{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "is_view": false, "human_description_en": "where state = \"VT\" and year = 2013 sorted by date descending", "rows": [["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/comment-of-sjc-chairman-leahy-on-chief-justice-roberts-year-end-report-on-the-federal-judiciary", "Comment Of SJC Chairman Leahy On Chief Justice Roberts' Year-End Report On The Federal Judiciary", "2013-12-31", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.31.13\n\t\t\t Comment Of SJC Chairman Leahy On Chief Justice Roberts' Year-End Report On The Federal Judiciary \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\u201cThe Chief Justice's annual year-end report again focuses on the significant financial strain on our Federal courts. \u00a0These cuts have a real impact for Americans seeking justice, and pose real threats to the dedicated public servants who work in our nation\u2019s Federal courts as well as to members of the public. \u00a0A return to regular order in our appropriations process will, I hope, ensure that our courts have the resources they require.   \u00a0   \u201cIn his report, Chief Justice Roberts warns against the danger of reduced funding to public safety. Congress earlier this month passed an extension of the Supreme Court Police\u2019s authority to protect Justices, their staff, and official guests when they are away from Supreme Court grounds. \u00a0Our courts must have the resources they need not just to process litigation, but to protect those seeking justice.    \u00a0   \u201cOne threat facing our courts which is unaddressed in the Chief's year-end report are the continuing vacancies plaguing the Federal courts.\u00a0 This year, the number of vacancies has hovered around 90 because obstruction in Congress has led to filibuster after filibuster of qualified nominees. We must not take for granted that we have the greatest justice system in the world, and ensuring this continues requires the Senate to fulfill its constitutional duty of advice and consent.\u201d\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/photos/december-2013", "December 2013", "2013-12-31", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.31.13\n\t\t\t\t December 2013 \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tView photos from various events in December.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/comment-of-senator-patrick-leahy-on-the-agreement-by-governor-shumlin-attorney-general-sorrell-and-entergy-concerning-vermont-yankee", "Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Agreement By Governor Shumlin, Attorney General Sorrell And Entergy, Concerning Vermont Yankee", "2013-12-23", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.23.13\n\t\t\t Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Agreement By Governor Shumlin, Attorney General Sorrell And Entergy, Concerning Vermont Yankee \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\u201cI am pleased to hear that the State of Vermont and Entergy have been able to come to agreement with respect to the future of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, and I look forward to learning the details of this agreement when they become available. \u00a0Moving ahead with a safe decommissioning of Vermont Yankee is of the utmost importance to the State of Vermont, and especially to the Vermonters in the plant\u2019s vicinity.\u00a0 I believe that safety must remain a top focus as this process moves forward.\u00a0 I am committed to working closely with the state and the Vermont congressional delegation as this process advances.\u00a0 I am also pleased that support for economic development in Southeastern Vermont is also addressed in this agreement.\u00a0 This transition needs to accommodate local residents and communities and to address their interests and concerns.\u201d\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/in-the-news/bad-times-for-big-brother", "Bad Times for Big Brother", "2013-12-22", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Bad Times for Big Brother \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\nSunday, December 22, 2013\n\t\n\n    \n    The New York Times\n    \n    \nIt has been a long week for the National Security Agency. Last Monday, a federal judge ruled for the first time that the agency's continuing sweep of Americans' phone data -- a once-secret program legally sanctioned for seven years and illegally conducted for five years before that -- was very likely unconstitutional. Judge Richard Leon denounced the agency's activities in collecting data on all Americans' phone calls as ''almost Orwellian.''\r\nTwo days later, the Obama administration released a comprehensive report that found ''the current storage by the government of bulk metadata creates potential risks to public trust, personal privacy and civil liberty.'' And last Friday, the latest release of classified documents from Edward Snowden revealed surveillance efforts that included the office of the Israeli prime minister and the heads of international companies and aid organizations.\r\nIf the N.S.A. had not already gotten the message, the 300-plus-page advisory report, by a panel of intelligence and legal experts selected by President Obama, surely drove it home. All three branches of the federal government are now on record as recognizing that the agency has repeatedly misused, if not plainly abused, its powers, and that it must be reined in. The report's 46 wide-ranging recommendations include stopping the bulk collection and storage of phone data, reforming the structure and processes of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, installing a civil liberties advocate to argue against the government's position in that court, and introducing stricter oversight of the agency's actions across the board.\r\nMost of these would be welcome reforms, and some of them Mr. Obama can put in place on his own. In fact, when he was a member of the Senate Mr. Obama supported many reforms that were similar or identical to the ones now on his desk. Yet as president, he has allowed the surveillance programs to continue and even grow.\r\nThat isn't entirely shocking; the executive branch's responsibility to protect national security is unique. But no matter who occupies the Oval Office, it has always tested and often transgressed the limits of its power. Over the long run, the nation cannot bank on presidential self-restraint or timely and favorable court rulings to stop the invasion of privacy on a mass scale.\r\nMeanwhile, Congress has the power to change the surveillance laws, and now it has the support of a presidential commission, whose recommendations line up nicely with the provisions of the U.S.A. Freedom Act, a bill co-sponsored by Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy and Republican Representative James Sensenbrenner.\r\nAs that bill recognizes, one of the most urgent tasks for lawmakers will be to amend the law to stop the government's collection and analysis of bulk data. Under the Patriot Act as it stands, the government needs only to show that the data it seeks are ''relevant'' to an authorized investigation concerning international terrorism -- a vague standard that the intelligence court has interpreted so broadly as to make it meaningless. Any amendment should at the very least raise the standard to require a more direct connection between the data the government seeks and the wrongdoing it is trying to prevent.\r\nPreventing terrorist attacks is a critical and complex job. But as the advisory report rightly emphasizes, a free society must have another kind of security as well: the security of its citizens from the ''fear that their conversations and activities are being watched, monitored, questioned, interrogated, or scrutinized.'' Without this security, ''individual liberty, self-government, economic growth, and basic ideals of citizenship'' all are jeopardized.\r\nIt has been more than six months since Mr. Snowden's leaks began to expose breathtakingly broad surveillance activities that even monitored the communications of world leaders. The damage done to privacy rights, to the public's trust in government and to diplomatic relationships is unlikely to be repaired for a long time.\r\nIn his news conference last Friday, Mr. Obama acknowledged that some reforms could be done, but he insisted that there was no evidence that the phone surveillance program was being abused -- a truly disturbing assessment given all the revelations since June. He said there's a need to restore Americans' trust in their government. The way to restore that trust is not through cosmetic touch-ups, but by Congress and the courts setting firm limits on all surveillance programs and ensuring that the administration complies.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/presidents-review-group-to-appear-before-sjc-next-month", "President’s Review Group To Appear Before SJC Next Month", "2013-12-22", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.22.13\n\t\t\t President\u2019s Review Group To Appear Before SJC Next 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 Leahy Announces Jan. 14th Hearing During \u201cMeet the Press\u201d Appearance\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t WASHINGTON (Sunday, December 22, 2013) \u2013 The members of the President\u2019s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee next month to provide testimony on their recent recommendations to overhaul the government\u2019s surveillance authorities, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced Sunday. This will be the Judiciary Committee\u2019s first full committee hearing in the new year.\r\n\u201cThe recommendations from the President\u2019s Review Group make clear that it is time to recalibrate our government\u2019s surveillance programs. The Judiciary Committee plays a critical role in this discussion, and that is why I have invited all members of the review group to testify publicly before our Committee next month,\u201d Leahy said in a statement, after appearing on \u201cMeet the Press\u201d to discuss the issue. \u201cMomentum is building for real reform.\u201d\r\nMembers of the Review Group will appear before the Committee on Tuesday, January 14. The White House last week released the group\u2019s recommendations to reform the nation\u2019s broad surveillance laws, a number of which align with Leahy\u2019s bipartisan USA FREEDOM Act.\u00a0 Among other things, the bill would end the bulk collection of phone records under Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act. In its lead editorial today, the New York Times highlights Leahy\u2019s bipartisan measure with Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) and notes that \u201cCongress has the power to change the surveillance laws.\u201d\r\n# # # # #\r\nThe USA FREEDOM Act\r\nSeveral recommendations from the President\u2019s review group align with provisions in the bipartisan USA FREEDOM Act, a bill authored by Senator Leahy that has drawn broad support from across the political spectrum and a host of technology companies, trade associations and nonprofit organizations.\r\nThose provisions include:\r\nAn End To Bulk Collection of Americans\u2019 Communications Records\r\n \r\nThe USA FREEDOM Act ends bulk collection under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, in light of the massive intrusion on Americans\u2019 privacy and the lack of evidence of its effectiveness, and instead allows only more targeted searches.\u00a0\r\n \r\nStricter Safeguards on National Security Letters\r\n \r\nThe USA FREEDOM Act places significant limits and safeguards on the use of National Security Letters, and includes judicial review of nondisclosure orders.\r\n \r\nProtections\u00a0 For \u00a0Americans\u2019 Communications Collected Under the FISA Amendments Act\r\n \r\nThe USA FREEDOM Act closes NSA\u2019s \u201cback door\u201d access to Americans\u2019 communications by requiring a court order to search for the communications of Americans in data collected without individualized warrants under Section 702 of FISA.\r\n \r\nReforms To the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court\r\n \r\nThe USA FREEDOM Act creates a Special Advocate tasked with promoting privacy interests in the FISA Court\u2019s closed proceedings and addresses the problem of \u201csecret law\u201d by establishing a process for public release of FISA Court opinions containing significant legal interpretations.\r\n \r\nIncreased Transparency and Oversight\r\n \r\nThe USA FREEDOM Act permits Internet and telecommunications companies to report publicly basic information about their participation in NSA surveillance programs.\u00a0\r\n \r\n \r\nThe USA FREEDOM Act requires the government to provide new public reporting on FISA implementation and the use of National Security Letters.\r\n \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/comment-of-senator-patrick-leahy-d-vt-chairman-senate-judiciary-committee-on-target-data-breach", "Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On Target Data Breach", "2013-12-20", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.20.13\n\t\t\t Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On Target Data Breach \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\u201cLike many Americans, I am troubled by the revelation that Target suffered a major data security breach involving 40 million credit and debit cards used to pay for purchases at its stores.\u00a0 This data security breach is just the latest in a series of breaches that have impacted the privacy of\u00a0millions of American consumers in recent years.\u00a0 It is also an important reminder that the Congress must act to develop a comprehensive national strategy to improve the nation\u2019s cybersecurity.\u00a0\u00a0\r\n\u201cIn the Digital Age, Americans face new threats to their privacy as consumers and businesses alike collect, share and store more information in cyberspace.\u00a0 That is why I have worked for many years to enact Federal data privacy legislation that would better protect American consumers and businesses from cybercrime.\u00a0 I commend the dedicated men and women of the United States Secret Service and the Department of Justice who are working tirelessly to investigate this data security breach and to protect the public during the holiday shopping season.\u00a0 I will continue to closely monitor the ongoing investigation and to work with others in Congress to enact meaningful data privacy legislation in the new year.\u201d\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-hails-confirmation-of-mayorkas-to-top-dhs-position", "Leahy Hails Confirmation Of Mayorkas To Top DHS Position", "2013-12-20", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.20.13\n\t\t\t Leahy Hails Confirmation Of Mayorkas To Top DHS Position \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 Mayorkas To Fill No. 2 Spot At Department\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t WASHINGTON (Friday, December 20, 2013) \u2013Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) hailed the Senate\u2019s vote Friday to confirm Alejandro Mayorkas to serve as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. The position has been without a Senate-confirmed leader since April.\r\n\u201cThe Department of Homeland Security is the leading agency for some of the most pressing issues facing our Nation, from providing disaster relief to protecting our borders,\u201d said Leahy, who spoke on the floor in favor of the nomination Friday.\u00a0 \u201cTo serve the American people, this agency needs a full complement of leaders. With the Senate\u2019s action today, the Department now has in place its most important leaders in Alejandro Mayorkas and Jeh Johnson.\u201d\r\nLeahy, who earlier this year shepherded consideration of comprehensive immigration reform through the Senate, also hailed Mayorkas\u2019 leadership of the EB-5 Regional Center Program while serving as Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and he blasted the Department\u2019s inspector general for conducting a deeply mismanaged review of the program and of Mayorkas.\u00a0\u00a0\r\n\u201cIt is unfortunate that Director Mayorkas\u2019 nomination has been the subject of unfair and partisan attacks, and it is wrong that some tried to create controversy about Director Mayorkas even before his confirmation hearing occurred in the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,\u201d Leahy said.\u00a0 \u201cThe attacks mounted against Director Mayorkas are made even less credible by the conduct of the former DHS Deputy Inspector General, who was forced to resign in the face of allegations of serious misconduct.\u201d\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/senate-republicans-block-nine-judicial-nominees-from-confirmation", "Senate Republicans Block Nine Judicial Nominees From Confirmation", "2013-12-20", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.20.13\n\t\t\t Senate Republicans Block Nine Judicial Nominees From Confirmation \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON (Friday, December 20, 2013) \u2013 Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) blasted Republicans for needlessly blocking the confirmation of nine judicial nominees currently pending on the floor before the end of the year.