millions more face eviction and hunger.\nRead the letter here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-on-the-urgent-need-for-covid-relief", "Statement On The Urgent Need For COVID Relief", "2020-12-07", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.07.20\n\t\t\t Statement On The Urgent Need For COVID Relief \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t . . . . Senate Floor\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t It's been 321 days since the first COVID-19 case was reported in the United States. It's been 282 days since the first COVID-19 death was reported in the United States.\r\nThe Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the unemployment rate in November was 6.7 percent, nearly double the rate in November of last year. Hundreds of thousands of small businesses across the country have closed, permanently, due to COVID.\r\nAs of today, there are more than 14.8 million reported cases of COVID-19 in the United States  one million more than just a week ago. More than 282,000 Americans have died.\r\nAnd it has been 256 days since the Senate passed the CARES Act. Two hundred and fifty-six days since the Senate acted in a comprehensive, meaningful way to address the real  and mounting  concerns and needs of our constituents. Healthcare workers and caregivers, business owners and employees, teachers and students  all in need of support in these difficult and uncertain times. Families wrestling with heightened food insecurity, and the threat of eviction hanging over them. States strapped by budget shortfalls, forced to lay off thousands of employees.\r\nIt's been 205 days since the House first passed the HEROES Act. And it's been 65 days since they stepped forward to offer a substantial compromise on the HEROES Act, and pass it again.\r\nAnd where does it sit? On the Republican Leader's desk, collecting dust, as the largest, and most significant bill in the McConnell legislative graveyard.\r\nLike millions of Americans, I am encouraged by the news in recent weeks that pharmaceutical companies are making significant progress in vaccine development. I am encouraged that some of those vaccines may be available as early as later this month. But let's not forget why we were able to develop vaccines so quickly  it is because of long-standing federal investments in cutting edge research at the National Institutes of Health. NIH-funded research in genetic and genomic sequencing enabled the rapid and efficient pivot to COVID-19 research that led to the vaccine. This is the power of federal dollars, targeted to solve a national problem. And this is what we need more of now.  \r\nThe development of several promise vaccines is great news. But without a comprehensive plan in place  and the resources to implement it  how can we ensure vaccination is safe, effective, widely available, and free?\r\nIt is a complete abdication of our responsibility as elected representatives that we have simply failed to act. Now, I know that my friends across the aisle will rush to the Floor, and blame Democrats for stalling their inadequate face-saving proposal that they went through the motions to bring forward before the elections. Sure, that proposal made some investments in small businesses, and provided some unemployment relief, albeit at significantly reduced levels. But it also tied educational relief to forcing kids back into the classroom, even when conditions were not safe to accommodate it. It failed to deliver on relief to state and local governments, which are continuing to try to provide essential services to their communities. It included nothing for Low Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP), no funding for mental health service, no funding for nutrition assistance, not a dime for NIH research, and it failed to put forward a vigorous plan or investment in vaccination production and distribution.\r\nSo what did it do? Create a shield for corporate misconduct. Republicans are more keen to shield corporate cronies than to work on behalf of the American people. It's a sham. And it's a shame.\r\nIn my home state of Vermont, the Governor and state legislature, and mayors and town leaders across the state have taken bold moves to slow the spread of COVID. These moves  which have resulted in lower instances of the virus than elsewhere in the country  have not come without cost. Unemployment remains, and small businesses continue to struggle. And that says nothing of the personal hardships families are facing across our small state.\r\nOne elderly woman called my office, expressing frustration with the President. She also told my staff that she's only been able to visit her husband, who is in a medical rehab facility, a couple of times during this pandemic, due to COVID restrictions. This isn't an anecdote  it's a tragedy.\r\nIn Vermont, the state and local governments are worrying about how to clear the roads this winter if COVID hits the plow crews. Snow removal isn't a luxury in Vermont in the winter  it's a necessity.\r\nMy staff has spoken with one Vermont mother who is raising a son with autism. With school systems strained to their limits, special education services have been sharply reduced. This will have lasting impacts on these students, both educationally and socially.\r\nAnd, for those facing challenges like addiction, depression, or mental health issues, or who were simply down on their luck before COVID hit earlier this year, access to vital resources like counseling or intervention has been made more complicated by COVID restrictions, often with tragic results. I have heard of one Vermonter who passed away, alone, in a motel room in Rutland in October. Battling mental health issues, he'd become homeless just as COVID struck earlier this year, and due to the risks of the virus, family and friends were unable to take him into their homes. This isn't just a story; it's a man's life. And there are so many more people out there facing the same struggles.\r\nWe are seeing images of car lines at food banks stretching for miles as an unprecedented wave of food insecurity is washing over our country. In my state alone, one in every four Vermonters are now food insecure. Before this pandemic, it was already an unacceptable one in 10.\r\nWe are asking children to learn without providing the necessary resources to their teachers, families to pay rent without their jobs, and people to deal with their chronic illnesses while our hospitals are all stretched to capacity. All of this while an unacceptable amount of people are unsure how they will put food on the table through the end of the week. It is unconscionable.\r\nAnd the leadership across the aisle here in the Senate says we only need a targeted approach, and they point to the stock market as proof? Nonsense. The economy will not recover until we vanquish the virus. It is that simple, and that basic. And people are suffering now. This is the cost of inaction. Inaction on real, comprehensive, bold COVID relief legislation.\r\nNow, with our backs against the wall with a funding deadline looming, we are racing to accomplish what should have been done months ago: annual appropriations bills to keep our government running. We must pass these bills before Congress adjourns this year so there are no disruptions in government services during this difficult time in our country. That would only exacerbate the growing problems facing many Americans today. But our annual appropriations bills are no substitute for the significant investment we need to confront this national  and international  emergency. We need a comprehensive COVID relief bill. It's time to get serious.\r\nTime is wasting. How many hours have we spent racing to confirm nomination after nomination, at the expense of everything else, including dealing with the emergency of this pandemic, while COVID cases soar and more and more people succumb to this virus? How much more time will the Senate waste, while American families and communities suffer? It's time for us to do our job. The American people are suffering enough. We shouldn't be adding to that strain by playing politics with these essential priorities.\r\nI am hearing from Vermonters, every day, worried about unemployment benefits, their children's education, their health or that of their loved ones, about food security, and about keeping their homes and paying their bills. The Senate, at its best, is the conscience of the nation. It's long past time we start acting like it. Two hundred and fifty-six days since the Senate took meaningful action. We shouldn't wait one day longer.\r\n# # # # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/reaction-of-senator-patrick-leahy-to-the-national-academies-of-sciences-report_assessment-of-illness-in-us-government-employees-and-their-families-at-overseas-embassies", "Reaction Of Senator Patrick Leahy To The National Academies Of Sciences Report,  Assessment Of Illness In U.S. Government Employees And Their Families At Overseas Embassies", "2020-12-06", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.06.20\n\t\t\t Reaction Of Senator Patrick Leahy To The National Academies Of Science's Report,  Assessment Of Illness In U.S. Government Employees And Their Families At Overseas Embassies \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tThis report, long awaited, was finally released because I and other Members of Congress insisted that the public, and especially the families of those afflicted, be able to read it. I thank the members of the NAS Standing Committee for the considerable time and effort they devoted to this vexing issue. Their report leads to several conclusions, including:\r\nSeveral Members of Congress, among others, who rushed to judgment when these illnesses were first reported and publicly accused the Cuban Government, did so without any evidence or factual basis. None of the investigations and studies that have occurred since then, including by the FBI and the NAS, produced evidence implicating the Cubans, yet they have never retracted those accusations.\r\nSecretary Pompeo slashed our Embassy staff in Havana to a skeleton crew, and kicked out most of the Cubans at their Embassy in Washington, while U.S. Embassies in China and elsewhere, despite similar incidents, have remained fully operational and no punitive action was taken. These incidents were exploited by the Trump Administration to buttress its punitive and cynical isolationist policy toward Cuba that has failed to achieve any of its objectives.\r\nThe Trump Administration's handling of these incidents has been sluggish, superficial, disjointed, overly secretive, and infected by politics. They even denied the NAS Standing Committee access to relevant information. It is a textbook case of how not to respond to such a challenge, and it compounded the anguish of the afflicted U.S. Embassy personnel and their families.\r\nThere are reasons to be seriously concerned with the safety of our Embassy personnel, wherever they are posted overseas, based on the findings and conclusions of this report. The Biden Administration should promptly consult with Congress on how to implement the NAS's recommendations, to ensure that our diplomats can carry out their essential functions in a manner that maximizes their safety and ensures that if incidents like this occur in the future they are responded to immediately, effectively, and in a coordinated manner.\r\n\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/sanders-statement-on-manchin-romney-covid19-proposal/", "Sanders Statement on Manchin-Romney COVID19 Proposal", "2020-12-04", "2020", "2020-12", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "BURLINGTON, December 4  Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement on the Manchin-Romney COVID19 legislative proposal:\nGiven the enormous economic desperation facing working families in this country today, I will not be able to support the recently announced Manchin-Romney COVID proposal unless it is significantly improved.\nUnfortunately, despite long-time Democratic opposition, this proposal provides 100% legal immunity to corporations whose irresponsibility has led to the deaths of hundreds of workers. It would continue to provide a get-out-of-jail free card to companies that put the lives of their workers and customers at risk. In fact, the Manchin-Romney proposal will, through this liability provision, encourage corporations to avoid implementing the common sense safety standards needed to protect workers and consumers  and make a bad situation worse.\nFurther, during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, when over half of our workers are living paycheck to paycheck, when one out of four workers are either unemployed or make less than $20,000 a year, when 92 million Americans are uninsured or under-insured, when tens of millions of people face eviction and when hunger in America is exploding, it is unacceptable that the Manchin-Romney proposal does not even do what the CARES Act did and provide, at the very least, a $1,200 direct payment to working class Americans and $500 for their kids. Tens of millions of Americans living in desperation today would receive absolutely no financial help from this proposal. That is not acceptable.\nLast March, with unanimous support in Congress, President Trump signed the $2 trillion CARES Act into law that provided a $600 a week supplement in unemployment benefits and a $1,200 direct payment to every working class adult, $500 per child and significant help for small businesses, states and cities. In October, as part of the negotiating process, the Trump Administration and a bi-partisan coalition in the House supported over $1.8 trillion in COVID-relief that also included another $1,200 direct payment. \nToday, however, at a time when the COVID crisis is the worst that it has ever been in the U.S. with record-breaking levels of hospitalization and death, the Manchin-Romney proposal not only provides no direct payments to working families, it does nothing to address the healthcare crisis and has totally inadequate financial assistance for the most vulnerable. That is wrong morally and it is wrong economically if we hope to rebuild the economy.\nThe American people need help and they need help now. In my view, we have got to make sure that every working class American receives at least $1,200 in direct payments and that we do not provide a liability shield to corporations who break the law.\nI look forward to working with my colleagues in the House and Senate to significantly improve this bill.But, in its current form, I cannot support it.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-sanders-and-welch-encourage-vermont-dairy-farmers_to-enroll-in-safety-net-program-ahead-of-friday-dec-11-deadline", "Leahy, Sanders And Welch Encourage Vermont Dairy Farmers  To Enroll In Safety-Net Program Ahead Of Friday, Dec. 11, Deadline", "2020-12-03", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.03.20\n\t\t\t Leahy, Sanders And Welch Encourage Vermont Dairy Farmers  To Enroll In Safety-Net Program Ahead Of Friday, Dec. 11, Deadline \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t(THURSDAY, Dec. 3, 2020) -- Vermont's congressional delegation  Senator Patrick Leahy (D), Senator Bernie Sanders (I), and Representative Peter Welch (D)  are encouraging Vermont dairy farmers to consider enrolling in theDairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program, a voluntary safety net program created in the 2018 Farm Bill to help producers manage volatile milk prices and feed costs. The enrollment period for 2021 closes on Friday, December 11.\r\nIn a joint statement, Leahy, Sanders, and Welch said: Dairy farms are foundational to Vermont's rural economy and our producers have faced unprecedented challenges this year. The COVID-19 pandemic has constrained supply chains, disrupted markets, and injected significant volatility and uncertainty into dairy prices. As we have worked hard to secure urgent federal assistance for farmers to weather this storm, the importance of safety net programs like Dairy Margin Coverage cannot be overstated. Current dairy future prices are forecasting another challenging year in 2021 as the market continues to stabilize, and margins are expected to trigger DMC payments throughout much of the year. We encourage all Vermont dairy producers to talk to their cooperatives, contact their Farm Service Agency field offices, and to strongly consider enrolling in DMC by the December 11 deadline.\r\nTo enroll in the DMC program for 2021, farmers must contact their county Farm Service Agency (FSA) office by Friday, Dec. 11, 2020. Contact information is available from the FSA State Office at 356 Mountain View Drive, Colchester, (802) 658-2803,https://www.fsa.usda.gov/state-offices/Vermont. Farmers can also find more information about DMC, including a decision tool, at FSA's Dairy Margin Coverage website.\r\n# # # # #\r\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-is-among-bipartisan-group-of-members-of-congress-to-file-supreme-court-amicus-brief-in-support-of-human-trafficking-victims", "Leahy Is Among Bipartisan Group Of Members Of Congress To File Supreme Court Amicus Brief In Support Of Human Trafficking Victims", "2020-12-01", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.01.20\n\t\t\t Leahy Is Among Bipartisan Group Of Members Of Congress To File Supreme Court Amicus Brief In Support Of Human Trafficking Victims \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON (TUESDAY, Dec. 1, 2020)  U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and U.S. Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) led a bipartisan group of 21 members of Congress, including Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), in filing an amicus brief supporting victims of human trafficking in their case against two corporations  Nestl USA and Cargill  alleged to have knowingly aided and abetted the abuse of child slaves trafficked to work on cacao farms in Cte d'Ivoire. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the case today.\r\nIn addition to Leahy, the brief was joined by U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Chris Coons (D-DE), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and U.S. Representatives Joaquin Castro (D-TX), David Cicilline (D-RI), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), Tony Crdenas (D-CA), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Bobby Scott (D-VA), and Nydia Velzquez (D-NY).\r\nThe members of Congress's amicus brief focuses on the extensive and bipartisan efforts by Congress to eradicate human trafficking, forced labor, and all forms of modern day slavery, most notably through the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPRA), authored by Rep. Smith. The legislation, passed by Congress in 2000 and strengthened through subsequent reauthorizations, criminalizes sex and labor trafficking, creates a federal civil remedy for victims of human trafficking, and expands the law to allow for civil and criminal liability for forced labor committed internationally.\r\nThe amicus brief argues that the TVPRA is the correct guidepost to determine Congress' views on human trafficking and that the law does not preclude trafficking victims from bringing a lawsuit in the U.S. under the Alien Tort Statue (ATS), emphasizing that Congress intends the liability for those who benefit from trafficking and forced labor, explicitly including corporations, to be extensive.\r\nAny consideration of congressional policy must begin with the [Trafficking Victims Protection Act]  the culmination of longstanding, bi-partisan congressional efforts to eradicate human trafficking and forced labor. The statute underscores Congress' determination that the prohibition of these crimes is specific, universal, and obligatory, the members of Congress wrote in their brief.\r\n[T]here is nothing in the TVPRA that would preclude recognition of a civil action for aiding and abetting child slavery under the ATS. The TVPRA's broad civil liability provision is one of Congress' many chosen tools in its battle against the global scourge of human trafficking, which Congress has zealously sought to combat.\r\nThe amicus brief was filed in support of human trafficking victims in two ongoing lawsuits brought under the ATS, which enables federal courts to hear lawsuits filed by non-U.S. citizens for wrongs violating international law. In the original cases filed against Nestl USA and Cargill, former child slaves allege that they were trafficked from Mali to Cte d'Ivoire, forced to work without pay for twelve to fourteen hours a day, given minimal food and shelter, and subjected to physical abuse. Those who tried to escape say they were beaten and tortured.\r\nThe full text of the amicus brief is available here.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/taxpayers-subsidize-poverty-wages-at-walmart-mcdonalds-other-large-corporations-gao-finds/", "Taxpayers Subsidize Poverty Wages at Walmart, McDonalds, Other Large Corporations, GAO Finds", "2020-11-18", "2020", "2020-11", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, November 18  Many full-time workers employed by some of America's largest and most profitable corporations receive wages so low that they qualify for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or food stamps) benefits and Medicaid, according to a report released today by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).\nThe report,Millions of Full-time Workers Rely on Federal Health Care and Food Assistance Programs,commissioned by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), found that 5.7 million Medicaid enrollees and 4.7 million SNAP recipients who worked full-time for 50 or more weeks in 2018 earned wages so low that they qualified for these federal benefits. An estimated 12 million wage-earning adults enrolled in Medicaid and 9 million wage-earning adults living in households receiving SNAP benefits worked at some point in 2018.\nAt a time when huge corporations like Walmart and McDonald's are making billions in profits and giving their CEOs tens of millions of dollars a year, they're relying on corporate welfare from the federal government by paying their workers starvation wages. That is morally obscene.U.S. taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize some of the largest and most profitable corporations in America.It is time for the owners of Walmart, McDonald's and other large corporations to get off of welfare and pay their workers a living wage,said Sanders.No one in this country should live in poverty. No one should go hungry. No one should be unable to get the medical care they need. It is long past time to increase the federal minimum wage from a starvation wage of $7.25 an hour to $15, and guarantee health care to all Americans as a human right.\nGAO sent questionnaires to state Medicaid and SNAP agencies and analyzed data from 15 such agencies across 11 states. Each agency reported the 25 most common employers of Medicaid enrollees and SNAP recipients. Among the 15 agencies, Walmart was in the top four employers of program beneficiaries in each and every one. McDonald's was a top-five employer of employees receiving federal benefits in 13 of the 15 agencies. GAO's analysis across the states it examined reveals that multi-billion-dollar firms employed tens of thousands of workers at wages so low, taxpayers effectively provided nutrition support and health insurance that would be unnecessary if they paid living wages.\nNotoriously low-paying and dangerous dollar-store chains also appeared throughout these lists, with Dollar Tree ranking among the top 15 largest employers of employees receiving benefits in all 15 agencies, and Dollar General among the top 10 in nine different agencies.\nAcross nine statesArkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington  these large corporations employed the following numbers of SNAP recipients in February 2020:\nWalmart  14,541  McDonald's  8,783  Dollar Tree  4,515  Dollar General  4,488  Amazon  4,218  Burger King  3,326  FedEx  2,622  Wendy's  2,237  Subway  2,231  Taco Bell  2,114  Uber  2,032  Target  1,783  Dunkin' Donuts  1,564  Home Depot  1,305  Lowe's  1,154  Family Dollar  570  CVS  545  Walgreens  355\nAcross six statesGeorgia, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, and Rhode Islandthe following large corporations employed these approximate numbers of Medicaid enrollees in February 2020:\nWalmart  10,350  McDonald's  4,600  Amazon  4,154  Dollar Tree  2,964  Target  2,754  Dollar General  2,625  Home Depot  2,237  CVS  1,939  Burger King  1,679  Dunkin' Donuts  1,278  Wendy's  1,059  FedEx  1,046  Walgreens  1,009  Subway  973  Taco Bell  868  Lowe's  611  Uber  591\nTo read the full report, clickhere.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-on-the-eighteenth-meeting-of-states-parties-to-the-mine-ban-treaty", "Statement On The Eighteenth Meeting Of States Parties To The Mine Ban Treaty", "2020-11-16", "2020", "2020-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.16.20\n\t\t\t Statement On The Eighteenth Meeting Of States Parties To The Mine Ban Treaty \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tI remember the sense of hope I felt on September 26, 1994, when President Bill Clinton, in a speech at the United Nations, called for ridding the world of anti-personnel landmines. It was heralded as a bold challenge by the world's only military superpower in response to the increasing global outrage about the carnage these inherently indiscriminate weapons were causing in dozens of countries, including landmines left by our own soldiers in wars long past. In furtherance of that goal, President Clinton announced that the Department of Defense would seek alternatives to anti-personnel mines that are triggered by the victim, often an innocent civilian.\r\nIn the 26 years since that speech, 164 governments have joined the international treaty banning the production, use, export, and stockpiling of anti-personnel mines, and the number of mine casualties has plummeted. Billions of dollars have been spent  largely by the United States  to locate and destroy unexploded mines, and that costly, dangerous work continues in many countries. But despite this progress, each year thousands of people lose life or limb from these weapons which continue to be used in some armed conflicts today, mostly by irregular armed groups rather than government forces.\r\nThe 18th Meeting of states parties to what is commonly called the Mine Ban Treaty begins today, but, regrettably, the United States  which spends more on its armed forces than China, Russia, India, Germany, France, the UK, Japan and the next half dozen largest militaries combined  may not be among the governments participating since it has not joined the treaty. In fact, under the Trump administration, the progress made under the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations to align our policy with the treaty was summarily reversed in February, with no prior consultation with other governments, humanitarian organizations, or Congress. That was done despite the fact that the United States has not used anti-personnel mines since 1992, has not exported them since 1992, and has not produced them since 1997.\r\nNot only that, the Defense Department never carried out President Clinton's directive to develop alternatives. In the past 26 years, they have invested trillions of dollars to build and procure weapons and delivery systems of astounding complexity, precision, and destructive power. NASA has operated robots on Mars and asteroids. Yet despite our extraordinary technological capabilities, the Pentagon has yet to field alternatives to anti-personnel landmines that are activated by a soldier against enemy combatants, rather than triggered by an unsuspecting child.\r\nIt is long past time to put the United States on an irreversible path to join our NATO allies and scores of other governments and become a party to the Mine Ban Treaty. The incoming Biden-Harris administration can do that by reinstating the policy that was in place at the end of the Obama-Biden administration, which prohibits the use of anti-personnel mines except on the Korean Peninsula. At the same time, it should direct the Pentagon to modify its strategies and tactics to eliminate the use of anti-personnel mines within three years so the United States can join the treaty no later than September 26, 2023, twenty-nine years after President Clinton's speech. By doing so, we  and the world  will take a giant step towards meeting his challenge and stigmatizing a weapon that, like IEDs and other booby traps, does not belong in the arsenals of civilized nations.\r\n# # # # #\r\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-and-others-ask-trump-administration-to-suspend-all-federal-executions-during-transition-period", "Leahy And Others Ask Trump Administration To Suspend All Federal Executions During Transition Period", "2020-11-13", "2020", "2020-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.13.20\n\t\t\t Leahy And Others Ask Trump Administration To Suspend All Federal Executions During Transition Period \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tIn less than three months, Trump Administration executed seven people  more than the total number executed over the previous six decades; DOJ has scheduled another execution for November 19, and two more in December 2020.\r\nLeahy, Durbin, and Booker last year also introduced legislation to ban the use of the federal death penalty.\r\n(FRIDAY, Nov. 13, 2020) -- U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and Cory Booker (D-NJ), along with U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-07), Friday called on the Trump Administration to suspend all federal executions so the incoming Biden-Harris Administration can evaluate and determine the future use of the death penalty by the federal government. For more than 17 years, no federal death sentence was carried out. Then, in July 2020, Attorney General Bill Barr recklessly restarted federal executions. In less than three months, the Administration executed seven peoplemore than the total number executed over the previous six decades. The Department of Justice has scheduled another execution for November 19, and two more in December 2020.\r\nPresident-Elect Biden's plan for strengthening America's commitment to justice includes the elimination of the federal death penalty and Vice-President-Elect Harris is an original cosponsor of legislation we have introduced to eliminate the federal death penalty. A record number of Americans voted in favor of President-Elect Biden and Vice-President Elect Harris and they deserve an opportunity to implement their policy agenda without the Trump Administration rushing to take preemptive and irreversible steps, the lawmakers wrote in a letter to AG Barr. While you will remain in office for a few more weeks, going forward with executions in the weeks before the new administration takes office would be a grave injustice. \r\nLast year, Leahy, Durbin, Pressley and Booker introduced bicameral legislation to immediately ban the use of the death penalty by the federal government after AG Barr announced that federal executions will resume for the first time in more than 16 years.\r\nThe death penalty is outlawed in 21 states, including Vermont, Illinois, Massachusetts and New Jersey.\r\nFull text of today's letter is available here and below:\r\n\r\nNovember 13, 2020\r\nDear Attorney General Barr:\r\nWe urge you to suspend all federal executions so the incoming Biden-Harris administration can evaluate and determine the future use of the death penalty by the federal government. The failure to do so will cause irrevocable injustice.\r\nFor more than 17 years, no federal death sentence was carried out.[1] Then, in July 2020, you recklessly restarted federal executions.[2] In less than three months, the Administration executed seven peoplemore than the total number executed over the previous six decades.[3] The Department of Justice has scheduled another execution for November 19, and two more in December 2020.[4]\r\nThe death penalty in America is disproportionately imposed on Black and brown people and low income people,[5] and at least 172 people sentenced to death have reportedly been exonerated after languishing for years on death row.[6] Despite clear flaws in the system, the Administration has aggressively pushed forward over objections from family members of victims and despite Eighth Amendment objections to the manner of execution.[7]\r\nPresident-Elect Biden's plan for strengthening America's commitment to justice includes the elimination of the federal death penalty and Vice-President-Elect Harris is an original cosponsor of legislation we have introduced to eliminate the federal death penalty.[8] A record number of Americans voted in favor of President-Elect Biden and Vice-President Elect Harris and they deserve an opportunity to implement their policy agenda without the Trump Administration rushing to take preemptive and irreversible steps.\r\nWhile you will remain in office for a few more weeks, going forward with executions in the weeks before the new administration takes office would be a grave injustice.\r\nWe look forward to your prompt response.\r\nSincerely,\r\n# # # # #\r\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/comment-on-the-release-of-the-fy-2021-senate-appropriations-bills-", "Comment On The Release Of The FY 2021 Senate Appropriations Bills", "2020-11-10", "2020", "2020-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.10.20\n\t\t\t Comment On The Release Of The FY 2021 Senate Appropriations Bills  \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tToday, Chairman Shelby released draft bills and explanatory statements for each of the twelve FY 2021 appropriations bills. Chairman Shelby and I agree on the importance of completing our work on the twelve bills before the continuing resolution expires on December 11.\r\nI am very disappointed that the majority chose to cancel Committee mark ups of the FY 2021 bills and that the bills were not considered by the full Senate, eliminating the ability of members to offer amendments. This is an important part of the process when developing legislation. It would have given all members a chance to weigh in and publicly debate these bills. That is our job as Senators. That is how a democracy is supposed to function, regardless of which party is in the majority. We should not be running away from the tough issues.\r\nHowever, our goal is to work with the House to conference all twelve appropriations bills and avert a government shutdown. We only have four weeks to do it. In order to accomplish our work, we need Senate bills to work from. The twelve bills being released by the Chairman on Tuesday will help us move forward in this process. Many of the bills were the result of bipartisan work, and I appreciate those areas where we were able to come to agreement. However, there are significant issues that we will want to address in negotiations with the House.\r\nThe first is the need to address the coronavirus crisis in this country. This country is headed for a deadly winter and it is long past time for us to provide the resources the country needs to get this virus under control and our economy back open. These bills do not provide any such relief. It is imperative that we do what is necessary to stop this pandemic from spreading. Whether this takes the form of separate legislation, or additional emergency titles added onto these bills, I remain ready to do what is necessary to help a country in crisis.\r\nSecondly, there are a number of issues where I look forward to improving the draft bills in negotiations with the House, such as:\r\n \r\nThe Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education bill is woefully inadequate to meet today's challenges, even if we were not in a global pandemic. It underfunds education for our nation's students, eliminates or flat-funds critical safety net programs, and provides inadequate funding for child care programs. It fails to invest in our nation's outdated public health infrastructure, at a time when this funding is desperately needed to address the current pandemic and prepare for future public health crises. It also fails to protect women's health by leaving in place the Administration's gag order and ban on grant eligibility for Planned Parenthood and other similar health clinics that offer the full range of reproductive health services.\r\n \r\n \r\nThe State and Foreign Operations bill cuts USAID international family planning even below last year's Senate levels, provides nothing for the United Nation's Population Fund, and includes the restrictive Mexico City Policy, this at a time when women's health is facing heightened threats due to COVID and access to modern family planning services is lacking in many countries. \r\n \r\n \r\nThe Interior Appropriations bill provides inadequate funding for conservation and environmental protection programs at the Department of the Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency, including critical work to address climate change and implement and enforce bedrock environmental laws such as the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. More funding is also needed to expand Tribal health care services and other programs that benefit American Indians and Alaska Natives whose communities are among the hardest hit by the coronavirus.\r\n \r\n \r\nThe Homeland Security Appropriations bill again includes nearly $2 billion in wasteful spending on the President's wall at the Southern border. This additional funding is on top of the $15 billion American taxpayers have already paid toward a useless border wall  money that could have been better invested elsewhere to address real homeland security needs, health care, infrastructure, and COVID-19 requirements. And the bills do nothing to rein in the President's ability to take money meant to support our troops and their families and divert it to the wall. \r\n \r\n \r\nThe Homeland Security bill also funds ICE detention at a level that is simply unwarranted. Because the bill fails to accurately reflect ICE's detained population, which has decreased amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency is essentially provided a slush fund for this administration's extreme enforcement and removal activities. The status quo is simply unacceptable for an agency that has continually failed in its responsibility to appropriately manage resources provided by Congress and failed to establish sensible priorities regarding which immigrants it should detain and remove.\r\n \r\nI look forward to working with Senate Republicans and our House counterparts to draft responsible bills that address the needs of our nation.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/the-thin-red-white-and-blue-line-thanks-to-the-election-workers-who-are-showing-the-resilience-of-our-democracy", "The Thin Red, White And Blue Line: Thanks To The Election Workers Who Are Showing The Resilience Of Our Democracy", "2020-11-06", "2020", "2020-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.06.20\n\t\t\t The Thin Red, White And Blue Line: Thanks To The Election Workers Who Are Showing The Resilience Of Our Democracy \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t By Patrick Leahy\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t The 2020 presidential election may be nearing an end but it is not yet over, and it will be months before we know the final results of some U.S. Senate races. But at a time of heightened divisiveness and disillusionment in our country, and in the midst of a worsening public health crisis unlike any the world has faced in more than 100 years, we should all take pride in the way that the thousands of poll workers, vote counters, and state officials have conducted themselves over these long days and nights.\r\nWe have seen the best of America, as they have carried out their responsibilities with the utmost seriousness and care. They have not been intimidated by threats or baseless claims of fraud, even from the White House podium. They have not succumbed to impatience or pressure. They have followed their procedures methodically and meticulously, day after day, hour after hour. It is the best evidence that, at its core, our democracy is strong, despite relentless attempts by some, including President Trump and members of his family, to sow division and doubt, and even to incite violence.It is the American people, and only the people, who ultimately choose their leaders, by the simple act of voting. It is not rocket science.\r\nIt requires marking a box, and, for mail-in ballots, sealing an envelope and dropping it in the mail. These procedures have been in place for decades. President Trump won in 2016 with the support of votes that were mailed in by absentee Republican voters, and in some states he won by the slimmest of margins. He voted in this election by mailing in his ballot, so it is ludicrous to impugn the integrity of others who mailed in their ballots. Each state counts those votes according to its own procedures, which vary from state to state. And that is what they are doing, as their laws require. There are multiple checks and redundancies in the processing of each ballot to minimize the chance of error. We can be proud that Vermont's Secretary of State Jim Condos has emerged as a national leader in providing clear guidance and strong leadership in defending the right to vote.\r\nOne thing is clear: President Trump will again lose the popular vote by a decisive margin. And the reason for so many mail-in votes is obvious: the Covid pandemic.\r\nUnlike any time in U.S. history, President Trump has called for the vote counting to stop before all the votes are counted. This is what dictators do. They stop the count when they see they are losing. Thankfully, our president does not have that power. He is not a dictator and he is not above the law. Yet he has repeatedly insisted that only legal ballots should be counted. What is he talking about? If he has credible evidence of illegality, or even of significant, widespread errors in the counting, why hasn't the White House produced the evidence? If such evidence existed, they would be the first to produce it. They haven't, and that speaks volumes.\r\nThe campaign for president lasted well over a year. The accurate counting of tens of millions of votes takes time. That time is nearing its conclusion, and we owe an immense debt of gratitude to the poll workers, election officials and ballot processors across the country for their dedication and vigilance. They are among democracy's foot soldiers  our thin red, white, and blue line  who are demonstrating the resilience of our democracy.\r\n# # # # #\r\n\r\n[Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) is Vermont's senior U.S. senator.]\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-vermonts-dream-program-receives-125-million_to-mentor-youth-affected-by-opioid-and-drug-addiction", "Leahy: Vermonts DREAM Program Receives $1.25 Million  To Mentor Youth Affected By Opioid and Drug Addiction", "2020-10-30", "2020", "2020-10", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "10.30.20\n\t\t\t Leahy: Vermont's DREAM Program Receives $1.25 Million  To Mentor Youth Affected By Opioid and Drug Addiction \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t . . . . Dept. of Justice Funding Will Expand Reach in Rural Communities\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t (FRIDAY, Oct. 30, 2020) -- Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Friday announced that Vermont's DREAM program will receive a three-year, $1.25 million grant from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to support peer mentoring for elementary-aged youths in rural communities whose lives have been affected by the opioid epidemic.\r\nThis is the second such award made to Vermont mentoring programs since Leahy, as Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, worked to expand the program's eligibility to include rural states that have been hard hit by drug addiction. The change was first made in the fiscal year 2019 Consolidated Appropriations Act.\r\nLeahy said: We know mentoring works, it can literally change lives. For a young person whose family life has been upended by the opioid epidemic, this kind of one-on-one connection can be a lifeline. It's even more critical now, as we see the increase in rural isolation brought on by the COVID pandemic.\r\nThe Youth Initiative grant, administered by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), will help match high school mentors and elementary-aged mentees from rural communities across Vermont. DREAM, which works to close the opportunity gap that exists for many of Vermont's young people, seeks to boost educational expectations, grow personal aspirations and build trusting relationships through its mentor pairings. The program also works to provide supportive social environments that will reduce the likelihood of youths engaging in high-risk behaviors, including substance misuse.\r\nThrough inequitable and often racialized systems, there is a growing socio-economic chasm in resources, life experiences and access to adult mentors for youth in low-income households, said Michael Foote, DREAM's executive director. We're thrilled to have this opportunity to reach more youth around Vermont and to help grow the mentoring movement, and we are incredibly grateful to our many partners who have helped us further develop this part of our mentoring work.\r\nLeahy, a longtime champion of youth mentoring programs, credited Vermont's strong network of mentor providers for the state's success in capturing these highly competitive grants. Last year, Vermont's Department of Children and Families, in partnership with MENTOR Vermont, was also awarded a three-year, $1.25 million DOJ grant to support mentoring in communities challenged by opioid use disorders.\r\nLeahy continued: These programs are reaching our most vulnerable young people, who are often living in underserved rural communities. I'm proud of the work being done in Vermont. We know how critical these social connections are during normal times, but they are even more critical now as our country, and the world, faces down a deadly pandemic.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/bipartisan-due-process-act-by-leahy-and-others-aims-to-protect-americans-from-asset-forfeiture_abuse", "Bipartisan DUE PROCESS Act By Leahy And Others Aims To Protect Americans From Asset Forfeiture  Abuse", "2020-10-29", "2020", "2020-10", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "10.29.20\n\t\t\t Bipartisan DUE PROCESS Act By Leahy And Others Aims To Protect Americans From Asset Forfeiture  Abuse \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON (THURSDAY, Oct. 29, 2020)  A bipartisan group of senators this week introduced legislation to protect property owners whose assets are seized by the federal government. The DUE PROCESS Act is sponsored by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)  all members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.\r\nAsset forfeiture laws are important and valuable tools for law enforcement to gain control over assets used to further terrorism and the drug trade, but as we've seen, they can also be abused. This bill is designed to protect the rights of people whose property has been seized without any judicial finding of wrongdoing. It's a step in the right direction to ensure that seizures happen in accordance with the law and that constitutional rights are protected, Grassley said.\r\nAsset forfeiture authorities are effective tools for law enforcement, but we have seen time and again these tools are ripe for abuse. Too often Americans do not receive notice that their property was seized, or the civil seizure is never connected to any charged criminal conduct. This legislation would affirm our commitment to Americans' most fundamental constitutional rights, ensuring that due process never takes a back seat to expediency, Leahy said.\r\nRequiring Americans to prove the government took their property improperly, rather than the government proving guilt, undermines our system of justice. Commonsense restraints on civil asset forfeiture are necessary for protecting the rights of law-abiding Americans. This legislation will provide needed safeguards for those whose assets have been unjustifiably seized without due cause or conviction, Crapo said.\r\nDue process is one of the pillars of our democracy. Seizing property without convicting or even charging the owners with a crime runs contrary to our principles. Our bill would ensure that property rights are respected and that law enforcement cannot abuse the tools used to combat terrorism and organized crime, Feinstein said.\r\nAn earlier version of the bill was introduced in 2016, following a Judiciary Committee hearing that examined several concerns associated with law enforcement asset seizure policies and practices. The hearing identified gaps in procedural protections for property owners whose assets were seized despite the absence of criminal charges or convictions. Additionally, many individuals whose assets are seized don't know their rights and don't know how to proceed to challenge the seizure.\r\nTo address these issues, the DUE PROCESS Act:\r\n \r\nCreates a right to a hearing in which the court must explain to the person whose property was seized what their rights are;\r\nProvides that property owners challenging seizure of assets who cannot afford lawyers will have them provided;\r\nExtends time periods to make a challenge to property seizures;\r\nCodifies a new IRS practice restricting asset forfeiture in structuring cases by ensuring that forfeiture is available in structuring cases only where the failure to report large cash transfers to a bank is done in furtherance of another crime;\r\nOverturns a Supreme Court decision in Kaley v. United States, which concerns criminal forfeiture, where assets are frozen prior to trial in order to be subject to forfeiture upon conviction. Under the DUE PROCESS Act, defendants will be able to seek a hearing to show that assets they are using to hire an attorney of their choice that would otherwise be frozen pending trial were not derived from the proceeds of the charged criminal activities.\r\n \r\nLegislative text of the DUE PROCESS Act is available HERE.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/sanders-klobuchar-issue-statement-correcting-misinformation-from-president-trump-and-justice-kavanaugh-on-voting-processes/", "Sanders, Klobuchar Issue Statement Correcting Misinformation from President Trump and Justice Kavanaugh on Voting Processes", "2020-10-28", "2020", "2020-10", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, October 28 U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) released the statement below following President Trump's recent false statement that it is inappropriate and illegal to count ballots after Election Day, and the Supreme Court's ruling inDemocratic National Committee v. Wisconsin Legislature,where Justice Kavanaugh's concurring opinion contains incorrect information regarding voting:\nIn America, we count the votes to determine who wins an election. Despite the incorrect assertions from President Trump and Justice Kavanaugh, election officials across the country accept ballots well after Election Day every year, and results are not certified until the votes are counted and a canvas to confirm the results is conducted.Absentee ballots counted after election day do not flip the results of an election,' as Justice Kavanaugh claimed. They are the results of the election.\nMore than twenty states, including states like Mississippi, Kansas, and Utah, require ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted even if they are received after Election Day. This is critical to ensuring that those who may face hardships in voting, including members of our military serving abroad and those affected by COVID-19, are not disenfranchised by things like mail delays. These are not new rules and they do not serve any political party. It is on all of us to reject misinformation and to tell the truth. Our election systems span 50 states, five territories, and thousands of jurisdictions. State and local election officials are working around the clock, and experts have concluded that the integrity of our election system is strong. The best defense against those trying to undermine our democracy is the resolve of the American people, who are voting by the millions as we speak. Keep voting.\nOn October 18, Sanders and Klobuchar, along with Senators Schumer (D-N.Y.), Heinrich (D-N.M.), Murphy (D-Conn.), and Duckworth (D-Ill.), issued a report titled2020 General Election: Counting Votes & What to Expect on Election Day, which offers a guide to voting procedures in key states.\nThe report can be foundhere.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/sanders-condemns-senate-confirmation-of-judge-barrett-to-supreme-court/", "Sanders Condemns Senate Confirmation of Judge Barrett to Supreme Court", "2020-10-26", "2020", "2020-10", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, October 26 Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement criticizing the Republican-controlled Senate's confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court:\nTonight's vote to confirm Amy Coney Barrett as a Supreme Court justice is a disgrace, not only because of what she will do when she gets on the bench, but because of the entire process, which was pushed through with extraordinary hypocrisy by Senate Republicans in the last days of a president's term.\nAt this particular moment, over 50 million people have already cast their ballots to determine who the next President of the United States should be. Now is not the time to be voting on a Supreme Court justice. What we should be voting on instead is a major Covid-19 stimulus package to protect the working people of this country, who, by the tens of millions, have lost their jobs. They're struggling right now to pay their rent, get health insurance, and put food on the table to feed their kids.\nThat is the issue we should be dealing with right now, and I am committed to ensuring that the next U.S. Senate, under Democratic leadership, will make a major Covid-19 stimulus bill the first order ofpriority.\nWatch Sanders' remarks on his vote against Barrett's confirmationhere.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-on-confirmation-vote-of-to-be-justice-amy-barrett-the-masks-are-off", "Statement On Confirmation Vote Of To Be Justice Amy Barrett \"The Masks Are Off\"", "2020-10-25", "2020", "2020-10", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "10.25.20\n\t\t\t Statement On Confirmation Vote Of To Be Justice Amy Barrett \"The Masks Are Off\" \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t . . . . Senate Floor\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t Just four weeks ago members of the Senate gathered just down the hallway in Statuary Hall. We gathered to honor Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the first woman to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol. Justice Ginsburg was a trailblazer, a woman who may have stood at just over five feet tall but was nonetheless a giant of the law. The nation grieved for her, not simply because she was a brilliant lawyer and justice, but because she was a fighter. And she fought for those who needed fighting for most  Americans for whom the promise of America was still just a promise.\r\nI have spoken at length about what Justice Ginsburg meant to the struggle for equality for millions of Americans. I will not repeat those words today, except to say that Justice Ginsburg's life's work left our nation a more perfect union. We will forever be in her debt.\r\nA day after we gathered in Statuary Hall, with the nation in mourning  and days before Justice Ginsburg was laid to rest with her husband in Arlington Cemetery  the President held a celebratory ceremony to nominate her replacement. The masks were off at that Rose Garden ceremony, in more ways than one. Republicans made it clear they would stop at nothing to confirm Justice Ginsburg's replacement before a presidential election just weeks away. Yes, the masks were off.\r\nFrom that moment, the confirmation process for Judge Amy Coney Barrett has been a caricature of illegitimacy. I will not dispute that it is the responsibility of this body to consider Justice Ginsburg's replacement to the Supreme Court. But this is not how we should do it.\r\nNot during such a polarizing time for our country, just one week from a presidential election after more than 57 million Americans have already voted. Not at the expense of every precedent and principle this institution once stood for. Not when doing so requires that half of the United States Senate go back on their word, contradicting every argument they once made about Supreme Court vacancies during an election year. Not when this sprint to confirm Judge Barrett gave the Judiciary Committee just two weeks to prepare for her hearings, when the Committee has afforded itself three times as long to vet other modern nominees to our nation's highest court. Not when records of Judge Barrett's undisclosed speeches and materials have continued to pour in, even after her hearings, revealing what a slipshod process this has been from start to finish. And not when the Senate is doing nothing  nothing  to pass a desperately needed COVID relief bill.\r\nEvery senator knows in their heart this is wrong.\r\nSenator McConnell ramming this nomination through no matter the cost, while worrying about the politics of providing relief to millions of Americans suffering during this still-worsening pandemic  which has left 225,000 Americans dead  says everything one needs to know about the priorities of today's Republican Party. Yes, the masks are off.\r\nIt's far from a secret why President Trump and Senate Republicans are hell-bent on confirming Judge Barrett before Election Day. All you have to do is look at the calendar: On November 10, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in California v. Texas, the Republican-led lawsuit to strike down the Affordable Care Act. And Republicans see a Justice Barrett as an insurance policy to ensure there will be a five-vote majority to finally strike down the law.\r\nJudiciary Committee Republicans spent last week crying foul, complaining that it is fearmongering to claim that they see this vacancy as an opportunity to overturn the ACA. But fear mongering implies that we're not talking about the facts. So let's review some basic facts.\r\nIt is the Republican Attorneys General who are asking the Court to throw out the entire ACA. Not just part of it  all of it. It is the Trump Justice Department that has sided with the Republican-led lawsuit. And it is this Republican-led Senate, in a vote just weeks ago, that gave the greenlight to the Trump Justice Department to take this position  a position that, if successful, would terminate health insurance for more than 20 million Americans, terminate the Medicaid expansion for 15 million more, and terminate protections for 130 million Americans with preexisting conditions. While disappointing, this Senate vote was hardly surprising. Republicans in Congress have now voted to repeal or gut the ACA at least 70 times  seventy, as in seven-zero.\r\nAs if Republicans could not be clearer about their intentions, just days ago President Trump was asked on national television about the fate of the ACA before the Supreme Court. He said: I hope that they end it. It'll be so good if they end it. \r\nLike Captain Ahab of Herman Melville's Moby Dick, Republicans have been single-mindedly obsessed with killing the ACA  their great white whale  since the moment the law was enacted. Having failed thus far in both Congress and the courts, they see Judge Barrett as the final harpoon to once and for all end the law. So when Republicans plead innocent and claim they have no intentions of taking away people's health care protections, Americans will remember that their actions speak much louder than their words.\r\nAnd Republicans have yet another horse in this race  that is, the actual race for the White House and Congress. Always one to say the quiet part out loud, President Trump has repeatedly stated his expectation that his nominee will side with him in any election-related dispute. Baselessly claiming that Democrats have rigged the election and falsely labeling mail-in ballots as a scam, President Trump promises to challenge any election loss in the courts. That's why he says it's very important that we have nine justices. Another Republican on the Judiciary Committee has echoed the President, claiming that the entire reason they need Judge Barrett confirmed now is to ensure that no election-related dispute is deadlocked in a 4 to 4 decision. Mind you, I do not recall Republicans making this argument when they blocked Judge Merrick Garland from receiving a vote for eight months prior to the last presidential election.\r\nJust this week we've seen why Republicans are all of a sudden so anxious to have a ninth justice seated before Election Day. The Republican Party is waging an all-out war on voting in the courts right now, with the goal of disenfranchising as many minority, poor, elderly, vulnerable, and young voters as possible. Knowing that voters are relying on mail-in ballots in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Republicans are unapologetically fighting state and local attempts to make absentee voting easier.\r\nAnd it's clear that Republicans believe having Judge Barrett on the Court will help them to suppress the vote. Last week, deadlocked 4 to 4, the Supreme Court left in place a Pennsylvania Supreme Court order requiring officials to count absentee ballots received within three days of the election. Yesterday, anticipating Judge Barrett's imminent confirmation may tip the scale, the Pennsylvania Republican Party asked the Supreme Court to review the case again  less than a week after losing the first time.\r\nUnfortunately, for her part, Judge Barrett said nothing during her hearings last week to assuage the American people that she would be anything but a greenlight for the deeply harmful, unpopular objectives of President Trump and Republicans.\r\nFirst and foremost, Judge Barrett repeatedly declined to distance herself from her litany of anti-ACA comments and writings. She also repeatedly declined to confirm whether she would follow Supreme Court precedent upholding the ACA. Judge Barrett once wrote: However cagey a justice may be at the nomination stage, her approach to the Constitution becomes evident in . . . [what] she writes. Using Judge Barrett's own standard, then, one cannot escape the conclusion that she will view the ACA as a Justice the same way she has always viewed the ACA: unconstitutional and unsalvageable.\r\nMy concerns only grew when Judge Barrett refused to commit to recusing herself from any election-related disputes. President Trump has put Judge Barrett in an unenviable position by making it impossible for Americans not to question her impartiality should she vote in his favor in an election dispute. If a Justice Barrett votes to throw the election for President Trump, I fear not just the Court but our democracy itself would suffer an existential blow to its legitimacy.\r\nMy concerns grew into alarm when Judge Barrett refused to affirm even the most basic tenets of our democracy. She would not affirm to me that a president must comply with a court order and the Supreme Court has the final word. She would not state whether the President can unilaterally postpone a presidential election, despite the law clearly stating he cannot. She would not affirm to me whether our Constitution contemplates a peaceful transition of power, despite the 20th Amendment laying out the procedures for precisely such a transition. And she would not state whether it is illegal to intimidate voters at the polls, despite federal law explicitly making voter intimidation a criminal offense. I've never seen a self-described originalist so hesitant to merely restate the plain text of our Constitution and laws.\r\nIn fact, Judge Barrett refused to say much of anything about pretty much everything. She refused to answer over 100 questions during her hearings and over 150 written questions. She did so by spuriously invoking the so-called Ginsburg Rule, which falsely purports that the late Justice Ginsburg avoided answering any and all substantive questions during her confirmation hearings.\r\nWell, I participated in Justice Ginsburg's hearings. Justice Ginsburg gave detailed answers on a number of constitutional issues, including unequivocally affirming her belief that a woman's right to choose is central to her dignity. In all, Justice Ginsburg took clear positions on dozens and dozens of cases during her hearings. In stark contrast, Judge Barrett wouldn't even restate  not even comment on or discuss, but just restate  black letter law.\r\nI have never seen such top-to-bottom refusals to answer basic questions in the 16 Supreme Court confirmation hearings I have participated in. But in some ways, it was only fitting that a confirmation process that has been a caricature of illegitimacy concluded with such hearings. Hearings in which the nominee wouldn't even acknowledge that masks inhibit the spread of COVID-19, or that climate change is real, or that voter discrimination exists. I fear for what this means for the future of the Judiciary Committee's confirmation process, now that Republicans have reduced our Committee's role to a mindless rubberstamp of a President's nominees, just as they have diminished the Senate to a subordinate arm of the executive branch.\r\nThe Republican argument for proceeding in this way, just one week from a presidential election, boils down to this: We have the votes, so anything goes. Yet, having the power to do something does not make it right. The damage that will be left in the wake of this confirmation will stain this body for generations. When the word of a senator is rendered meaningless, when the words Advice and Consent are rendered meaningless, then this institution will be rendered meaningless.\r\nJustice Ginsburg left us with a more equal and more perfect union. She stood up for the right to vote. She stood up for the environment, and for holding all those in power accountable. She stood up for the rights of women to be free from discrimination, to control their own bodies, and to be equal to men. She stood up for the rights of minorities, the rights of the LGBTQ community, and the rights of all those who have been marginalized.\r\nJudge Barrett, if confirmed, will not. Based on my review of her record and based on her testimony, I believe a Justice Barrett would set the clock back decades on all of the rights that Americans have fought so hard to achieve and protect.\r\nI have said that Justice Ginsburg would have dissented from this process. The least I can do is join her. I will vote no.\r\n# # # # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-sanders-and-democratic-colleagues-urge-devos-to-help-82-million-federal-student-loan-borrowers-currently-unable-to-access-relief", "Leahy, Sanders and Democratic Colleagues Urge DeVos to Help 8.2 Million Federal Student Loan Borrowers Currently Unable to Access Relief", "2020-10-22", "2020", "2020-10", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "10.22.20\n\t\t\t Leahy, Sanders and Democratic Colleagues Urge DeVos to Help 8.2 Million Federal Student Loan Borrowers Currently Unable to Access Relief \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t8.2 million federal student loan borrowers currently cannot access critical relief made available by the CARES Act, including a freeze on all payments, interest, and collections\r\nIn a letter, Leahy, Sanders and 32 Senate Democrats urge DeVos to use her existing authority to make sure these struggling borrowers don't fall through the cracks\r\n(THURSDAY, Oct. 22, 2020) U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and 32 Senate Democrats sent a letter urging Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to ensure all struggling federal student borrowers can gain access to crucial federal relief.\r\nSince March, the CARES Act has provided forbearance, waived interest, and halted collections for borrowers whose student loans were directly held by the U.S. Department of Education. But, according to new information provided to Senator Murray by the Department, 8.2 million federal student loan borrowers currently cannot take advantage of this relief, because some or all of their loans do not quality. Of those borrowers, 4.4 million people are not receiving any relief, and 3.8 million people have a mix of loans that qualify and those that do not. To ensure that these borrowers don't continue to face unnecessary financial struggles and confusion, the senators urged Secretary DeVos to take immediate action to help them qualify for much-needed relief.\r\nThe more than eight million student loan borrowers falling into donut holes of critical relief have missed out on needed benefits and suffered unnecessary complexity and confusion for more than six months, wrote the senators in the letter. It is essential that the Department immediately begin the targeted outreach and take the actions we are requesting.\r\nIn the letter, the senators pressed Secretary DeVos to immediately reach out to borrowers currently missing out on relief and help them consolidate their loans into qualifying loans. They also urged Secretary DeVos to use her administrative authority to improve the consolidation process for borrowers by waiving restrictions and penalties during the national emergency.\r\nIn addition to Senator Leahy and Senator Sanders, the letter was signed by Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Bob Casey (D-PA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Angus King (D-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Edward Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tina Smith (D-MN), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Tom Udall (D-NM), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ron Wyden (D-OR).\r\nThe full letter is below and HERE.\r\n\r\nDear Secretary DeVos:\r\nWe write to ask that you take immediate steps to support federal student loan borrowers who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and recent administrative action to extend it are automatically providing forbearance, waiving interest, and halting collections on student loans held directly by the U.S. Department of Education (Department) until at least December 31, 2020, this relief does not cover all federal student loan borrowers. The Department should take swift action to help borrowers with at least one qualifying loan gain access to full coverage.\r\nAccording to information provided by the Department, 8.2 million federal student loan borrowers do not have full relief because they fall into a complete or partial donut hole. Of those, 4.4 million borrowers are not receiving any relief under the CARES Act or administrative extension, and 3.8 million borrowers have a mix of loans that qualify and those that do not, resulting in confusion and unnecessary financial harm for them during a period of widespread economic disruption. All federal student loan borrowers should have access to the same relief.\r\nThe Department has numerous tools at its disposal to contact the 3.8 million borrowers in a partial donut hole and help them get all of their loans covered by the CARES Act relief. For example, the Department can direct student loan servicers to proactively contact borrowers who fall into the partial donut hole and help them consolidate loans not held by the Department into Direct Loans, which qualify for relief. The Department can also improve the process of consolidation for borrowers through administrative action.\r\nThe alternative relief options that have been provided by loan holders to some borrowers in the donut holes have been woefully inadequate. Temporary forbearance options that must be repeatedly requested by borrowers are far inferior to automatic and extended relief. Many borrowers also continue to accrue interest on these non-covered loans, potentially costing them hundreds or thousands of dollars. Consolidation is a straightforward solution to help some non-covered borrowers get access to the same benefits available to those with non-federally-held loans. A borrower with a commercially-held FFEL, school-held Perkins, or Public Health Service Act loan can generally consolidate such loan into a Direct Loan to obtain the automatic administrative forbearance, interest waiver, and halt to collections and negative credit reporting.\r\nIn 2012, the Department successfully spurred widespread take-up of a special consolidation option by borrowers holding both commercial FFEL and Direct Loans. This time-limited opportunity offered a 0.5 percent interest rate reduction for borrowers who participated. In contrast, just six months of relief equivalent to the CARES Act offers a greater benefit to a typical borrower over the lifetime of a loan. The Department has an opportunity to follow the same playbook and unlock relief for millions of borrowers.\r\nThe holders of non-covered loans have provided insufficient justification for failing to proactively notify borrowers of consolidation. While borrowers normally receive a trivial roundup of their interest rate to the nearest one-eighth of a percent from consolidation, all interest is currently being waived for covered loans and the value of this interest waiver would exceed the cost of the roundup for the vast majority of borrowers. Additionally, while borrowers could lose some credit toward income-driven repayment (IDR) forgiveness if they consolidate a loan they had previously been paying under an IDR plan, they do not have to consolidate loans that are already enrolled in IDR. Further, most borrowers are not enrolled in an IDR plan, meaning they would see no change in their timeline for IDR forgiveness because they do not have one. Finally, while a limited number of borrowers may have already consolidated all of their loans and are ineligible to consolidate again, borrowers have a number of exceptions to the restriction. For example, borrowers wish to become eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness can consolidate more than once, as can all 1.2 million borrowers with a commercial FFEL loan currently in default.\r\nCommercial FFEL borrowers who have defaulted are disproportionately harmed by the disparate treatment of non-covered loans; while defaulted borrowers with covered loans have been granted a reprieve from forced collections, these borrowers remain subject to wage garnishment and the offset of public benefits, including Social Security payments.\r\nMost importantly, the Department can easily take administrative action to suspend consolidation restrictions and penalties during the national emergency, such as the limitation on consolidating once, the reset of the forgiveness clock, and interest-rate roundup, using the same authority that was utilized to implement the President's August 8 Executive Order. Under Section 2(a)(1) of the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students (HEROES) Act of 2003, the Secretary may waive or modify any statutory or regulatory provision applicable to the student financial assistance programs under title IV. The Department should use this authority to waive all barriers to consolidation.\r\nAdditionally, the Department should encourage the commercial FFEL entities, institutions holding Perkins Loans, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, which collectively hold the 4.4 million loans completely un-covered by current relief, to initiate a similar outreach campaign to their borrowers. As Secretary, you retain significant authority and leadership over these entities, including the ongoing payment of taxpayer subsidies. You should quickly ask loan holders requesting to inform borrowers of their option to consolidate as a means to expediently receive the relief afforded by the CARES Act.\r\nThe more than eight million student loan borrowers falling into donut holes of critical relief have missed out on needed benefits and suffered unnecessary complexity and confusion for more than six months. It is essential that the Department immediately begin the targeted outreach and take the actions we are requesting. Thank you for your attention to this critical matter.\r\nSincerely,\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/senate-democrats-denounce-trump-administrations-historically-low-refugee-resettlement-goal-and-push-for-increased-admissions", "Senate Democrats Denounce Trump Administrations Historically Low Refugee Resettlement Goal And Push For Increased Admissions", "2020-10-22", "2020", "2020-10", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "10.22.20\n\t\t\t Senate Democrats Denounce Trump Administration's Historically Low Refugee Resettlement Goal And Push For Increased Admissions \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON (THURSDAY, Oct. 22, 2020)  Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today was joined by 22 of his Senate Democratic colleagues in opposing the Trump administration's proposal to cap refugee admissions at 15,000 for Fiscal Year 2021the lowest ceiling in the history of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP)and in urging the administration to increase refugee admissions.\r\nThe United States has a long, bipartisan legacy of providing refugees protection through resettlementprior to 2016 we resettled an average of more than 80,000 refugees per year, the Senators wrote in a letter to Secretaries Michael Pompeo and Alex Azar and Under Secretary Chad Wolf. Yet, during this time of soaring global resettlement needs, this Administration has once again abdicated America's global leadership role by further reducing the refugee admissions ceiling to its lowest level in the 40-year history of the program. We urge you to substantially increase the refugee admissions target for FY 2021, and end the current suspension of the refugee resettlement program.\r\nThe Senators highlighted the importance of a strong resettlement program, which serves as an essential lifeline for the most vulnerable among the 29.6 million refugees worldwide while also strengthening our communities and economy. In addition, the Senators affirmed the importance of U.S. leadership on resettlement as a powerful tool to garner greater global support for refugees facing persecution.\r\nAmerican leadership in refugee resettlement is critical in securing greater global support for this important lifeline, which is available to less than one percent of all refugees, the Senators added.As this Administration has slashed its annual refugee admissions goals, other leading resettlement countries have followed suit and lowered their resettlement numbers as well.\r\nJoining Ranking Member Menendez in sending the letter were Senators Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Chris Coons (D-Conn.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Ed Markey (D-Mass.).\r\nA copy of the letter may be found HERE and below.\r\n\r\nDear Secretaries Pompeo and, Azar, and Under Secretary Wolf:\r\nWe write to urgently express our concern regarding the President's report to Congress on the Proposed Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 2021, which proposes a Presidential Determination of 15,000 refugees, a historical low since the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) was established in 1980.\r\nThe United States has a long, bipartisan legacy of providing refugees protection through resettlementprior to 2016 we resettled an average of more than 80,000 refugees per year.\r\nYet, during this time of soaring global resettlement needs, this Administration has once again abdicated America's global leadership role by further reducing the refugee admissions ceiling to its lowest level in the 40-year history of the program. We urge you to substantially increase the refugee admissions target for FY 2021, and end the current suspension of the refugee resettlement program.\r\nAs we face unprecedented levels of forced displacement around the world, with 29.6 million refugees worldwide, resettlement serves as a critical lifeline for those fleeing persecution because of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Survivors of sexual violence and torture, unaccompanied children, families traumatized by the loss of loved ones in war, and other highly vulnerable refugees may need resettlement as the only solution to their plight. Refugees resettled in the United States contribute greatly to the communities that take them in. To that end, refugees have generated $63 billion in net revenue alone over a decade for the United States.\r\nIn addition to advancing U.S. humanitarian objectives and economic interests, resettlement serves as an important foreign policy tool to support people facing oppression and human rights abuses. The United States' historical leadership on this issue has enhanced our global influence and demonstrated responsibility-sharing with refugee-hosting countries like Jordan, Uganda, and Bangladesh. Moreover, American leadership in refugee resettlement is critical in securing greater global support for this important lifeline, which is available to less than one percent of all refugees. As this Administration has slashed its annual refugee admissions goals, other leading resettlement countries have followed suit and lowered their resettlement numbers as well. A robust refugee admissions goal is necessary to ensure those under threat of persecution, like Hong Kongers fleeing political persecution in Hong Kong and refugees fleeing religious persecution in Iran, Iraq, and Myanmar, have a pathway to live freely and without abuse. For our allies in Iraq and Afghanistan, it means standing ready to help when under threat, just as they stood by our troops when we needed their help.\r\nWe urge you to substantially increase the refugee admissions ceiling for FY 2021. The Administration should immediately end the suspension of the refugee resettlement program in order to ensure the world's most vulnerable will no longer remain in harm's way and separated from their families.\r\nThank you for your prompt attention to this matter.\r\nSincerely,\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/stabenow-leahy-lead-call-for-usda-to-reverse-decision-to-decrease-covid-19-relief-available-to-dairy-farmers", "Stabenow, Leahy Lead Call For USDA To Reverse Decision To Decrease COVID-19 Relief Available To Dairy Farmers", "2020-10-22", "2020", "2020-10", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "10.22.20\n\t\t\t Stabenow, Leahy Lead Call For USDA To Reverse Decision To Decrease COVID-19 Relief Available To Dairy Farmers \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWashington  Today, a group of 15 Senators led by U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the most senior member of the Committee, called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to reverse its decision to unfairly exclude dairy farmers from receiving COVID-19 relief to cover losses related to meat production.