\r\n\u201cRepublicans are once again\u2014for the fifth year in a row\u2014rejecting the longstanding Senate practice of scheduling confirmation votes on consensus nominees before the end of the session,\u201d Leahy said. \u201cThe result is that we will spend a significant portion of the next year on the Senate floor doing work that should have been completed this year.\u201d\r\nA total of 55 judicial nominees pending in the Judiciary Committee and on the floor will be returned to the White House because of Republican delay tactics, Leahy said, including recent obstruction of the Committee even meeting to consider nominees.\r\nLeahy noted that the Senate confirmed on Friday Brian Davis to a district court seat in Florida. Davis\u2019s nomination lagged for 660 days. Judge Robert Wilkins, a nominee to serve on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, will be considered early next year.\r\n\u201cAs we approach the new year, I hope that reasonable Republicans will join us in restoring the Senate\u2019s ability to fulfill its constitutional duties and do its work for the American people,\u201d he said.\r\nLeahy\u2019s full statement on judicial nominations can be found online.\r\n#####\r\nNominations Pending On The Senate Calendar \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nJeffrey A. Meyer (D CT)\r\n\r\n\r\nReported on September 19, 2013\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nTimothy L. Brooks (WD AR)\r\n\r\n\r\nReported on October 31, 2013\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nJames Donato* (ND CA)\r\n\r\n\r\nReported on October 31, 2013\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nBeth L. Freeman* (ND CA)\r\n\r\n\r\nReported on October 31, 2013\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nPedro D. Hernandez* (D PR)\r\n\r\n\r\nReported on October 31, 2013\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nCarolyn B. McHugh (10th Cir, UT)\r\n\r\n\r\nReported on November 14, 2013\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nPamela L. Reeves (ED TN)\r\n\r\n\r\nReported on November 14, 2013\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nVince G. Chhabria* (ND CA)\r\n\r\n\r\nReported on November 14, 2013\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nJames M. Moody (ED AR)\r\n\r\n\r\nReported on November 14, 2013\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n*Indicates this nominee will fill a Judicial Emergency\r\n#####\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-of-senator-patrick-leahy-d-vt-chairman-senate-judiciary-committee-on-judicial-nominations-in-2013", "Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On Judicial Nominations in 2013", "2013-12-20", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.20.13\n\t\t\t Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On Judicial Nominations in 2013 \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tRepublicans are once again\u2014for the fifth year in a row\u2014rejecting the longstanding Senate practice of scheduling confirmation votes on consensus nominees before the end of the session.\u00a0\r\nRather than working in a bipartisan fashion to confirm consensus nominees to fill judgeships as we wind down for the year, Senate Republicans have deliberately refused to agree to vote on consensus nominees who could and should be confirmed without delay.\u00a0 The result is that we will spend a significant portion of the next year on the Senate floor doing work that should have been completed this year.\u00a0 And now the Republican abuse of Senate rules has further escalated\u2014Republicans have for the first time ever, refused to allow any currently pending judicial nominees to be held over so that they could be ready for immediate action next year.\u00a0 For purely political reasons, Senate Republicans are forcing us to duplicate work next year that we have already completed in 2013.\u00a0 It is a waste of taxpayer dollars and valuable resources that could be spent addressing the difficult issues facing our Nation.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\r\nAs it stands, nine judicial nominations pending on the Senate Executive Calendar\u2014all reported by the Judiciary Committee unanimously or with significant bipartisan support\u2014are being returned to the President.\u00a0 Another 15 judicial nominees who could have been reported to the full Senate and confirmed by the end of this year had Senate Republicans not blocked the Judiciary Committee\u2019s ability to meet to report these nominees to the full Senate are being returned to the President.\u00a0 Another 31 judicial nominees pending in the Senate Judiciary Committee will also be returned to the President.\u00a0 Each of these nominations represents a significant amount of work by the nominees themselves, the White House, the Department of Justice, and Senate staff on both sides of the aisle.\u00a0 The only judicial nomination not being returned to the President is Robert Wilkins\u2019 nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, because the procedural posture of his nomination enables the Senate to hold his nomination over until next year.\u00a0 I am pleased that Judge Wilkins\u2019 nomination will not be returned, which allows for quick action next year, but there is no good reason to return any of the other 55 judicial nominations pending in the Senate.\u00a0\r\nSenate Republicans\u2019 persistent obstruction over the last five years has led to record high vacancies in Federal courts throughout the country.\u00a0 At the end of 2009, Senate Republicans left 10 nominations on the Executive Calendar without a vote.\u00a0 Two of those nominations were returned to the President, and it subsequently took nine months for the Senate to take action on the other eight.\u00a0 This resulted in the lowest one-year confirmation total in at least 35 years.\u00a0 At the end of 2010 and again in 2011, Senate Republicans left 19 nominations on the Senate Executive Calendar.\u00a0 It then took nearly half the following years for the Senate to confirm these nominees.\u00a0 Last year they blocked 11 judicial nominees from votes and refused to expedite consideration of others who had already had hearings.\u00a0 And this year, they have escalated their obstruction and delay of judicial nominations by indiscriminately requiring that nominees be sent back to the President at the end of this first session of the 113th Congress.\u00a0 The effect of which is to needlessly cause delay in the Senate\u2019s ability to process these nominations and prevent more judges from getting to work for the American people.\r\nSenate Republicans will argue that the change in Senate precedent a few weeks ago on nominations is the cause of their refusal to cooperate, but history shows that this is simply not true.\u00a0 The truth is, from the first day President Obama took office, Senate Republicans pursued a path of delay and obstruction on judicial nominees that departed dramatically from Senate tradition.\u00a0 That it took five years into this presidency for the rules to change has been the result of certain senators, including me, who have been reluctant to change prior Senate practice.\u00a0 But once the government stops functioning, the right course of action is to do what needs to be done so that the American people have a government that works to make their lives better.\u00a0 The American people do not want to hear about tit-for-tat politics or their representatives playing the blame game.\u00a0 They are tired of Congress wasting time and resources when there is so much to be done.\u00a0 They want their representatives to work, vote, and fulfill their constitutional obligations.\u00a0 They want their representatives to fulfill their duty of advice and consent so that our courts have the necessary judges to provide speedy, quality justice.\r\nThe reality, unfortunately, falls short of the American peoples\u2019 expectation.\u00a0 During 2013, the same obstruction that has plagued the Senate during the first term of the Obama Administration continued to delay the rate of confirmations to appointments on the Federal bench.\u00a0 The 113th Congress began with a high level of vacancies on the Federal Judiciary.\u00a0 As of January 2013, there were 77 vacancies in the Federal judiciary, and, of these, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts determined 27 of them to be \u201cjudicial emergencies.\u201d\u00a0 Over the course of 2013, the number of vacancies has hovered around 90.\u00a0 Right now, at the end of the fifth year of the Obama administration, there are a total of 88 judicial vacancies, 36 of which are judicial emergency vacancies.\u00a0 In stark contrast, at the end of the fifth year of the Bush administration, there were less than 50 judicial vacancies, and only 16 of those were judicial emergency vacancies.\u00a0\r\nAs the year closes, judicial vacancies remain at crisis levels.\u00a0 However, despite these high levels, Republican obstructionism continues to impose severe delays on the confirmations process, particularly in those states that faced significant obstruction from Republican home state Senators, such as Arizona and Texas.\u00a0\r\nA year after the American people voted to re-elect President Obama, Senate Republicans decided to escalate their obstruction to an unimaginable level this year, preventing the President from filling any of the three vacancies on what is often considered the second most important court in the Nation\u2014the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.\u00a0 Senate Republicans chose to filibuster all three nominees to that court, without even considering their qualifications.\u00a0\u00a0 This type of wholesale obstruction was simply unacceptable.\r\nRepublicans attempted to \u00adjustify their opposition to filling any of the three vacancies on the D.C. Circuit by arguing that the court\u2019s caseload did not warrant the appointments.\u00a0 We all knew that this was a transparent attempt to prevent a Democratic president from appointing judges to this court.\u00a0 In 2003, the Senate unanimously confirmed John Roberts by voice vote to be the ninth judge on the D.C. Circuit\u2014at a time when its caseload was lower than it is today.\u00a0 In fact, his confirmation marked the lowest caseload level per judge on the D.C. Circuit in 20 years.\u00a0 Not a single Senate Republican raised any concerns about whether the caseload warranted his confirmation, and during the Bush administration, they voted to confirm four judges to the D.C. Circuit, providing the court with 11 active judges.\u00a0 In light of this double-standard, I finally agreed that past precedent had to be revisited because a faction of the minority party should not be permitted to nullify an election by blocking the President\u2019s nominees without regard to their qualifications.\u00a0\r\nI am pleased to say that in the last few weeks, after taking action, we were finally able to confirm Patricia Millett and Nina Pillard \u2013 two highly qualified attorneys \u2013 to the ninth and tenth seats on the D.C. Circuit.\u00a0 With the confirmation of these two women, there will now be five women and five men actively serving as judges on the D.C. Circuit\u2014this is an historic first for any Federal appellate court.\u00a0 I am, however, disappointed that Senate Republicans refused to allow us to take a vote on Judge Robert Wilkins, another well qualified nominee whose confirmation would enable the D.C. Circuit to function at full strength, with 11 judges.\u00a0 I am hopeful that we will have a vote on his nomination early next year.\r\nOther historic firsts for women serving on our Federal judiciary also occurred this year.\u00a0 In April, Jane Kelly became the first woman from Iowa to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit, and, in May, Shelly Dick was confirmed as the first woman to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana.\u00a0 Late last week, after the Majority Leader was forced to file cloture over Republican opposition to moving forward on district court nominees, three more nominees were confirmed to serve as the first women on their respective courts: Elizabeth Wolford, to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of New York; Landya McCafferty, to be U.S. District Judge for the District of New Hampshire; and Susan Watters to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Montana.\u00a0\r\nAfter an extraordinarily long delay of nearly 22 months since his nomination, we were also finally able to confirm Brian Davis to fill a judicial emergency vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.\u00a0 I am disappointed that it required overcoming a Republican filibuster on his nomination.\u00a0 He is a superb nominee.\u00a0 The ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary has unanimously rated him to be \u201cWell Qualified\u201d to serve on the Federal bench.\u00a0 For the past 20 years he has served as a state court judge, where he has presided over 600 cases in both civil and criminal matters that have gone to verdict or judgment.\u00a0 Prior to becoming a state court judge, he served for a total of nine years as a state prosecutor, including three years as Chief Assistant State Attorney. \u00a0Judge Davis also has experience in private practice, where he was a partner at the law firm of Terrell Hogan.\u00a0 He will make a fine Federal judge.\r\nI am pleased that despite continued Republican attempts to block or delay confirmation of judicial nominees, we were able to continue to move forward on these and other nominees this year.\u00a0 I have heard, however, some suggestion that Republicans will now seek to delay judicial nominations by exploiting a Senate tradition known as the \u201cblue slip.\u201d\u00a0 The Constitution requires that judicial appointments be made \u201cwith the Advice and Consent of the Senate.\u201d\u00a0 For nearly 100 years, Chairmen of the Senate Judiciary Committee have sought to give meaning to this constitutional edict by a blue slip policy to ensure that senators are given an opportunity to advise the President about potential judicial nominees before they are nominated to fill lifetime positions in their home state.\u00a0 A blue slip is a piece of paper sent by the Chairman to home state senators asking that it be signed and returned with an indication of whether they approve of or oppose the judicial nomination made by the President.\u00a0\r\nOver the years, other Chairmen have taken a more flexible view of the blue slips, but during my chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I have protected the rights of Senators \u2013 whether Republican or Democrat \u2013 to be meaningfully consulted.\u00a0 Honoring the blue slip policy allows judicial nominations to move forward in committee only after receiving positive blue slips from home state senators. \u00a0Another improvement I made when I first became Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2001 was to make home state senators more accountable for their blue slip decisions by making the process transparent for the first time.\u00a0 I will continue to honor the blue slip policy as it currently stands, but I hope that Republicans will not abuse this tradition and force me to reconsider.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\r\nAs we approach the new year, I hope that reasonable Republicans will join us in restoring the Senate\u2019s ability to fulfill its constitutional duties and do its work for the American people.\r\n# # # # #\r\n\u00a0\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-of-senator-patrick-leahy-on-the-2014-defense-authorization-act-", "Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy on the 2014 Defense Authorization Act.", "2013-12-20", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.20.13\n\t\t\t Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy on the 2014 Defense Authorization Act.  \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tMr. LEAHY. Mr. President, the compromise Fiscal Year 2014 National Defense Authorization Act is an important authorization bill that I intend to support. This will be the second legislative matter considered by the Senate this week that reflects the kind of compromise too often missing from our deliberations in Congress. It does not meet the needs of every Senator, but it marks a step in the right direction and will allow the Department of Defense to move forward key programs in the coming year.\r\nI understand the frustration of some Senators who were keen to offer amendments to this authorization bill. In fact, two measures I introduced during the Senate's consideration were not included in the compromise. These provisions would have extended protections for human rights by aiding international efforts to prosecute war criminals and compensating innocent civilians who fall victim to combat operations. Both provisions have significant support, and I remain committed to continuing to work to see them enacted in the new year. But despite the best efforts of Chairman Levin and Ranking Member Inhofe, the amendment process in the Senate was derailed by irrelevant proposals, which prevented provisions like these from receiving consideration. Nonetheless, I will support this compromise..