\r\nWhile milk is the primary income for dairy farms, they often are diversified operations with significant revenue coming from the meat of cows as they are retired from milking. In the original Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), the USDA compensated dairy farmers and other livestock producers for losses related to meat produced from breeding animals. When USDA announced CFAP 2, the second version of the relief program, the Department made a significant change to exclude those losses.\r\nThis change will affect the livestock industry and will be particularly harmful to dairy farmers who often operate at extremely tight margins, wrote the Senators. The decision is even more troubling considering that USDA clearly has sufficient resources to cover these losses. Additionally, it is less complicated for both USDA and farmers to cover all livestock and avoid confusion about what animals are covered or excluded.\r\nConsidering the dairy industry's traditionally tight margins, USDA's decision to shift course and arbitrarily exclude dairy farm losses related to meat production is a significant blow, wrote the Senators. We urge USDA to reverse this arbitrary decision and make breeding animals eligible for CFAP 2 like they were under the original relief program.\r\nIn addition to Senators Stabenow and Leahy, the letter was signed by Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Robert Casey (D-Pa.), Angus King (I-Maine), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Kristen Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and GaryPeters(D-Mich.).\r\nThe full text of the letter is below. A PDF of the letter is available here.\r\n\r\nDear Secretary Perdue,\r\nWe are concerned that USDA's new Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP 2) will unfairly disadvantage dairy and other livestock producers. Specifically, USDA made a significant change between the first version of CFAP and the new version that has unfairly excluded the value of the meat produced from breeding animals.This change will affect the livestock industry and will be particularly harmful to dairy farmers who often operate at extremely tight margins. The decision is even more troubling considering that USDA clearly has sufficient resources to cover these losses. Additionally, it is less complicated for both USDA and farmers to cover all livestock and avoid confusion about what animals are covered or excluded.\r\nEven before the coronavirus pandemic, dairy farms have struggled with prolonged market uncertainty, unfair trade practices, and the Administration's chaotic trade policies. Unfortunately many farms, especially smaller operations, have had no choice but to sell their cows and exit the dairy business.While the value of the milk is the primary income stream for dairy farms, they are by nature diversified with significant income coming from the meat of cows as they are retired from milking and any crop production that exceeds the feed needs of their own animals.Considering the dairy industry's traditionally tight margins, USDA's decision to shift course and arbitrarily exclude dairy farm losses related to meat production is a significant blow.\r\nWe urge USDA to reverse this arbitrary decision and make breeding animals eligible for CFAP 2 like they were under the original relief program.It would not be difficult to estimate an average rate that dairy cows are removed from milking and sent to the meat supply. Should USDA determine that breeding animals are typically worth less per head than other cattle, a separate per head rate could also be established instead of completely excluding dairy cows and other breeding animals.\r\nWith respect to dairy losses due to the pandemic, we continue to encourage USDA to provide assistance to farmers that had to dispose of milk due to the pandemic's shock to the normal food supply.We also encourage USDA to be flexible and work with the dairy industry, as there may be different scenarios depending on how cooperatives and farmers managed the temporary surplus. A one-size-fits-all approach may unfairly exclude some losses.\r\nWhile we are particularly concerned with barriers preventing dairy farms from accessing this critical assistance, the exclusion of breeding animals in the other segments will also create unnecessary inequities. In particular, some farmers have sought out opportunities to specialize and are arbitrarily excluded by the USDA decision. For example, some farms have focused on developing superior genetics and supplying animals to other farmers that breed them and produce the animals that go directly for meat or wool production.These producers will clearly be experiencing pandemic related losses as the farmers they supply have had to reduce purchases, but the breeding animal decision by USDA completely excludes any assistance for these specialized farms.\r\nFinally, in addition to the unfairness of excluding losses from certain segments of meat production, USDA's decision to not cover all animals unnecessarily complicates the sign-up process for Farm Service Agency field staff and farmers.Setting a fair payment rate for all animals, including breeding animals, would largely avoid the difficult job of trying to define the intended use' of each calf, lamb, piglet or kid born and expecting farmers or USDA field staff to validate those determinations. \r\nThank you for considering our request for USDA to reverse the decision to exclude breeding animals like dairy cows from CFAP 2.Congress recently provided the requested early refill of the Commodity Credit Corporation borrowing authority in the Continuing Resolution enacted on September 30, providing USDA with sufficient resources to correct this unfair decision.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/wyden-leahy-schumer-merkley-ask-national-guard-for-wildfire-readiness-assessment", "Wyden, Leahy, Schumer, Merkley Ask National Guard For Wildfire Readiness Assessment", "2020-10-22", "2020", "2020-10", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "10.22.20\n\t\t\t Wyden, Leahy, Schumer, Merkley Ask National Guard For Wildfire Readiness Assessment \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tSenators praise Guard response to 2020 wildfires, say assessment will help ensure Guard has the firefighting resources it needs\r\nWashington, D.C.  U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., today led colleagues in asking the National Guard for a report on its readiness to help states prepare, fight and recover from wildfires.\r\nIn a letter to the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, General Daniel R. Hokanson, the senators wrote, As devastating fires of historic proportion continue to ravage the United States, we ask you to provide us an assessment of the National Guard's ability to prepare for, respond to, and help state firefighting forces recover from wildfires. A frank estimation will help Congress address any gaps and use every resource available to respond to this year's fires. It will also help us better resource and equip the Guard for a future in which human-driven climate change will make fire seasons increasingly severe and destructive.\r\nWe commend all the heroic men and women of the National Guard who have been responding to raging wildfires as part of a federal, state, and local effort, the senators wrote.With a more complete understanding of the Guard's ability to respond, we can ensure proper resourcing and will be better able to keep our Guard members always ready and always there.\r\nThe senators requested the National Guard provide the following information in response to today's letter:\r\n \r\nThe availability of appropriately trained personnel and equipment for firefighting-related needs;\r\nAn accounting of the capacity available through Emergency Management Assistance Compacts and whether expanding them may provide additional opportunities or wildfire capacity; and\r\nAny National Guard Bureau plans or constructs developed with governors for coordinated regional response.\r\n \r\nWyden, Leahy, Schumer and Merkley were joined by U.S. Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Tom Udall, D-N.M., Bob Casey, D-Pa., Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Jon Tester, D-Mont., Michael Bennet, D-Colo., Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Maria Cantwell D-Wash.\r\nA copy of today's letter is available here.\r\n###\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-senate-democrats-to-attorney-general-barr-immediately-halt-efforts-to-gut-the-affordable-care-act-in-court", "Leahy, Senate Democrats To Attorney General Barr: Immediately Halt Efforts To Gut The Affordable Care Act In Court", "2020-10-21", "2020", "2020-10", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "10.21.20\n\t\t\t Leahy, Senate Democrats To Attorney General Barr: Immediately Halt Efforts To Gut The Affordable Care Act In Court \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t. . . As Supreme Court ACA Hearing Approaches and Republicans Ram Through a Supreme Court Nominee in an Illegitimate Process, Democratic Lawmakers Highlight How an ACA Repeal Can Impact Health Coverage for Americans Who Contract COVID-19.\r\n. . . \"It is unconscionable for the Department of Justice to pursue this lawsuit in the midst of this unprecedented public health crisis, and we urge you to rescind your support of these efforts immediately.\"\r\nText of Letter\r\nWEDNESDAY, Oct. 21, 2020) -- Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the former chairman and longest serving member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, along with 19 other senators, on Wednesday sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr, urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) to rescind its support of the Supreme Court lawsuit that seeks to invalidate the Affordable Care Act (ACA).\r\nIn the letter, the senators spotlight how health insurance protections for millions of Americans are at stake in light of the current Supreme Court nomination fight and the ways in which health insurers could discriminate against millions more people who contract COVID-19 if the pre-existing protections in the ACA are gutted.\r\nThe letter was also signed by Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.).\r\n\"We urge the Department of Justice to immediately rescind its support of the lawsuit in California v. Texas asking the Supreme Court to declare the ACA unconstitutional and invalidate the law in its entirety,\" wrote the lawmakers. \"Passed in 2010, the ACA dramatically expanded the number of Americans with health insurance. Destroying this progress and ripping away critical protections is cruel on its face. Looking to do so in the midst of a nearly unprecedented public health emergency  a COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed over 220,000 American lives and infected over 8 million people  is especially unconscionable.\"\r\nThe Supreme Court will hear arguments in California v. Texas on November 10, 2020. Among critical provisions, the ACA has made it illegal for insurance companies to deny insurance coverage for the 133 million Americans with pre-existing conditions. Before the ACA became law, insurers could exclude coverage of care associated with pre-existing conditions; charge higher health premiums based on a person's health status or gender; limit certain benefits like mental health treatment, prescription drugs, or maternity care associated with pre-existing conditions; and impose lifetime or annual caps on benefits. Health experts warn that, without the ACA, health insurers could classify COVID-19 as a pre-existing condition and deny COVID-19 survivors health insurance--adding millions more people to the previously existing 133 million Americans with pre-existing conditions.\r\nDespite these essential protections for Americans and the growing number of Americans contracting COVID-19, the Department of Justice is currently in court seeking to invalidate the ACA while President Trump is working to fill the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Supreme Court seat with his nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, in time for the November 10 arguments. Barrett's nomination is a key component of the president's self-stated goal of \"terminating\" the ACA.\r\n###\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-on-the-need-for-a-comprehensive-covid-relief-bill", "Statement On The Need For A Comprehensive COVID Relief Bill", "2020-10-21", "2020", "2020-10", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "10.21.20\n\t\t\t Statement On The Need For A Comprehensive COVID Relief Bill \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t . . . . Senate Floor\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t We are in the middle of the most devastating public health crisis in modern history, and the American people are paying a terrible price. Nearly 220,000 people have died in just ten months. That is significantly more than the number of Americans who died in the Korean, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan wars combined.\r\nRemember when President Trump called himself a war president? Has he acted like one? He called the virus a hoax, and he's been AWOL ever since. \r\nMillions have lost their jobs and are struggling to make ends meet. People are being evicted from their homes, they are living in their cars, in shelters or on the street, and relying on the generosity of others. And the virus is still not remotely under control. The need for another comprehensive emergency funding bill to address the COVID crisis is obvious and urgent, as it has been for five months. \r\nAnd what is the Senate doing? Staging show votes on COVID relief bills that the Majority Leader knows will go nowhere, and going back on their word to rush through the nomination of a Supreme Court Justice less than two weeks before an election and after millions of Americans have already voted.\r\nWhere are their priorities?\r\nI know where mine are. They are with the families of the 220,000 Americans who have lost their lives to this virus. They are with the thousands of Vermonters and the millions more across the nation who have lost their jobs during this pandemic. They are with the small business owners struggling to stay afloat during this crisis. They are with the fathers and mothers who are wondering if they will be able to pay next month's rent or put food on the table. They are with the children struggling to learn through zoom calls and online classes.\r\nThis is a national disaster that requires real solutions. We need a comprehensive bill to address this problem. We cannot do this piecemeal, as Senator McConnell seems to want to do. We cannot pass an inadequate bill today on the chance that maybe we will come back and fix it later. That is not how this place works, and everyone knows it. We have one chance in what remains of this year to get this right and we owe it to the American people to try.\r\nYesterday, Senator McConnell staged a show. Instead of bringing up a comprehensive proposal for COVID relief and opening it up for debate, he called for a process vote on only one aspect of COVID relief  the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). I support this program. It has been critical in keeping literally thousands of Vermont small businesses afloat. But the majority's proposal on PPP falls flat. It ignores critical improvements to the program that would be made by considering the HEROES Act  expanding access to all nonprofits, making critical access hospitals eligible for PPP, and addressing arbitrary caps on various loan programs to help small businesses.\r\nMore importantly, providing more funding for this program and nothing else would not remotely solve the daunting problem facing our country today, and it will not fix the economy. The economy will not come back until the American people have confidence that the virus has been vanquished. We need more funding for the PPP program, I agree. But we need to fix that program, and do so much more. We need to invest more in testing and it needs to be based on a national testing and contact tracing strategy so we can quickly identify cases and isolate those exposed. How many times do we have to say this?\r\nWe need to develop a vaccine distribution program NOW, so it can be up and running as soon as a vaccine is available in order to get it to as many people as possible, as quickly as possible.\r\nWe need to provide personal protective equipment to those on the front line fighting the virus.\r\nWe need to ensure our hospitals have the resources they need to take care of the ill.\r\nWe need to keep our nursing homes safe and virus free.\r\nDoing targeted bills aimed at one sector is the way to avoid doing what is really needed. It also picks winners and losers at a time when everyone is struggling. No matter how much aid we give to small business, or to the airlines, or to our struggling restaurant industry, our economy will not come back until we have this virus under control. \r\nThat is why we need a comprehensive bill, and the so-called McConnell skinny bill we are voting on today is not it. This bill is woefully inadequate. It provides only $500 billion dollars for COVID relief, less than half of what even the Trump Administration proposed just a month ago, and leaves out funding for many critical programs.\r\nLines at food banks have sky-rocketed during this crisis, yet there is nothing in the McConnell bill for nutrition assistance.\r\nThere is nothing in the bill to help the millions of American's struggling to pay next month's rent or keep up with their mortgage payments. A massive problem, notwithstanding the wishful thinking of the President who either doesn't know or doesn't care. Maybe it's both.\r\nToday there are over 25 million Americans on unemployment, compared to just 2 million at the end of January, and the unemployment assistance in this bill is wholly inadequate.  \r\nThere is nothing in the bill for state and local governments who are on the frontline fighting this virus. It contains inadequate money for testing, education, and childcare. It provides no funding for community health centers, which desperately need it if they are to continue their critical work in our most vulnerable communities. And there is no funding to fight this virus on a global level. We cannot defeat this pandemic if we ignore what is happening outside of the United States. Americans cannot safely resume normal international travel and commerce without a successful global effort to dramatically reduce the rates of infection overseas.\r\nI could go on, but this bill is not a serious one.\r\nAdding insult to injury, it provides sweeping liability shields for corporate wrongdoers who fail to do their part to keep consumers, employees, and patients safe. That tells you everything you need to know about the priorities of this Republican sponsors: big corporations come ahead of struggling American families. \r\nSenator McConnell knows this bill cannot pass the Senate. We've already voted on it once and it failed. So why are we wasting our time doing it again? It is because they do not have a plan. Senator McConnell has been clear that his Republican caucus is done with this virus. While cases are once again surging across the country, Senate Republicans have simply moved on. Their wait-and-see approach has simply become wait-and-don't-look.\r\nThe Republicans are not serious about solving this problem for the American people. But we have no choice. The House passed the HEROES Act, a comprehensive bill over five months ago, and in an effort to prod the Senate into action, passed the HEROES II Act three weeks ago. We are elected to lead, and that is what we must do in times of national crises like this.\r\nI remain hopeful that Speaker Pelosi and Secretary Mnuchin's talks will result in a comprehensive deal on COVID relief that will solve real problems in America. Speaker Pelosi has already shown a willingness to compromise, and the other side must do the same. If it does, Senator McConnell must commit to bring it to the floor for a vote immediately, even if he personally opposes it, or the majority of his caucus opposes it. That's the way democracies are supposed to work. The American people have waited long enough.\r\n#####", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/vermont-agriculture-update", "Vermont Agriculture Update", "2020-10-20", "2020", "2020-10", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "10.20.20\n\t\t\t Vermont Agriculture Update \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tVermont Agriculture UPDATE \r\n    *** Under Pilot Pgm., VT Dairy Farmers For 1st Time\r\n        Can Be Paid Directly For Work In Protecting Water Quality\r\n    *** Ironing Out The Bump In Federal Hemp Standards\r\n\r\nRecent federal actions will help Vermont's newest agricultural business sector (hemp), as well as the state's most longstanding farm sector (dairy), according to Senator Patrick Leahy.\r\nENLISTING DAIRY FARMERS IN PROTECTING WATER QUALITY: On the more traditional farm front, there was also recent good news that could bring long-lasting benefits to the dairy industry. Under a pilot program funded through a $7 million USDA grant, farmers for the first time will be paid directly for services they provide in protecting water quality for the benefit of all Vermonters. Funding is through the Resource Conservation Partnership Program that Leahy worked to include in the 2014 and 2018 Farm Bills. This program will put Vermont at the forefront in demonstrating Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) projects, an approach to environmental protection in which the community benefits of well managed resources are measured, and land owners are paid by the unit, as they would be for other goods or services.\r\nFarmers are embracing this concept that allows them to flexibly manage their land, recognizing that they know their land best, and paying farmers for measurable outcomes. This Vermont pilot will help demonstrate whether the PES approach may reduce phosphorus runoff more efficiently than do traditional regulatory approaches.\r\nHEMP AND CBD PRODUCTION: Vermont has been a leader in CBD hemp production since the crop was first legalized in the 2014 Farm Bill. As the former chairman and longest-serving member of the Agriculture Committee, Leahy worked on provisions in the 2014 law that allowed for limited hemp cultivation and sales under pilot programs run by state agriculture agencies. Before that law, hemp had been illegal under the same federal law that bans marijuana. Vermont quickly became a leader in hemp production, subject to regulation by the Vermont Agency of Food and Markets. Leahy worked to move beyond the pilot phase to fully legalize hemp production in the 2018 Farm Bill.\r\nThen a bump in the road emerged under USDA's rules to implement the Farm Bill provisions for hemp production, to take effect for the 2021 season, that are difficult, if not impossible, for producers to fully meet. This would have dealt a severe blow to Vermont's most promising new specialty crop. \r\nThis threat has now been resolved, at least temporarily, with a provision delaying the implementation of the new federal standards by a full year, in language that was included in Appropriations legislation for funding the federal government. Leahy, as the Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, provided key support for this provision, which will give hemp farmers the certainty of planning for the next growing season under the existing Vermont regulations, while policymakers have more work to do in correcting the problems with the USDA regulation. These few sentences that Leahy helped engineer have saved the day for many Vermont hemp farmers. \r\nBoth of these actions -- relaxing the poorly drawn hemp regulations, and the PES pilot program in Vermont  will give Vermont farmers more flexibility in managing their land and their crops, also offering an opportunity to improve their bottom lines.\r\n--Senator Patrick Leahy\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-and-sanders-seek-swift-release-of-liheap-heating-help", "Leahy And Sanders Seek Swift Release Of LIHEAP Heating Help", "2020-10-19", "2020", "2020-10", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "10.19.20\n\t\t\t Leahy And Sanders Seek Swift Release Of LIHEAP Heating Help \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t . . . . 40 senators urge the Trump Admin. to provide LIHEAP funds to states as soon as possible\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t (MONDAY, Oct. 19, 2020)  With winter around the corner and heating costs projected to increase this season, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) joined a bipartisan coalition of 40 senators in urging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to release funds for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) as swiftly and at the highest level possible under the current continuing resolution.\r\nThe senators say federal LIHEAP funding is a crucial lifeline that assists low-income households and seniors on fixed incomes pay their energy bills and stay safe during the winter. Under a continuing Appropriations Committee resolution, HHS typically releases 90 percent of the $3.7 billion full-year appropriation.\r\nLeahy said: With the pandemic continuing to depress family incomes nationwide, and an early fall here in Vermont, it's vital that HHS act swiftly to release LIHEAP dollars to the states. As vice chairman of the Appropriations Committee I've fought year after year to support strong funding for LIHEAP because I know Vermonters rely on this help to keep warm. Any delay in sending these dollars to Vermont will result in Vermont families delaying filling their fuel tanks as nights get colder. I understand the urgency, and I hope the Administration does as well.\r\nSanders said: As a result of this horrific health and economic crisis, Vermonters are hurting like they have never hurt before. It is critical that we get this home heating lifeline to Vermonters immediately. In the richest country on Earth, we have a moral responsibility to make sure that no one has to make the unacceptable choice between putting food on the table, paying for their prescription drugs, or heating their homes this winter.\r\nOn the Appropriations Committee Leahy has long been an advocate for the LIHEAP program and has secured funding increases for the program over the past three years. The current appropriations law included $3.7 billion for LIHEAP, and an additional $900 million was included in the CARES Act. The continuing resolution, which funds the government at the previous year's levels, preserves the increase that Leahy secured for the program in 2020.\r\nThe average cost of home heating is unaffordable for millions of low-income households, costing an average of $911 per year nationally. Heating oil and propane cost even more, over $1,500 every year. The timely release of these funds will provide critical assistance to families unemployed as a result of the pandemic pay their energy bills. According to the National Energy Assistance Directors' Association, 15 to 20 percent of residential customers are at least 60 days behind on their electric and natural gas bills, and estimated arrearages are over $20 billion nationally.\r\nLIHEAP is a federally funded program that helps low-income households with their home energy bills by providing payment and/or energy crisis assistance. Vermont's LIHEAP funds are administered by the Department for Children and Families, and accessed through local Community Action Agencies.\r\nTo apply for LIHEAP help, Vermonters can apply at the Vermont Department for Children and Families website to get more information and links to an online application. Or Vermonters can contact their local Community Action Agency. Eligibility for LIHEAP is based on income, family size and the availability of resources.\r\nThe bipartisan letter was led by Senator Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine).\r\nThe text of the letter follows:\r\n\r\nOctober 14, 2020\r\n\r\nThe Honorable Alex M. Azar II\r\nSecretary\r\nU.S. Department of Health and Human Services\r\n330 C Street, SW\r\nWashington, D.C. 20416\r\n\r\nDear Secretary Azar:\r\nWith passage of the continuing resolution, we write to urge the Department of Health and Human Services to release Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funds as quickly and at the highest level possible.\r\nAs the main federal program that helps low-income households and seniors with their energy bills, LIHEAP provides critical assistance during the cold winter and hot summer months. October marks the start of the heating season for many states and low-income families and seniors will be facing additional strains on their household budgets. In addition, millions of low-income families, including seniors, are facing new and severe financial hardship due to the coronavirus, making the assistance provided through LIHEAP more important than ever.\r\nAs state agencies work to prepare their LIHEAP programs for the coming winter, it is crucial that they have the resources they need to assist low-income households and seniors as soon as possible, especially in light of the current health crisis. As such, we request that you quickly release LIHEAP funds at the highest level possible to allow states to prepare for the upcoming season, so that low-income households do not have to choose between paying for heat and affording other necessities like food or medicine.\r\nWe look forward to continuing to work with you on this critical program, and thank you for your attention to our concerns and those of our constituents.\r\nSincerely,\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/sanders-senate-democrats-to-american-people-do-not-allow-trump-to-undermine-nov-3-election-results/", "Sanders, Senate Democrats To American People: Do Not Allow Trump To Undermine Nov. 3 Election Results", "2020-10-19", "2020", "2020-10", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, October 18 Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senate Rules Committee Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) today released areportsummarizing for the American people what to expect on Election Day and reinforcing the Democrats' call to encourage everyone to vote.\nThe report follows the months-long effort by President Trump to undermine the election and his repeated refusal to commit to a peaceful transfer of power. With the general election already well underway in every state across the country, Sanders and Senate Democrats have a clear message for the American people: Vote and cast your ballot as early as possible. While expressing optimism that Election Day will go smoothly around the country, the jointly authored report outlines the possibility that in some states, the outcome might not be known on November 3. The last message from the report is to make absolutely clear that voter intimidation is illegal and that federal law prohibits coercing or threatening anyone in order to interfere with their right to vote.\nThe American people must be prepared for an election that is unprecedented in our history due to the enormous increase in mail-in ballots that have been, and will be, cast as a result of the pandemic,said Senator Sanders.No one should have to risk their health or their lives in order to vote, and that is why many millions are voting through mail-in ballots. One of the worst lies that Donald Trump is spreading is that there is a massive amount of voter fraud in this country.That is a total lie which no election official, Republican or Democrat, can support.What we are doing with this effort is ensuring that the American people understand that if American democracy means anything, it means that every vote must be countedno matter how long it takes.\nPresident Trump has for months now been laying the foundation to undermine the election and he has repeatedly refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses. Senate Democrats want to be clear to the American people that the most powerful defense against this type of autocratic behavior in our country is the will of the American people and that is why we are encouraging every American to vote and vote early,said Leader Schumer.\nThe election is well underway, and Americans are voting in droves because they know what is at stake. We must do everything we can to protect the right to vote, and uphold the integrity of the election process. That means pushing back on President Trump's lies about mail-in ballots and his efforts to sow chaos. It also means making sure that Americans know that a record number of people are voting by mail this year, which could slow the reporting in some states. We should be prepared to reject misinformation and be patient about results in places where counting ballots may take longer. Americans should keep making their voices heard at the ballot box, the earlier the better,said Senator Klobuchar.\nDespite what Donald Trump wants you to believe, the integrity of our election system is strong,said Senator Murphy.Every American must voteand vote earlyin the upcoming presidential election, so we can make it clear to Trump and the world that America remains a democracy, the will of the people will always win out, and that any form of voter intimidation is illegal and will not be tolerated.\nPresident Trump's dangerous rhetoric threatens to further divide our country and sow real potential for violence. The most important thing each of us can do to combat disinformation and fear is to vote and vote early. There is little doubt that this is the most important election we will participate in in our lives. Our elections are the foundation of American democracy. Protecting them should be the top priority for everyone who cares about the future of our country. Election officials, courts, and elected leaders must be accountable for upholding that principle,said Senator Heinrich.\nDespite Donald Trump's lies and misinformation about nonexistent widespread voter fraud, the integrity of the American election systemour entire election process from voting by mail to voting in personis strong.If voting by mail is safe and effective for our troops overseas and good enough for Trump and his family to use, then it's safe, effective and good enough for the rest of America too,said Senator Duckworth.No matter what Trump saysor even what he might preferSenate Democrats will never allow the greatest democracy the world has ever known to descend into authoritarianism.We will always be a government of, by and for the people.\nA copy of the report can be foundhere.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-of-senator-patrick-leahy-d-vt-senate-judiciary-committee-executive-business-meeting", "Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Senate Judiciary Committee Executive Business Meeting", "2020-10-15", "2020", "2020-10", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "10.15.20\n\t\t\t Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Senate Judiciary Committee Executive Business Meeting \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tThis Committee may not be through the confirmation hearings for Judge Barrett, but we are now officially through the looking glass. As if ramming through confirmation hearings just two weeks after Judge Barrett's nomination and less than three weeks before an election amid a pandemic affecting Committee members wasn't enough of a sham, we are now proceeding to advance her nomination before her hearings have even concluded. Before we even have a chance to ask the nominee all of our questions. Before we have a chance to hear from all of the witnesses this Committee deemed necessary to provide input on the nomination. And apparently before this Committee has even reviewed all of Judge Barrett's record.\r\nRecords of Judge Barrett's undisclosed speeches and materials continue to pour in, including seven more last night. All were omitted from her questionnaire. I am not suggesting that Judge Barrett intentionally failed to disclose all of these records to the Committee. But I am absolutely suggesting that the Committee's mad rush to confirm her has predictably resulted in a sloppy process and an incomplete record.\r\nThere is no reason why these deficiencies cannot be cured. There is no reason why this nomination cannot be delayed. If President Trump wins re-election, this Committee could take up Judge Barrett's nomination in January. That process would be legitimate. This one is not.\r\nInstead, this process is a caricature of illegitimacy. The fact that we had a nominee before Justice Ginsburg was even buried  in order to jam this nomination through before the election  will forever mark this process as the callous, political power grab that it is.\r\nIt's no secret why President Trump is so desperate to install Judge Barrett before the election. Always one to say the quiet part out loud, President Trump has said he expects his nominee to side with him in any election-related dispute. He has made it impossible for Americans not to question Judge Barrett's impartiality should she vote on such a case as a Justice. And so it is incredibly disappointing that she declined to commit to recuse herself from any election-related cases. If she decides in the President's favor in any election-related dispute, it would cause grievous harm to both the Court and indeed our democracy. No judge should ever place the integrity of either in such jeopardy.\r\nAnd it gets worse. Republicans have another horse in the race  their lawsuit to strike down the Affordable Care Act on November 10th. The President and Republican Attorneys General do not just want to strike down just some of the ACA, they want to strike down all of it. Republicans on this Committee have tried for years to overturn the ACA, both in Congress and in the courts. They now see an opportunity in Judge Barrett, who has repeatedly criticized the constitutionality and legality of the law and who has never once defended it.\r\nSo that's why we're here today. Republicans see an opportunity to wildly swing the balance of the court for decades. That's why they have all gone back on their word about giving the American people a voice when President Obama nominated the eminently qualified Judge Merrick Garland 10 months before an election. That's why Republicans are diminishing this Committee  and the Senate  into a mindless rubber stamp now.\r\nThere is no glossing over how wrong and base this process is. The damage inflicted in the wake of this outrageous power grab will be considerable  perhaps even irreparable. It doesn't have to be this way. This doesn't have to be the story of Judge Barrett's nomination. But it is what Republicans have chosen. In their pursuit of raw power, in their drive to deprive millions of Americans of their basic healthcare protections, Republicans are willing to shred every principle this place once stood for.\r\nI see this for what it is. The American people, I hope, will too. \r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-of-senator-patrick-leahy-on-the-recent-fighting-in-the-south-caucuses", "Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Recent Fighting In The South Caucuses", "2020-10-15", "2020", "2020-10", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "10.15.20\n\t\t\t Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Recent Fighting In The South Caucuses \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tI am deeply troubled by the recent military aggression in the South Caucuses, apparently initiated by Azerbaijan, including reports of possible war crimes and mounting civilian casualties. There is a real risk that this protracted conflict could spiral out of control, provoking the involvement of the armed forces of regional powers. That would be a disaster for the civilian population. The immediate priority must be maintaining an unconditional ceasefire as sought by the Minsk Group. But recurring indiscriminate shelling and other acts of violence will continue to imperil local inhabitants until the Governments of Azerbaijan and Armenia make the necessary choices to secure a sustainable diplomatic resolution, with the input of those most affected by this conflict, because it will never be settled through military force. That is why the United States should seek to reinvigorate the Minsk process and urge all governments involved in the fighting, directly or indirectly, to commit to negotiate in good faith.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/comment-of-senator-patrick-leahy-at-the-conclusion-wednesday-night-of-judge-amy-coney-barretts-testimony", "Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy At The Conclusion Wednesday Night Of Judge Amy Coney Barretts Testimony", "2020-10-14", "2020", "2020-10", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "10.14.20\n\t\t\t Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy At The Conclusion Wednesday Night Of Judge Amy Coney Barrett's Testimony \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t . . . . Wednesday Evening\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t This unseemly and hypocritical push to ram a Supreme Court nominee through with just days before an election in which millions already have voted is not only an affront to the American people, but it damages the Senate and our courts. Republicans have cleared the Senate's decks  not to work on much-needed COVID relief, but to spend two of the last weeks before the election on this mad rush to swing the balance of the Supreme Court for decades.\r\nThis president and Senate Republicans also clearly see an opportunity in Judge Barrett to fulfill their dream to kill the Affordable Care Act. Sherepeatedly has criticized the constitutionality and legality of the ACA, while acknowledging to me that she has never once defended it. Republicans want to make sure the cards are stacked against the ACA  and against the tens of millions of Americans whose lives depend upon it  when the Supreme Court hears the latest Republican-led lawsuit to overturn the ACA on November 10.\r\n# # # # #\r\n(Senator Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., is a leading member and former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee)\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/reaction-to-the-decision-by-the-trump-administration-to-grant-a-visa-to-indonesian-defense-minister-prabowo", "Reaction To The Decision By The Trump Administration To Grant A Visa To Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo", "2020-10-13", "2020", "2020-10", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "10.13.20\n\t\t\t Reaction To The Decision By The Trump Administration To Grant A Visa To Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tIndonesian Minister of Defense Prabowo has been credibly implicated in gross violations of human rights, including kidnapping, torture, and disappearances, and under our law he is ineligible to enter this country. By granting him a visa, the President and Secretary of State have shown once again that for them law and order' is an empty slogan that ignores the imperative of justice. The State Department should apply the law and deny him a visa, and the Pentagon should reaffirm its commitment to the rule of law.\r\n#####\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/vermont-delegation-demands-postmaster-general-deliver-and-install-critical-mail-processing-machine-to-white-river-junction-facility", "Vermont Delegation Demands Postmaster General Deliver and Install Critical Mail Processing Machine to White River Junction Facility", "2020-10-13", "2020", "2020-10", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "10.13.20\n\t\t\t Vermont Delegation Demands Postmaster General Deliver and Install Critical Mail Processing Machine to White River Junction Facility \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON  Senator Bernie Sanders (I), Senator Patrick Leahy (D), and Representative Peter Welch (D) on Tuesday sent a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy demanding the immediate delivery and installation of the new AFCS 200 cancellation machine at the White River Junction mail processing facility, a machine that is critical to the efficient handling of the mail.\r\nIn the letter, Leahy, Sanders, and Welch wrote, While we have been promised for months that a new AFCS 200 cancellation machine will be installed, we have just learned that this will not occur until January of 2021 at the earliest. This timing is both unacceptable and another example of this administration's attempt to sabotage the Postal Service and the 2020 election.\"\r\nThe cancellation machines at the White River Junction facility have been due to be replaced for several years now. USPS recently removed an AFCS (legacy system) cancellation machine from the facility, leaving the White River Junction center with just one operational cancellation machine. When that machine breaks down, as it did this past weekend, postal employees are forced to process mail by hand, which significantly delays the process. These employees are to be commended for their hard work and dedication and should be given every available resource to ensure the safe and timely processing of the mail, which includes a record number of mail-in ballots.\r\nWaiting until 2021 to get this new machine to Vermont will present undue harm to the hundreds of thousands of Vermonters who have been given the ability to vote by mail by November 3rd as well as Vermont's seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities who rely on the Postal Service for the delivery of their prescriptions, concluded the Vermont delegation. It will also further harm all those who will be separated from their families this holiday season if they are unable to rely on promise of the U.S. Postal Service to receive mail from loved ones  a small but critically important way to reduce isolation, depression, and loneliness, particularly for older, more isolated Vermonters.\"\r\nYou can read the letter here.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/vermont-delegation-demands-postmaster-general-deliver-and-install-critical-mail-processing-machine-to-white-river-junction-facility/", "Vermont Delegation Demands Postmaster General Deliver and Install Critical Mail Processing Machine to White River Junction Facility", "2020-10-13", "2020", "2020-10", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  Senator Bernie Sanders (I), Senator Patrick Leahy (D), and Representative Peter Welch (D) on Tuesday sent aletterto Postmaster General Louis DeJoy demanding the immediate delivery and installation of the new AFCS 200 cancellation machine at the White River Junction mail processing facility, a machine that is critical to the efficient handling of the mail.\nIn the letter, Leahy, Sanders, and Welch wrote, While we have been promised for months that a new AFCS 200 cancellation machine will be installed, we have just learned that this will not occur until January of 2021 at the earliest. This timing is both unacceptable and another example of this administration's attempt to sabotage the Postal Service and the 2020 election.\nThe cancellation machines at the White River Junction facility have been due to be replaced for several years now. USPS recently removed an AFCS (legacy system) cancellation machine from the facility, leaving the White River Junction center with justoneoperational cancellation machine. When that machine breaks down, as it did this past weekend, postal employees are forced to process mail by hand, which significantly delays the process. These employees are to be commended for their hard work and dedication and should be given every available resource to ensure the safe and timely processing of the mail, which includes a record number of mail-in ballots.\nWaiting until 2021 to get this new machine to Vermont will present undue harm to the hundreds of thousands of Vermonters who have been given the ability to vote by mail by November 3rd as well as Vermont's seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities who rely on the Postal Service for the delivery of their prescriptions, concluded the Vermont delegation. It will also further harm all those who will be separated from their families this holiday season if they are unable to rely on promise of the U.S. Postal Service to receive mail from loved ones  a small but critically important way to reduce isolation, depression, and loneliness, particularly for older, more isolated Vermonters.\nYou can read the letterhere.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-highlights-health-care-story-and-effects-of-supreme-court-overturning-aca-in-vermont", "Leahy Highlights Health Care Story And Effects Of Supreme Court Overturning ACA In Vermont", "2020-10-12", "2020", "2020-10", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "10.12.20\n\t\t\t Leahy Highlights Health Care Story And Effects Of Supreme Court Overturning ACA In Vermont \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t WASHINGTON (MONDAY, Oct. 12, 2020)  Just now, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) shared the story of Martha Richards, a Vermonter who is enrolled in the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) expanded Medicaid program.\r\n Senators are highlighting the devastating effects of the Supreme Court potentially overturning the ACA in the midst of a global pandemic. The ACA provides insurance for more than 20 million Americans and protections for the 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions.\r\n Excerpt of Senator Leahy's remarks:\r\n Overturning the Affordable Care Act has been perhaps the single most important policy objective of the Republican Party over the last decade. If Republicans are now successful, the results will be nothing short of catastrophic for the millions of Americans who depend on its coverage and protections. \r\n That includes Martha Richards, a Vermonter who reached out to my office concerned about the fate of the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. Martha earns just over the minimum wage in Vermont while working for the Vermont State Parks. She raised two kids on her own. Soon after enrolling in the expanded Medicaid program she began experiencing debilitating pain in her ear and behind her eye. That led to a series of expensive medical tests, including two MRIs that cost $6,000 each. She shudders at the thought of what would have happened without the ACA's Medicaid expansion. If it is discarded now  as the Republican Attorneys General have requested in the case before the Supreme Court  millions of Americans like Martha would be on their own.\r\n I am also concerned about Mary Nadon Scott, who lives in Northfield, Vermont, just over the ridge from my home in Middlesex. In her twenties, Mary was diagnosed with Friedreich's Ataxia, a rare neurological disease that's a pre-existing condition. While Vermont has some basic protections for those with pre-existing conditions, they apply only to certain insurance plans and wouldn't protect anyone who moves out of state. \r\n Like my wife, Marcelle, Mary had worked as a nurse, dedicating herself to the selfless care of others. While Mary is now in a wheelchair and can no longer practice nursing, she still does everything for her two kids. Mary can do this because her medications and in-home care paid for by her insurance. But even with some state protections, Mary is worried what the Supreme Court case next month will mean for people with preexisting conditions like her. For Mary, her biggest priority is preserving the in-home support that allows her to continue living at home and taking care of her children. When I think of what the Affordable Care Act means to millions of Americansand what is on the line with this nominationI think of people like Mary.\r\n In Vermont, if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the ACA, it would mean:\r\nMore Vermonters losing coverage during a global pandemic\r\n \r\n60,600 Vermonters enrolled through the Medicaid expansion could lose coverage.\r\nOver 20,000 Vermonters who get their insurance on the state exchange will lose federal subsidies.\r\nWithout Medicaid expansion and tax subsidies to help purchase Marketplace plans, even more Vermonters who have lost their job-based coverage could stay uninsured.\r\n \r\nDiscrimination against those with pre-existing conditionsincluding COVID-19 survivors. \r\n \r\nThe 256,800 Vermonters with pre-existing conditions could face higher costs, fewer benefits, and could have trouble finding coverage.\r\nThe 1,821 Vermonters who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 so far could face higher premiums and more meager coverage that puts health care out of reach.\r\n \r\nWomen pay more but get less.\r\n \r\nInsurers not regulated by the State of Vermont could charge women higher premiums than men (i.e., gender rate) and offer fewer benefits for the 15,300 Vermont women under 65 covered through individual market plans.\r\nTogether, gender rating, reduced benefits, and the ability of insurers to deny coverage altogether could increase costs, bar access to care, and put coverage out of reach for 125,000 women under 65 and girls in Vermont with pre-existing conditions.\r\n \r\nHigher costs for older Vermonters\r\n \r\nStriking down the ACA would re-open the Medicare prescription drug donut holeexposing 10,466 seniors to potentially thousands of dollars in out of pocket costs.\r\n145,000 Vermonters on Medicare could see higher premiums and deductibles put in place to compensate for payment standards to medical providers currently guaranteed by the ACA. \r\n \r\nJudge Barrett's record: \r\n Judge Amy Coney Barrett has already indicated she would vote to strike down the Affordable Care Act. Barrett has said she and Justice Antonin Scalia have the same judicial philosophy. Justice Scalia twice voted to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. He wrote dissenting opinions in NFIB v. Sebelius and King v. Burwell.\r\nBarrett criticized Chief Justice John Roberts for upholding the law, saying in 2017: [Chief Justice John] Roberts pushed the Affordable Care Act beyond its plausible meaning to save the statute. Barrett also expressed disagreement with the Supreme Court's majority opinion in King v. Burwell, where the court upheld a key component of the law, saying the dissent had the better of the legal argument.\r\n###\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/opening-statement-on-the-nomination-of-justice-amy-coney-barrett-to-be-associate-justice-of-the-united-states-supreme-court", "Opening Statement On The Nomination Of Justice Amy Coney Barrett To Be Associate Justice Of The United States Supreme Court", "2020-10-12", "2020", "2020-10", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "10.12.20\n\t\t\t Opening Statement On The Nomination Of Justice Amy Coney Barrett To Be Associate Justice Of The United States Supreme Court \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tI have served in the Senate for 46 years, a span that includes 20 Supreme Court nominations and 16 confirmation hearings. None  not one  looked anything like this one.\r\nWe are less than two weeks removed from Justice Ginsburg being laid to rest. It is true that it is the responsibility of this Committee to consider her replacement on the Supreme Court. But this is not how we should do it. We should not have had a nomination ceremony before Justice Ginsburg was even buried, while the nation was mourning her passing. We should not be holding a hearing just 16 days later, when this Committee has afforded itself three times as long to vet other modern nominees to our nation's highest court.\r\nWe should not be holding a hearing three weeks from a presidential election, when millions of Americans have already voted. Not when doing so requires that literally half of the Senate go back on their word, contradicting every argument they made four years ago about the American people needing a voice during election year vacancies.\r\nWe should not be holding this hearing when it is plainly unsafe to do so. I'd like to place into the record a letter from Senators Booker, Harris and myself to the Chairman, asking that these hearings not proceed without proper testing measures in place. Two members of this Committee are just now emerging from quarantine after testing positive for COVID. Other members have declined to get tested at all. And yet the Chairman has refused to implement a daily testing regime to keep members, staff, and Judge Barrett and her family safe. By ignoring our request to implement daily testing, this Committee is displaying the same disregard for taking basic steps to mitigate the spread of this virus as President Trump. The Senate should also not be holding this hearing while doing nothing to pass a desperately-needed COVID relief bill.\r\nEvery senator on this Committee knows in her or his heart that this is wrong.\r\nMore than 214,000 Americans have died due to COVID. Millions more are hurting. The virus is spiking again across the country. Yet President Trump and Senate Republicans feel no urgency to meet the needs of American families in the face of this crisis. This is despite the fact that claims for unemployment benefits have remained above 800,000 every week, since mid-March. This is despite the fact that lines at food banks are at historic levels. Schools are struggling to safely educate our children both in the classroom and remotely. Parents are struggling to find safe and affordable child care. And families are struggling to pay rent at a time when eviction moratoriums have expired.\r\nIt has now been five months since the House passed the HEROES Act. As a result of Republicans' stonewalling, Americans now face yet another month without any relief. Instead of working to assist struggling Americans, Senate Republicans are consumed only with this mad rush to fill a Supreme Court vacancy on the eve of a presidential election.\r\nAnd why? The answer, I fear, is painfully clear. With this vacancy, President Trump and Senate Republicans see the potential to wildly swing the balance of the Court and transform our independent courts into a far-right arm of the Republican Party. The potential to accomplish through the courts what they have failed to accomplish in the halls of Congress.\r\nAt the top of their hit list is the Affordable Care Act. It is no secret, and it is no coincidence, that Republicans are rushing to confirm Judge Barrett before the Supreme Court considers the latest Republican-led lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act on November 10. The President has promised that any judge he nominates will overturn the Affordable Care Act. For her part, Judge Barrett's writings have made it unequivocally clear that she believes the law is unconstitutional.\r\nOverturning the Affordable Care Act has been perhaps the single most important policy objective of the Republican Party over the last decade. If Republicans are now successful, the results will be nothing short of catastrophic for the millions of Americans who depend on its coverage and protections.\r\nThis is Mary Nadon Scott. She lives in Northfield, Vermont, just over the ridge from my home in Middlesex. In her twenties, Mary was diagnosed with Friedreich's Ataxia, a rare neurological disease that's a preexisting condition. While Vermont has some protections for those with pre-existing conditions, they apply only to certain insurance plans and wouldn't protect anyone who moves out of state.\r\nLike my wife, Marcelle, Mary worked as a nurse. After her diagnosis she realized she would soon no longer be able to pursue the career she loved. So Mary asked the hospital to rotate her through different specialties so she could help more people, in as many ways as possible. That's who Mary is. While Mary is now in a wheelchair and can no longer practice nursing, she still does everything for her two kids. I had the pleasure of calling one of her sons on his birthday last spring. Mary attends their soccer games, helps with their remote school, and even brought them to tour the Vermont State House.\r\nMary can do this because of her medications and in-home care paid for by her insurance. But Mary is worried. Even with some state protections, Mary is worried what the Supreme Court case next month will mean for people with preexisting conditions like her. For Mary, her biggest priority is preserving the in-home support that allows her to continue living at home and taking care of her children. Mary is a fighter. But when I think of what the Affordable Care Act means to millions of Americans  and what is on the line with this nomination  I think of people like Mary.\r\nI also think of Martha Richards. Martha is another Vermonter who reached out to my office concerned about the fate of the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. Martha earns just over the minimum wage in Vermont while working for the Vermont State Parks. She raised two kids on her own. Soon after enrolling in the expanded Medicaid program she began experiencing debilitating pain in her ear and behind her eye. That led to a series of expensive medical tests, including two MRIs that cost $6,000 each. She shudders at the thought of what would have happened without the Medicaid expansion. If it is discarded now  as the Republican Attorneys General have requested in their case before the Supreme Court  millions of Americans like Martha would be on their own.\r\nI do not suggest that Judge Barrett personally desires these consequences. But these are the inescapable consequences if her stated views on the law prevail on the Supreme Court. And if Republicans are successful in filling this vacancy prior to November 10, these views will almost certainly prevail.\r\nThis is what is at stake here. This is what weighs heavily on me as we begin these hearings.\r\nIt also weighs heavily on the minds of the Vermonters I represent. I have heard from them  both often and loudly  since Justice Ginsburg's passing. They are scared, Judge Barrett. They are scared that your confirmation would rip from them their most basic healthcare protections. They are scared that the clock will be turned back to a time when women had no right to control their own bodies, and when it was acceptable to discriminate against women in the work place. They are scared that at a time when we are facing the perilous impacts of climate change, bedrock environmental protections will be eviscerated. They are scared that your confirmation would result in the rolling back of voting rights, workers' rights, and the rights of the LGBTQ community to equal treatment. These are the real life implications of decisions made by the Court. And a majority of Americans, like an overwhelming majority of Vermonters, do not support taking our country in that direction.\r\nRepublicans first announced their intention to fill Justice Ginsburg's seat just one hour after the announcement of her death. From that moment this process has been nothing but shameful. Worse, it will almost certainly lead to disastrous consequences for Americans.\r\nJustice Ginsburg, I am certain, would have dissented. And I will, too  on behalf of Vermonters, on behalf of the integrity of the Senate, and on behalf of the majority of Americans who oppose this process.\r\n# # # # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-booker-harris-press-chairman-graham-not-to-conduct-supreme-court-hearings-without-covid-19-testing-procedures-in-place", "Leahy, Booker, Harris Press Chairman Graham Not To Conduct Supreme Court Hearings Without COVID-19 Testing Procedures In Place", "2020-10-09", "2020", "2020-10", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "10.09.20\n\t\t\t Leahy, Booker, Harris Press Chairman Graham Not To Conduct Supreme Court Hearings Without COVID-19 Testing Procedures In Place \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t . . . Warn That Hearings Could Otherwise Become Virus Super-Spreader\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t (FRIDAY, Oct. 9, 2020)  Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Senator Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) Friday pressed Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) not to proceed with Supreme Court confirmation hearings next week unless stringent COVID-19 testing procedures are implemented immediately. Pointing out that two Judiciary Committee members have tested positive for COVID-19 and others have thus far refused to be tested, the senators told Graham that without testing procedures in place, the hearings could threaten the safety and health of all who attend in person.\r\nThe senators wrote: In the wake of news that Senators Lee and Tillis tested positive for COVID-19 after attending the White House event announcing Amy Coney Barrett's nomination to the Supreme Court, Judiciary Committee Democrats asked that you postpone her confirmation hearings to ensure that we don't risk the health and safety of fellow Senators, Senate staff, other Senate employees, as well as Judge Barrett and her family. To date, we understand that you plan to proceed with these hearings on October 12, 2020, despite the serious risks they present. We urge you against unsafely moving forward with these hearings while no clear testing regime is in place to ensure that they do not become another super-spreader of this deadly virus.\r\nThe senators continued: Without these precautionary measures in place, Senators, Senate staff, press, Judge Barrett and her family will face a serious, unnecessary risk of contracting COVID-19. We also have a moral responsibility to protect the workers who make it possible for us to do our jobs in the Senate each and every day. Absent these protocols, you are ignoring CDC best practices and may force Senators to participate in this hearing remotely which, for such a consequential hearing, would be entirely unprecedented. As Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, your first and foremost obligation is to ensure the safety and well-being of Committee members and staff. We urge you to honor that obligation in the days ahead.\r\nFull text of the letter can be found here.\r\n# # # # #\r\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-joins-in-letter-to-postmaster-general-dejoy-requesting-immediate-action-to-address-impacts-to-election-mail-delivery-caused-by-usps-failure-to-update-voter-address-changes-", "Leahy Joins In Letter To Postmaster General DeJoy Requesting Immediate Action To Address Impacts To Election Mail Delivery Caused By USPS Failure To Update Voter Address Changes", "2020-10-09", "2020", "2020-10", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "10.09.20\n\t\t\t Leahy Joins In Letter To Postmaster General DeJoy Requesting Immediate Action To Address Impacts To Election Mail Delivery Caused By USPS Failure To Update Voter Address Changes  \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON (FRIDAY, Oct. 9, 2020)  On Friday, U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) and Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Ranking Member of HSGAC, led 17 of their Senate colleagues in a letter to Postmaster General DeJoy raising concerns about recent reports that for three weeks in August, the United States Postal Service (USPS) failed to update address changes in the National Change of Address Linkage database (NCOALink), which most states use to keep voters addresses up to date. In the letter, the Senators ask the Postmaster General to answer several questions to assure Americans that this error will not impact their ability to safely and securely vote-by-mail in the upcoming general election.\r\nWe write to express our concern about recent reports that in August, the United States Postal Service failed to update address data in the National Change of Address Linkage database (NCOALink) and to request information about the resulting impact on election mail. With voters already casting ballots across the nation, such failures are unacceptable and require immediate action, wrote the lawmakers.\r\nBACKGROUND: The letter was also signed by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Maggie Wood Hassan (D-NH), Jack Reed (D-RI), Ed Markey (D-MA), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Tom Carper (D-DE).\r\nThe full text of the letter can be found here and below:\r\n\r\nDear Mr. DeJoy:\r\nWe write to express our concern about recent reports that in August, the United States Postal Service (USPS) failed to update address data in the National Change of Address Linkage database (NCOALink) and to request information about the resulting impact on election mail. With voters already casting ballots across the nation, such failures are unacceptable and require immediate action.\r\nFor three weeks in August, the Postal Service failed to update address changes in the NCOALink database, which most states use to keep voter addresses up to date. Between August 10 and August 30, at least 1.8 million new changes of address were not registered in the database, due to an unspecified error. While USPS stated that it fixed the error and restored the missing data on September 14, we are concerned about how the missing data affected jurisdictions that were preparing election mailings during the outage. According to reports, officials in Minnesota sent out ballot applications based partly on information drawn from the faulty database in August, while other states had to delay sending out mailings as they scrambled to fix incorrect addresses. Other states were unaware of the change-of-address problem.[1] USPS is responsible for communicating with jurisdictions about election mail issues, and has over 400 Election Mail Coordinators available for this purpose. USPS must fully communicate with states and the public about any issues that might affect election mail, and must work diligently to prevent such errors.\r\nOn August 21, 2020, you testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee regarding policy changes at the Postal Service that resulted in nationwide delays to mail delivery service. Senators raised concerns not only about the delays in critical items that Americans receive through the mail on a regular basis, such as prescription medications and Social Security checks, but also about the Postal Service's ability to safely and securely deliver all mail ballots on time for the upcoming general election. This year will see the largest volume of election mail in American history, due in large part to the global health pandemic that will keep voters at home in November. You told the American people during your testimony before the committee that you were extremely, highly confident the Postal Service would deliver the nation's election mail on time.\r\nIn order to reassure our constituents that this error will not impact their ability to vote, we ask that you respond to the following questions no later than October 14, 2020:\r\n \r\nWhen and from whom did you learn that USPS stopped updating change-of-address data in NCOALink for a period of about three weeks in August 2020? What was the cause of this failure and what corrective actions did you take to respond?\r\nUpon learning of this failure, did USPS immediately notify relevant election officials in each of the states that were impacted by any missing data? Did USPS work with election officials to assist them in responding to this failure?\r\nHow did the failure to update addresses affect jurisdictions that were preparing election mailings during the period of August 10 to September 14? Based on USPS coordination with election officials, how many jurisdictions were at risk of preparing mailings based on incorrect data, and how many had to change their procedures in order to correct the data?\r\nHow have you determined that the NCOALink database is now complete and up-to-date?\r\nWhat steps are in place to ensure that address changes are entered into NCOALink in a timely fashion and that there are no system failures, particularly in the days and weeks leading up to the 2020 general election?\r\nWhile USPS is taking steps to ensure swift delivery of election mail, errors such as this one can have unexpected impacts in a nationwide network. How will USPS communicate to election officials, and crucially to the public, about any internal errors that affect election mail?\r\n \r\n\r\n###\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-tests-negative-for-covid-19", "Leahy Tests Negative For Covid-19", "2020-10-05", "2020", "2020-10", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "10.05.20\n\t\t\t Leahy Tests Negative For Covid-19 \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t Statement Of David Carle, Spokesman For Senator Patrick Leahy\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t Senator Leahy was tested for COVID-19 earlier today since he attended the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday, where it is now known that two senators were present who have tested positive for the virus. While he did not come into close contact with these two senators for an extended period of time, he took the test at the advice of the Capitol Physician. The test was negative and Senator Leahy continues to exhibit no symptoms for the virus.\r\nGiven the potential exposure of the virus to all members and staff on the Judiciary Committee last week, and given that four senators on the Committee are currently self-quarantining, Senator Leahy firmly believes that it has become impossible to proceed with a hearing to consider Judge Barrett's nomination, in just seven days from now, in accordance with CDC guidelines. Doing so would needlessly place the health and safety of members, staff, journalists, and the nominee and her family at risk.\r\n# # # # #\r\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/judiciary-committee-democrats-to-chairman-graham-supreme-court-hearing-would-endanger-health-safety-", "Judiciary Committee Democrats to Chairman Graham", "2020-10-03", "2020", "2020-10", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "10.03.20\n\t\t\t Judiciary Committee Democrats to Chairman Graham \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t Supreme Court Hearing Would Endanger Health, Safety\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t       (SATURDAY, Oct. 3, 2020) Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today led all 10 Judiciary Committee Democrats in calling on Chairman Lindsey Graham to delay the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett after President Trump and committee members Senators Mike Lee and Thom Tillis tested positive for the coronavirus.\r\nTo proceed at this juncture with a hearing to consider Judge Barrett's nomination to the Supreme Court threatens the health and safety of all those who are called upon to do the work of this body, the senators wrote.\r\nThe senators continue, The American people are looking to us. Now is the time to provide much-needed COVID relief, not to rush through a Supreme Court nomination and further endanger health and safety.\r\n Full text of the letter follows:\r\n\r\nOctober 3, 2020\r\n\r\nThe Honorable Lindsey O. Graham\r\nChairman\r\nCommittee on the Judiciary\r\nUnited States Senate\r\nWashington, D.C. 20510\r\n\r\nDear Chairman Graham:\r\n We learned yesterday that President Trump and Senators Lee and Tillis have tested positive for COVID-19. We sincerely hope that the President and our Senate colleagues recover fully and quickly.\r\n As United States Senators and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, we have the responsibility to protect this nation and the American people. That includes our fellow Senators, Judge Barrett and her family, our staffs, and the men and women who keep the Senate complex safe, clean, and operational. At least two members of this Committee have already contracted COVID-19, and several other members were in close proximity. As you are aware, the CDC has advised that individuals [s]tay home for 14 days after [ ] last contact with a person who has COVID-19, even if those individuals test negative for COVID-19 or feel healthy.\r\n To proceed at this juncture with a hearing to consider Judge Barrett's nomination to the Supreme Court threatens the health and safety of all those who are called upon to do the work of this body.\r\n Further, holding a remote hearing for a Supreme Court nomination is not an adequate substitute. As Republican members of this Committee have recognized, questioning nominees by video is ineffective and ignores the gravity of our constitutional duty to provide advice and consent on lifetime appointments, particularly those to the nation's highest court.\r\n More importantly, though, moving forward with Judge Barrett's hearing is a disservice to the American public. Nearly 210,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 and more than 7 million Americans have been infected  every one of them a COVID survivor who could be denied health coverage if the Affordable Care Act is struck down. Millions of Americans have lost their jobs and millions of children cannot attend school in-person. \r\n The American people are looking to us. Now is the time to provide much-needed COVID relief, not to rush through a Supreme Court nomination and further endanger health and safety.\r\nSincerely,\r\n\r\nDianne Feinstein\r\nRanking Member\r\n\r\nPatrick Leahy\r\nUnited States Senator\r\n\r\nRichard J. Durbin\r\nUnited States Senator\r\n\r\nSheldon Whitehouse\r\nUnited States Senator\r\n\r\nAmy Klobuchar\r\nUnited States Senator\r\n\r\nChristopher A. Coons\r\nUnited States Senator\r\n\r\nRichard Blumenthal\r\nUnited States Senator\r\n\r\nMazie K. Hirono\r\nUnited States Senator\r\n\r\nCory A. Booker\r\nUnited States Senator\r\n\r\nKamala D. Harris\r\nUnited States Senator\r\n###\r\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/vermont-seniors-can-now-get-food-assistance-more-easily-thanks-to-the-new-3squaresvt-in-a-snap-program/", "Vermont Seniors Can Now Get Food Assistance More Easily, Thanks to the New 3SquaresVT IN A SNAP Program", "2020-10-02", "2020", "2020-10", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "BURLINGTON, October 2 Beginning October 1st, 2020, Vermont seniors applying for 3SquaresVT are able to use a simple application and benefit renewal process as part of the new 3SquaresVT IN A SNAP program. The easy to use application is available to individuals and households age 60 or older and persons with disabilities.    3SquaresVT IN A SNAP is an improvement to the State's food assistance program,saysKaty Davis, Community Health Initiatives Director at Hunger Free Vermont. Traditional applications can be lengthy to complete, and the benefit renewal process often burdensome, leaving many Vermonters' benefits to lapse. The new program will streamline applications and allow recipients to retain benefits for up to three years without additional paperwork.     For too long, a complex application process has prevented older Vermonters from receiving benefits. With hunger on the rise as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress made important changes to the SNAP program, known locally as 3SquaresVT , that make it much easier for older Vermonters to access nutritious foods. In contrast to critical emergency food distribution efforts and invaluable contributions by the charitable food system, SNAP is one of the best, most sustainable food supports Vermonters can feel confident about.    In the richest country in the history of the world, no one should ever have to worry about going to bed hungry. Period. But as so many people are struggling right now to put food on the table, I strongly urge older Vermonters to see if you qualify for 3SquaresVT,saidSenator Bernie Sanders, a long-time champion of nutrition assistance programs. We are dealing with the worst health crisis and economic crisis in our lifetimes. Today, as 29 million Americans are struggling with hunger and millions of seniors are trying to get by on fixed incomes, I want every Vermonter to know that I am continuing to fight to expand critically important anti-hunger programs, like Meals on Wheels, school nutrition, and SNAP,Sanders continued.    In addition to alleviating hunger, 3SquaresVT also plays a vital role in stimulating the local economy, generating income for grocery stores and farmers, and supporting many front-line workers through our food network.During the 2009 Recession, for every $1 increase in 3SquaresVT benefits, an estimated $1.70 was generated in economic activity*. The program is federally funded, and individual benefits do not impact benefits for others or diminish support for state-level initiatives such as education, housing, or health care. (*Moody's Analytics, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)    To learn more about programs that can help you access food, simply call:    Helpline (Age 60+): 1-800-642-5119  All others (under 60): Dial 2-1-1    Vermonters who are having trouble with a federal program or agency can call the Office of Senator Sanders for assistance at 802-862-0697 or toll-free in state at 800-339-9834\nContact: Katy Davis, Community Health Initiatives Director  Organization: Hunger Free Vermont, Chittenden County Hunger Council  Phone: 802.231.1086  Email: kdavis@hungerfreevt.org  Website: www.hungerfreevt.org", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-on-the-passage-of-the-fy-2021-continuing-resolution", "Statement On The Passage Of The FY 2021 Continuing Resolution", "2020-09-30", "2020", "2020-09", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "09.30.20\n\t\t\t Statement On The Passage Of The FY 2021 Continuing Resolution \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t . . . . Senate Floor\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t Today the Senate will vote on a continuing resolution to keep the government funded through December 11, 2020. I strongly urge all members to vote aye. The last thing our country needs is a government shutdown in the middle of a global pandemic and an unprecedented economic crisis.\r\nThe bill we are considering passed the House by a wide margin, a rarity these days in Washington. It provides funding for the government through December 11 at fiscal year 2020 funding levels and under the same terms and conditions contained in the fiscal year 2020 appropriations laws. It also includes several authorization matters to extend programs that otherwise would expire, including important health, transportation, and veterans programs.