\r\nThe bill before the Senate authorizes the activities of the Department of Defense, the single largest U.S. Government entity. As a result, manufacturers and service providers across the United States will keep Americans employed making and doing things for the Department. It means that the U.S. Armed Forces can take the steps needed to address threats to our security. Most importantly, it means the members of the Armed Forces and their families can count on having the equipment and support they need while selflessly serving to keep us safe.\r\nThe Defense authorization bill before us also contains important changes that will help the administration transfer more individuals out of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. It includes a provision that relaxes the current onerous certification requirements that must be satisfied before transferring detainees to third countries. These requirements have proven to be unnecessary and counterproductive.\r\nRegrettably, the compromise bill retains two limitations that were included in the House-passed version of the authorization. The legislation extends the current prohibition on constructing facilities in the United States to house Guantanamo detainees and also extends the ban on transferring detainees to the United States for detention or trial. I strongly believe that the executive branch must have all options available in handling terrorism cases, particularly the ability to prosecute terrorists in Federal criminal courts. That is why I voted against an amendment by Senator Ayotte during the Senate floor debate in November that included these same restrictions.\r\nAlthough I would have preferred the more favorable detention-related provisions contained in the underlying Senate bill, this compromise represents an improvement over existing law.\r\nReforms to the military justice system in this compromise also accomplish an improvement of the status quo. This bill includes roughly two dozen changes to the Uniform Code of Military Justice and Department of Defense policy that enhance victims' rights and protections and amend the investigative and prosecutorial process. Among the measures included in the bill is the removal of a commander's ability to overturn jury convictions, and a secondary review of any decision made not to prosecute, whether made by the convening authority or the staff judge advocate. Additionally, the 5-year statute of limitations on trial by court-martial for additional offenses involving sex-related crimes is eliminated, and those accused of certain sex-related offenses are required to receive dishonorable discharges or dismissals if convicted.\r\nThese important accountability measures will be supported by the removal of the ``good soldier'' defense for the accused, and victims will further be protected by changes that prevent them from being forced to testify at article 32 proceedings and at trial. Though more can be done, these and other provisions adopted represent a significant improvement and merit the Senate's support.\r\nThere are many other provisions in this bill that are worthy of highlighting, but as cochair of the Senate National Guard Caucus, I am most pleased that this bill does not compromise on supporting the National Guard. As an essential part of U.S. security at home and abroad, the National Guard is an integral part of the Armed Forces today and will remain so in the future. Among the many provisions that demonstrate the strong commitment to the National Guard felt by Members of Congress in both Chambers, two are most important. First, the authorization effectively ends the process of ``off-ramping,'' wherein a National Guard unit scheduled to deploy is replaced at the last minute by an Active unit, preserving both certainty and operational readiness for our National Guard personnel and families.\r\nSecond, it requires congressional budget justification documents to specifically enumerate funding levels for embedded mental health providers in National Guard and Reserve units. For too many years, men and women in the Guard and Reserves have come home from war to inadequate mental health resources. The Congress took the important step of embedding mental health providers in units, but resources disproportionally moved towards the large, Active military bases, while our hometown heroes at small drill centers around the country went without. With specific enumeration, we can take a better look at resource allocation and we in the Congress can make sure members of the Guard and Reserve get similar access to their Active counterparts.\r\nThe authorization before the Senate is the result of compromise. The Senate will close this session of Congress on the heels of two bipartisan votes that passed a 2-year budget and this important authorization bill. I hope that this bodes well for further cooperation and compromise in the new year.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-of-senator-patrick-leahy-on-the-farm-bill-conference-progress", "Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy On the Farm Bill Conference Progress", "2013-12-20", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.20.13\n\t\t\t Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy On the Farm Bill Conference Progress \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWhile the days are limited before the end of 2013, the Farm Bill Conference Committee presses on, working together in a bipartisan fashion to resolve differences and to take the steps necessary to enact a comprehensive and balanced Farm Bill. Under the leadership of Chairwoman Stabenow and Chairman Lucas, it now appears we are on target to complete our work on this bill early in the New Year.\r\nNonetheless, it has now been more than 440 days since the Farm Bill first expired. Farms are businesses, and farmers in Vermont and across the country are desperate to have a new Farm Bill enacted to give them the much-needed certainty for their planting and other farm decisions. Since the 2008 Farm Bill expired last year, we have seen parts of the country ravaged by blizzards that wiped out cattle herds while commodity prices slump. More than 20 programs, including the Organic Certification Cost Share Program, the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Grant Program, livestock disaster, renewable energy programs, and assistance for rural small business owners have been stranded without updated charters, and the USDA has had to press the pause button since these programs are stuck with no authorized funding. Those who participate in these programs are left hanging. That is as unwise as it is unfair.\r\nLast week the House of Representatives quickly took up and passed a short-term extension of the Farm Bill with very little debate and has asked the Senate to do the same. I have heard a lot of concern here in the Senate that this short, one-month extension could allow direct payment subsidies to continue for another full year. We have already agreed on a bipartisan and bicameral basis to get rid of these unnecessary and expensive direct payment subsidies to agribusiness, so we should not fall into this trap of extending them for a full year. That would be unacceptable, and, according to Secretary Vilsack, unnecessary.\r\nSecretary Vilsack has indicated that if Congress completes the Farm Bill in early January, which can be done based on progress we have already made, we will not see the negative effects of the expiration of the dairy title, and implementation of the law should go smoothly. This is a reassuring, positive signal from the Secretary that consumers and our dairy farmers will not see the spikes in the cost of milk that we had all feared last New Year\u2019s Eve.\r\nOf course, if the House of Representatives really wanted to get a Farm Bill done sooner, they would have kept the House in session this week instead of recessing for the year. Instead, they pushed forward a counterproductive short term extension to make it seem that they are doing something for farmers. This comes after the House leadership spent much of the past two years dragging their feet on farm policy and reforms, while the Senate has now passed two overwhelmingly bipartisan and reform-oriented Farm Bills.\r\nWhile we had first hoped to complete this work in 2012, the Farm Bill was pushed back to 2013, and it will soon become the 2014 Farm Bill. Over the last two years, the need for this comprehensive legislation has only grown. We have all heard stories from our home states about the real impacts caused by the failure of Congress to pass a new Farm Bill and the continued uncertainty for farmers and those who rely on USDA\u2019s nutrition programs. I regret that far too many hungry and food insecure families across America have to wonder whether this most basic assistance will still be in place to offer support in the new year.\u00a0 I have always been a strong proponent of nutrition assistance programs and the doors they open and will continue to oppose drastic and draconian cuts and damaging changes to these programs.\u00a0\u00a0\r\nI look forward to returning in January and sitting down with the Conference Committee to work through the final details of this bill. We cannot delay any longer, and I am pleased that Chairwoman Stabenow and Chairman Lucas have come together in a bipartisan way to move the Farm Bill forward. As a past chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and a seven-time Farm Bill conferee, I know the challenges they have faced. I look forward to helping with the final steps in conferencing this legislation \u2013 a bill that touches every American. Its passage will strengthen the Nation and grow our economy.\r\nThe Farm Bill has long stood as a model of bipartisan consensus. I look forward to the Senate and House reaching a final bipartisan agreement that will move the bill forward to the President\u2019s desk.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-of-senator-patrick-leahy_chairman-senate-judiciary-committee-on-the-first-session-of-the-113th-congress--progress-made-and-much-left-incomplete", "Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy  Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On the First Session Of The 113th Congress  Progress Made And Much Left Incomplete", "2013-12-20", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.20.13\n\t\t\t Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy  Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On the First Session Of The 113th Congress  Progress Made And Much Left Incomplete \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tStatement Of Senator Patrick Leahy  Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On the First Session Of The 113th Congress Progress Made And Much Left Incomplete\r\n\u00a0\r\nAs the first session of the 113th Congress comes to a close, it is appropriate to reflect on some of the accomplishments of the year, while acknowledging that so much more could have been done had Republicans in both the Senate and the House cooperated.\u00a0 We have passed some common sense, good government legislation.\u00a0 As Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I am proud of the work of the Senate Judiciary Committee this year.\u00a0 While there remains much work to be done, these accomplishments illustrate what we as a Congress are capable of when we set aside partisan politics and put the good of the American people first.\r\nViolence Against Women Act\r\nMy first legislative priority at the beginning of this Congress was to complete our work to improve and re-invigorate the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).\u00a0 Vermont has been a national leader in addressing domestic and sexual violence.\u00a0 In Vermont, VAWA funding has helped the National Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence provide services for more than 7,000 adults and nearly 1,400 children in 2011 alone.\u00a0 The Burlington-based Women Helping Battered Women and Middlebury-based WomenSafe have supported thousands of children and adults by offering emergency shelter, transitional housing, counseling and legal assistance.\u00a0 These dedicated service providers help victims recover from unspeakable trauma and abuse, but the need for VAWA remains.\u00a0 Three women are killed every day by abusive husbands or boyfriends.\u00a0 In Vermont, 51 percent of all homicides are related to domestic violence.\u00a0 After months of work, the Senate came together in the best tradition of the institution to reauthorize VAWA with a strong bipartisan vote.\u00a0 This bill, which I drafted with Senator Mike Crapo, a conservative Republican from Idaho, proved that when we put people before politics there is much we can accomplish.\u00a0 Our bill was written with the input of survivors and the advocates who work with them every day, law enforcement personnel, judges and state and local leaders. It was drafted to meet the real needs of real victims.\u00a0 Although it faced early resistance, none of the common sense changes it included should have been controversial.\u00a0Eventually, the House listened to the experts in the field and followed the Senate\u2019s example, and passed this inclusive, life-saving legislation.\u00a0\u00a0 At a time when we face gridlock and stonewalling on even the most compelling issues, I was heartened to see that we could find a way to cut through all of that to help victims of violence.\r\nI am proud of this new law. As a result of its passage, for the first time, VAWA guarantees that all victims can receive needed services, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.\u00a0\u00a0 The Leahy-Crapo Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act strengthens protections for vulnerable immigrant victims.\u00a0 It ensures that colleges and universities will do more to protect students from domestic and sexual violence.\u00a0 Our reauthorization also took important new steps to combat the appalling epidemic of domestic violence on tribal lands and to ensure that no perpetrators of this terrible crime are above the law.\u00a0 I was happy to work with Representative Tom Cole, a Republican from Oklahoma, to preserve this provision in our bill.\u00a0 I thank him for his leadership.\r\nTo help support the important work of Vermont\u2019s domestic and sexual violence advocates, I included all-state minimum funding allocations in the VAWA reauthorization, and amended the definition of rural state to ensure that Vermont continues to be eligible for grants under the Rural Grant Program, despite the increased population in Chittenden County.\u00a0 So far in 2013, Vermont has received $4.5 million in VAWA grants for victim services and violence prevention.\r\nThe bill that the President signed also included the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA), which strengthens effective programs to help us take on the scourge of human trafficking, both here at home and around the world.\u00a0 It is unacceptable that 150 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, the evils of sex trafficking and labor trafficking, forms of modern day slavery, still exist.\u00a0 It has been needlessly difficult, but I am glad that the Senate adopted my amendment to add the Trafficking Victims Protection Act to our Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act to address the horrors of human trafficking.\r\nMy work across party lines did not end with passage of VAWA and TVPRA.\u00a0 It continued on a number of other smaller, yet nonetheless important, pieces of legislation.\r\nIraqi Visa extension \r\nAs chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Appropriations Committee\u2019s Subcommittee on State Department and Foreign Operations, I worked with Senators Shaheen and McCain to obtain a continuation of the Iraqi Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program (H.R.3233).\u00a0 Congress created the program in 2008 to afford some of the tens of thousands of Iraqis who served alongside U.S. troops the opportunity to seek safety and a new beginning in the United States. It was set to expire at the end of October despite the fact that after five years fewer than 6,000 of the 25,000 available visas had been distributed to those Iraqis who risked their lives to be our translators and our guides. They were a critical resource to our troops, helping them navigate complex cultural, political, and geographic terrain.\u00a0 Letting the program expire would have meant\u00a0leaving many well-deserving Iraqi allies in danger and undermining American credibility for decades to come.\r\nAlthough our initial efforts this fall to include the extension in the Continuing Resolution were blocked, we were able to work together to honor our commitment and renew this critical program by passing bipartisan legislation at the final hour.\u00a0 Among the many lessons of the Vietnam War is that we must not abandon those who risked their lives to help us.