\r\nI am pleased the bill includes the Emergency USCIS Stopgap Stabilization Act to help prevent furloughs of federal employees at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, many of whom work in my home state of Vermont. These dedicated federal employees perform critical work, helping immigrants apply for citizenship, visas, and asylum. They have lived under the threat of furlough for months now, in the middle of a global pandemic, all the while continuing their important work. While I believe more fiscal reforms and stronger oversight are needed at USCIS, this legislation will help stave off the immediate crisis while we work on a longer term solution. \r\nI am also glad this bill includes nearly $8 billion for child nutrition programs, especially the extension of the Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) Program that provides millions of children with additional monthly benefits for food purchases while schools are closed.This assistance is desperately needed as families across the nation struggle to make ends meet and put food on the table.\r\nWhile I support the continuing resolution and urge my colleagues to do the same, I must note that the very need for it is a symptom of a dysfunctional Congress. It is a senseless and entirely avoidable made-in-Washington crisis. The Senate Appropriations Committee should have been allowed to do its work and complete all 12 appropriations bills months ago. The majority of these bills would have had strong bipartisan support. Instead, we are left with a continuing resolution that kicks the can down the road. Not only did we not complete our work on the fiscal year 2021 appropriations bills, the Senate has not acted on a much-needed COVID relief bill to address the impacts of the pandemic felt in every town across America.\r\nToday, schools are struggling to safely educate our nation's children in both the classroom and remotely without enough funding to do so. More than 9 million children do not have access to the internet in their homes. In normal times, this would set these children far behind their more affluent peers who can access online educational resources. By doing nothing in a time where much of our nation's children are remote learning, Senate Republicans and President Trump are choosing to leave these children behind. Inaction is a choice, and that choice is to actively prop up a cycle of poverty for yet another generation.\r\nLines at food banks are at historic levels. Today in America, one of the wealthiest countries in the world, 1 in 4 households are experiencing food insecurity during this pandemic. Who in this room has looked their child in the eyes with the knowledge that you do not know where their next meal will come from? Inaction is the choice to let that child go hungry and force her parents to live with that terrible pain that comes when you cannot put enough food on the table for your family.\r\nFamilies are struggling to pay rent and eviction moratoriums have expired across the country. In July, it was reported that more than 43 million Americans  one quarter of the adult population in this country  missed a rent or mortgage payment, or had little to no confidence they could make their next payment. That was two rent or mortgage payments ago with no relief.\r\nMore than 31 million Americans were unemployed in August, and 163,735 businesses have closed  97,066 of those closed permanently.\r\nStates do not have the money they need to safely carry out an election that is only 34 days away and in the middle of a pandemic. Without a legislative change extending critical deadlines, our ability to achieve a fair and accurate count in the 2020 Census remains at risk. The American people are suffering.\r\nIt is infuriating that the Republican leadership refuse to acknowledge this reality. Yet, instead of doing their job and considering and passing full-year appropriations bills and a desperately needed COVID relief bill, Senate Republicans have focused this year almost entirely on packing the courts with right-wing, extreme judges. Faced with an unprecedented health and economic crisis, does this spur Republicans to action? No. What does? A Supreme Court vacancy in an election year that under their own precedent should not be filled until the American people have their say in November. All of a sudden they are ready to get to work. It is shameful.\r\nIf Senate Republicans want to keep the Senate in session during October, I say do it. There is plenty of work left undone that the Senate could act onthe fiscal year 2021 appropriations bills, a COVID relief bill, or any one of the hundreds of bills the House has passed that are currently sitting in Senator McConnell's legislative graveyard. Yet these pressing needs continue to be ignored while Republicans focus on filling a vacancy to the Supreme Court that should rightfully remain vacant until the people have spoken at the polls.\r\nCongress is failing the American people because Republicans, led by President Trump, care more about securing a hyper-partisan Supreme Court than the health and safety of the American people. It's that simple.\r\nI remain committed to completing the fiscal year 2021 appropriations bills and producing bipartisan bills before the CR expires on December 11, 2020. I believe Chairman Shelby shares this commitment, and I look forward to working with him to complete our work. For now, let's remove the threat of any more chaos in this country and prevent a government shutdown by passing this bill. I urge all members to vote aye on the continuing resolution.\r\n# # # # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-sanders-and-welch-press-usda-on-food-box-contract", "Leahy, Sanders And Welch Press USDA On Food Box Contract", "2020-09-28", "2020", "2020-09", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "09.28.20\n\t\t\t Leahy, Sanders And Welch Press USDA On Food Box Contract \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t(MONDAY, Sept. 28, 2020)  Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Representative Peter Welch (D-Vt.) have sent an oversight letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, following the Department's award of the Farmers to Families Food Box contract to two out-of-state entities.\r\nThe Delegation's letter raises concerns about the continuity of operations in Vermont's feeding program through October, the end of the federal program. The Abbey Group, a food service company based in Enosburg Falls, Vt., distributed 568,682 food boxes containing local Vermont produce regionally from May through mid-September. The USDA selected Costa Fruit and Produce, based in Massachusetts, and Sysco, based in Texas, to distribute food boxes in Vermont for the third and final phase of the Farmers to Families Food Box program.\r\nThe Farmers to Families Food Box program partners with regional and local producers to purchase fresh produce, dairy and meat for distribution to food-insecure families. As Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Leahy played a lead role in negotiating authority for the USDA program and including it in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act passed by Congress in March.\r\nSee the full text of the letter here.\r\nLeahy said: From May through September, the Abbey Group, along with their local partners, strove to do the right thing by purchasing local Vermont agricultural products and distributing them to families in need in a strategic, efficient and dignified manner. I fully expect that the new contract holders for Vermont will do everything they can to emulate Vermont's past success with this program in its final month of operation. But I have serious concerns that the USDA's decision to switch contract holders at the eleventh hour will reduce the access to an important market for our Vermont farms, and food access for Vermont households.\r\nSanders said: The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the huge struggles and inequities that so many Vermonters deal with each and every day. Fortunately, federal programs like Farmers to Families have stepped in to help meet basic needs, while also supporting local businesses. For months, the Abbey Group has successfully put healthy, local food into the hands of hungry Vermonters, while supporting local farmers and producers who are also struggling as a result of this pandemic. USDA's failure to even review the Abbey Group's application will likely mean less food on Vermonters tables and lost sales for our farmers, right before winter. I will continue to fight in Congress to expand and improve Farmers to Families, as well as other critical food programs like 3SquaresVT, Pandemic EBT, and universal meals for children.\r\nWelch said: Abbey Group has done amazing work this summer making sure that Vermonters have fresh, local food in the midst of this pandemic. I have serious concerns that Costa Foods and Sysco will not be able to deliver the same amount of food with similar locally sourced produce. Any delay caused by switching providers hurts Vermonters trying to put food on their table during an unprecedented crisis. I am disappointed that USDA would switch to two out of state vendors without even communicating with the Abbey Groupor the Vermont Congressional delegation. I will continue to demand answers from USDA about why they made this last minute decision that could have serious consequences for Vermontfamilies, producers, and communities.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-sanders-welch_vermont-community-lenders-net-115-million-in-federal-funds-to-increase-lending-investment-and-business-support", "Leahy, Sanders, Welch:  Vermont Community Lenders Net $1.15 Million In Federal Funds to Increase Lending, Investment And Business Support", "2020-09-28", "2020", "2020-09", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "09.28.20\n\t\t\t Leahy, Sanders, Welch:  Vermont Community Lenders Net $1.15 Million In Federal Funds to Increase Lending, Investment And Business Support \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t(MONDAY, Sept. 28, 2020) -- Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Representative Peter Welch (D-Vt.) announced Monday that three Vermont organizations have received $1.15 million in federal funds from the U.S. Treasury Department's Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund. The grants will enable financial institutions to provide business development support and increase lending and investment activity in low-income and economically distressed communities.\r\nThe CDFI Fund awarded $187.3 million in grants and loans to 357 community credit unions, loan funds and other financial institutions across the country that provide affordable financial products and services in economically distressed areas.\r\nThree Vermont programs received funds through these awards:\r\n \r\nThe Flexible Capital Fund, L3C, received $125,000\r\nOpportunities Credit Union received $375,000\r\nVermont Community Loan Fund Inc. received $650,000\r\n \r\nIn a joint statement, Leahy, Sanders and Welch said: These awards will bring key resources to community based initiatives in Vermont that are focused on alleviating poverty and advancing social justice  issues that are especially important during the current health and economic crisis. Opportunities Credit Union, VCLF and the Flexible Capital Fund have a proven track record of using federal funds to improve the lives of Vermonters. Because of their work, more Vermonters will have access to safe and affordable housing, childcare, small business capital and health care.\r\nLeahy, the Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has long been an advocate for the CDFI program. The program has played an important role in Vermont's economy by investing in small businesses, families and neighborhoods that would not have access to the capital they need from conventional lenders.\r\nThe Flexible Capital Fund is the only impact investment fund based in Vermont that provides revenue based financing (RBF) as an alternative to equity investment, said Janice St. Onge, President. Unlike equity capital, our flexible investment structure helps companies in Vermont grow without having to give up ownership or decision making. As we enter our tenth year of financing, and navigate our way through the coronavirus pandemic, we have seen an increasing need for and interest in RBF investment in Vermont and New England. This CDFI award will help us identify new and innovative investment structures, expand our geographic reach and transition to the next generation of the Fund so we can continue to provide companies who are paying living wages, producing healthy food and mitigating climate change, with the right match of capital to grow and stay in the region.\r\nEstablished in 1989 and CDFI-certified in 1997, Opportunities Credit Union is an award-winning financial institution that serves businesses and personal bankers alike. Opportunities Credit Union serves the community by being a 7(a) lender through the Small Business Administration, participating in the FHLB of Boston's Jobs for New England, Housing our Workforce and Equity Builder loan programs and through its Money Sense financial counseling program.\r\nThe CDFI grant award is highly gratifying and assures that our long history of bringing economic justice to Vermont will continue, said Kate Laud, President and CEO of Opportunities Credit Union. COVID has been particularly challenging to under-banked Vermonters due to job loss, childcare loss and general economic uncertainty. As a community development credit union, we are mindful that some longer term economic challenges may persist and negatively impact our members. Funding for our counseling and lending programs will enable us to continue to serve as them in the post-COVID timeframe.\r\nThe Vermont Community Loan Fund (VCLF) is a mission-driven, community-focused alternative lender working with entrepreneurs and organizations unserved or underserved by traditional lenders. VCLF financing helps lower-income and lower-wealth Vermonters access safe, affordable homes, quality jobs, quality early care & learning and other essential community services like health care, family services and the arts.\r\nThe CDFI Fund has again recognized the importance of the Loan Fund's work providing all Vermonters equal access to important financial resources, said VCLF Executive Director Will Belongia. This award allows us to continue our mission-driven, rural economic development, and help us support Vermonters' financial stability and quality of life.\r\nThe Flexible Capital Fund provides creative financing in the form of near equity capital -subordinated debt and revenue based (a.k.a. royalty) financing - to growth-stage companies in the food systems, forestry and clean technology sectors. As a mission-based investor, the Flex Fund is committed to helping portfolio companies grow and to help accelerate the rate at which Vermont, and the region, move towards healthy food systems, clean energy, and climate change solutions.\r\nThe federal CDFI Program invests in and builds the capacity of community credit unions, banks, loan funds and other financial institutions serving rural and urban communities across the nation that lack adequate access to affordable financial products and services. Since its creation in 1994, the CDFI Fund has awarded more than $3.6 billion to CDFIs, community development organizations, and financial institutions.\r\n# # # # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/comment-on-president-trumps-nomination-of-judge-amy-coney-barrett-to-the-us-supreme-court", "Comment On President Trump's Nomination Of Judge Amy Coney Barrett To The U.S. Supreme Court", "2020-09-26", "2020", "2020-09", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "09.26.20\n\t\t\t Comment On President Trump's Nomination Of Judge Amy Coney Barrett To The U.S. Supreme Court \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tYesterday, I stood by Justice Ginsburg as she lay in state at the U.S. Capitol, honoring her life, her legacy, and our friendship. Today, barely a week after she passed, President Trump has nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill her seat on the Supreme Court. Justice Ginsburg hasn't even been laid to rest yet.\r\nThere is no mystery surrounding the Republicans' mad rush to fill this vacancy before an election that is just 38 days away. Just one week later the Supreme Court will hear arguments in the Republican-led lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act. Republicans believe this nominee will accomplish from behind the bench what they failed to accomplish for years in the halls of Congress: strip healthcare and protections for preexisting conditions from millions of Americans, all in the middle of a pandemic. Republicans also believe Judge Barrett will be the deciding vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, turning back the clock nearly a half century on women's autonomy over their bodies and their lives.\r\nAnd President Trump  who instinctively believes that all branches of government exist simply to serve his will  expects that his nominee will help deliver him four more years in the White House when he inevitably raises his baseless allegations of widespread voter fraud following the election.\r\nWith this vacancy, Republicans see the potential for a wholly partisan Court  an extension of their raw political power. This is why they have gone back on their word, contradicting and twisting every argument they made in 2016 about the American people needing a voice during an election year vacancy. This is why Republicans are willing to ignore the clear majority of Americans who today believe the next president should fill this vacancy. But the American people deserve better than this.\r\nI will scrutinize Judge Barrett's nomination as I have the 19 others over my 46 years in the Senate with an exhaustive examination of her record. Yet a dark cloud looms over this nomination, as President Trump and Senate Republicans are dispensing with any sense of basic decency  along with every single precedent and principle the Senate once stood for  in order to reshape the Court to deprive millions of Americans of healthcare and unravel their constitutional protections.\r\nJustice Ginsburg would have dissented against this transparent effort to dismantle Americans' hard-fought rights. And so should we all.\r\n# # # # #\r\n[Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) is a leading member and former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the dean of the Senate.]\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/sanders-statement-on-supreme-court-nomination/", "Sanders Statement on Supreme Court Nomination", "2020-09-26", "2020", "2020-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "BURLINGTON, September 26  Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement on President Trump's nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court:  President Trump and Senate Republicans have badly mismanaged a deadly pandemic for months. Now, in the midst of an unprecedented public health crisis, they are willing to ram through a Supreme Court nomineewithin dayswho will vote to destroy the Affordable Care Act, kick millions of Americans off their health care, and eliminate protections for millions more who have preexisting conditions. This is an absolute outrage.The American people will not stand for this cynical effort to fill a Supreme Court vacancy, just days before an election, with someone who will roll back basic protections for women, workers, voters, people of color, the LGBT community, and our environment. I strongly oppose this nomination and we must fight as hard as we can to ensure that this nominee is not confirmed.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/menendez-leahy-and-kaine-unveil-reforms-restricting-us-arms-sales-to-human-rights-abusers-", "Menendez, Leahy, and Kaine Unveil Reforms Restricting U.S. Arms Sales to Human Rights Abusers", "2020-09-24", "2020", "2020-09", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "09.24.20\n\t\t\t Menendez, Leahy, and Kaine Unveil Reforms Restricting U.S. Arms Sales to Human Rights Abusers  \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t . . . . SAFEGUARD Act prohibits arms sales to countries committing genocide or war crimes; increases Congressional oversight of provision of arms, defense services to ensure protection of human rights\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t WASHINGTON  Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), and Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) today introduced the Safeguarding Human Rights in Arms Exports (SAFEGUARD) Act of 2020. With a growing list of foreign governments using U.S-sold arms and defense services in the commission of human rights abuses against innocent civilians in combat, the senators' new legislation reasserts the importance of Congress' role in the arms sales process in an attempt to prevent the United States government from contributing to or facilitating such abuses in the future.\r\nSpecifically, the SAFEGUARD Act seeks to enact reforms to the Arms Export Control Act to make the protection and promotion of human rights a primary consideration in the exportation of deadly weapons and defense services to other countries and international organizations.\r\nSafeguarding and prioritizing basic human rights in the sale or transfer of lethal arms and in training, advising and support services is not just a moral imperative; it is a fundamental responsibility for any country that wishes to provide such weapons or services to others, Ranking Member Menendez said. The United States has for too long devoted inadequate care to this responsibility, and innocent people have suffered for it. The U.S. should support partners and friendly countries in their legitimate defense needs, and we should be able to do so without the blood of the innocent on our hands. The SAFEGUARD Act is a common sense reform to make certain no U.S. President can ever reward human rights abusers or war criminals with America's deadliest weapons.\"\r\nToday, U.S. law includes a lower standard for protecting human rights when foreign partners purchase U.S. weapons, as opposed to when we provide them weapons free of charge. That makes no sense and it is bad policy, Senator Leahy said. Regardless of who pays, we are seen as complicit when foreign forces we have trained or equipped violate human rights or commit war crimes. The SAFEGUARD Act includes long overdue, commonsense reforms to strengthen congressional oversight of arms sales, require foreign governments to commit to use U.S. weapons in accordance with international law, and provide an incentive for foreign governments to uphold the law by tying U.S. support to accountability for abuses.\r\nThis legislation will require that the United States fully consider the human rights record of any potential buyer of U.S. weapons to prevent sales to human rights abusers and to ensure that U.S. equipment is not used in violation of international humanitarian law, said Senator Kaine. At a time when the Trump Administration refuses to cancel arms deals to any country as a repercussion for gross human rights violations, it is critical for Congress to hold the line on a values-based national security policy.\r\nA copy of the SAFEGUARD Act can be found HERE. Key provisions of the legislation include:\r\n \r\nElevates the protection of human rights in the control and export of defense articles and defense services as an official policy of the United States and places in statute the requirement that the provision of such articles and services will not present a significant risk of violating international humanitarian law or internationally recognized human rights.\r\nProhibits arms sales to countries committing genocide or war crimes; and extends the Leahy Law to cover arms sales.\r\nRequires agreements with purchasers that defense article or services will not be used to commit human rights abuses, and allows for the right of return for any arms that are misused.\r\nIncreases Congressional oversight over any sale or provision of arms and defense services to any country subjected to a coup or that violated specific human rights, including through rape, ethnic cleansing, use of child soldiers, wrongful detention, and extrajudicial killings, by requiring all such sales and services to be reviewed by Congress.\r\nStrengthens requirement for the State Department to consider a country's entire human rights record; ensures that State's human rights bureau is involved in decisions to provide defense articles or services; and requires an annual report by the Inspector General on implementation of this provision.\r\nRequires certain highly lethal weapons systems to be sold only through the Foreign Military Sales system, thereby allowing conditions and requirements to be placed on such sales by the Department of State; and\r\nRequires the sale of any firearm silencer or suppressor to a non-governmental foreign person be reviewed by Congress.\r\n \r\n\r\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-of-senator-patrick-leahy-executive-business-meeting", "Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy Executive Business Meeting", "2020-09-24", "2020", "2020-09", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "09.24.20\n\t\t\t Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy Executive Business Meeting \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t . . . . Senate Judiciary Committee\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t I spoke on the Floor earlier this week about what Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg meant to the courts, what she meant to the struggle for equality for millions of Americans, and what she meant to me. Standing just over five feet tall, she was nonetheless a giant of the law. She was also overwhelmingly good and kind. We will forever be in her debt.\r\nIt certainly is the job of this Committee to consider her replacement to the Supreme Court. But this is not how we should do it. Not before she is even buried and while the nation is mourning. Not during such a polarizing time for our country, just 40 days from a presidential election. Not at the expense of every precedent and principle this institution used to stand for. Not when doing so requires that half of the United States Senate go back on their word, contradicting every argument they made in 2016 about the American people needing a voice during an election year vacancy.\r\nEveryone here knows in their hearts this is wrong.\r\nThere are so many new excuses for the Republican Party's head-spinning about-face that they are hard to keep track of.\r\nI've heard that there was an unspoken exception to the McConnell rule in 2016. Apparently the American people do not get a voice when the White House and Senate are under the control of the same party. Pay no attention to the fact that this contradicts everything Republicans claimed to believead nauseumfor 10 months in 2016.\r\nBut even this attempt at a fig leaf of institutional cover falls on its face. If the Majority Leader's 2016 rule to let the American people decide only applies when there is a divided government, then the unprecedented 10-month blockade of Judge Merrick Garland contradicted the confirmation of Justice Kennedy by a Democratic Senate during an election year in 1988.\r\nRepublicans now also claim there's precedent for charging ahead, 40 days before the election. Of course there is precedent for filling certain election year vacancies. In fact, of the many Supreme Court nominations during the first half of presidential election years, only one was denied any process or a vote. That was Judge Garland. Yet, of the four vacancies during the last half of election years, exactly zero were filled before the election. The fact is there has never been a confirmation process like this, occurring just weeks before the election.\r\nI've also heard that Democrats are actually at fault for this rush to fill the vacancy. Apparently that is because of how we treated prior nominees of Republican presidents, dating back to Judge Bork in 1987. I am not going to litigate every perceived wrong, except to note that that Judge Bork would have been confirmed but for the fact that he lost Republican votes. However, this argument that Democrats are at fault here collapses under its own weight, as Republicans made commitments not to fill election year vacancies that post-dated all of the Democrats' alleged wrongs.\r\nAnother reason Republicans claim that the Committee needs to race to confirm a nominee is that otherwise the Supreme Court could end up in a 4-4 split decision involving a disputed election, resulting in a so-called constitutional crisis. Oddly enough, I don't recall hearing this concern from Republicans when they kept the Supreme Court at eight justices for more than a year, through a presidential election, when blocking Judge Garland. In reality, in such a scenario the circuit court decision would stand. That's not a constitutional crisis.\r\nWorse, the President is now taking this argument to a truly disturbing level. He is explicitly suggesting that he needs nine justices seated before the election so that the Court will side with him when he inevitably claims election fraud. That is, the President is rushing to fill this vacancy to ensure that the Court will toss out ballots to win him the election when he raises his usual, baseless allegations of voter fraud. Yesterday the President even refused to promise a peaceful transfer of power unless such votes are thrown out. There can be no doubt that the President is counting on his nominee to help deliver him the White House from behind the bench. That alone will result in a crisis of legitimacy for the Court  and possibly for the republic  with unfathomable consequences.\r\nAll of this leads to one conclusion: Republicans are rushing with lightning speed to fill this vacancy because they have the power and votes to do so, precedent and principle be damned.\r\nYet there is one principle that has always been recognized by both parties: This institution only functions if we keep our word. That is a principle that we should all cherish. And one that should not be disregarded so easily. When half of the Senate decides that keeping our word is no longer important, we are truly in a dark place, and are headed to only darker places still.\r\nOur nation is divided. It is suffering from a pandemic that has taken more than 200,000 lives. The Senate could work to heal the country, and to respond to the pandemic to save lives and help those who are struggling. But we are doing none of that. Instead, Republicans are using their majority to race to confirm a nominee that the President himself has told us will support stripping healthcare protections from Americans. Oral arguments in the Republican-led lawsuit to overturn the ACA and end protections for preexisting conditions are just one week after the election. If all goes to plan, the nominee will be the deciding vote and finish from behind the bench what Republicans have failed to accomplish from the halls of Congress, resulting in millions of Americans losing healthcare protections.\r\nI know well these words will fall on deaf ears. Yet subverting Senate norms and basic decency and fairness in the raw pursuit of power is deeply corrosive to this Committee, to the Senate, to the Judiciary, and to our very system of government. So it's simply too important for me to just shrug my shoulders and give up on this institution. I urge my colleagues to change course.\r\n# # # # #\r\n\r\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-on-the-motion-to-proceed-to-the-continuing-resolution-", "Statement On The Motion To Proceed To The Continuing Resolution", "2020-09-24", "2020", "2020-09", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "09.24.20\n\t\t\t Statement On The Motion To Proceed To The Continuing Resolution  \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tIn a few moments we will vote on the motion to proceed to H.R. 8337, the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and other Extensions Act of 2020. I urge all members to vote aye.\r\nThis bill provides funding for the government through December 11 at fiscal year 2020 funding levels and under the same terms and conditions contained in the fiscal year 2020 appropriations laws. It also includes several authorization matters to extend programs that otherwise would expire, including important health and veterans programs.\r\nWhile I support this bill, I am very disappointed that it is needed at all. We had ample time in the Senate to complete our work on the twelve appropriations bills, yet we did not mark up a single bill. We had ample time in the Senate to consider appropriations bills on the floor, but the Majority Leader was more interested in confirming extreme, right-wing judges than moving any legislation to addresses the needs of the American people, including appropriations bills or critical legislation to combat the COVID virus and its impact on families and the economy.\r\nToday, not only are we conceding that we cannot do our most basic job of completing appropriations bills on time, we have failed to address an unprecedented health and economic crisis for months. Last week, more than 870,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits for the first time in this pandemic. Kitchen cabinets across the country are bare as families struggle without enough to eat. Schools do not have enough resources to teach our children at home or protect them inside the classroom. This is infuriating. Republican leadership and the President have cast aside the desperate needs of the American people in favor of government on autopilot. They are more concerned with securing a hyper-partisan Supreme Court than the health and safety of the American people or doing the most basic job of Congress. It's that simple. \r\nI will have more to say about the continuing resolution in the coming days as we move toward final passage. But the last thing our country needs is a government shutdown in the middle of a global pandemic and an unprecedented economic crisis. So I urge all members to vote aye on the motion to proceed.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/vermont-council-on-world-affairs", "Vermont Council On World Affairs", "2020-09-22", "2020", "2020-09", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "09.22.20\n\t\t\t Vermont Council On World Affairs \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t . . . . Engage the World 2020\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t Thank you Tricia, and it is good to be with all of you.\r\nThis is a somber time for our country. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg was a towering figure on the Supreme Court, whose decisions changed our society for the better in profound ways, including for generations of women. She was also a wonderful, kind, and generous person, who Marcelle and I were very lucky to know.\r\nI mention her today not just to remember her, but because of the title of this conference  Engage The World. To me, as I will say more about, how we engage with the world, and the impact we have, is a function of the principles we stand for as a nation and whether we live up to and defend those principles.\r\nJustice Ginsberg defined and reinforced those principles in ways that have shaped our lives here at home, but that also resonate beyond our borders.\r\nThe Vermont Council on World Affairs has put together an extraordinary program for the next four days. Any conference that includes topics as varied as race and diplomacy, the refugee crisis, Guatemalan cooking, the coronavirus, Ugandan dance, and climate change is bound to attract a lot of interest.\r\nSo I congratulate you for organizing this conference and for lining up such an interesting roster of speakers. I think this is exactly what Vermont's Senator Warren Austin, who became the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and who founded the Vermont Council on World Affairs, would have wanted.\r\nIf Senator Austin were alive today he would not only be proud of what you are doing. I think he would be doubly convinced of the need for the Vermont Council in a time of rising populism, nationalism, and isolationism  and the fear, xenophobia, intolerance, and disillusionment that underlies them.\r\nI can't speak to each of those topics in the few minutes I have, but I do want to highlight several points, including the International Visitor Leadership Program. I was very pleased to learn that several past participants in that program are part of this conference.\r\nThe International Visitor Leadership Program is the Department of State's most important professional exchange program. It brings current and future foreign leaders from a variety of fields  government, academia, business, and civil society  to experience this country and build lasting relationships with Americans.\r\nI have met several participants in that program  including from Vietnam  and have been enormously impressed by their knowledge and enthusiasm. It is a program I have strongly supported in the Appropriations Committee for many years. Once the COVID pandemic is under control, I hope we can expand it so many more can participate. \r\nThe International Visitor Leadership Program is especially important today, when actions by the White House have seriously damaged our reputation, our credibility, and our global leadership.\r\nAt a time when the White House is withdrawing from international organizations and agreements; proposing deep cuts in funding for educational, professional, and cultural exchange programs; treating alliances as if they don't matter; cutting our contributions to the United Nations; and promoting a so-called America First policy that is nothing more than a self-defeating slogan, we need to cultivate relations with the next generation of foreign leaders.\r\nWe want them to understand that this White House is not the same as the American people, and that we need to work together with foreign partners to solve the world's most pressing problems.\r\nThis conference focuses on several of them, climate change being the most daunting. Our government, and most other governments, have utterly failed to develop effective strategies to curb global warming, and the world is already paying the price. If this trend continues  and if the wildfires in California, Oregon, and Washington are any indication  the consequences will be catastrophic.\r\nIt is analogous to the COVID pandemic. Years wasted when we should have been preparing for it, followed by denials and obfuscation at the highest levels of government, contradictory and counterproductive statements, politics above science, and no effective national or global strategy.\r\nThe result: in this country alone, more than 6 million people have been infected and nearly 200,000 have died, and the number of deaths could reach 400,000 by this time next year. So much of this misery could have been avoided with real leadership.\r\nWhat was President Trump's response? To shift the blame, ridicule those who wear masks, withdraw from the World Health Organization, defend the Confederate flag, and lobby for the Nobel Prize.\r\nThe record of this Administration on foreign policy is a string of impulsive miscalculations and abysmal failures, North Korea being high on the list. Did anyone who knows anything about that regime honestly think it would give up its nuclear weapons? I think the question answers itself.\r\nThe President campaigned on a promise to withdraw from the Iran nuclear agreement and the Paris climate agreement. He did both, and he also promised he would negotiate better deals. Instead, there are no negotiations, Iran is closer to building a nuclear weapon, and climate change has gotten worse.\r\nWe were promised the deal of the century between Israel and the Palestinians that would finally bring peace to the Middle East. Instead, the White House gave a green light to Israeli settlements and annexation of the West Bank, escalating tensions. While the agreements between Israel and UAE and Bahrain are positive steps, they do nothing to bring the Palestinians closer to obtaining a state of their own, which is the only way that conflict will end.\r\nI spent years helping to bring about the resumption of diplomatic relations with Cuba, and to begin to address our disagreements with that government and to find areas for cooperation. That triggered an unprecedented expansion of Cuban private businesses as Americans flocked to the island.\r\nPresident Trump reversed all that, claiming that the way to improve human rights in Cuba is to re-impose sanctions, a policy that had failed for 50 years. As a result, Cuban entrepreneurs have gone out of business after travel by Americans was restricted and air flights curtailed.\r\nTwenty-two agreements signed by the U.S. and Cuba to cooperate on everything from law enforcement to search and rescue to public health have been shelved, and the human rights situation has not gotten any better. \r\nThere are many other examples. Through it all, our career State Department diplomats and international development professionals have sought to protect our interests and defend our values, but they are often contradicted or muzzled by the White House. Some of the best of them have resigned, rather than carry out policies they strongly disagree with.\r\nThere have been some positive steps. I worked with President Obama to begin to address the problem of Agent Orange in Vietnam, and that effort has continued under President Trump. We have cleaned up contaminated former U.S. military bases, and expanded our programs to assist people with severe disabilities. This has also led to greater cooperation with Vietnam on many issues, including climate change.\r\nRegardless of who wins the presidency and who controls the Congress next year, we are at a defining moment in our history. In the years immediately ahead we will determine what we stand for, and what we want our role in the world to be.\r\nOne would have thought that by the 21st Century the answers to those questions would have been irrevocably embedded in our national identity. But the statements and policies of the Trump Administration have challenged many of our assumptions and sown doubt and division, confusion and fear  at home and among our allies. Those doubts have been exploited by our adversaries, by autocrats, and by demagogues.\r\nGoing forward, our ability to remain a global leader, to protect our interests, and to defend fundamental rights, is derived from the credibility that comes from living up to our democratic ideals.\r\nI think our job, as the world's oldest democracy, is to show that democracy can work for everyone, and that human rights truly are universal. That has always been our assumption, but today people in many countries  including some in this country  associate democracy with broken promises, inequality, and chaos. And there are any number of populists and dictators who appeal to that constituency, fanning the flames of disillusionment and resentment.\r\nThe dismantling of democracy, and the trend toward authoritarianism, is often gradual. It may not be apparent until it is too late, as people are enticed by zealots and despots who insist that even though they are unaccountable, they offer something better.\r\nWe know that isn't true  unaccountable regimes care far more about their own political and financial interests than they care about the rights and welfare of their citizens. Repression, corruption, and bigotry are their hallmarks.\r\nEach of us has a responsibility to defend the democratic principles and structures that generations of Americans and other nationalities have sacrificed to preserve, and that protect the way we choose our leaders and our right to speak freely.\r\nWe must not allow those principles and structures to be undermined, and other democracies  or aspiring democracies  to lose confidence in the United States as a reliable global leader.\r\nIt bears repeating: this is a defining moment in our history. The past three and a half years have shown how fragile our own democracy is, even after 244 years. This country is badly divided, and many seem to revel in exploiting those divisions. The very concept of United in the United States of America seems threatened.\r\nThe stakes are enormous  for this country, for each of us, for future generations, and for the world.\r\nRather than replacing real policies with empty slogans, lies, and threats; rather than walking away from our alliances and international commitments; and rather than treating our relations with foreign governments as winner-take-all business transactions, solving global problems requires imagining the future and working with other nations, including those we disagree with, to create the future we want.\r\nThat requires rebuilding our alliances, prioritizing the existential threats of global warming and nuclear proliferation, as well as economic inequality and human rights, and leading by example  something the current Administration clearly has no interest in doing.\r\nThe Vermont Council on World Affairs is one of the ways we can do that, by staying informed, sharing ideas, and planning for the future.\r\nBy providing Vermonters and foreign visitors with a forum to discuss the most pressing global problems, to learn about each other's cultures, and to build relationships between people of different nationalities, ethnicities, races, and religions, the Vermont Council counters the ignorance and intolerance that are the enemies of democracy.\r\nThere is no more important mission, and I thank you for what you are doing, and thank you for inviting me to join you today.\r\n# # # # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/sanders-dos-docenas-de-legisladores-piden-responsabilidad-de-la-oea-para-garantizar-elecciones-justas-en-bolivia/", "Sanders, Dos Docenas de Legisladores Piden Responsabilidad de la OEA Para Garantizar Elecciones Justas en Bolivia", "2020-09-22", "2020", "2020-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "(Read the version in Englishhere.)\nWASHINGTON, 22 deseptiembreEl senador Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), la representante Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), el representante Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) y la representante Deb Haaland (DN.M.) lideran una carta bicameral enviada hoy al Secretario de Estado Mike Pompeo. En dicha carta, junto a dos docenas de miembros del Congreso, le piden al Departamento de Estado que lleve a cabo una revisin completa e independiente de la Organizacin de Estados Americanos (OEA) con respecto a sus acciones en noviembre pasado que contribuyeron a un importante deterioro respecto a derechos humanos y democracia en Bolivia.\nLos miembros del Congreso expresaron su profunda preocupacin por la falta de responsabilidad y transparencia de la OEA con respecto a lasdenunciasampliamenterefutadasde fraude electoral en Bolivia el ao pasado. El New York Timesinformque estas afirmaciones iniciales de la OEA fueron aprovechadas para intensificar las protestas, reunir apoyo internacional y expulsar al [presidente] Morales del poder con apoyo militar semanas despus. Las autoridades no electas, reconocidas rpidamente por el Secretario General de la OEA, han promovido una agenda racista, anti-indgena y desplegado militares para reprimir violentamente las protestas, resultando en la muerte y heridas de muchos civiles, escribieron los congresistas, citando uninformerealizado por la Clnica Internacional de Derechos Humanos en la Facultad de Derecho de Harvard.\nPor muchos meses, la OEA se ha negado a responder preguntas bsicas de los miembros del Congreso sobre sus reclamos, a pesar del rol del Congreso en la apropiacin de la mayor parte del presupuesto de la OEA, expresaron los legisladores. Dado que la OEA est preparada para tomar una determinacin sobre la libertad, la justicia y la integridad de las prximas elecciones en Bolivia bajo un gobierno represivo y no electo, los legisladores instan a la administracin a usar su voz en la OEA para abogar por una evaluacin exhaustiva e independiente de las declaraciones de la OEA y asegurar que se tomen las medidas correctivas para asegurar que las futuras misiones de observacin electoral de la OEA desempeen sus funciones de manera independiente, imparcial y profesional .\nLa decisin de la Organizacin de Estados Americanos el ao pasado de declarar fraudulentas las elecciones en Bolivia usando evidencia cuestionable ayud a alimentar una crisis de democracia y derechos humanos que los bolivianos estn experimentando hasta el presente,dijo Sanders.El gobierno de facto que se instaur luego del golpe en Bolivia llev a cabo actos de violencia racistas contra los indgenas, encarcel a activistas y amenaz a los opositores polticos. Lo que ms de dos docenas de mis colegas y yo estamos exigiendo es que el gobierno de los Estados Unidos asuma la responsabilidad de lo que se haga con los dlares de nuestros constituyentes y ejerza supervisin sobre la OEA. Asegurar la rendicin de cuentas y la transparencia de la OEA es vital para unas elecciones libres y justas en Bolivia el prximo mes.\nDesde el da despus de las elecciones bolivianas de 2019, la OEA ha ayudado a dirigir una narrativa falsa de que el presidente en ejercicio, Evo Morales, y su partido manipularon las elecciones,dijo la congresista Jan Schakowsky.Esta narrativa contribuy a la polarizacin poltica, un golpe militar y una violenta represin poltica en Bolivia, as como a la incertidumbre sobre el futuro de la democracia. Con las prximas elecciones acercndose rpidamente, finalmente debemos ver la rendicin de cuentas y la transparencia de la OEA, y asegurarnos de que lleve a cabo su misin de manera independiente e imparcial.\nA medida que Bolivia se acerca a sus prximas elecciones, es imperativo que la votacin se administre con responsabilidad y sin interferencias,dijo Johnson.Mis colegas y yo pedimos al Departamento de Estado que se asegure de que la Organizacin de los Estados Americanos (OEA) no repita sus errores del monitoreo de las elecciones de 2019 en Bolivia y erosione an ms la democracia y los derechos humanos en el pas. Las declaraciones engaosas de la OEA arrojaron a Bolivia en picada poltica; destituir por la fuerza a Evo Morales, el primer presidente indgena de la nacin, marcar el comienzo de una administracin racista y anti-indgena y una represin violenta y militarizada de las protestas civiles que siguieron. Esto es inaceptable y Estados Unidos no debera ser cmplice de acciones que socavan la democracia.\nDesde la renuncia forzada del presidente Morales, la extrema derecha de Bolivia ha impuesto una retrica anti-indgena daina y violencia sistemtica hacia manifestantes, grupos indgenas y afro bolivianos,dijo Haaland.La situacin actual es profundamente preocupante. Es un ataque a la democracia y los derechos humanos. El secretario Pompeo debe actuar ahora; si esperamos, Bolivia podra quedarse sin democracia en los prximos aos.\nLa carta tambin fue firmada por los representantes Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Andy Levin (D-Mich.), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Ilhan Omar (D- Minn.), Nydia Velzquez (D-N.Y.), Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), Jess Chuy Garca (D-Ill.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J .), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Susan Wild (D-Pa.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.), Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Jared Huffman (D- Calif.), Ral Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) Y Ro Khanna (D-Calif.).\nLea la cartaaqu.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/sanders-two-dozen-lawmakers-call-for-oas-accountability-to-ensure-fair-elections-in-bolivia/", "Sanders, Two Dozen Lawmakers Call for OAS Accountability to Ensure Fair Elections in Bolivia", "2020-09-22", "2020", "2020-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "(Lase la versin en espaol aqu)\nWASHINGTON, September 22  In a bicameral letter sent to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo today, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), and Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) led two dozen members of Congress in calling on the State Department to pursue a full, independent review of the Organization of American States (OAS) regarding its actions last November that contributed to a major deterioration of human rights and democracy in Bolivia.\nThe members of Congress expressed deep concern with the OAS's lack of accountability and transparency regarding the organization's widely refuted claims of electoral fraud in Bolivia last year. The New York Times reported that these initial OAS claims were seized on to escalate protests, gather international support, and push [President] Morales from power with military support weeks later. The unelected authorities, quickly recognized by the OAS Secretary General, have promoted a racist, anti-indigenous agenda and deployed the military to violently repress protests, resulting in the killing and injury of many civilians, wrote the lawmakers, citing a report conducted by Harvard Law School's International Human Rights Clinic.\nFor months, the OAS has refused to answer basic questions from legislators regarding its claims despite the role of Congress in appropriating the majority of the OAS's budget, continued the lawmakers. Given that the OAS is poised to make a determination of the freedom, fairness, and integrity of the upcoming elections in Bolivia under an unelected and repressive government, the members of Congress urge the administration to use its voice at the OAS to advocate for a thorough, independent assessment of the OAS's statements, and ensure that corrective measures are taken to ensure that future OAS electoral observation missions perform their functions in an independent, impartial and professional manner.\nThe Organization of American States' decision last year to declare Bolivia's election fraudulent on the basis of questionable evidence helped fuel a crisis of democracy and human rights that Bolivians are experiencing to this day, said Sanders. Bolivia's post-coup government carried out racist violence against indigenous people, imprisoned activists, and threatened political opponents. What more than two dozen of my colleagues and I are demanding is that the United States government take responsibility for what is done with our taxpayer dollars and wield oversight over the OAS. Securing accountability and transparency from the OAS is vital to a free and fair election in Bolivia next month.\nSince the day after the 2019 Bolivian elections, the OAS has helped direct a false narrative that the incumbent president, Evo Morales, and his party rigged' the election, said Schakowsky. This narrative contributed to political polarization, a military coup, and violent political repression in Bolivia as well as uncertainty for the democracy's future. With the next election fast approaching, we must finally see accountability and transparency from OAS, and ensure that it carries out its mission independently and impartially.\nAs Bolivia approaches their next election, it is imperative that voting be administered with accountability and free from interference, said Johnson. My colleagues and I are calling on the State Department to ensure that the OAS doesn't repeat their mistakes from Bolivia's 2019 election monitoring and further erode democracy and human rights in the country. The OAS's misleading statements threw Bolivia into a political tailspin, forcibly unseating Evo Moralesthe nation's first indigenous presidentand ushering in a racist, anti-indigenous administration, and the violent, militarized repression of the civilian protests that followed. This is unacceptable, and the United States should not be abetting actions that undermine democracy.\nSince President Morales' forced resignation, Bolivia's far right has levied harmful anti-Indigenous rhetoric and state violence towards protestors, Indigenous and Afro-Bolivian groups, said Haaland. This is an attack on democracy and human rights. Secretary Pompeo must act nowif we wait, Bolivia may be left without a democracy for years to come.\nThe letter was also signed by Representatives Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Andy Levin (D-Mich.), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Nydia Velzquez (D-N.Y.), Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), Jess Chuy Garca (D-Ill.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Susan Wild (D-Pa.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.), Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Ral Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.).\nRead the letter here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/address-on-the-passing-of-justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg", "Address On The Passing Of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg", "2020-09-21", "2020", "2020-09", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "09.21.20\n\t\t\t Address On The Passing Of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t . . . . Senate Floor\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t I stand here today with an incredibly heavy heart. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg  a tireless, legendary champion of equality who reshaped our society for the better  passed away on Friday, the first eve of Rosh Hashanah. Adherents of the Jewish faith believe that a person who passes away during the High Holidays is a person of great righteousness. Truer words couldn't be spoken of Justice Ginsburg. Standing at just over five feet tall, she was a giant among us. A moral beacon whose life and legacy have inspired millions of Americans to do their part to bring about a more just and more perfect Union. We are forever indebted to her.\r\nThe Brooklyn-born daughter of working-class Jewish parents, the young girl who would become just the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court knew from early on that she would have to fight for her place in the world. And what a fighter she was. When she entered Harvard Law School in 1956, just one of nine women in a class of over five hundred, the United States was truly a man's world. Women were expected to stay home and out of the work place. Even when they had jobs, they could be fired for getting pregnant and they otherwise earned barely half of what men earned for the same work. Women couldn't get credit cards without their husbands' consent. As Justice Ginsburg would remark some years later, these and other gender-based rules helped to keep women not on a pedestal, but in a cage.\r\nJustice Ginsburg refused to accept the status quo. She believed unwaveringly that equal justice under law fundamentally required gender equality. When she joined the ACLU's Women's Rights Project in the early 1970s, she waged a systematic legal campaign against gender discrimination, ultimately winning five out of the six cases she took to the Supreme Court. She eloquently and incisively convinced the all-male Court to see  and strike down  the visible and invisible lines that kept the genders unequal.\r\nIn Reed v. Reed, she convinced the Supreme Court for the very first time that the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment barred discrimination on the basis of sex, enshrining constitutional protections for generations of women and men. During oral arguments, she spoke quietly yet confidently, piercing through dense legal arguments with moral clarity. In Frontiero v. Richardson, in which she convinced the Court to end gender discrimination in the administration of military benefits, her words resonate powerfully today: In asking the Court to declare sex a suspect criterion, she said, I ask no favor for my sex; all I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.\r\nWithin a few short years Justice Ginsburg had already empowered millions of American women through her zealous advocacy, granting them more autonomy over their lives, their bodies, and their careers. She was widely hailed as the Thurgood Marshall of women's rights, and could have simply rested on her laurels from that point forward.\r\nAnd she was just getting started. In 1980, President Carter nominated her to be an appellate judge on the D.C. Circuit. I was extremely proud to vote for her confirmation. There she developed a reputation as a pragmatic consensus seeker, often finding common ground  and building friendships  with conservative judges like the late Justice Scalia.\r\nIt was no surprise that in 1993 President Bill Clinton selected Ruth Bader Ginsburg to be a Justice on the Supreme Court  a call she took while visiting Vermont. I still vividly remember her confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. She was the embodiment of humility, grace, strength, and wisdom. She endured four long days of at times intense questioning from Senators on both sides of the aisle. She never once lost her poise. I thanked her for fighting for a world in which my daughter would have opportunities equal to those of my two sons. Unsurprisingly, she was confirmed by a 96 to 3 vote, becoming just the second woman to ascend to our nation's highest court. My vote for her confirmation to the Supreme Court is among the most consequential  and impactful  I have cast a Senator.\r\nOver the course of nearly three decades, Justice Ginsburg secured her place as one of the most ardent defenders of equal rights for all Americans in Supreme Court history. She never tired of being a voice for the voiceless, and always tried to use her power to uplift the powerless. She authored the landmark majority opinion in United States v. Virginia, striking down the Virginia Military Institute's male-only admissions policy as unconstitutional. Her words still read like a treatise on what equality must mean in America: Laws or policies are presumptively invalid, she wrote, if they den[y] to women, simply because they are women, equal opportunity to aspire, achieve, participate in, and contribute to society. . . .\r\nEven when she was in the minority, Justice Ginsburg did not go quietly, and she always left an impact. In the Lily Ledbetter case, where the majority ruled that a claim of unequal pay was barred by an arbitrary statute of limitations, Justice Ginsburg retorted that the majority does not comprehend, or is indifferent to, the insidious way in which women can be victims of pay discrimination. She urged Congress to correct the Court's parsimonious reading. And two years later, we did just that, passing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, a copy of which she proudly hung in her chambers.\r\nIn Shelby County v. Holder, the disastrous decision to invalidate key provisions of the Voting Rights Act, Justice Ginsberg's dissent spoke truth to power. She wrote that throwing out key provisions of the Voting Rights Act when it has worked . . . to stop discriminatory changes is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet. And, of course, Justice Ginsburg was right. Since that decision we have witnessed a torrent of voter suppression laws, which is why I've championed the bipartisan John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to restore the VRA. These drives for change, and many others, often began with two words from the Justice wearing the bejeweled collar: I dissent.\r\nAll the greatness of Justice Ginsburg was matched in spades by her authentic goodness. I'll always remember the Action for Cancer Awareness event that she and my wife Marcelle spoke at together last year. She was so genuinely kind to Marcelle, me, and all the people she interacted with. She loved people, and so it's not surprising they loved her right back. Justice Ginsburg became a beloved cultural icon, inspiring books, movies, and even Saturday Night Live skits. Her dogged, public battle with cancer and her can-do attitude  she missed less than a handful of arguments despite her years-long illness  inspired millions across the world.\r\nThrough it all, she never lost her humility. When asked how should like to be remembered, Justice Ginsburg simply said: Just as someone who did whatever she could, with whatever limited talent she had, to move society along in the direction I would like it to be for my children and grandchildren. As I stand on the floor of the United States Senate, I can say with certainty that she will be remembered for that, and for so much more.\r\nThis incredible life and legacy should be the only story of today. Sadly that is not the case. Instead of simply celebrating her life and her many contributions to our society, President Trump and the Majority Leader have forced our attention to turn to her vacancy on the Court.\r\nImmediately after news of her passing, Senator McConnell announced he would rush to replace her on the Court. Tossing aside all precedents and principles, he declared his intent to ram through a nominee no matter the cost. Despite all of Senator McConnell's talk and promises four years ago  that when a vacancy arises 269 days before a presidential election, the American people should have a voice in deciding what president fills that vacancy  today the Majority Leader is doing everything he can to deny the American people a voice. And this time, with just 42 days remaining before the presidential election.\r\nSeeking a fig leaf of institutional cover, today Leader McConnell is trying to conjure up yet another new rule that, essentially, there was an unspoken exception to everything he promised in 2016. Apparently the American people do not get a voice when the White House and Senate are under the control of the same party.\r\nPay no attention to the fact that this contradicts everything Leader McConnell and other Republicans claimed to believe ad nauseum for 10 months in 2016. But even this desperate hair splitting falls flat on its face. If the Majority Leader's 2016 rule to let the American people decide only applies when there is a divided government, then the unprecedented 10-month blockade of Merrick Garland contradicted the confirmation of Justice Kennedy by a Democratic Senate during an election year in 1988.\r\nThe Majority Leader's abrupt about face is not about following precedent. And it certainly isn't about principle. The blatant hypocrisy  and the belief that norms and principles apply only to the other party, or apply only when nothing is at stake  is the result of something even more insidious. It is the direct result of the President and Majority Leader wanting to bend the courts to their will no matter the cost. No matter the cost for the Senate. And no matter the cost for our courts.\r\nI will have much more to say about this. Make no mistake, the actions that we take during these waning days of the Trump administration will forever stain, or redeem, this institution in which we proudly serve. The 100 members of this body represent 330 million Americans. We are entrusted to act in their best interests. Through our actions in the weeks ahead, we risk forever eroding the American people's trust and faith in our independent judiciary. And our actions will have a lasting impact  for good, or for ill  on every American's most basic rights  rights of equality and fairness that Justice Ginsburg spent a lifetime securing.\r\nBut today I simply seek to honor Justice Ginsburg. She dedicated her life to the causes of equality and justice and made both a reality for millions of Americans. She has left us a rich legacy to cherish and, more importantly, to carry forward. We will forever be in her debt. A generation  more than a generation  of women, and all Americans, have been inspired by her leadership and courage. Generations to come will have her trailblazing legacy to thank. Let us honor her memory by following her example  by recommitting ourselves to pursuing a more perfect Union. Not just for the few. No, not just for the few, but for all.\r\n# # # # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-on-the-continuing-resolution", "Statement On The Continuing Resolution", "2020-09-21", "2020", "2020-09", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "09.21.20\n\t\t\t Statement On The Continuing Resolution \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tI am glad that the House introduced a continuing resolution today. I strongly urge Republicans and Democrats in both the House and Senate to take it up and pass it as soon as possible. The last thing our country needs is a government shutdown in the middle of a global pandemic and an unprecedented economic crisis.\r\nBut make no mistake, the urgent need for this continuing resolution is a symptom of a dysfunctional Congress. It's a senseless and entirely avoidable made-in-Washington crisis. The Senate Appropriations Committee should have been allowed to do its work and complete all 12 appropriations bills months ago. The majority of these bills would have had strong bipartisan support. Instead, we are left with a continuing resolution that kicks the can down the road and offers no helping hand to the millions of Americans who are suffering during this pandemic.\r\nToday, schools are struggling to safely educate our nation's children in both the classroom and remotely without enough funding to do so. Lines at food banks are at historic levels. Families are struggling to pay rent and eviction moratoriums have expired across the country. States do not have the money they need to safely carry out an election that is only 43 days away and in the middle of a pandemic. Without a legislative change extending critical deadlines, our ability to achieve a fair and accurate count in the 2020 Census remains at risk. The American people are suffering.\r\nIt is infuriating that Republicans refuse to acknowledge this reality. Yet, instead of doing their job and considering and passing full-year appropriations bills and a desperately needed COVID relief bill, Senate Republicans have focused this year almost entirely on packing the courts with right-wing, extreme judges. Faced with an unprecedented health and economic crisis, does this spur Republicans to action? No. What does? A Supreme Court vacancy in an election year that under their own precedent should not be filled until the American people have their say in November. All of a sudden they are ready to get to work. It's shameful.\r\nCongress is failing the American people because Republicans, led by President Trump, care more about securing a hyper-partisan Supreme Court than the health and safety of the American people. I am urging Republicans and Democrats to pass this continuing resolution so that we do not fail them further.  \r\n# # # # #\r\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://welch.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-peter-welch-introduces-bill-extend-deadline-vermont-use-coronavirus", "Rep. Peter Welch Introduces Bill to Extend Deadline for Vermont to Use Coronavirus Relief Funds", "2020-09-18", "2020", "2020-09", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "welch.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  Rep. Peter Welch on Friday introduced legislation to extend the deadline for state and local governments to use funds appropriated by the CARES Act. Currently, the state and local relief funds from the CARES Act must be used by December 31st, making it impossible to complete long-term recovery projects. Rep. Welch's bill would fix that by authorizing the use of these funds through September 30, 2021.\nOur state and local communities need help to get through this unprecedented and challenging time, said Welch. But implementing the changes needed to cope with the disruptions to our lives, work and communities caused by the coronavirus pandemic will take time. From implementing broadband projects to continuing safe school re-openings, this bill will give Vermont the flexibility it needs to use the funds passed by Congress in the CARES Act. Extending the deadline to use these funds will help complete important projects but it is no substitute for the badly needed additional aid included in the House passed Heroes Act. We must pass another relief package without delay.\nThrough more than 100 meetings with Vermonters across the state, Rep. Welch has identified several areas that will benefit from extending the CARES Act deadline. Among them are:\n Broadband projects that often take longer to complete. With remote work and school, reliable internet has become more important than ever.\n\tHelp for the homeless and other housing projects that need assistance past December 31st.\n\tKeeping children safe during the second semester of school, including HVAC and other safety upgrades that are constrained by an end of year deadline.\n\tAgricultural Support programs that are still determining farm needs and adjustments.\n\tAdjustments to seating and other safety improvements for the State Legislature and other state agencies.\n\tSome state IT projects critical to delivering services to Vermonters.\n Full text of the bill is here. It is cosponsored by Rep. Kendra Horn (D-Okla.).\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/comment-on-the-passing-of-justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg", "Comment On The Passing Of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg", "2020-09-18", "2020", "2020-09", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "09.18.20\n\t\t\t Comment On The Passing Of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tMarcelle and I are overcome with sadness. Almost exactly a year ago Marcelle introduced Justice Ginsburg during an Action For Cancer Awareness event, a memory that Marcelle will always treasure. Justice Ginsburg was brilliant and was a legend of the law. She has become a heroine and even an icon to millions of Americans. She was also unmistakably kind and funny, and a fundamentally decent human being.\r\nDifficult days are ahead. And Senators McConnell and Graham must not treat this President's Supreme Court nominees differently than President Obama's Supreme Court nominees. They must exhibit a shred of integrity and recognize that abandoning their word now, and breaking all precedents by ramming a nominee through  most likely after the election  would cause the nation tremendous pain.\r\nBut tonight I will simply reflect on Justice Ginsburg's life and legacy. I am so thankful for every day she spent here with us, serving the American people with unparalleled grace, integrity, and an unyielding sense of equality and justice.\r\nMay she rest in peace and power.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-co-leads-letter-pressing-dhs-inspector-general-for-swift-investigation-into-alleged-forced-hysterectomies", "Leahy Co-Leads Letter Pressing DHS Inspector General For Swift Investigation Into Alleged Forced Hysterectomies", "2020-09-18", "2020", "2020-09", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "09.18.20\n\t\t\t Leahy Co-Leads Letter Pressing DHS Inspector General For Swift Investigation Into Alleged Forced Hysterectomies \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON (FRIDAY, Sept. 18, 2020)  On Friday, Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.), joined by 37 senators, called on the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general to expeditiously investigate a whistleblower complaint alleging forced hysterectomies at an ICE facility and conduct a nationwide review of reproductive health policies and practices at ICE facilities.\r\nSenator Leahy said: Forced sterilization procedures are abhorrent human rights violations and have been an instrument of genocides around the world. We must never tolerate such practices here in the United States especially not at the hands of those acting on behalf of our own government. These allegations must swiftly be investigated, and any individuals found responsible for these human rights violations must be held accountable.\r\nThe senators wrote: Forced sterilizations infringe on reproductive rights and autonomy. To understand whether such violations may have been committed against immigrants in our federal government's custody, the Inspector General's Office should immediately investigate the reproductive health policies and practices at the ICDC and at other facilities, including but not limited to, all instances of forced, coerced, or medically unnecessary hysterectomies.\r\nIn addition to Senators Leahy, Feinstein, Murray, Casey and Booker, the letter was signed by Senators Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Angus King (I-Maine), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), Jack Reed (D-R.I), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.).\r\nA link the letter can be found here. Full text of the letter follows:\r\n\r\nSeptember 18, 2020\r\n\r\nHon. Joseph V. Cuffari\r\nInspector General\r\nDepartment of Homeland Security\r\n245 Murray Lane SW\r\nWashington, DC 20528-0305\r\n\r\nDear Mr. Cuffari:\r\nThe Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General should expeditiously conduct a thorough investigation into a whistleblower complaint alleging forced hysterectomies and other egregious abuses at the Irwin County Detention Center (ICDC) in Ocilla, Georgia. LaSalle Corrections operates that facility for the federal government, including for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The alleged abuses detailed in the complaint and in related reports must be thoroughly and swiftly investigated to protect the rights and safety of women and patients in our nation's care.\r\nThe whistleblower expressed alarm about the rate at which the hysterectomies have occurred at the facility. Specifically, the complaint alleges that between October and December 2019 at least five women detained at the ICDC received hysterectomies. When asked about the procedures, however, the women reacted confused when explaining why they had one done. The complaint also describes how a gynecologist once removed the wrong ovary on a young woman, causing her to go back to take out the left and she wound up with a total hysterectomy, leaving her unable to bear children.\r\nAnother detained woman who received a hysterectomy recounted that medical personnel did not properly explain to her what procedure she was going to have done. Although she asked for more information about why she was receiving a hysterectomy, she was given three different responses by three different individuals. When the woman told a nurse that the procedure isn't for me, the nurse responded by getting angry and agitated.\r\nForced sterilizations infringe on reproductive rights and autonomy. To understand whether such violations may have been committed against immigrants in our federal government's custody, the Inspector General's Office should immediately investigate the reproductive health policies and practices at the ICDC and at other ICE facilities, including but not limited to, all instances of forced, coerced, or medically unnecessary hysterectomies.\r\nIn addition to thoroughly investigating the recent alleged abuses at the ICDC, we urge you to immediately conduct a national review of reproductive health policies and practices at ICE facilities to ensure that the human rights of women in federal immigration custody are assured.\r\nIf you have any questions or would like to discuss compliance with this request, please contact Kara Lynum with Senator Feinstein's Judiciary Committee staff at (202) 224-7703, Rajiv Venkataramanan with Senator Leahy's Judiciary Committee staff at (202) 224-3466, Danny Smith with Senator Booker's Judiciary Committee staff at (202) 224-7842, Jaron Goddard with Senator Murray's office at (202) 224-6935, or Julia Sferlazzo with Senator Casey's office at (202) 224-4195.\r\nSincerely,\r\n#####", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/sanders-statement-on-passing-of-justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg/", "Sanders Statement on Passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg", "2020-09-18", "2020", "2020-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "BURLINGTON, September 18  Sen. Bernie Sanders issued the following statement on the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg:\nThe passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a tremendous loss to our country. She was an extraordinary champion of justice and equal rights, and will be remembered as one of the great justices in modern American history.\nUnfortunately, we've already heard tonight from Sen. McConnell that he has decided to go against Justice Ginsburg's dying wishes and violate his own past statements in order to bring a judge nominated by President Trump to the floor of the United States Senate.\nThat's in direct contradiction of his statement in 2016, when he said Supreme Court nominees should not be voted on during a presidential election year: Our view is this: Give the people a voice in filling this vacancy,' he said. McConnell is cementing a shameful legacy of brazen hypocrisy.\nThankfully not all Senate Republicans agree.\nJust today, Sen. Lisa Murkowski came out against an appointment this close to an election. I would not vote to confirm a Supreme Court nominee,' she said. We are 50 some days away from an election.' In addition, several of McConnell's other colleagues have previously stated they're against confirming a new justice this close to an election. Sen. Chuck Grassley said in May, You can't have one rule for Democratic presidents and another rule for Republican presidents.' Sen. Susan Collins said, I think that's too close, I really do,' when asked by The New York Times about appointing a justice in October.\nBut no one has been clearer than Judiciary Committee Chair Sen. Lindsay Graham. He promised in 2018 that if an opening comes in the last year of President Trump's term, and the primary process has started, we'll wait to the next election.'\nThe right thing to do here is clear. The Republicans in the Senate know it, and many of them have stated it clearer than I could. We should let voters decide. Period.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/gillibrand-sanders-reintroduce-postal-banking-act-to-fund-us-postal-service", "Gillibrand, Sanders Reintroduce Postal Banking Act to Fund U.S. Postal Service", "2020-09-17", "2020", "2020-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Gillibrand, Sanders Reintroduce Postal Banking Act to Fund U.S. Postal Service\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tThursday, September 17, 2020\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tWASHINGTON, September 17  Today, U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) held a conversation on Facebook Live to announce the Postal Banking Act. The United States Postal Service (USPS) has faced repeated attacks by the Trump administration including denying emergency funding during the pandemic and putting postal workers at risk of losing their jobs, disrupting operations and services, and delaying mail delivery. The Postal Banking Act would re-establish postal banking to provide financial security to millions of Americans in low-income and rural communities and create approximately $9 billion in annual revenue and strengthen USPS. \r\n\"It is absolutely unacceptable that communities all over America lack traditional banking services, said Senator Sanders.