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\r\nMissing Children\u2019s Assistance Act\r\nOver the summer, I also worked with Representatives Kline and Miller on the House Education and Workforce Committee, and with Ranking Member Grassley to pass the Missing Children\u2019s Assistance Reauthorization Act of 2013 (H.R.3092).\u00a0 This important measure ensures that the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) can continue its critical and lifesaving work on behalf of some of the most vulnerable children in our communities. Congress has now renewed its obligation to support vital efforts to locate missing children and to protect all children from being victimized by predators. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was first launched nearly three decades ago.\u00a0 In that time, NCMEC has helped law enforcement in the recovery of more than\u00a0188,000\u00a0missing children through the use of a 24-hour hotline, a National Child Pornography Tipline and a CyberTipline, as well as the circulation of millions of photographs used to help track and identify missing children. \u00a0The bill passed by Congress in September extends the program another five years.\r\n\u00a0\r\nExtension of the United States Parole Commission \r\nThe United States Parole Commission is an important public safety entity responsible for granting or denying parole for Federal and District of Columbia prisoners sentenced before parole was abolished.\u00a0 It also has jurisdiction over more recent D.C. offenders who are on supervised release from prison. The Commission\u2019s charter was set to expire in October and what should have been a straightforward and noncontroversial extension, turned into a drawn out struggle to override the objections of a single Republican senator. Those objections meant that passage was only secured on the eve of the Commission\u2019s expiration, unnecessarily placing public safety at risk.\r\nThe objection was particularly troubling given that Congress has consistently recognized the importance of the Commission, reauthorizing it on six prior occasions.\u00a0 Beginning in August, I worked closely with members of the House Judiciary Committee to find bipartisan, bicameral agreement.\u00a0 They understood the urgency and consequences of inaction and passed the United States Parole Commission Extension Act of 2013 in September (H.R.3190).\u00a0 Unfortunately, that same sense of urgency was not felt in the Senate and opposition delayed passage until the final deadline. Although reason ultimately prevailed, unnecessary partisan opposition cost us time and threatened public safety.\u00a0 It is not the way to legislate.\r\n\u00a0\r\nSupreme Court Police Authority Extension\r\nI also worked to clear a straightforward extension of the Supreme Court Police\u2019s authority to protect Justices, their staff, and official guests when they are away from Supreme Court grounds (H.R.2922).\u00a0 I worked with my counterparts in the House for months to move this extension.\u00a0 Last month, the House voted by an overwhelming majority of 399 to 3 to pass this bipartisan bill, which extends this important authority through 2019.\u00a0 Congress has provided this authority since the 1980s to ensure the continued safety of our Supreme Court Justices and their employees.\u00a0 Threats to the safety of Supreme Court Justices are a threat to our democracy.\u00a0 In light of recent attacks on Justices off the grounds of the Supreme Court, it was all the more imperative that we pass this extension without delay.\u00a0\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\r\nVeterinarian Transport \r\nMost recently, I worked with Senators Moran and King to move forward the Veterinary Medicine Mobility Act.\u00a0 This legislation, which will enable veterinarians to cross state lines to treat animals, particularly livestock, when the need arises, will dramatically improve the ability of veterinarians to do their jobs effectively.\u00a0 I have heard from many Vermonters about just how important this legislation is to them. The bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee, and in my role as chairman, I moved to discharge it from committee so that it could progress to the full senate as quickly as possible.\u00a0\u00a0 I am optimistic that it will pass the full Senate yet this year.\r\nUnfortunately, the passage and enactment of bipartisan legislation has become more the exception than the rule.\u00a0 If this unprecedented obstruction continues, we will end up passing 46 percent fewer laws than we did last year.\u00a0 That is 46 percent less progress made for the American people and the Nation.\u00a0 It is therefore not surprising that the American public holds the Congress in such low esteem.\r\nAs the elected representatives of the American people, we bear a special responsibility to find ways to work together to find real solutions to our Nation\u2019s problems, and yet Congress is gripped by the paralysis of partisan politics.\u00a0 We are not the first Congress to face a divided government where Republicans control one House and Democrats the other.\u00a0 For example, during the 99th Congress, when the Republicans controlled the Senate and the Democrats the House, Congress passed 687 bills, which were enacted into law.\u00a0 It is disappointing how our progress pales in comparison.\u00a0 To match that level of productivity this Congress, we would have to pass over 600 bills next year.\u00a0 If we stay on track, we will have accomplished 81 percent less legislatively than the divided 99th Congress.\u00a0 To be clear, we have passed into law 19 percent of what the 99th Congress was able pass.\u00a0 That is not a shining record of accomplishment, and we can and should do better.\r\nIt is my hope that both parties can set aside petty politics and get down to business for the American people.\u00a0 We do not agree on everything, but just as the Senate found common ground earlier this year on historic legislation to reform our broken immigration system, we must find a way to work together.\u00a0\u00a0 The status quo is unacceptable and serves a small and extreme minority, not the common interests of a majority of Americans.\u00a0 Let us make the sacrifices and compromises necessary to push forward legislation that improves our economy and the lives of our constituents.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\r\nComprehensive Immigration Reform\r\nLook no further for such an opportunity than the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, a bill a bipartisan group of Senators supported and that the House has failed to consider. .\u00a0\r\nThis comprehensive bill contains measures that are important to many Vermonters and to the Nation. \u00a0I added a provision that takes an important step toward restoring privacy rights to millions of people who live near the Northern Border by injecting some oversight into the decision-making process for operating Federal checkpoints and entering private land without a warrant far from the border.\u00a0 The bill contains significant measures to assist dairy farmers and other Vermont growers who have long relied on foreign workers and who will need them in the future.\u00a0 It contains a youth jobs program proposed by Senator Sanders to help young people gain employment.\u00a0 It contains a measure I proposed to make sure that no Canadian citizen traveling to Vermont to see a family member will be charged a fee for crossing our shared border.\u00a0 It contains an improvement to the visas used by nonprofit arts organizations like the Vermont Symphony Orchestra who invite talented foreign artists to perform in America. \u00a0It contains measures to improve the lives and futures of refugees and asylum seekers who call Vermont home.\u00a0 It contains improvements to the H-2B program to help small businesses. \u00a0And it contains a measure to ensure that the job-creating EB-5 program will be made permanent so that the state of Vermont can continue the great work that is being done with it to improve Vermont communities.\u00a0 This is a bill that will help Vermont families and businesses alike.\r\nThe immigration reform legislation was cosponsored by four Senate Republicans, and marked the first time in seven years that the Senate was able to pass a bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill.\u00a0 There are some provisions in this bill I am not comfortable with, and there are provisions that I believe are noticeably absent.\u00a0 However, we came together as a chamber to pass the best possible bill in the spirit of compromise and an effort to make lasting, positive change.\u00a0 Unfortunately that progress was stalled by the House Republican leadership, which has inexplicably vowed not to allow a vote on the Senate\u2019s bipartisan legislation.\u00a0\r\nWhen the Speaker of the House says \u2013 as he did last week \u2013 that the Senate should pass more bills, I respond by challenging the leadership of the House of Representatives to take up bipartisan Senate-passed bills.\u00a0 The list of such bills that have been stalled by the obstructionism of House Republicans continues to grow.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\r\nCriminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act of 2013\r\nSenator Grassley and I worked hard as Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee to draft a bipartisan bill to protect whistleblowers. This legislation, which is identical to our legislation from last Congress, will provide important protections to employees who come forward and disclose to law enforcement price fixing and other criminal antitrust behavior that harm consumers.\u00a0 This legislation is a continuation of the long partnership that I have had with Senator Grassley on whistleblower issues.\r\nCongress should encourage employees with information about criminal antitrust activity, such as price fixing, to report that information by offering meaningful protection to those who blow the whistle rather than leaving them vulnerable to reprisals.\u00a0 Throughout our history, whistleblowers have been instrumental in alerting the public, Congress, and law enforcement to wrongdoing in a variety of areas.\u00a0 These individuals take risks in stepping forward, and many times their actions result in important reforms and have even saved lives.\r\nThe legislation is based on recommendations from the Government Accountability Office, which interviewed key stakeholders in the antitrust community and found widespread support for anti-retaliatory protection in criminal antitrust cases.\u00a0 The provisions in this bill are modeled on the whistleblower protections that Senator Grassley and I authored as part of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and are narrowly tailored to ensure that whistleblowers are not provided with an economic incentive to bring forth false claims.\r\nAntitrust laws protect consumers and serve to promote our free enterprise system.\u00a0 Our bipartisan bill will help to ensure that criminal violations of these laws do not go unreported.\u00a0 I urge the House to act quickly to pass this important bipartisan legislation.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\r\nEmployment Non-Discrimination Act\r\nLast month, the Senate passed the bipartisan Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2013. That vote was 20 years in the making, and it was long overdue for Congress to extend these protections to all American workers. Years from now we will look back on this remedy as another historic milestone on our Nation's path toward more perfect union \u2013 a quest to realize more completely the motto engraved in Vermont marble above the Supreme Court building that declares: \u201cEqual Justice Under Law.\u201d\r\nAll Americans deserve civil rights protections under our Constitution, which, in addition to the First Amendment, also ensure due process and equal protection. In previous legislative debates like the one before us today, Congress has protected and bolstered these rights by passing legislation to fill gaps in our Federal laws. This includes passing legislation to protect the practice of religion without discrimination, to prevent pay discrimination based on sex, and to serve openly in the military. By passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, the Senate took another significant step forward in removing discrimination from our laws and ensuring the equal treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans.\u00a0 I urge the House to advance this remedy to injustice, which is already the law in 29 States.\r\nSimilarly, I urge all Senators to allow passage of several common sense bills that were reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and which enjoy strong bipartisan support, but remain stalled due to the ideological objections of one or two Senators.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\r\nBulletproof Vest Partnership\r\nFor example, this is now the second time in two Congresses that the Judiciary Committee has reported the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act reauthorization with strong bipartisan support.\u00a0 In the 111th Congress, we held a hearing to examine a series of recommendations from the Government Accountability Office.\u00a0 I worked with Senator Grassley to incorporate many of those recommendations into the reauthorization.\u00a0 Yet our progress is needlessly stalled.\u00a0\r\nStatistics show that the Bulletproof Vest Partnership program has been saving lives for years.\u00a0 The Judiciary Committee most recently reported this legislation on a bipartisan vote in August, and it has since been approved by all Democratic Senators, but remains stalled on the Republican side.\u00a0 Over 15 years ago, I worked with Senator Ben Nighthorse-Campbell to create this partnership to support state and local law enforcement jurisdictions in the purchase of lifesaving bulletproof vests.\u00a0 Since that time, over 13,000 jurisdictions have participated in this program and more than 1,084,081 vests have been distributed to law enforcement because of this partnership.\u00a0\r\nLast year, Chief Michael Schirling of the Burlington Police Department in Vermont testified before the Judiciary Committee on the importance of the Bulletproof Vest Partnership to law enforcement in Vermont and across the country.\u00a0 This year alone, 31 Vermont jurisdictions received a total over $73,000 to aid in the procurement of 271 bulletproof vests.\u00a0 That is 271 more Vermont law enforcement officers who will have a better chance of survival if they are shot in the line of duty.\r\nA few of my friends on the other side of the aisle argue that it is not the place or function of the Federal government to spend Federal dollars on first responders in communities across the country.\u00a0 I urge them to put the safety of our most dedicated law enforcement officers and first responders over politics and ideology.\u00a0 Law enforcement officers risk their lives every day to ensure our safety, and I believe it is our duty to support them.\u00a0 Based on data collected by the Department of Justice, in just 2012, bulletproof vests saved the lives of at least 33 law enforcement officers in 20 states, which is an increase of almost 14 percent over 2011 levels.\u00a0\r\nThe obstruction of this program\u2019s reauthorization should end.\u00a0 I hope those who are determined to continue their opposition will explain those objections to law enforcement officers across the country who put their lives at risk day-in and day-out.\u00a0 Congress has consistently pursued policies that support our state and local law enforcement officers and first responders.\u00a0 They are the front lines of our national defense, and indispensable to their communities.\u00a0 I urge all Senators to stand with America\u2019s law enforcement officers and support this legislation.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\r\nElectronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA)\r\nIn April, the Judiciary Committee favorably reported bipartisan legislation that I authored with Republican Senator Mike Lee to update ECPA and to bring this law fully into the digital age.\u00a0 Our bipartisan bill updates ECPA to require that the Government obtain a search warrant ? based upon probable cause ? before obtaining the content of our emails and other electronic communications.\u00a0 The common sense reforms in our bill carefully balance the interests and needs of consumers, the law enforcement community, and our Nation\u2019s thriving technology sector.\u00a0 The bill enjoys the support of a diverse coalition of more than 100 privacy, civil liberties, civil rights and technology organizations from across the political spectrum, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Heritage Foundation, the Center for Democracy and Technology and Americans for Tax Reform.\u00a0 The bill is also the product of careful consultation with many Government and private sector stakeholders, including the Departments of Justice, Commerce and State, local law enforcement, and members of the technology and privacy communities.