\"During the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, we need to make sure that everyone in America is able to receive the affordable banking services that they desperately need.No one in America should have to pay a 400 percent interest rate on a $375 loan from a payday lender.The time has come toput predatory lenders out of business and provide affordable banking options to all Americans through the United States Postal Service. And that is exactly what our legislation will do.\" \r\n\"Being poor in America was expensive before the pandemic, and this unprecedented crisis has made it even harder for under-served communities to access the financial services they need. In addition, the administration's relentless attacks on the Postal Service and push for privatization is compounding the challenges faced by American families, said Senator Gillibrand. The USPS is the only institution that serves every community in the country, from inner cities to rural America. The Postal Banking Act would reinforce the Postal Service, provide critical revenue, and establish postal banking for the nearly 10 million American households who lack access to basic financial services. I'm proud to reintroduce this legislation with my friend Senator Sanders, a leader in the fight against predatory financial institutions.\" \r\nThe Postal Service employs 600,000 workers, including nearly 100,000 vets, and millions of Americans rely on it to deliver their paychecks, prescriptions, and their votes. Yet, the Trump administration has refused to consider emergency funding for the agency in coronavirus relief legislation. Furthermore, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has imposed destructive changes that have slowed mail and compromised services for veterans, small businesses, rural communities, seniors, and families who rely on the mail for medicines, essential goods, voting, correspondence, and for income. With even more voters relying on mail in ballots for November these recent changes to USPS could increase costs for states and make it impossible for election mail to be delivered in time. ThePostal Banking Actwould strengthen the Postal Service by establishing a nonprofit bank offering low-cost checking and savings accounts, ATMs, mobile banking, and low-interest loans. According to a report from the USPS Inspector General, this proposal would create $9 billion in revenue for the Postal Service each year. The postal bank would provide financial services to Americans who have been economically devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. Predatory financial services such as prepaid debit cards, rent-to-own stores, and overdraft fees, often exploit the most vulnerable populations  including low income households, rural communities, veterans and families of active duty personnel  especially in times of economic crisis. Instead of turning to these predatory services, families would gain access to traditional basic banking services and safe financial alternatives through the postal bank. \r\nThe legislation has been endorsed by Alliance for Retired Americans, American Family Voices, Center for Popular Democracy, Color of Change, Family Farm Defenders, Farm Aid, Indivisible, Mainers for Accountable Leadership, MoveOn, NETWORK Lobby Catholics for Social Justice, Our Revolution, Paragon Florida, People's Action, Public Citizen, Social Security Works, Stand By Your Mail: The People's Postal Rescue Campaign, Take on Wall Street, and Working Families Party.\r\n\r\n\r\nWatch the video on Facebook here. \r\nFull text of the legislation can be found here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sanders-welch-introduce-bill-to-give-states-greater-control-over-reactor-shutdown-plans", "Sanders, Welch Introduce Bill to Give States Greater Control Over Reactor Shutdown Plans", "2020-09-17", "2020", "2020-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Sanders, Welch Introduce Bill to Give States Greater Control Over Reactor Shutdown Plans\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tThursday, September 17, 2020\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tWASHINGTON  Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Representative Peter Welch (D-Vt.) introduced the Nuclear Plant Decommissioning Act of 2020 today, which gives states a meaningful role in the development and approval of reactor shutdown plans and post-shutdown license transfers.The legislation is co-led in the Senate by Sen. Duckworth (D-Ill.), Sen. Markey (D-Mass.) and Sen. Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and cosponsored by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Sen. Durbin (D-Ill.), Sen. King (I-Me.), Sen. Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Engel (D-N.Y.) in the U.S. House.\r\nCommunities experiencing the safety and economic impacts of nuclear plant decommissioning deserve dedicated economic relief and a role in shaping those decommissioning plans for nuclear reactors near them, especially in light of the coronavirus and climate change crises, Sanders said. This input is especially critical given the potential for non-operational plants to sit for decades before removal and decontamination. The Nuclear Plant Decommissioning Act of 2020 would transform a process that is weighted almost entirely toward the power plant licensees into one that strikes a reasonable balance between licensees and the impacted communities.\r\nVermonters know first-hand that decommissioning a nuclear power plant has enormous economic and environmental impacts on states and neighboring communities, said Welch. It is essential that state and local leaders have a seat at the table throughout the decommissioning process. This commonsense legislation ensures the decommissioning process is transparent, inclusive and collaborative.\r\nThe Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon was shuttered at the end of 2014 and ownership of the decommissioned plant was transferred in 2019. This bill would give affected states like Vermont an opportunity to weigh in on the new shutdown plan if there is a license transfer or other significant change to the decommissioning plan. Sanders and Welch first introduced an early version of the Nuclear Decommissioning Act in 2014, shortly after the closure of Vermont Yankee was announced.\r\nThe measure would also create several new grant programs to foster communication and information exchange between licensees and communities impacted by plant decommissioning and stranded nuclear waste, and to provide economic assistance to impacted communities.\r\nThe closure of Vermont Yankee has shown us how much local communities have at stake, in both the short and long term, when a plant shuts down, and also the great value that local leaders and citizens can offer at every step of the decommissioning process, said Leahy. This legislation brings the benefits of those lessons to provide host communities across the United States a seat at the table.\r\nAffected communities and state officials and should be able to have a meaningful role in the process of decommissioning nuclear power plants. The Nuclear Decommissioning Act would provide necessary transparency, public involvement and resources to those affected by nuclear plant decommissioningincluding communities near Pilgrim, Yankee Rowe, and Vermont Yankee in Massachusetts, Markey said. I strongly support this legislation, which would give the Commonwealth a say in the decommissioning process and ensure that surrounding communities receive the federal funding they need to address the economic and social impacts posed by the closure of these plants and the presence of stranded nuclear waste.\r\nThe legislation would require licensees to consult with the host state as well as state governments within 50 miles of the plant when drafting a proposed decommissioning plan, as well as require the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to solicit public input on the proposed decommissioning plan. The NRC would have to evaluate and formally adopt or reject the input of the affected states.\r\nIf a host state supports the proposed plan or license transfer, the licensee can secure expedited NRC approval. Otherwise, the NRC must consider amending the proposed plan based on the host state's recommendations.\r\n\r\nTo read a one page summary of the bill, click here.\r\nTo read a section by section outline of the bill, click here.\r\nTo read the full text of the bill, click here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/video-audio/live-sens-gillibrand-and-sanders-talk-postalbanking", "LIVE: Sens. Gillibrand and Sanders Talk PostalBanking", "2020-09-17", "2020", "2020-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "LIVE: Sens. Gillibrand and Sanders Talk PostalBanking \n            Join me and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand as we introduce the Postal Banking Act. Together, we will guarantee basic banking services to allno outrageous fees or interest ratesall at your local post office.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://welch.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/leahy-sanders-welch-introduce-bill-give-states-greater-control-over", "Leahy, Sanders, Welch Introduce Bill to Give States Greater Control Over Reactor Shutdown Plans", "2020-09-17", "2020", "2020-09", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "welch.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Representative Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today introduced the Nuclear Plant Decommissioning Act of 2020, which gives states a meaningful role in the development and approval of reactor shutdown plans and post-shutdown license transfers.\nLeahy said: The closure of Vermont Yankee has shown us how much local communities have at stake, in both the short and long term, when a plant shuts down, and also the great value that local leaders and citizens can offer at every step of the decommissioning process. This legislation brings the benefits of those lessons to provide host communities across the United States a seat at the table.\nCommunities experiencing the safety and economic impacts of nuclear plant decommissioning deserve dedicated economic relief and a role in shaping those decommissioning plans for nuclear reactors near them, especially in light of the coronavirus and climate change crises, Sanders said. This input is especially critical given the potential for non-operational plants to sit for decades before removal and decontamination. The Nuclear Plant Decommissioning Act of 2020 would transform a process that is weighted almost entirely toward the power plant licensees into one that strikes a reasonable balance between licensees and the impacted communities.\nVermonters know first-hand that decommissioning a nuclear power plant has enormous economic and environmental impacts on states and neighboring communities, said Welch. It is essential that state and local leaders have a seat at the table throughout the decommissioning process. This commonsense legislation ensures the decommissioning process is transparent, inclusive and collaborative.\nThe Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon was shuttered at the end of 2014 and ownership of the decommissioned plant was transferred in 2019. This bill would give affected states like Vermont an opportunity to weigh in on the new shutdown plan if there is a license transfer or other significant change to the decommissioning plan.\nThe legislation would require licensees to consult with the host state as well as state governments within 50 miles of the plant when drafting a proposed decommissioning plan, as well as require the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to solicit public input on the proposed decommissioning plan. The NRC would have to evaluate and formally adopt or reject the input of the affected states.\nThe measure would also create several new grant programs to foster communication and information exchange between licensees and communities impacted by plant decommissioning and stranded nuclear waste, and to provide economic assistance to impacted communities. It is co-sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Duckworth (D-Ill.), Sen. Markey (D-Mass.), Sen. Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Sen. Durbin (D-Ill.), Sen. King (I-Maine), Sen. Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Engel (D-N.Y.) in the U.S. House.\nIf a host state supports the proposed plan or license transfer, the licensee can secure expedited NRC approval. Otherwise, the NRC must consider amending the proposed plan based on the host state's recommendations.\nTo read a one page summary of the bill, click here.\nTo read the full text of the bill, click here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/as-new-school-year-begins-leahy-joins-senators-markey-schumer-cantwell-van-hollen-bennet-hassan-schatz-and-other-senators-in-demanding-urgent-action-by-fcc-to-connect-students-to-online-learning", "As New School Year Begins, Leahy Joins Senators Markey, Schumer, Cantwell, Van Hollen, Bennet, Hassan, Schatz And Other Senators In Demanding Urgent Action By FCC To Connect Students To Online Learning", "2020-09-17", "2020", "2020-09", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "09.17.20\n\t\t\t As New School Year Begins, Leahy Joins Senators Markey, Schumer, Cantwell, Van Hollen, Bennet, Hassan, Schatz And Other Senators In Demanding Urgent Action By FCC To Connect Students To Online Learning \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t . . . . FCC need not, and should not, wait for Congress to act to close the homework gap\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t Washington (September 17, 2020)  Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) Thursday joined Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), and Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) led29 of their colleagues in a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) urging it to immediately utilize the E-Rate program to provide internet connectivity to students at home. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, students across the country are increasingly attending virtual classrooms. Yet, studies indicate that as many as 16 million children in the United States lack internet access at home and are unable to participate in online learning. These students are disproportionally from communities of color, low-income households, and rural areas.\r\nThe E-Rate Program is, and has been for more than two decades, an essential source of funding to connect the nation's K-12 schools and libraries to the internet. The FCC has clear authority and available funding under the E-Rate program to provide connections at students' homes  which, because schools have had to close their doors, have become de facto classrooms. However, the FCC has narrowly construed its ability to act during the current emergency, needlessly leaving millions of children at risk of falling behind in their studies.\r\nThe FCC has the power to help mitigate the impact of the coronavirus on our most vulnerable families, write the lawmakers in their letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. We now urge you in the strongest possible terms to utilize this authority to provide internet connectivity and devices for children in need. School bells across the country have started to ring, but without immediate action, many students are at risk of never making it to class.\r\nA copy of the letter can be found HERE.\r\nThe letter is also signed by Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Cory Booker (D.N.J.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Mark Udall (D-N.M.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Angus King (I-Maine), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Bob Casey, Jr, (D-Penn.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Pat Leahy (D-Vt.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).\r\nEvery Senator who signed today's letter also co-sponsored the Emergency Educational Connections Act, legislation that would appropriate at least $4 billion to be delivered through the E-Rate program to equip students with internet connectivity and devices during the ongoing pandemic. These lawmakers are fighting to ensure that Congress enacts this legislation as part of the next coronavirus relief package. However, the FCC need not  and should not  wait for Congress to act.\r\nSenator Markey is the author of the original E-Rate program, which was created as a part of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. The program is designed to connect schools and libraries to the Internet, as well as ensure access for low-income students and families. Prior to E-Rate, only 14 percent of K-12 classrooms had Internet access. Today, Americans benefit from near ubiquitous deployment in schools and libraries. Since the E-Rate began nearly two decades ago, more than $52 billion has been committed nationwide, including nearly $740 million in Massachusetts, to provide internet access for schools and libraries.\r\n###\r\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-and-all-judiciary-committee-democrats-call-for-review-of-political-interference-in-the-durham-investigation", "Leahy And All Judiciary Committee Democrats Call For Review Of Political Interference In The Durham Investigation", "2020-09-17", "2020", "2020-09", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "09.17.20\n\t\t\t Leahy And All Judiciary Committee Democrats Call For Review Of Political Interference In The Durham Investigation \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON (THURSDAY, Sept. 17, 2020)  Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Thursday joined Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and all 10 committee Democrats in calling on the Justice Department inspector general to review whether U.S. Attorney John Durham's probe into FBI activities is violating longstanding rules that protect criminal investigations from political influence.\r\nTheir letter follows reports that Durham's top deputy resigned due to concerns that Durham is being pressured to issue a report before the upcoming election.\r\n[Recent] actions suggest that the Durham investigation is being misused for partisan political purposes and undermine the legitimacy of any investigative steps Mr. Durham takes. In addition, it remains unclear what rules and authority permit the public release of a report' by U.S. Attorney Durham, raising additional concerns about the legitimacy of his appointment and work, the senators wrote.\r\nWe therefore request that your office investigate whether the Durham investigation has operated consistent with Department rules governing the appointment of U.S. Attorneys and the Department's rules on public statements concerning pending investigations, taking action that may impact an upcoming election, and White House-Department communications concerning pending criminal investigations.\r\nFull text of the letter follows:\r\n\r\nSeptember 17, 2020\r\nThe Honorable Michael E. Horowitz\r\nInspector General\r\nUnited States Department of Justice\r\n950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW\r\nWashington, D.C. 20530\r\n\r\nDear Inspector General Horowitz:\r\nWe write to request that you investigate whether U.S. Attorney John Durham's investigation complies with Department of Justice policies, including policies that protect criminal investigations from political influence.\r\nThe Department's mission to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans requires that its prosecutorial decisions be insulated from political influence. To that end, longstanding rules restrain Department personnel from publicly commenting on pending investigations, taking actions that may affect an upcoming election, and communicating with the White House about ongoing criminal investigations. [Justice Manual  9-11.130, 9-16.500, 9-27.760; 6/2018 OIG Report, pp. 17-18; 5/11/2009 Holder Memo]\r\nRecent reports suggest that Attorney General William Barr and other Trump administration officials are violating these longstanding rules. For example:\r\n \r\nNora Dannehy, a respected career prosecutor and Durham's former top assistant, reportedly resigned from the Department out of concern that Durham is being pressed for political reasons to produce a report before its work is done and before the 2020 election. [Hartford Courant, 9/11/2020]\r\n \r\n \r\nAttorney General Barr has repeatedly commented on the Durham investigation and recently promised that there are going to be developments, significant developments, before the election. [Real Clear Politics, 8/14/2020]\r\n \r\n \r\nWhite House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows recently told the press that he had seen documents related to the Durham investigation that spell trouble for Obama-era officials. [Fox News, 9/6/2020]\r\n \r\n These actions suggest that the Durham investigation is being misused for partisan political purposes and undermine the legitimacy of any investigative steps Mr. Durham takes. In addition, it remains unclear what rules and authority permit the public release of a report by U.S. Attorney Durham, raising additional concerns about the legitimacy of his appointment and work.\r\nWe therefore request that your office investigate whether the Durham investigation has operated consistent with Department rules governing the appointment of U.S. Attorneys and the Department's rules on public statements concerning pending investigations, taking action that may impact an upcoming election, and White House-Department communications concerning pending criminal investigations.\r\nSincerely,\r\n\r\nDianne Feinstein\r\nRanking Member\r\n\r\nPatrick Leahy\r\nUnited States Senator\r\n\r\nRichard J. Durbin\r\nUnited States Senator\r\n\r\nSheldon Whitehouse\r\nUnited States Senator\r\n\r\nAmy Klobuchar\r\nUnited States Senator\r\n\r\nChristopher A. Coons\r\nUnited States Senator\r\n\r\nRichard Blumenthal\r\nUnited States Senator\r\n\r\nMazie K. Hirono\r\nUnited States Senator\r\n\r\nCory A. Booker\r\nUnited States Senator\r\n\r\nKalama D. Harris\r\nUnited States Senator\r\n###\r\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-joins-in-urging-trump-to-work-with-congress-to_provide-emergency-rental-assistance-protections", "Leahy Joins In Urging Trump To Work With Congress To  Provide Emergency Rental Assistance, Protections", "2020-09-17", "2020", "2020-09", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "09.17.20\n\t\t\t Leahy Joins In Urging Trump To Work With Congress To  Provide Emergency Rental Assistance, Protections \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t . . . . Vulnerable Infants, Children, Young Adults, Caregivers, Parents Facing Unprecedented Economic Strain amid Public Health Crisis\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t WASHINGTON, DC  Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, led 30 of his Senate colleagues in sending a letter to President Trump urging him to work with Congress on a bipartisan basis to enact legislation that provides the emergency assistance and protections renters need to stay in their homes. Millions of children and youth are at risk of being evicted from their homes due to the Trump administration's refusal to support critical rental assistance and relief measures to protect their health and well-being during this pandemic.\r\nEven before the pandemic, a quarter of all renters were spending half their incomes on housing, and more than 20 million children lived in households that struggled to afford housing, wrote the senators. This pandemic is not only revealing the inequities in our society, but exacerbating them. Recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau show that nearly 1-in-5 renters were behind on rent in July. This hardship fell more heavily on Black and brown renters and families with children, among whom more than 1-in-4 had fallen behind on rent.\r\nAlong with Brown, the letter was also signed by U.S. Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Bob Casey (D-PA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Gary Peters (D-MI).\r\nIn May, Brown applauded the House of Representatives for itsHeroes Act, which includes Senator Brown's rental assistance bill and several key priorities and much-needed relief for Ohio workers, small businesses, and communities. TheHeroes Actwould provide financial assistance for state and local governments, essential workers, testing and contact tracing efforts, direct cash payments, worker safety provisions, housing assistance, small business relief, and more. Brown has repeatedly called on Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to bring the Senate back from recess so Congress can do its job and pass a COVID-19 relief bill.\r\nA full copy of the letter can be found here and below:\r\n\r\nSeptember 17, 2020\r\n\r\nPresident Donald J. Trump\r\nThe White House\r\n1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW\r\nWashington, DC 20500\r\n\r\nDear President Trump:\r\nMillions of children and youth remain at-risk of being evicted from their homes without critical rental assistance to help them or their caregivers pay their bills. Americans deserve better. Senate Republicans ignored calls from across the countryfrom parents, advocates, young people, and housing providers for rental assistance, and instead introduced a proposal that is out of touch with the experiences of American households, leaving millions of people behind.\r\nYour Administration recently issued an order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) instituting a federal rental eviction moratorium through December 31, 2020 for nonpayment of rent. While we appreciate the order's recognition that evictions pose a grave threat to individuals' and public health, and that as many as 3040 million people, are at risk of eviction, this action does not include any new funding to help people pay their rent so they can remain in their homes once the moratorium expires. In addition, the order does not prohibit landlords from charging late penalties and fees to renters who are struggling to pay rent.\r\nToday, millions of households are facing impossible choices between paying the rent or mortgage, or purchasing food or medicine. Given recent spikes in COVID-19 caseloads and an economic crisis that continues to deepen, we urge you to work with Congress on a bipartisan basis to enact legislation that provides the emergency assistance renters need to stay in their homes.\r\nEven before the pandemic, a quarter of all renters were spending half their incomes on housing, and more than 20 million children lived in households that struggled to afford housing.[1] This pandemic is not only revealing the inequities in our society, but exacerbating them. Recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau show that nearly 1-in-5 renters were behind on rent in July. This hardship fell more heavily on Black and brown renters and families with children, among whom more than 1-in-4 had fallen behind on rent.[2]\r\nBlack or Hispanic households with children are more than twice as likely to be behind on their rent or mortgage or struggle to get enough to eat.[3] Research also shows that these circumstances too often lead to housing instability. We've seen how housing instability works hand-in-hand with overrepresentation of Black and Hispanic families in the child welfare system, as families experiencing housing instability are more likely to be investigated by child welfare and have their children removed and placed in foster care compared to families with low incomes who have stable housing.[4] And for those children that live with their grandparents, we see them empty their savings only to lose their homes and move to temporary hotels or motels, forcing them to convert these time-limited living spaces into classrooms and bedrooms to create safe places for their grandchildren during this pandemic.[5] We know before the pandemic young people with foster care experiences struggled with housing instability and recent surveys reveal that more than 40 percent of young people report immediate or pending loss of housing as a result of the public health crisis.[6] Without rental assistance for these young people and families, they will be forced to accrue insurmountable debt, fees, and fines, potentially post-dating evictions until the first of the year.\r\nEvictions have mental health implications for children as well as mothers who experience higher rates of depression months after being forced out of their home, which negatively impacts children's development.[7] Child health disparities, as a result of evictions, are compounded by the economic hardships faced by parents who are left with court orders and judgements that make it harder to secure new housing and maintain stable employment. While parents and students across the country face uncertainty this school year, children who are evicted or move because they can no longer afford rent may be forced to switch schools, resulting in greater disruptions in their academic achievement. Evictions during a pandemic have even more severe negative implications for children. Families who are evicted are forced to move in with others in overcrowded residences, or move to hotel rooms, shelters, cars or other situations, making remote learning for children and social distancing nearly impossible.\r\nMore than 20 million renters have experienced a job loss due to the pandemic, putting millions of households at risk of eviction in the coming months.[8] As unemployment remains high and millions of families with children struggle to make ends meet, it is critical that your Administration and Senate Republicans return to the negotiating table and work to provide at least $100 billion in emergency rental assistance to help millions  including families with children  keep a roof over their heads. Four months ago, the House passed the HEROES Act, which includes rental assistance, a uniform national eviction moratorium through March 27, 2021, and funds supporting homelessness service organizations and affordable housing providers who continue to make safe, affordable housing available for the families, youth, and individuals they serve. It is past time to negotiate comprehensive legislation that will provide renters with the assistance they desperately need.\r\nHousing instability and threat of evictions exemplify how the pandemic is falling hardest on the most vulnerable Americans, especially our children. Disruptions to every aspect of children's lives will have lasting, detrimental effects on their health, safety, and future success. We urge you to act now and in good faith to minimize the impact of this unprecedented public health pandemic on our children's future.\r\nSincerely,\r\n###\r\n    \r\n\r\n[1] Annie E. Casey Foundation, Kids Count Data Center, Children Living in Households with a High Housing Cost Burden in the United States, January 2020, available at:\r\nhttps://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/7244-children-living-in-households-with-a-high-housing-cost-burden?loc=1&loct=1#detailed/1/any/false/37,871,870,573,869,36,868,867/any/14287,14288\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n[6] Johanna K.P. Greeson, Sara Jaffee, Sarah Wasch, The Experiences of Foster Youth During COVID-19, Field Center for Children's Policy, Practice, and Research, May 2020.\r\n\r\n\r\n[7] Matthew Desmond and Rachel Tolbert Kimbro, Eviction's Fallout: Housing Hardship, and Health, Social Forces, 1-30, 2015.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/gillibrand-sanders-reintroduce-postal-banking-act-to-fund-u-s-postal-service/", "Gillibrand, Sanders Reintroduce Postal Banking Act to Fund U.S. Postal Service", "2020-09-17", "2020", "2020-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, September 17  Today, U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) held a conversation on Facebook Live to announce the Postal Banking Act. The United States Postal Service (USPS) has faced repeated attacks by the Trump administration including denying emergency funding during the pandemic and putting postal workers at risk of losing their jobs, disrupting operations and services, and delaying mail delivery. The Postal Banking Act would re-establish postal banking to provide financial security to millions of Americans in low-income and rural communities and create approximately $9 billion in annual revenue and strengthen USPS.\nIt is absolutely unacceptable that communities all over America lack traditional banking services, said Senator Sanders. During the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, we need to make sure that everyone in America is able to receive the affordable banking services that they desperately need. No one in America should have to pay a 400 percent interest rate on a $375 loan from a payday lender. The time has come to put predatory lenders out of business and provide affordable banking options to all Americans through the United States Postal Service. And that is exactly what our legislation will do.\nBeing poor in America was expensive before the pandemic, and this unprecedented crisis has made it even harder for under-served communities to access the financial services they need. In addition, the administration's relentless attacks on the Postal Service and push for privatization is compounding the challenges faced by American families, said Senator Gillibrand. The USPS is the only institution that serves every community in the country, from inner cities to rural America. The Postal Banking Act would reinforce the Postal Service, provide critical revenue, and establish postal banking for the nearly 10 million American households who lack access to basic financial services. I'm proud to reintroduce this legislation with my friend Senator Sanders, a leader in the fight against predatory financial institutions.\nThe Postal Service employs 600,000 workers, including nearly 100,000 vets, and millions of Americans rely on it to deliver their paychecks, prescriptions, and their votes. Yet, the Trump administration has refused to consider emergency funding for the agency in coronavirus relief legislation. Furthermore, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has imposed destructive changes that have slowed mail and compromised services for veterans, small businesses, rural communities, seniors, and families who rely on the mail for medicines, essential goods, voting, correspondence, and for income. With even more voters relying on mail in ballots for November these recent changes to USPS could increase costs for states and make it impossible for election mail to be delivered in time.\nThe Postal Banking Act would strengthen the Postal Service by establishing a nonprofit bank offering low-cost checking and savings accounts, ATMs, mobile banking, and low-interest loans. According to a report from the USPS Inspector General, this proposal would create $9 billion in revenue for the Postal Service each year. The postal bank would provide financial services to Americans who have been economically devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. Predatory financial services such as prepaid debit cards, rent-to-own stores, and overdraft fees, often exploit the most vulnerable populations  including low income households, rural communities, veterans and families of active duty personnel  especially in times of economic crisis. Instead of turning to these predatory services, families would gain access to traditional basic banking services and safe financial alternatives through the postal bank.\nThe legislation has been endorsed by Alliance for Retired Americans, American Family Voices, Americans for Financial Reform, Center for Popular Democracy, Color of Change, Family Farm Defenders, Farm Aid, Indivisible, Mainers for Accountable Leadership, MoveOn, NAACP, NETWORK Lobby Catholics for Social Justice, Our Revolution, Paragon Florida, People's Action, Public Citizen, Social Security Works, Stand By Your Mail: The People's Postal Rescue Campaign, Take on Wall Street, and Working Families Party.\nWatch the video on Facebook here.\nFull text of the legislation can be found here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/sanders-welch-introduce-bill-to-give-states-greater-control-over-reactor-shutdown-plans/", "Sanders, Welch Introduce Bill to Give States Greater Control Over Reactor Shutdown Plans", "2020-09-17", "2020", "2020-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Representative Peter Welch (D-Vt.) introduced the Nuclear Plant Decommissioning Act of 2020 today, which gives states a meaningful role in the development and approval of reactor shutdown plans and post-shutdown license transfers. The legislation is co-led in the Senate by Sen. Duckworth (D-Ill.), Sen. Markey (D-Mass.) and Sen. Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and cosponsored by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Sen. Durbin (D-Ill.), Sen. King (I-Me.), Sen. Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Engel (D-N.Y.) in the U.S. House.\nCommunities experiencing the safety and economic impacts of nuclear plant decommissioning deserve dedicated economic relief and a role in shaping those decommissioning plans for nuclear reactors near them, especially in light of the coronavirus and climate change crises, Sanders said. This input is especially critical given the potential for non-operational plants to sit for decades before removal and decontamination. The Nuclear Plant Decommissioning Act of 2020 would transform a process that is weighted almost entirely toward the power plant licensees into one that strikes a reasonable balance between licensees and the impacted communities.\nVermonters know first-hand that decommissioning a nuclear power plant has enormous economic and environmental impacts on states and neighboring communities, said Welch. It is essential that state and local leaders have a seat at the table throughout the decommissioning process. This commonsense legislation ensures the decommissioning process is transparent, inclusive and collaborative.\nThe Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon was shuttered at the end of 2014 and ownership of the decommissioned plant was transferred in 2019. This bill would give affected states like Vermont an opportunity to weigh in on the new shutdown plan if there is a license transfer or other significant change to the decommissioning plan. Sanders and Welch first introduced an early version of the Nuclear Decommissioning Act in 2014, shortly after the closure of Vermont Yankee was announced.\nThe measure would also create several new grant programs to foster communication and information exchange between licensees and communities impacted by plant decommissioning and stranded nuclear waste, and to provide economic assistance to impacted communities.\nThe closure of Vermont Yankee has shown us how much local communities have at stake, in both the short and long term, when a plant shuts down, and also the great value that local leaders and citizens can offer at every step of the decommissioning process, said Leahy. This legislation brings the benefits of those lessons to provide host communities across the United States a seat at the table.\nAffected communities and state officials and should be able to have a meaningful role in the process of decommissioning nuclear power plants. The Nuclear Decommissioning Act would provide necessary transparency, public involvement and resources to those affected by nuclear plant decommissioningincluding communities near Pilgrim, Yankee Rowe, and Vermont Yankee in Massachusetts, Markey said. I strongly support this legislation, which would give the Commonwealth a say in the decommissioning process and ensure that surrounding communities receive the federal funding they need to address the economic and social impacts posed by the closure of these plants and the presence of stranded nuclear waste.\nThe legislation would require licensees to consult with the host state as well as state governments within 50 miles of the plant when drafting a proposed decommissioning plan, as well as require the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to solicit public input on the proposed decommissioning plan. The NRC would have to evaluate and formally adopt or reject the input of the affected states.\nIf a host state supports the proposed plan or license transfer, the licensee can secure expedited NRC approval. Otherwise, the NRC must consider amending the proposed plan based on the host state's recommendations.\nTo read a one page summary of the bill, click here.\nTo read a section by section outline of the bill, click here.\nTo read the full text of the bill, click here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sanders-schumer-call-for-special-committee-to-ensure-election-security", "Sanders, Schumer Call for Special Committee to Ensure Election Security", "2020-09-16", "2020", "2020-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Sanders, Schumer Call for Special Committee to Ensure Election Security\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tWednesday, September 16, 2020\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tWASHINGTONIn response to the disturbing rise in attacks on the fundamental security and legitimacy of our elections, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) requesting the formation of a specialbipartisancommittee to hear testimony from state and local officials, election experts, and others to reassure the American people that the election will go smoothly and reliably. \"Nothing is more fundamental to our democracy than the integrity of our elections, Senators Schumer and Sanders wrote. Sadly, there are some who are systematically undermining public confidence in the voting process, and irresponsibly fanning suspicions and conspiracy theories about the legitimacy of election results.    \"With the election less than two months away the Senate should immediately establish a specialbipartisancommittee, with equal representation from both parties, thesenators continued.\"The function of that committee must be to hold hearings about what is being done around the country to make certain that our public institutions are prepared to conduct a smooth and reliable election which will be free from voter suppression and intimidation, that every vote will be counted and that there will be confidence in the ultimate outcome.\" The full lettercan be foundhere.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://welch.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/representatives-welch-kuster-pappas-and-pingree-applaud-decision-lift", "Representatives Welch, Kuster, Pappas and Pingree Applaud Decision to Lift Canadian Aluminum Tariff", "2020-09-16", "2020", "2020-09", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "welch.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  Representatives Peter Welch (D-Vt.-At Large), Annie Kuster (D-N.H.-2), Chellie Pingree (D- Maine-1) and Chris Pappas (D- N.H.-1) applauded the Trump administration's decision to suspend a 10% tariff on Canadian aluminum imports. The decision comes just days after the representatives wrote President Trump supporting the request of Governors Scott, Sununu and Mills to lift the tariffs.\nWe are pleased that by working together with our governors and congressional delegations, we succeeded in reversing this harmful tariff on Canadian aluminum imports, said Welch, Kuster, Pingree and Pappas. This is an important victory for our regional economy and for the continued close cooperation with Canada.\nTrade with Canada is critical for Vermont's and our neighboring border states' economies, said Governor Scott. This is why Governor Mills, Governor Sununu and I advocated for this policy change, and I was grateful Congressman Welch and his colleagues did so as well. Reversing these tariffs is beneficial for many Vermont businesses, and I appreciate the White House taking this important step.\nRecently, Representatives Welch and Kuster, separately, discussed cross border trade issues with David Alward, Canadian Consul General to New England, and the impact that an escalated trade war would have on the regional economy. The members reiterated the importance of trade for local businesses and the need for a continued strong trading partnership between the United States and Canada.\nYou can read the full letter sent by the representatives on September 11th here. You can read the full letter sent by Governors Scott, Sununu and Mills here.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/sanders-schumer-call-for-special-committee-to-ensure-election-security/", "Sanders, Schumer Call for Special Committee to Ensure Election Security", "2020-09-16", "2020", "2020-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  In response to the disturbing rise in attacks on the fundamental security and legitimacy of our elections, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) requesting the formation of a special bipartisan committee to hear testimony from state and local officials, election experts, and others to reassure the American people that the election will go smoothly and reliably.\nNothing is more fundamental to our democracy than the integrity of our elections, Senators Schumer and Sanders wrote. Sadly, there are some who are systematically undermining public confidence in the voting process, and irresponsibly fanning suspicions and conspiracy theories about the legitimacy of election results.\nWith the election less than two months away the Senate should immediately establish a special bipartisan committee, with equal representation from both parties, the senators continued. The function of that committee must be to hold hearings about what is being done around the country to make certain that our public institutions are prepared to conduct a smooth and reliable election which will be free from voter suppression and intimidation, that every vote will be counted and that there will be confidence in the ultimate outcome.\nNothing is more fundamental to our democracy than the integrity of our elections, Senators Schumer and Sanders wrote. Sadly, there are some who are systematically undermining public confidence in the voting process, and irresponsibly fanning suspicions and conspiracy theories about the legitimacy of election results.\nWith the election less than two months away the Senate should immediately establish a specialbipartisancommittee, with equal representation from both parties, thesenators continued.The function of that committee must be to hold hearings about what is being done around the country to make certain that our public institutions are prepared to conduct a smooth and reliable election which will be free from voter suppression and intimidation, that every vote will be counted and that there will be confidence in the ultimate outcome.\nThe full letter can be found here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-and-other-leading-democratic-senators-decry-trump-administration-on-expulsion-of-asylum-seekers-from-venezuela-cuba-and-nicaragua-", "Leahy And Other Leading Democratic Senators Decry Trump Administration On Expulsion Of Asylum Seekers From Venezuela, Cuba, And Nicaragua", "2020-09-15", "2020", "2020-09", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "09.15.20\n\t\t\t Leahy And Other Leading Democratic Senators Decry Trump Administration On Expulsion Of Asylum Seekers From Venezuela, Cuba, And Nicaragua  \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON (MONDAY, Sept. 14, 2020)  Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today was joined by Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), and Ben Cardin (D-Md.) in calling on the Trump administration to end its anti-immigrant policies denying access to asylum for Venezuelans, Cubans, Nicaraguans, and others forced to flee their countries.\r\nIn a letter addressed to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Department of Homeland Security Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy, and Plans Chad Wolf, the Senators decried the Trump administration's policy of forcing legal asylum seekers into dangerous cities in Mexico and its record of deporting them back to the dictatorships they fled.\r\nThe administration's policies to expel and endanger refugees and asylum seekers from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and other countries send a message of callousness, cruelty, and disregard for human rights that feeds our adversaries' agenda to cast doubt on the United States' exceptional role as a beacon of freedom and democracy, the Senators wrote.\r\nThe Senators expressed concern that the Trump administration is forcing these vulnerable migrants back to some of Mexico's most violent cities, where they are reportedly subjected to extortion and kidnapping by organized criminal groups. Added the Senators, We fail to see how denying protection and inflicting further suffering on Venezuelans, Cubans, and Nicaraguans and others fleeing brutal regimes serves U.S. foreign policy and humanitarian interests.\r\nThe Senators also condemned the administration's record of deporting individuals and families back to the dictatorships they were forced to flee, what would amount to a violation of U.S. law prohibiting refoulement.\r\nA copy of the letter may be found HERE and below:\r\n\r\nSecretary Pompeo and Under Secretary Wolf:\r\nGiven the Trump administration's efforts to deny access to asylum in the United States, we write to express our profound concern for the safety of Venezuelan, Cuban, Nicaraguan and other refugees and asylum seekers. This Administration's policies  including metering, the Remain in Mexico policy, and Title 42 expulsions - are forcing thousands of individuals fleeing persecution, torture, and oppression into dangerous conditions that threaten their lives and freedom and undermine U.S. foreign policy goals.\r\nThrough these policies, the Trump administration is routinely forcing Venezuelans, Cubans, Nicaraguans, and others seeking asylum back to Mexico's most violent cities, where they are reportedly preyed upon by organized criminal groups who extort and kidnap them for ransom. For example, during just half of last year, U.S. officials forced more than 7,300 Cubans back to Mexico.[1] In fiscal year 2020, the Trump administration already has expelled over 147,000 asylum seekers and migrants from our southern border,[2] including untold numbers of Venezuelans, Cubans, and Nicaraguans. This is deeply troubling given reports that more than 1,110 asylum seekers and migrants returned to Mexico have been murdered, raped, tortured, kidnapped, or violently assaulted.[3] Many Mexican migration officials have been charged with corruption, and Mexico apparently is unable to adequately protect migrants from such crimes.[4],[5]\r\nWe are troubled by reports that Venezuelan women and girls arriving at the U.S. borderwho had the courage to flee dictatorship and to escape criminal violence and human trafficking by illegal armed groupsare now being pushed back by the Trump administration to face similar threats of organized crime and violence in Mexico.[6],[7] With evidence of cooperation between transnational criminal organizations operating in Venezuela and Mexico's border regions, delivering these women and girls back into territory controlled by such perpetrators is simply unconscionable.\r\nAt the migrant camp in Matamoros, Mexico, several health clinic volunteers are Cuban asylum seekers who were sent to Venezuela by the Cuban government to serve as doctors and nurses, and subsequently fled authoritarianism in both countries.[8] These medical professionals are the very victims of human trafficking that you have purportedly sought to defend, yet the Trump administration forced them back to dangerous conditions in Mexico.\r\nMoreover, the Trump administration has taken the egregious step of sending Venezuelans, Cubans, Nicaraguans, and others directly back into the hands of the persecutors and torturers they fled. Already this fiscal year, the United States has deported over 100 Venezuelans, over 1,300 Cubans, and nearly 1,000 Nicaraguans the vast majority of whom had no criminal convictions[9] yet many now may face retaliation at home. A recent U.S. deportation flight contained more than 100 Nicaraguan dissidents who had fled to the U.S. border following detention, beatings, and  in some cases - torture by President Ortega's regime.[10] Their return to Nicaragua means these refugees may be more likely than not to be persecuted and tortured again.\r\nWe fail to see how denying protection and inflicting further suffering on Venezuelans, Cubans, and Nicaraguans serves U.S. foreign policy and humanitarian interests. The Administration's actions appear to violate U.S. law prohibiting refoulementthe forcible return of refugees to a place where their lives or freedom would be threatened. And they undermine the United States' longstanding bipartisan tradition of standing in solidarity with individuals fleeing repression.\r\nThe Administration's policies to expel and endanger refugees and asylum seekers from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and other countries send a message of callousness, cruelty, and disregard for human rights that feeds our adversaries' agenda to cast doubt on the United States' exceptional role as a beacon of freedom and democracy. We urge you to end these policies immediately and to uphold the right to seek asylum in the United States.\r\nSincerely,\r\n###\r\n    \r\n\r\n[1] Gamez Torres, Nora. After drastic policy changes, more than 20,000 Cuban asylum seekers are fighting deportation, Miami Herald, January 16, 2020.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n[4] Maureen Meyer and Gina Hinojosa, Mexico's Human Rights Landscape During Lpez Obrador's First Year in Office, WOLA, November 26, 2019. \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n[8] Hennessy-Fiske, Molly. Cuban doctors and nurses seeking asylum keep border clinic running during pandemic, Los Angeles Times, May 26, 2020.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n[10] Sieff, Kevin. She fled torture in Nicaragua, only to be sent back, Washington Post, August 30, 2020, p. 1.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://welch.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/welch-kuster-pappas-and-pingree-send-letter-trump-opposing-tariffs", "Welch, Kuster, Pappas and Pingree Send Letter to Trump Opposing Tariffs on Canadian Aluminum", "2020-09-11", "2020", "2020-09", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "welch.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  Representatives Peter Welch (D-Vt.-At Large), Annie Kuster (D-N.H.-2), Chris Pappas (D-N.H.-1) and Chellie Pingree (D-Maine-1) on Friday sent a letter to President Trump asking him to reverse his decision to impose a 10% tariff on Canadian aluminum imports. The letter expresses full support of the letter sent by the Governors of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine requesting that the President remove the tariff on Canadian aluminum.\nThis tariff is extremely detrimental to the economies of our states and the close and mutually beneficial relationship our states have enjoyed with Canada, our major trading partner, wrote the Representatives. It is imperative that our states continue to expand and strengthen our economic and social ties with Canada. The tariff weakens that bond.\nYou can read the full letter here. Vermont Governor Phil Scott (R) sent a letter with New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu (R) and Maine Governor Janet Mills (D) on September 8th. You can read that letter here.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/recent-business/floor-speech-on-the-republican-skinny-relief-bill", "Floor Speech on the Republican \"Skinny\" Relief Bill", "2020-09-10", "2020", "2020-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Floor Speech on the Republican \"Skinny\" Relief Bill\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tThursday, September 10, 2020\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t Statement on the Republican Skinny Relief Bill \r\n\r\nMr. President: Today, as a result of the horrific pandemic and economic meltdown, the American working-class is hurting like they have never hurt before.\r\nTens of millions of our fellow citizens have lost their jobs. They have lost their incomes. They have lost their health insurance. They have depleted their life savings. They cannot afford to pay the rent. They cannot afford to put food on the table. And they are scared to death that any day now they will get a knock on the door from the sheriff evicting them from their homes and throwing them and their belongings out on the street.\r\nMr. President. This is the United States of America, the richest country in the history of the world. No one should be going hungry. No one should have to live in fear of becoming homeless. No one should be denied the health care that they need, especially during the worst public health crisis in over a hundred years.\r\nBut that is precisely what is going on all over America as we speak.\r\nJust the other day, National Public Radio released a survey on the unprecedented economic suffering facing the American people that should shock everyone in the United States Senate into action.\r\nAnd here is what that survey found:\r\n46 percent of Americans  over 150 million people  are now experiencing serious financial problems.\r\n41 percent of Americans  over 134 million people - have used up all or most of their savings.\r\n33 percent of American families have had someone in their household who has either lost a job, lost a business or has been furloughed during the pandemic.\r\nMr. President. This is an unprecedented moment in American history and the Senate needs to take unprecedented action now to improve the lives of the American people.\r\nAnd yet, in the midst of all of this pain, what has the Republican Senate done over the last 5 months to address the economic suffering of the American people? Nothing, except pass a $740 billion budget for the bloated Pentagon and take an extended vacation.\r\nAnd now that the Senate is back in session, Senate Republicans have introduced a so-called skinny relief bill that is totally inadequate in terms of addressing the crisis that we are facing today.\r\nThe Senate Republican bill provides nothing for rent, nothing for mortgages, nothing for food, nothing for hazard pay, nothing for healthcare, nothing for public transportation, and nothing to prevent the mass layoffs of teachers, nurses, firefighters and construction workers.\r\nIn other words, the same Republicans who had no problem voting for a trillion dollar tax break to the top one percent and large corporations two years ago, are now telling 40 million Americans who are struggling to pay for housing that we cannot afford to help them pay their rent or their mortgage.\r\nThe same Republicans who just voted to provide $740 billion for the bloated Pentagon and military industrial complex to wage endless wars, are now telling 30 million workers who lost their jobs that we cannot afford to continue the $600 a week supplement they were receiving in unemployment benefits.\r\nThe same Republicans who slipped a $135 billion tax break for multi-millionaires and billionaires into the last coronavirus relief package, are now telling 29 million Americans who do not have enough food to eat that we cannot afford to help them feed their families.\r\nBut Mr. President, if you are an executive in the coal industry, you are in luck. The Republican Senate bill provides your industry with $161 million in corporate welfare.\r\nThat's right. The Republican Senate bill provides no money for working families. No money to feed the hungry. No money to house the homeless. No money to insure the uninsured - no money for them. But it does provide $161 million in corporate welfare for the coal industry during a climate emergency.\r\nWell, Mr. President. That may make sense to the CEOs in the fossil fuel industry who are destroying the planet, but it makes zero sense to me.\r\nFurther, under the Senate Republican bill, if you are a rich business owner who forces employees to work in an unsafe and unhealthy workplace, you are rewarded. The Republican bill will provide you with the immunity you need from lawsuits if your workers get sick or die from the coronavirus. But if you are an essential worker during this pandemic, you get nothing. The Republican bill does not provide a nickel more for hazard pay or the personal protective equipment that you need and deserve.\r\nNeedless to say, I am strongly opposed to the Senate Republican bill and I am glad that it was defeated earlier today. Mr. President, instead of listening to the needs of fossil fuel CEOs, we need to listen to the needs of working-class Americans.\r\nInstead of providing more corporate welfare to billionaires and large corporations, we need to provide more economic relief to the tens of millions of Americans who are hurting economically.\r\nMr. President, nearly 4 months ago, the House of Representatives did its job by passing the HEROES Act - a $3.5 trillion bill. In my view, the Senate has got to stand up and do its job and pass a bill that is just as good if not better than what the House did.\r\nNow, Mr. President, I have received, many thousands of letters, emails and social media responses from my constituents in Vermont and all over this country about how the economic crisis has negatively impacted their lives and what the $600 a week in unemployment benefits that expired in July meant to them.\r\nLet me read to you just a few of the many thousands of stories my office has received:\r\nA constituent from North Chittenden, Vermont wrote:\r\nI was laid off in March. Since the end of the extra $600 I've been able to eat because of the food bank. I wasn't able to get one of my prescriptions because even with insurance it was $88. I saved as much as I could during the extra $600 period but I'm almost out of money now. Literally enough to make it about 10 days. Then what? I'm 65.\r\nAn unemployed worker wrote: We can't pay our rent including car payment and car insurance, bills, feed our four kids or buy necessities. We desperately need the extra $600 to stay afloat. If we don't get our money soon, we could lose EVERYTHING!!!\r\nAnother unemployed worker recently wrote: My state benefit was $127/week (I exhausted my available state funds last week). My rent is $1,200 a month. Without further congressional action I will be unhoused within a month or two.\r\nA constituent from Danville, Vermont wrote:\r\nThat moment the government stopped the $600 a week they closed my benefits. I never saw anything other than that $600 and it went to bills and rent. Now I'm behind on everything again.\r\nAnd on and on it goes.\r\nClearly, in the midst of this unprecedented crisis the Senate must act and act NOW. Not with a skinny relief bill that does virtually nothing to help working families in their time of need. But with legislation that responds to the unprecedented economic pain and suffering that the American working class is experiencing.\r\nWe need to extend the extra $600 a week in unemployment benefits for the 30 million Americans who have lost their jobs  like the House passed over 3 months ago. This is absolutely essential. It would give families, during this crisis, the income they need to live with dignity.\r\nWe need to make sure that every working-class person in America receives $2,000 a month until this crisis is over so that they can pay the rent and put food on the table.\r\nWe need to expand Medicare to all of the 92 million Americans who are uninsured or under-insured.\r\nIn other words, we need a coronavirus relief bill that benefits the working class and the poor, not the wealthy and the well-connected.\r\nNow, I know what my Republican colleagues will say: That's too expensive. We can't afford it.\r\nWell, maybe, just maybe, if my Republican colleagues were so concerned about the deficit, they may want to ask their billionaire campaign contributors to pay more in taxes, instead of giving them massive tax breaks.\r\nMr. President, in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and the worst public health crisis in more than a hundred years, I think most Americans would be shocked to learn that 467 billionaires in our country have seen their wealth go up by $800 billion.\r\nLet me repeat that. 467 billionaires have seen their wealth go up by $800 billion during the pandemic.\r\nIn my view, at a time of massive wealth and income inequality, when so many our people are hurting, it is morally obscene for billionaires to use a global pandemic as an opportunity to make outrageous profits.\r\nInstead of more austerity for the working class and the poor, we need to impose austerity on the billionaire class and Wall Street.\r\nAnd that is why, Mr. President, I have introduced legislation to tax the obscene wealth gains billionaires have made during the public health crisis. According to Americans for Tax Fairness, if we taxed 60 percent of the windfall gains billionaires made during the pandemic we could raise over $420 billion. That's enough revenue to allow Medicare to pay all of the out-of-pocket healthcare expenses for everyone in America over the next 12 months. Yes, Mr. President, by taxing 60 percent of the wealth gains made by just 467 billionaires during this horrific pandemic, we could guarantee healthcare as a right for an entire year. And billionaires would still be able to pocket more than $310 billion in wealth gains during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. At a time of enormous economic pain and suffering, we have a choice to make. We can continue to allow the very rich to get much richer while everyone else gets poorer and poorer. Or we can tax the winnings a handful of billionaires made during the pandemic to improve the health and well-being of tens of millions of Americans. Mr. President, it is time for the Senate to act on behalf of the working class who are hurting like they have never hurt before, not the billionaire class who are doing phenomenally well and have never had it so good.\r\n\r\nYou can read the prepared remarkshere.\r\nYou can watch the floor speechhere.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/video-audio/pass-the-relief-our-people-neednow", "Pass The Relief Our People NeedNow", "2020-09-10", "2020", "2020-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Pass The Relief Our People NeedNow \n            Instead of providing more corporate welfare to billionaires and large corporations, we need to provide more financial relief to the tens of millions of Americans who are hurting like they have never hurt before.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-and-the-green-mountain-national-forest-construction-of-long-sought-forest-hq-will-begin-this-month", "Leahy And The Green Mountain National Forest: Construction Of Long-Sought Forest HQ Will Begin This Month", "2020-09-10", "2020", "2020-09", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "09.10.20\n\t\t\t Leahy And The Green Mountain National Forest: Construction Of Long-Sought Forest HQ Will Begin This Month \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t . . . . A New Gateway To A Natural Resource That's The Legacy Of Every Vermonter'\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t (THURSDAY, Sept. 10, 2020) -- The U.S. Forest Service will begin construction this month of a new Forest Supervisor's Headquarters building for the Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests (GMNF). The $6 million facility will be built on Route 4 in Mendon. Senator Patrick Leahy and the GMNF made the announcement on Thursday.\r\nLeahy has worked for years to support and advance this project, using his key roles as Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and as the senior member and former chair of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, And Forestry. Leahy has made a high priority of securing a visitor-friendly, federally owned GMNF Headquarters, which can also serve as a gateway to what he has long seen as a tremendous natural resource that is part of the legacy of every Vermonter.\r\nThe new GMNF Headquarters will be an 11,550-square-foot federal building located on National Forest Service land, on Route 4 in Mendon. The state-of-the-art building will provide a greatly enhanced experience for visitors and a more efficient work environment for Forest Service staff. A local company, VMS Construction of Rutland, was awarded the contract for the site preparation work, which will begin this month and continue through this Fall season.\r\nThe project has been planned by the Forest Service for about 15 years and will now be built as the result of directive language and funding that Leahy secured in the Forest Service's annual funding bill. Construction on the building itself will begin next Spring. The overall project cost will be about $6 million.\r\nLeahy said: This new state-of-the-art headquarters for the Green Mountain National Forest will support Vermont's vital outdoor recreation, timber sectors, and serve to highlight our state's proud legacy of conservation.It will be a gateway to our National Forest,and will improve its hardworking staff's efficiency and enhance the experience of Vermonters and tourists who visit and use this invaluable resource.\r\nThe GMNF headquarters has been housed in leased office space in Rutland for many years. The new location, in the National Forest itself, will provide more scenic views and the opportunity for trails and outdoor exhibits and other interpretive experiences. There will be long-term cost savings from the use of this new energy-efficient and federally-owned facility.\r\n# # # # #\r\n\r\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/schatz-senators-demand-answers-from-census-bureau-on-how-they-will-ensure-fair-count-accurate-apportionmen-of-congressional-representation-in-2020-census", "Schatz, Senators Demand Answers From Census Bureau On How They Will Ensure Fair Count, Accurate Apportionmen Of Congressional Representation In 2020 Census", "2020-09-10", "2020", "2020-09", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "09.10.20\n\t\t\t Schatz, Senators Demand Answers From Census Bureau On How They Will Ensure Fair Count, Accurate Apportionmen Of Congressional Representation In 2020 Census \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON  Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) led a group of 19 senators in calling on the Census Bureau to provide more details on how they plan to use data from the 2020 Census to apportion congressional representation. This comes after multiple attempts by President Trump to interfere with the count for political purposes, as well as the limitations on conducting the census in full during the coronavirus pandemic.\r\nWith the president's unconstitutional memorandum excluding undocumented people from apportionment, coupled with your agency's decision to end the 2020 Census count one month early, we also raise serious concerns about a fair and accurate distribution of congressional representation,the senators wrote.\r\nIn their letter to Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham, the senators are asking for answers on the data and methodologies that the bureau will use to decide how many members of the House of Representatives each state will receive in the 118th Congress. They highlight concerns about how only certain states are sharing citizenship information and the data acquired could be inconsistent, unreliable, or incompletewhich may lead to an inaccurate distribution of congressional representation.\r\nThe resulting reapportionment report submitted to the U.S. House of Representatives by the president will be an inaccurate, arbitrary, and unconstitutional distribution of congressional seats across the country,the senators wrote.\r\nIn addition to Senator Schatz, the letter was signed by Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), MartinHeinrich(D-N.M.), Mazie K.Hirono(D-Hawaii), TimKaine(D-Va.), BernieSanders(I-Vt.), and JackyRosen(D-Nev.).\r\nThe full text of the letter can be found below and is available here.\r\n\r\nDear Director Dillingham:\r\nWe write to raise concerns about the data and methodologies that the Census Bureau will use to develop apportionment counts for each of the states. With the president's unconstitutional memorandum excluding undocumented people from apportionment, coupled with your agency's decision to end the 2020 Census count one month early, we also raise serious concerns about a fair and accurate distribution of congressional representationa fundamental and crucial aspect of our constitutional democracy.\r\nFrom the time of our founding, the Constitution established a democracy premised on the idea that all personsno matter where they are from, regardless of whether they can votedeserve representation in our government. To ensure representation for all, the Constitution, through both Article I, Section 2 and the Fourteenth Amendment, explicitly requires the federal government to accurately conduct an actual Enumeration of the people. The Fourteenth Amendment places a clear duty on the federal government to count the whole number of persons in each State. In other words, the federal government must count all people living in the United States, whether they are citizens or non-citizens, whether they were born in the United States or in a distant part of the world, whether they are living here in accordance with our laws or not.\r\nFurthermore, the framers of the Fourteenth Amendment considered immigrants, undocumented or otherwise, as people entitled to equal representation, insisting that the whole immigrant population should be numbered with the people and counted as part of them. The Supreme Court has affirmed this constitutional understanding, emphasizing that the Framers chose to use population . . . as the basis for representation, and that representatives serve all residents, not just those eligible or registered to vote.\r\nFollowing the Supreme Court's ruling to block this administration's attempt to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, the president issued an executive order directing Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to collect citizenship information from other governmental sources. Per this directive, the Census Bureau has amassed a collection of administrative records from various sourcessome from existing agreements with federal, state, and local agencies, and others from newly established partnerships.\r\nHowever, the collection of citizenship information is not uniform across the country. This raises the prospect that the Census Bureau will have incomplete information as to the citizenship status of all persons residing in the country. For example, some federal agencies have agreed to share citizenship information with the Census Bureau. However, a person's immigration status can change over time. The administrative data on a person is only as good as the moment when the agency interacts with that person. For example, a person who entered the country without documentation may have received Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals protection, or may have started a path to citizenship by serving in the military, or may have been granted asylum protection. Depending on when a person interacts with an agency, their status may be very different from what it is currently.\r\nAt the same time, not every state is sharing citizenship data. States such as Iowa, Nebraska, South Carolina and South Dakota agreed to share driver's license and state identification card information. But states like Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and Illinois denied the Census Bureau's request to share information. Furthermore, state administrative data on citizenship can be unreliable and inaccurate. As a result, your agency will have arbitrarily collected information based on state officials who decide to share or not information about their citizens, some of which will contain citizenship information, and some will not.\r\nThis arbitrary collection of citizenship information implicates the president's unconstitutional attempt to exclude undocumented people from fair representation in the Congress.Apportionment is a geographic division of congressional seats. If only certain states are sharing citizenship informationand the data shared is itself unreliable or inaccurateand federal data sets do not capture all persons in the country, then the data available to the Census Bureau for apportionment tabulation will be incomplete and run afoul of the Constitution. The resulting reapportionment report submitted to the U.S. House of Representatives by the president will be an inaccurate, arbitrary, and unconstitutional distribution of congressional seats across the country, based on states that either had or did not have citizenship information for selected portions of their population. An arbitrary collection of data will produce a bad output based on that datagarbage in, garbage out.\r\nIn addition, the Census Act prohibits the Census Bureau from using sampling methods to determine apportionment. In 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Census Bureau's proposed uses of statistical sampling to calculate the population for purposes of congressional apportionment following the 2000 decennial census. A similar effort by the agency to use statistical sampling to determine the numbers of undocumented people in each state should be rejected by the courts.\r\nThese problems are further exacerbated by the agency's decision to end self-response and non-response follow up operations a month earlyfrom October 31 to September 30. The shortened schedule risks the accuracy of the Census Bureau's data products, including the apportionment tabulation, and raises risks that errors will neither be found nor fixed. A federal judge recently issued a temporary restraining order to stop the Census Bureau from winding down or altering 2020 Census field operations until a September 17 hearing. Furthermore, the administration's refusal to include statutory deadline extensions in their negotiations with congressional leaders on coronavirus relief legislation, raise questions about their commitment to addressing these concerns.\r\nTo address some of these concerns, we ask that you provide answers to the following questions:\r\n \r\nIn implementing Executive Order 13880, can the Census Bureau collect administrative record data uniformly and universally across the country? If so, how?\r\nWhat are the models and methodologies that the Census Bureau is currently developing and studying to tabulate apportionment? Does the agency have enough time to study, test, and implement these apportionment models and methodologies prior to the December 31, 2020 deadline? How will these models and methodologies comply with the Census Act's prohibition on the use of statistical sampling for apportionment purposes?\r\nAn agency document on 2020 Census operations and data processing notes that A compressed review period creates risk for serious errors not being discovered in the data  thereby significantly decreasing data quality. The document also notes that serious errors discovered in the data may not be fixed  due to lack of time to research and understand the root cause or to re-run and re-review one or multiple state files. How will the Census Bureau ensure that its apportionment tabulation does not contain significant errors?\r\nAs the Census Bureau implements the president's July 21, 2020, memorandum, how will you ensure that the apportionment tabulation is developed in a way that is not arbitrary when the agency uses administrative data collected through agreements with other federal, state, and local agencies that is not uniformly shared and may contain errors and inaccuracies?\r\nTo what degree of confidence can the Census Bureau assure the public that its apportionment tabulation is not arbitrary, does not contain significant errs, and is a fair and representative distribution of congressional seats? What is the basis for the agency's confidence, considering many of the quality assurance processes that will be side-stepped or completed hastily under the condensed timeframe?\r\n \r\nThese questions raise serious concerns about one of the most fundamental constitutional activities: the apportionment of congressional representation. With the end of the 2020 Census and the apportionment deadline fast approaching, we request your written response by September 24, 2020. Thank you for your attention to our request.\r\nSincerely,\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/recent-business/sanders-presses-health-officials-on-vaccine-availability", "Sanders Presses Health Officials on Vaccine Availability", "2020-09-09", "2020", "2020-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Sanders Presses Health Officials on Vaccine Availability\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tWednesday, September 9, 2020\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t By:WCAX News Team;WCAX \r\n\r\nVermont Senator Bernie Sanders Wednesday pressed federal health officials on whether Americans will have to pay for a vaccine once one has been approved by the FDA.\r\nThe Senate Committee on Health, Education Labor and Pensions heard from advisers to the president's coronavirus response, including National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins and U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams.\r\nIn response to a question from Sanders on the cost of a future vaccine, both said that cost would not be a barrier\r\nThis is something I'm gonna be working very hard on. Other senators will as well. Will you join us in the effort to make sure that this vaccine will be distributed free of charge to all Americans? Sanders asked U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams.\r\nI want to give you a very direct answer. Yes. As surgeon general of the United States, I promise you we will use every federal tool that we have to make sure that cost is not an obstacle for people to receive the vaccine that is likely the most anticipated of our time, Adams responded.\r\nBoth Adams and Collins also stressed that safety will not be compromised by the vaccine's accelerated timeline. 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