\u00a0 I remain disappointed that a single Republican Senator has objected to the unanimous consent request to pass this bipartisan bill, which overwhelmingly passed the Judiciary Committee.\u00a0\r\nThe privacy reforms in this bill are too important to delay.\u00a0 Like Senator Lee and me, all of the bill\u2019s supporters understand that protecting our digital privacy rights is not a Democratic ideal, nor a Republican ideal, but an American ideal that all of us should embrace.\u00a0 I hope that all Senators will join me in supporting the Electronic Communications Privacy Act Amendments Act and that the Senate will pass this bill without delay. \r\n\u00a0\r\nStop Illegal Trafficking in Firearms Act of 2013\r\nEarlier this year, during consideration of legislation to prevent gun violence, the Committee passed a bipartisan bill to help curb the straw purchasing of firearms and the interstate trafficking of firearms. Senator Collins, who shares my goal of giving law enforcement officials better tools to combat the straw purchasing and firearms trafficking that puts guns into the hands of drug cartels and other criminals, joined me in this effort.\u00a0\r\nThere is no doubt that straw purchasing and gun trafficking contributes significantly to the proliferation of guns in our communities across America and also across the southern border in Mexico. Under current law, there is no criminal statute specifically prohibiting straw purchasing. To convict criminals, prosecutors must rely on laws that prohibit an individual from making false statements in connection with the purchase of a firearm. The penalties for such \u201cpaperwork violations\u201d are often too low or do not serve as effective tools for law enforcement to put criminals behind bars. My bill would have changed that.\r\nThis bill would have established a new Federal criminal offense for straw purchasing or conspiring to straw purchase a firearm from another person. My legislation would have also criminalized smuggling firearms out of the U.S. and also would strengthen existing law regarding the transfer of firearms to prohibited persons. This legislation was strongly supported by law enforcement groups from across the country. I was greatly disappointed when this legislation did not receive the votes to pass the Senate, including from a Senator who had voted in favor of it in the Committee.\u00a0 Despite the best efforts by Senator Collins and me to find consensus with stakeholders and senators, too few Republicans were willing to join our important effort to meaningfully combat the serious public safety risks that straw purchasing and firearms trafficking pose.\u00a0\r\nThe Committee also passed several bills to prevent gun violence and protect law enforcement officers, including Senator Boxer\u2019s bipartisan School and Campus Safety Enhancements Act of 2013, Senator Franken\u2019s bipartisan Justice and Mental Health Collaboration, and Senator Cardin\u2019s bipartisan National Blue Alert Act. Each of these bills were carefully crafted and enjoy bipartisan support.\u00a0 I urge the Senate to consider these important legislative proposals early in the next session.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\r\nJustice for All Act \r\nIn early November, the Judiciary Committee reported by an overwhelming bipartisan majority the Leahy-Cornyn Justice for All Reauthorization Act which would reauthorize legislation first passed in 2004, when the House and Senate had Republican majorities, and it was signed into law by President George W. Bush.\u00a0 The Justice for All Reauthorization Act strengthens and reauthorizes key programs to make the criminal justice system work better and more fairly.\u00a0And it does so in a fiscally responsible way, reducing overall authorizations by nearly 25 percent.\u00a0 This is a strong example of what we can accomplish when we work together.\u00a0\r\nWhether it is on the complex issues of protecting victims of domestic violence or in crafting a comprehensive immigration reform bill, we have demonstrated that we can work across the aisle to develop and pass practical legislative solutions.\u00a0 Just recently, in fact, we saw similar progress made by Senator Murray and Congressman Ryan as they put aside their considerably different views to formulate a budget deal.\u00a0 Likewise, the House and Senate are in the process of conferencing a Farm Bill that we hope will be satisfactory to all parties.\u00a0 I hope that we can continue this trend of bipartisan cooperation as we consider legislation in the coming year, as there are tremendously important bills to be considered.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\r\nUSA FREEDOM Act\r\nFor example, the Committee will continue its work on surveillance oversight and reform.\u00a0 For decades I have consistently fought to curtail the sweeping powers contained in the USA PATRIOT Act and FISA Amendments Act, while also bolstering privacy protections and strengthening oversight.\u00a0With the recent revelations of sweeping government surveillance programs that threaten personal privacy and threaten the economic health of American technology companies, we are at a watershed moment in this important debate. That is why I joined with Congressman Sensenbrenner in October to introduce the USA FREEDOM Act, a bill to end the dragnet collection of Americans\u2019 phone records and recalibrate the government\u2019s surveillance authorities. All three branches of government have now called into serious question the effectiveness of these authorities.\u00a0 I will continue pressing the administration to rein in these powers and work with Democrats and Republicans to pass the meaningful reforms that are in the USA FREEDOM Act.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\r\nPatent Trolls\r\nRegarding the problem of \u201cpatent trolls,\u201d we have significant work to do on several issues under the Judiciary Committee\u2019s jurisdiction.\u00a0 It is my hope that we will be able to work in a bipartisan way to address issues like abusive conduct by patent trolls who are targeting small businesses.\u00a0 I have heard from a growing number of main street businesses in Vermont and across the country that have received aggressive demand letters and been threatened with lawsuits when they are simply the innocent user of an allegedly infringing product. \u00a0I have introduced bipartisan legislation with Senator Lee to tackle this problem, and I look forward to the Judiciary Committee\u2019s continued focus on this important issue next year.\r\n\u00a0\r\nVoting Rights Act \r\nAnd in the wake of this past June\u2019s Supreme Court decision striking down the coverage formula for Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, I have been working with Congressman Sensenbrenner and other House Democrats to introduce a bipartisan and bicameral response to the Court\u2019s ruling and to restore this vital protection to the Voting Rights Act, and will continue to push for this legislation next year.\r\n\u00a0\r\nSentencing\r\nFinally, I will remain focused on a number of important criminal justice issues, with sentencing reform legislation as a top priority.\u00a0 As a former prosecutor, I understand that criminals must be held accountable, and that long sentences are sometimes necessary to keep violent criminals off the street and deter those who would commit violent crime.\u00a0 I have come to believe, however, that mandatory minimum sentences do more harm than good.\u00a0 I chaired a hearing on Reevaluating the Effectiveness of Federal Mandatory Minimum Sentences on September 18, 2013, and have been working with both Democrats and Republicans on sentencing reform proposals.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\r\nSecond Chance Act\r\nIn the coming year, I also plan to reintroduce my forensics reform bill, and will also take up the Second Chance Reauthorization Act, which I was proud to reintroduce earlier this year along with Senator Portman.\u00a0 Since its enactment in 2008, the Second Chance Act has reduced prison costs and improved public safety by giving federal, State, and local governments additional tools to help inmates more successfully reintegrate into their communities upon release and avoid re-offending.\u00a0 Offenders can escape the cycle of recidivism when they have the job training and skills necessary to successfully reenter society.\u00a0 So far in 2013, the Vermont Department of Corrections has received over $800,000 to implement a two-phase adult reentry demonstration program and a comprehensive statewide adult recidivism reeducation planning program. The reauthorization bill improves and consolidates the programs authorized by the Second Chance Act, and reauthorizes the bill through 2018. The reauthorization bill improves and consolidates the programs authorized by the Second Chance Act, and reauthorizes the bill through 2018.\r\n\u00a0\r\nRunaway and Homeless Youth Act\r\nThere are far too many young Vermonters who do not have a roof over their head each night. While organizations like the Spectrum Youth and Family Services, and the Vermont Coalition for Runaway and Homeless Youth do their best to provide emergency shelter, services, and housing for youth who are homeless or marginally housed, the need far outweighs their capacity.\u00a0 Next year I plan to introduce legislation to reauthorize the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA), which expired at the end of September.\u00a0 RHYA funds outreach services and helps provide shelter for children and young adults who find themselves homeless.\u00a0 I look forward to reauthorizing and improving vital RHYA grant programs to help children in our most vulnerable communities. This reauthorization will also bolster training and resources to ensure our grantees are well-equipped to meet the needs of young victims.\r\n\u00a0\r\nNominations\r\nIn addition to our legislative work, the Judiciary Committee will also continue its work to consider judicial and executive nominations.\u00a0 During this past year, unfortunately, the same obstruction that plagued the Senate during the first-term of the Obama Administration continued to delay the rate of confirmations to appointments on the Federal bench and the Executive Branch.\u00a0\r\nThe 113th Congress began with a high level of vacancies on the Federal judiciary.\u00a0 As of January 2013, there were 77 vacancies in the Federal judiciary, and of these, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts determined 27 to be \u201cjudicial emergencies.\u201d\u00a0 Over 2013, the number of vacancies steadily climbed to around 90.\u00a0 While we were able to confirm a total of 46 judicial nominees this year, including 11 circuit court and 31 district court nominees, we were unable to keep pace with new vacancies.\u00a0 By December of this year, there were a total of 88 judicial vacancies, 35 of which are judicial emergency vacancies.\u00a0 In stark contrast, at the end of the fifth year of the Bush Administration, there were only 49 judicial vacancies, including 16 judicial emergency vacancies.\u00a0\r\nThis year, the Senate voted to confirm two high-level nominees to key law enforcement positions at the U.S. Department of Justice:\u00a0 James Comey, Jr. to be the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and B. Todd Jones to be the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.\u00a0 It was unfortunate that the Majority Leader was required to file cloture on both of these nominations before we could get to a confirmation vote.\u00a0 In stark contrast with the treatment of previous FBI Director nominees, who were all confirmed by the full Senate within a day or two of being reported by the Judiciary Committee, James Comey is the first FBI director nominee in Senate history to be filibustered.\u00a0 He was ultimately confirmed overwhelmingly by a vote of 93 to 1.\u00a0 Two days later, the Senate confirmed B. Todd Jones by a vote of 53-42, making him the first confirmed head of the ATF since that position became Senate-confirmable in 2006.\r\nThe consideration of nominations is one of the most important functions of the Judiciary Committee.\u00a0 I am hopeful that we will not see the same sort of obstructionism and dilatory tactics that we encountered during 2013.\u00a0\r\nIn the coming year, we must redouble our efforts to work past our differences to find bipartisan, common sense solutions to our Nation\u2019s problems; I know that that is what Vermonters expect of me.\u00a0 We have seen so far in this Congress an unprecedented level of gridlock, partisanship, and political brinksmanship, which culminated in a costly and unnecessary Republican government shut down in October.\u00a0 We can and must do better, and I hope that we can put the obstructionism of this past year behind us.\u00a0 The American people expect and deserve better.\u00a0 We owe it to our constituents to work together to pass common sense bipartisan compromise legislation, and we have already seen that we can do just that.\u00a0 I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to build upon the progress we have made and find meaningful solutions to the many challenges we face as a country.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/chairman-senate-judiciary-committee-on-the-confirmation-of-alejandro-mayorkas-to-be-deputy-secretary-of-homeland-security", "Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On the Confirmation of Alejandro Mayorkas To be Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security", "2013-12-20", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.20.13\n\t\t\t Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On the Confirmation of Alejandro Mayorkas To be Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tThe Department of Homeland Security is the leading agency for some of the most pressing issues facing our Nation, from providing disaster relief to protecting our borders. To serve the American people, this agency needs a full complement of leaders, and that is why I am glad the Senate is considering the nomination of Alejandro Mayorkas to be Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security. I commend Senator Carper, Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, for making his nomination to this important position a priority for the Committee and getting his nomination to the Senate.\r\nAlejandro Mayorkas currently serves as Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). This is the agency that makes our immigration system work and Director Mayorkas has made it a stronger, better-functioning agency. His expertise on immigration issues will help him in his new role, where he is sure to improve coordination within the Department. Those Senators who claim to care about protecting our borders and improving our broken immigration system should support this nomination, just as they should call on the House to pass comprehensive immigration reform as we did here in the Senate earlier this year.\r\nIt is unfortunate that Director Mayorkas' nomination has been the subject of unfair and partisan attacks, and it is wrong that some tried to create controversy about Director Mayorkas even before his confirmation hearing occurred in the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The attacks mounted against Director Mayorkas are made even less credible by the conduct of the former DHS Deputy Inspector General, who was forced to resign in the face of allegations of serious misconduct.\r\nOn the eve of Director Mayorkas' confirmation hearing, this former Deputy Inspector General, Charles Edwards, authorized the transmittal of an email to a Republican Senate office that contained sensitive information about an ongoing investigation involving Director Mayorkas. The timing of its transmittal raised serious questions about the motivation for its disclosure. Then, the email authorized by the former Deputy Inspector General was published shortly after its transmittal on the website of a Republican candidate for governor of Virginia. Why would a Virginia gubernatorial candidate care about an investigation being conducted by the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security? Because some of the anonymous allegations repeated in that email by the Office of Inspector General involved claims that Director Mayorkas intervened in an immigration matter for Terry McAuliffe, the governor-elect of Virginia. What is worse, the former Inspector General had received these anonymous allegations in September of 2012, yet only disclosed them publicly just days before Director Mayorkas was scheduled to appear before the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.\r\nDirector Mayorkas's professional integrity further undermines these bogus allegations. Alejandro Mayorkas served as an assistant United States Attorney and as the United States Attorney for Southern California, posts he held during the course of a decade. Where he has made mistakes, he has taken responsibility. In my experiences with him while he has served as Director of USCIS, Director Mayorkas has put the interests of USCIS and those it serves at the forefront. He has made tough decisions to make that agency betterdecisions that are sometimes not popular with agency employees but decisions that put the institution first. He has brought significant resources to bear on the EB-5 Regional Center program, a program that a bipartisan majority of this Senate supported when we passed comprehensive immigration reform in June. While the House has failed to pass this important legislation that includes meaningful improvements to the EB-5 program, Director Mayorkas did not let up on his efforts to ensure the program's integrity. He has acted to make sure the agency's decisions are correct under the controlling law and regulations. The suggestion that Director Mayorkas would risk his reputation and his credibility by improperly intervening in a single immigration case, out of thousands his agency handles every year, is absurd.\r\nAnd those who have concerns about the integrity of the EB-5 Regional Center should remember that in May of this year, the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved broad reforms to the EB-5 program during the Committee's consideration of comprehensive immigration reform. These reforms, which received praise from the Judiciary Committee's former ranking member, Senator Sessions, contained a host of improvements recommended by Director Mayorkas and other administration officials to provide strong oversight tools, security enhancements, and anti-fraud provisions. In June, 68 senators voted in favor of the comprehensive reform bill, of which my EB-5 reforms were a part. Senators on both sides of the aisle who have supported this program know it creates jobs in American communities and is an important and viable source of capital investment for many American entrepreneurs. Senator Grassley said on the Senate floor earlier this week that we could make reforms to this program this very day. I would respond that the Senate has voted to make them already this year and I was glad to have his support for my strong reforms in the Senate Judiciary Committee.\r\nThose who say that the Senate should not approve Director Mayorkas' nomination because a scandal-plagued, and now- resigned Deputy Inspector General sat on allegations made against Director Mayorkas for 10 months before disclosing them in a highly improper way days before Director Mayorkas' confirmation hearing should carefully consider whether these circumstances merit our faith that the investigation is truly impartial or legitimate. I have seen no evidence that those Senators who put such faith in the former Deputy Inspector General's flawed investigation have asked the tough questions necessary to test the integrity of that investigation. Instead of considering the circumstances of the former Deputy Inspector General's disclosure, and taking the opportunity to ask tough questions of Director Mayorkas at his confirmation hearing, Republican Senators on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee decided to boycott that hearing. And when Chairman Carper scheduled a Committee business meeting to vote on Director Mayorkas' nomination, all Republican senators but two failed to attend that meeting. This is unfortunate and in my view, an abdication of our responsibility to evaluate the President's nominees independently.\r\nAs senators, we are obligated to ask the tough questions of all nominees, but it is also important that we carefully consider the source and motivations behind any allegations against those nominees. Regarding the immigration case about which Director Mayorkas is accused of acting improperly, it is clear in emails that he wrote, which have been publicly disclosed, that he asserts his inability to become involved in any specific case. The emails that have been disclosed paint a picture of an agency director who took great pains to avoid any appearance of favoritism or impropriety. I would urge my colleagues to review carefully, and in context, that which has been disclosed. Finally, it is troubling that the individuals who have brought allegations to Republican senators against this nominee would not even agree to meet with Chairman Carper or his staff. The Senate should consider the reliability of those who have made allegations but are unwilling to let those allegations be fully considered.\r\nI have every reason to believe that Director Mayorkas will serve the Department of Homeland Security, and the American people, honorably. I have no doubt about the quality of his character or his integrity as a public official. And I regret that his nomination has been so needlessly politicized. Alejandro Mayorkas deserves and up-or-down vote and the support of the United States Senate.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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/in-the-news/http//wwwnytimescom/2013/12/20/opinion/protecting-citizens-and-their-privacyhtmlhpandrrefopinion_r1", "Protecting Citizens, and Their Privacy", "2013-12-20", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", null, 0, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-of-senator-patrick-leahy-on-the-bipartisan-budget-act-", "Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy On the Bipartisan Budget Act", "2013-12-19", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.19.13\n\t\t\t Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy On the Bipartisan Budget Act  \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tIn what I hope is a sign of things to come, today, I expect the Senate to pass the Bipartisan Budget Act. The result of the long awaited budget conference -- one that had long been requested by Chairwoman Murray but never agreed to by Senate Republicans \u2013 the agreement has found some common ground and reflects a shared commitment to work for the American people, something in short supply in Congress these days.\r\nThe budget deal we are considering today is a true compromise. I believe it would be difficult to find any Member of Congress who fully embraces every aspect of this agreement. In spite of that, there is broad, bipartisan support for the bill, as evidenced by the overwhelming bipartisan vote in the House late last week, and the bipartisan vote by which cloture was invoked here in the Senate. There is bipartisan support for the overall goal of ending this manufactured budget stalemate that we currently face.\r\nThe Bipartisan Budget Act will provide us with the our topline spending levels for the remainder of this fiscal year and next, and, most importantly, will prevent the full force of a second round of sequestration\u2019s indiscriminate and devastating cuts. This is welcome news for nearly every American who has seen how devastating the sequester has been for their communities, and for those who have anxiously awaited a second round of deeper, more painful cuts. With agencies facing budgets that just simply could not meet their basic obligations to the public and to the Nation\u2019s priorities, and with their coffers to insulate programs and prevent furloughs and layoffs exhausted, allowing the sequester to lengthen and deepen truly would have been debilitating and would have stunted our ongoing economic recovery.\r\nWhile this is not the budget I would have written, and while it is paid for in a number of ways with which I simply disagree, we are at a juncture at which we cannot allow the goal of perfection to bring on another body blow to the Nation and to our economy. One thing I have heard clearly from Vermonters is that we must replace the sequester. While not perfect, this deal will in fact save jobs, reduce unnecessary furloughs, and will not prioritize defense spending at the cost of our education and housing programs as so many other budget proposals have in the past.\r\nI was proud to support a Senate budget and Senate appropriations bills that would fully replace sequestration by closing corporate tax loopholes and making responsible cuts. I am disappointed that this deal does not more closely follow the framework or provide the funding levels supported earlier by the Senate. As a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, I welcome the fact that this deal will mean that we will be able to get back to the work of passing annual appropriations bills through regular order, ending the practice of putting these budget decisions on autopilot through continuing resolutions. The annual appropriations process provides us with the opportunity to make much needed adjustments to agency priorities and budgets. This budget also allows a return to regular order while keeping the promises we have made to seniors.\u00a0 It protects Social Security and Medicare benefits from the harmful cuts included in the earlier Ryan Budget.\r\nBut there certainly are areas in which this deal is lacking. I had hoped any budget agreement we considered would include an extension of unemployment insurance that will end later this month for 1.3 million Americans. It is disappointing that it does not. Unemployment insurance is a vital component of our ongoing recovery and a lifeline to millions of Americans as they search for work in this challenging economy.\r\nI hope the bipartisan spirit that is the basis of this agreement can continue into the new year, and I hope that when the Senate, early in the new year, considers legislation to restore this lifeline of unemployment insurance, Senators and Representatives will support an extension.\r\nUnfortunately my disappointment is not reserved only for what was not included in the deal, but also for ways this budget pays to replace sequestration.\u00a0\r\nA provision included in this agreement could negatively impact not-for-profit student loan servicers around the country by removing $3.1 billion in mandatory funding and the requirement that the Department of Education work with these organizations to service direct, Federal loans. The nonprofit Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC) has been servicing Federal loans and chalking up high borrower satisfaction rates while doing this work. I appreciate Chairwoman Murray\u2019s clarification that this provision is not aimed at ending existing contracts like VSAC\u2019s, but I am concerned that the funding used to service these loans will now need to be found elsewhere. Our discretionary budget is stretched thin as it is, and this provision will arrive on the doorstep of an already overburdened Education Department. \u00a0\u00a0\r\nEven though we have reduced the deficit by $2.4 trillion since the start of Fiscal Year 2011, with nearly three-quarters of that deficit reduction coming from $1.8 trillion in spending, there is ongoing pressure to find additional ways to put money toward deficit reduction. It concerns me that this budget proposal will devote $23 billion toward deficit reduction -- barely a drop in the bucket of the larger picture -- by forcing those who have served in our military, future Federal employees, and airline passengers -- but not the airlines -- to pay for it.\u00a0\r\nUnder this proposal, many active duty military retirees are targeted for Federal spending cuts by a reduction to their cost of living adjustment until they reach age 62. This is a bait-and-switch maneuver that will cost them thousands of dollars in compensation that they were promised and have earned -- many of them, while bravely serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. That just doesn\u2019t sit right with me. This provision, which saves only $6 billion, is set to be phased in over several years until full implementation in 2017. Unfortunately, these pension reforms will not be grandfathered in for military retirees, as will be done for Federal employees \u2013 the only positive component of the measure addressing Federal worker pensions in this legislation. It is my hope that the delay of its application will give Congress the time to responsibly replace the savings from these changes to military retiree compensation.\r\nI am disappointed that the only deal that could receive bipartisan support does not ask oil companies to sacrifice their tax breaks, but instead asks for sacrifices from our military retirees and hardworking Federal workforce. And instead of closing tax loopholes benefitting private jet owners and companies hiding profits overseas, we are forced to find savings through cuts to our conservation programs.\r\nI have always believed that getting our fiscal house in order must go hand in hand with policies that promote economic growth, create jobs and strengthen the middle class. Without this deal, sequestration would bring to a halt economic growth and threaten to undo the progress we have made. Further sequestration undoubtedly would increase furloughs and eliminate jobs. Sequestration would devastate housing programs keeping roofs over families this winter, and gut programs supporting the education of our children, lifesaving technology for law enforcers, and services for crime victims. Sequestration is a blunt, harmful and mindless instrument.\u00a0 The Bipartisan Budget Act, while not perfect, is the lifeline we need to prevent that bleak sequestration future from becoming a reality.\r\nIt is time for us to move beyond these manufactured budget crises and focus on the many remaining challenges that matter most to the American people. \u00a0\r\n# # # # #\r\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://welch.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/news-vermont-delegation-vermont-wins-37-million-universal-pre-school", "News from the Vermont Delegation: Vermont Wins $37 Million for Universal Pre-School", "2013-12-19", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "welch.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Vermont today won a $37 million federal grant for a statewide, pre-kindergarten program at public schools. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a member of the Senate education committee, worked closely with federal officials and Gov. Peter Shumlin's administration to secure the grant for early childhood education. Sanders said, Psychologists tell us that, in terms of human development, the most important years are birth through four years of age. Yet, in terms of early childhood education, our nation does a very inadequate job in making quality pre-kindergarten education available to working families. This major federal grant will significantly improve early childhood education in our state and better prepare our kids for school and the challenges and opportunities of life. I am very appreciative that the Department of Education provided Vermont with this major grant. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) supported Vermont's application for the award from a U.S. Department of Education program called Race to the Top. Leahy said, An educated Vermont is a prosperous and better Vermont. Vermont has always understood the importance of early childhood education and how effective it can be in helping children break the cycle of poverty. This funding will allow Vermont to reach an even greater number of young children and expand their programs to ensure all children have access to quality, early education. I am excited to see the further work this federal partnership with Vermont will make possible in the next few years and the difference it will make for so many Vermont families. Welch said, This is great news for Vermont and recognition of the quality of our education system and its leaders. Investments in early childhood education give children the best opportunity to succeed in school and in their future careers.Vermont has distinguished itself with this integrated, statewide approach to serving and educating children. The four-year grant will help establish an innovative system to serve every child in the state. It will invest in the professional development of teachers and promote improved health care for children and counseling for their parents. Sanders played a leading role in persuading the Obama administration to reconsider its priorities for granting Race to the Top funds. In private meetings and public hearings, Sanders pressed U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan to help Vermont and other rural states that had largely been excluded from the grant program. Most of the funds in the past went to states with big-city school systems. The grant to Vermont was one of only six announced today by the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services. In addition to Vermont, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania will share a total of $280 million awarded in the third round of the early learning grants. #####", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://welch.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/welch-celebrates-success-energy-efficiency-retrofits-vermont-colleges", "Welch celebrates success of energy efficiency retrofits at Vermont colleges", "2013-12-19", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "welch.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Funds provided by federal grant championed by Sen. Leahy and Rep. Welch\nToday at Champlain College, Rep. Peter Welch celebrated the success of federally funded energy efficiency projects on seven Vermont campuses. Federal funding for these projects was secured in 2007 by Welch and Senator Patrick Leahy. Welch was joined by college presidents from the Association of Vermont Independent Colleges and representatives from Senator Leahy's office and the Preservation Trust of Vermont. \nInvestments in energy efficiency are a no-brainer. They create jobs, save money, and improve the environment. Efficiency retrofits made by these colleges are already yielding substantial savings on their energy bills. In an era of escalating college tuition fees, I applaud their leaders for doing all they can to reduce energy costs that ultimately must be passed on to students and their families. They have also taken advantage of the grants as an educational opportunity for students to learn about the latest techniques for responsible energy use that reduces environmental impact.\nIn 2007, $1.5 million in federal funds was awarded to AVIC for energy efficiency upgrades, which went towards retrofit projects at Burlington College, Champlain College, College of St. Joseph, Green Mountain College, Goddard College, Marlboro College and Sterling College. Upgrades included investments in energy efficient lighting, thermal windows and doors, additional insulation, replaced window air conditioners and updated plumbing.\n\n#####", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-awards-to-vermont-boys-and-girls-clubs-top-500000", "Leahy: Awards To Vermont Boys & Girls Clubs Top $500,000", "2013-12-19", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.19.13\n\t\t\t Leahy: Awards To Vermont Boys & Girls Clubs Top $500,000 \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tSen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced Thursday that Vermont's Boys & Girls Clubs are being awarded $500,350 to help fund activities and programs administered by the six clubs that operate in Vermont. This latest round of awards brings the total for Vermont to over $8 million since 2005. The Boys & Girls Clubs of America provides awards to state clubs using funding provided by the U.S. Department of Justice dedicated to youth mentoring. This funding supplements the private contributions the clubs receive. \r\nAt a time when drug addiction and related crimes are posing tremendous challenges in our communities, these clubs are more important than ever, said Leahy, a former prosecutor and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees the Justice Department. As Burlington Police Chief Michael Schirling puts it, the Boys & Girls Clubs act as the glue in the neighborhood.'\r\nLeahy has long led in partnering with Vermont's Boys & Girls Clubs and in championing federal support for the clubs. In 2001 he successfully led a strong bipartisan coalition in Congress to restore funding for the clubs when federal support was threatened with elimination from the federal budget and has authored legislation renewing the federal partnership with the clubs.\r\nAnnouncing the awards, Leahy stressed the need to continue support for the clubs in Vermont and nationwide, amid shifting federal budget priorities. Leahy said he was grateful that Vermont's funding held steady this year -- Vermont clubs received $500,000 in federal fiscal year 2012 -- but that a greater investment in youth mentoring programs is needed, particularly during difficult economic times. Leahy pledged to work with members on both sides of the aisle to support funding for national youth mentoring programs.\r\nLeahy continued: This funding is a direct investment in the future of these young people, in their communities, and in our future. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Vermont and nationwide have done great work to ensure that young people have opportunities and options. It is vitally important to offer the support they need to continue these programs. \r\nThe grant awards, broken down among the six clubs, include:\r\n \r\nBoys & Girls Club of Burlington -- $204,750\r\nBoys & Girls Clubs of White River Valley -- $16,000\r\nBoys & Girls Club of Brattleboro -- $100,000\r\nBoys & Girls Club of Rutland County -- $90,900\r\nWashington County Youth Service Bureau/Boys & Girls Club -- $60,700\r\nBoys & Girls Club of Greater Vergennes -- $28,000\r\n \r\n   Total: $500,350\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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-sanders-welch-welcome-fdas-pledge-to-redraft-controversial-fda-food-safety-rules-reflecting-concerns-they-raised-on-behalf-of-vermont-food-producers", "Leahy, Sanders, Welch Welcome FDAs Pledge To Redraft Controversial FDA Food Safety Rules, Reflecting Concerns They Raised On Behalf Of Vermont Food Producers", "2013-12-19", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.19.13\n\t\t\t Leahy, Sanders, Welch Welcome FDA's Pledge To Redraft Controversial FDA Food Safety Rules, Reflecting Concerns They Raised On Behalf Of Vermont Food Producers \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) confirmed Thursday that they will redraft controversial new food safety rules, and then seek additional public input, as requested last month by Vermont's congressional delegation -- Senator Patrick Leahy (D), Senator Bernie Sanders (I), and Congressman Peter Welch (D). \r\nIn a joint statement Leahy, Sanders and Welch said: We supported the Food Safety Modernization Act when it was adopted in 2011, but we also have serious concerns about FDA's first draft of rules to implement the law. In our view  and in the view of the many Vermonters who have contacted us about the draft rules  they could deal a crippling blow to Vermont's burgeoning local agricultural economy, while making only marginal gains in actual food safety outcomes. We are pleased that FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg and Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine Michael Taylor listened to the concerns raised in our letter to the FDA last month, as well as to the thousands of farmers, food producers and food safety advocates who weighed in from Vermont and across the country. We look forward to working with the FDA and Vermont producers in refining the implementation of the law to truly protect consumers and build the Vermont brand, without burdening our producers with unnecessary rules, fees and paperwork. We recognize that these rules have been a major undertaking for the FDA, and we are cautiously optimistic that this decision to revisit these issues will help to ensure that they take the time to get this right, for the sake of our producers, processors and consumers.\r\nSeveral aspects of the proposed new rule of particular concern to Vermont producers are identified by the FDA for further revision and comment, including irrigation water quality standards and testing, standards for using raw manure and compost, and the criteria for exempting some farms from the rules.\r\nThe Leahy, Sanders and Welch letter is available at this link:http://www.leahy.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/11.15.2013%20FDA..pdf\r\nThe FDA announcement about the redraft is available at this link: http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/FSMA/ucm379397.htm\r\n#####\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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-wins-37-million-for-universal-pre-school-", "Vermont Wins $37 Million for Universal Pre-School", "2013-12-19", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.19.13\n\t\t\t Vermont Wins $37 Million for Universal Pre-School  \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tVermont today won a $37 million federal grant for a statewide, pre-kindergarten program at public schools.\r\nSen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a member of the Senate education committee, worked closely with federal officials and Gov. Peter Shumlin's administration to secure the grant for early childhood education.\r\nSanders said, Psychologists tell us that, in terms of human development, the most important years are birth through four years of age. Yet, in terms of early childhood education, our nation does a very inadequate job in making quality pre-kindergarten education available to working families. This major federal grant will significantly improve early childhood education in our state and better prepare our kids for school and the challenges and opportunities of life. I am very appreciative that the Department of Education provided Vermont with this major grant.\r\nSen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) supported Vermont's application for the award from a U.S. Department of Education program called Race to the Top.\r\nLeahy said, An educated Vermont is a prosperous and better Vermont. Vermont has always understood the importance of early childhood education and how effective it can be in helping children break the cycle of poverty. This funding will allow Vermont to reach an even greater number of young children and expand their programs to ensure all children have access to quality, early education. I am excited to see the further work this federal partnership with Vermont will make possible in the next few years and the difference it will make for so many Vermont families.\r\nWelch said, This is great news for Vermont and recognition of the quality of our education system and its leaders. Investments in early childhood education give children the best opportunity to succeed in school and in their future careers.Vermont has distinguished itself with this integrated, statewide approach to serving and educating children.\r\nThe four-year grant will help establish an innovative system to serve every child in the state. It will invest in the professional development of teachers and promote improved health care for children and counseling for their parents.\r\nSanders played a leading role in persuading the Obama administration to reconsider its priorities for granting Race to the Top funds. In private meetings and public hearings, Sanders pressed U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan to help Vermont and other rural states that had largely been excluded from the grant program. Most of the funds in the past went to states with big-city school systems.\r\nThe grant to Vermont was one of only six announced today by the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services. In addition to Vermont, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania will share a total of $280 million awarded in the third round of the early learning grants.\r\nContacts: \r\nDavid Carle (Leahy): 202 224-3693\r\nMichael Briggs (Sanders): 202 224-5141\r\nRyan Nickel (Welch): 202 225-4115\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/comment-of-senator-patrick-leahy-d-vt_chairman-senate-judiciary-committee-on-the-release-of-recommendations-by-the-presidents-review-group-on-intelligence-and-communications-technologies", "Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),  Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On the Release of Recommendations by the President’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies", "2013-12-18", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.18.13\n\t\t\t Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),  Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On the Release of Recommendations by the President\u2019s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tComment Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),  Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On the Release of Recommendations by the President\u2019s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies December 18, 2013\r\n[Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) released the following comment Wednesday after the White House released recommendations from the Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies to reform the nation\u2019s broad surveillance laws.]\r\n\u201cThe message to the NSA is now coming from every branch of government and from every corner of our nation:\u00a0 You have gone too far.\u00a0 The bulk collection of Americans\u2019 data by the U.S. government must end.\u00a0 This momentous report from the President\u2019s closest advisers is a vindication of the efforts of a bipartisan group of legislators that has been working for years to protect Americans\u2019 privacy by reining in these intelligence authorities.\u00a0 I welcome the report and call on the President to immediately consider implementing the recommendations that can be achieved without legislation.\r\n\u201cI will continue to push the USA FREEDOM Act to end the dragnet collection of Americans\u2019 phone records and recalibrate the government\u2019s surveillance authorities.\u00a0 I have invited the members of the President\u2019s Review Group to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee next month, and look forward to discussing their important recommendations.\u201d\r\n# # # # #\r\nThe USA FREEDOM Act\r\nSeveral recommendations from the President\u2019s review group align with provisions in the bipartisan USA FREEDOM Act, a bill authored by Senator Leahy that has drawn broad support from across the political spectrum and a host of technology companies, trade associations and nonprofit organizations.\r\nThose provisions include:\r\nAn End To Bulk Collection of Americans\u2019 Communications Records\r\n \r\nThe USA FREEDOM Act ends bulk collection under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, in light of the massive intrusion on Americans\u2019 privacy and the lack of evidence of its effectiveness, and instead allows only more targeted searches.\u00a0\r\n \r\nStricter Safeguards on National Security Letters\r\n \r\nThe USA FREEDOM Act places significant limits and safeguards on the use of National Security Letters, and includes judicial review of nondisclosure orders.\r\n \r\nProtections\u00a0 For \u00a0Americans\u2019 Communications Collected Under the FISA Amendments Act\r\n \r\nThe USA FREEDOM Act closes NSA\u2019s \u201cback door\u201d access to Americans\u2019 communications by requiring a court order to search for the communications of Americans in data collected without individualized warrants under Section 702 of FISA.\r\n \r\nReforms To the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court\r\n \r\nThe USA FREEDOM Act creates a Special Advocate tasked with promoting privacy interests in the FISA Court\u2019s closed proceedings and addresses the problem of \u201csecret law\u201d by establishing a process for public release of FISA Court opinions containing significant legal interpretations.\r\n \r\nIncreased Transparency and Oversight\r\n \r\nThe USA FREEDOM Act permits Internet and telecommunications companies to report publicly basic information about their participation in NSA surveillance programs.\u00a0\r\n \r\n \r\nThe USA FREEDOM Act requires the government to provide new public reporting on FISA implementation and the use of National Security Letters.\r\n \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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://welch.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/welch-lauds-rutlands-record-breaking-blood-drive", "Welch lauds Rutland's record breaking blood drive", "2013-12-18", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "welch.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Rep. Peter Welch issued the following statement after it was reported that Rutland's Gift of Life Marathon blood drive collected 2,337 pints of blood, beating the national record for a single community in one day.\n\"In the end, it wasn't even close. Yesterday, Rutland showed Vermont and the nation that it has heart -- big time heart. And it demonstrated what a community can accomplish when its residents work together on a shared goal, said Welch. What did Rutland accomplish? They saved the life of future accident victims. They ensured good outcomes to complicated surgical procedures. They provided peace of mind to the families of critically ill patients. And they proved once and for all that perseverance pays off. Congratulations and thanks to everyone who put Rutland in the record books.\"\n\n#####", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-of-senator-patrick-leahy-d-vt-chairman-senate-judiciary-committee-on-republican-opposition-to-judicial-confirmation-hearing-on-consensus-nominees", "Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On Republican Opposition To Judicial Confirmation Hearing On Consensus Nominees", "2013-12-18", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.18.13\n\t\t\t Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On Republican Opposition To Judicial Confirmation Hearing On Consensus Nominees \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t[On Wednesday, Senate Republicans invoked procedural tactics to prevent the Judiciary Committee from convening a confirmation hearing for five district court nominees. The hearing was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.]\r\nThe Republican shutdown of the Judiciary Committee is consistent with the obstruction we have witnessed over the last five years, which has led to record high vacancies in federal courts throughout the country. Home state Senators were consulted with respect to the nominees scheduled to appear before the Committee today who, when confirmed, will fill vacancies in California, Maine and Maryland, and an emergency vacancy in Kansas.The families of these nominees invested time and personal expense to travel to Washington for this hearing, losses they will never recover. This escalating obstruction undermines the Senate's constitutional responsibility of advice and consent.\r\nJust last week, Republicans prevented the Judiciary Committee from holding an executive business meeting to consider 18 highly qualified nominees, including two Texas U.S. Marshals. Those two nominees should have been approved by the Committee last month, but Republicans failed to attend the meeting to report their nominations. As Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, I have consistently shown my commitment to work with all Senators to process nominations. This obstruction sets back the bipartisan cooperation we have seen in recent weeks on such legislative matters as the budget, the defense authorization bill, and the Farm Bill. If this obstruction continues with respect to judicial nominees, I will be forced to reconsider long-held policies that have upheld the rights of the minority party in this process.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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://welch.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/welch-announces-bill-spur-use-energy-efficient-heat-pumps", "Welch announces bill to spur the use of energy efficient heat pumps", "2013-12-17", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "welch.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "The Home Heating and Cooling Efficiency Act expands efficiency tax credit\nToday, at the home of Rutland resident Bruce Bentley, Rep. Peter Welch unveiled legislation that will make it more affordable for Vermonters to install money saving and energy efficient heat pumps in their homes. Rep. Welch and Mr. Bentley were joined by representatives from Green Mountain Power, Efficiency Vermont and Excel Plumbing and Heating.\nHeating homes in Vermont is a significant financial challenge for many Vermonters. That financial burden can be reduced by making our homes as energy efficient as possible including the installation of energy efficient heat pumps which can put a big dent in monthly heating bills. My legislation will make heat pumps more affordable, cut energy bills, create American manufacturing jobs, and improve the environment. \nInstalling a heat pump can lower a Vermont home owner's heating costs by as much as $800 per year. According to Mr. Bentley, he now uses 900 less gallons of fuel oil per year as a result of installing a heat pump. \nWelch's legislation, the Home Heating and Cooling Efficiency Act (H.R. 3772), would expand the current tax credit for heat pumps from $300 to $500, or up to 10 percent of the cost of the product. Interest in heat pumps has surged in states like Vermont as recent technical advancements enable the pumps to function in colder climates throughout the winter.\n\n#####", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/senate-judiciary-committee-holds-hearing-on-abusive-patent-practices", "Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing On Abusive Patent Practices", "2013-12-17", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.17.13\n\t\t\t Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing On Abusive Patent Practices \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON (Tuesday, December 17, 2013) The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing titled Protecting Small Businesses and Promoting Innovation by Limiting Patent Troll Abuse. Chairman Patrick Leahy is the author of the Patent Transparency and Improvements Act of 2013, a bipartisan bill to protect businesses and innovators who are being improperly targeted by patent trolls. Member statements, witness testimony and a live webcast are available online.\r\nStatement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Protecting Small Businesses and Promoting Innovation by Limiting Patent Troll Abuse December 17, 2013\r\nLast Congress, members of this Committee and the Congress came together to pass common-sense, bipartisan reform to modernize our patent system. The America Invents Act has taken significant steps to improve the quality of patents that are issued by the Patent and Trademark Office, by allowing outside parties to challenge the validity of a patent after it issues and improving the information available to patent examiners.\r\nUnfortunately, bad actors are continuing to abuse the patent system. I have heard from an increasing number of businesses in Vermont and across the country that are being targeted by so-called patent trolls. Instead of asserting a patent claim against the manufacturer of a product, entities are targeting small businesses that merely use the product.\r\nIn Vermont, small businesses have received aggressive demand letters claiming payments of $1,000 per employee for using document scanners in their offices. Across the country, thousands of coffee shops, hotels, and retail stores received demand letters and were threatened with patent suits simply for using a standard, off-the-shelf, WiFi router. Many of the letters are vague form letters with no description of how the recipient infringes on a relevant patent. I have also heard examples of patent assertion entities sending letters through dozens of differently-named shell companies, so that businesses that receive the letters cannot easily find out who sent them.\r\nThese actions abuse the patent system to extort settlements from customers and small businesses that have no real means of fighting back. Predatory conduct that simply takes advantage of end-users does not promote the important goals for which our patent system was intended, to advance science and the useful arts.\r\nOver the past eight months, I have worked with Senator Lee and others to develop legislation to address these abuses in the system. Our bill targets the sending of misleading demand letters as a deceptive trade practice that can be penalized by the Federal Trade Commission. It protects customers who have been sued for merely using a product when the defendant really should be the manufacturer who made the product and is in a better position to argue whether their technology infringes a valid patent. Our legislation promotes transparency, so that those abusing the system can no longer hide behind shell companies to advance their scheme. It improves the PTO's outreach to business defendants, and strengthens the post-grant review process implemented in the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act to improve patent quality.\r\nThese measures take significant steps to address the problem of patent trolls and misuse of the patent system. Importantly, the measures also are balanced and targeted to preserve the rights of legitimate patent holders whose inventions help drive our economy. As we discuss proposals to address the problem of patent trolls, I urge this Committee to stay focused on that balance, so that we achieve meaningful but targeted reform.\r\nI thank the witnesses for appearing today to discuss this important issue. I look forward to working with you and with all members of the Committee to reduce abuses in the patent system, while ensuring that innovators and inventors will continue to drive our economy.\r\n\r\n#####\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/comment-of-senator-patrick-leahy-d-vt_chairman-senate-judiciary-committee-on-dc-district-court-ruling-on-the-nsas-telephone-surveillance-program", "Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),  Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On D.C. District Court Ruling On The NSA’s Telephone Surveillance Program", "2013-12-16", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.16.13\n\t\t\t Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),  Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On D.C. District Court Ruling On The NSA\u2019s Telephone Surveillance Program \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t[Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) released the following comment Monday after a D.C. District Court judge issued a preliminary injunction ruling regarding the National Security Agency\u2019s phone surveillance program. Leahy introduced in November the USA FREEDOM Act, a bipartisan bill that would end the bulk collection of phone records under Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act.]\u00a0\r\n\u201cAmericans deserve an open and transparent debate about the constitutionality, efficacy, and appropriateness of the government\u2019s dragnet collection programs.\u00a0 I welcome today\u2019s district court ruling regarding the collection of phone metadata, particularly because the litigants were afforded the opportunity to participate in an adversarial process.\u00a0 The Senate Judiciary Committee has held three full committee hearings and a subcommittee hearing on these issues in recent months, and it is clear to me that even more oversight is needed in the future. Our continued work on the USA FREEDOM Act that I introduced will also offer further opportunities for oversight, and for action.\u201d\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-of-senator-patrick-leahy-d-vt-on-the_the-10th-anniversary-of-the-passage-of-the-hometown-heroes-survivors-benefits-act-senate-floor", "Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) On the  The 10th Anniversary of the Passage of the Hometown Heroes Survivors Benefits Act Senate Floor", "2013-12-16", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.16.13\n\t\t\t Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) On the  The 10th Anniversary of the Passage of the Hometown Heroes Survivors Benefits Act Senate Floor \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tToday I am proud to recognize the 10th anniversary of the enactment of the \u201cHometown Heroes Survivors Benefits Act\u201d which occurred this past Saturday. \u00a0Back in 2003, I worked with a bipartisan group of senators to pass this legislation to improve the Department of Justice's Public Safety Officers' Benefits (PSOB) program by allowing families of public safety officers who suffer fatal heart attacks or strokes to qualify for federal survivor benefits. I am proud to mark the 10-year anniversary of this important program.\u00a0\r\nI first want to thank each of our Nation\u2019s brave law enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency medical responders for the work they do for the American public each and every day.\u00a0 This legislation, like the Public Safety Officers Benefits program, is for them.\u00a0 It is Congress\u2019 recognition of the importance of their service to their communities and to the Nation.\u00a0\r\nOur public safety officers are often the first to respond to a crime scene or emergency situation.\u00a0 They are often the first line of defense in a natural disaster or national security emergency.\u00a0 They are among our most courageous and dedicated public servants.\u00a0 I applaud their efforts in responding to more than 240 million emergency calls each year - whether those calls involve a fire, crime, medical emergency, natural disaster, or act of terrorism - without hesitation.\u00a0 They act with a steadfast commitment to the safety and protection of their fellow citizens and sadly, sometimes lose their own lives in the protection of their communities.\u00a0\r\nEach year, hundreds of public safety officers nationwide lose their lives and thousands more are injured while performing their duties.\u00a0 And while these benefits can never be a substitute for the loss of a loved one, the families of all these fallen heroes deserve this financial support from the Federal government.\r\nThe PSOB program was established in 1976 to authorize a one-time financial payment to the eligible survivors of federal, state, and local public safety officers who die in the line of duty. While there had been various efforts over the years to improve the program leading up to 2003, the benefits did not extend to officers suffering a fatal heart attack or stroke from a work-related, non-traumatic injury, such as stress or strain from the job.\r\nThe Hometown Heroes Act of 2003 expanded PSOB coverage to ensure that the survivors of public safety officers who die of heart attacks or strokes in the line of duty or within 24 hours of a triggering effect while on duty - regardless of whether a traumatic injury is present at the time of the heart attack or stroke - are eligible to receive financial benefits. Ensuring public safety is dangerous, grueling, and stressful work.\u00a0 A first responder\u2019s chances of suffering a heart attack or stroke exponentially increases when he or she puts on heavy equipment and rushes into a burning building or gets into a shootout with dangerous criminals.\u00a0Since enactment of the Hometown Heroes law, the Department of Justice has approved 373 claims.\u00a0 This is 373 families who have received this important support in the face of a tragedy. \u00a0The families of these brave public servants deserve coverage under the PSOB program and I am grateful that Congress was able to pass legislation to make sure the law covered these situations.\r\nOver the past few years I have increasingly sought ways to improve the PSOB program. Last year, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, I was successful in adding to that legislation the Dale Long Act. The inclusion of this amendment fixed coverage gaps in the federal PSOB program by extending benefits to private, non-emergency medical services (EMS) volunteers and personnel. In Vermont alone, this change covers an estimated 1,200 EMS personnel for the program. This legislation also streamlined what had been an unwieldy and unnecessarily long appeals process for claimants, clarified the list of eligible survivor recipients, and eliminated an artificial distinction under current law to include vascular ruptures as a type of injury that would make a public safety officer\u2019s survivors qualified for Hometown Heroes benefits.\u00a0 Since 2012, as a result of the Dale Long Act\u2019s enactment, an additional 23 Hometown Heroes cases have been approved.\u00a0\r\nFinally, I want to recognize the outstanding work of Director Denise O\u2019Donnell and her staff at the Department of Justice\u2019s Bureau of Justice Assistance. Under Director O\u2019Donnell\u2019s leadership, her dedicated staff has put into place significant reforms and improvements to the program that have increased efficiency, transparency, and communication with the survivors of fallen first responders with pending claims. They are putting to good use the new statutory provisions that were enacted as part of the Dale Long Act\u2014provisions that make the program more cost effective and easier for administrators and claimants to find resolution. \u00a0As a former prosecutor, Director O\u2019Donnell understands the importance of this program to first responders across the country and she has worked very hard to listen to their concerns and act on them.\u00a0 I know the staff members within the PSOB program office recognize the solemnity and importance of the work they do and recognize that each case represents a family that has endured a great sacrifice.\u00a0 They carry out their duties with the respect these cases deserve and I thank them as they continue to carry out the promise Congress made to America\u2019s first responders over 30 years ago.\u00a0\r\nPublic safety officers are part of the bedrock of our Nation. We must continue to recognize their hard work and selfless dedication to communities across this country and ensure that they and their families have the protections they need and most certainly deserve.\r\n#####\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-of-senator-patrick-leahy-on-the-confirmation-of-jeh-johnson-to-be-secretary-of-homeland-security", "Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy On the Confirmation of Jeh Johnson To be Secretary of Homeland Security", "2013-12-16", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.16.13\n\t\t\t Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy On the Confirmation of Jeh Johnson To be Secretary of Homeland Security \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tI am pleased to support the confirmation of Jeh Johnson to be the Secretary of Homeland Security.\u00a0 Mr. Johnson\u2019s distinguished career in public service, including his service as a Federal prosecutor and as General Counsel of the Department of Defense, will suit him well as he takes on this new and very challenging responsibility. I look forward to inviting Mr. Johnson to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee for an oversight hearing in the new year, which he has committed to do.\u00a0 Mr. Johnson will oversee many issues within the Judiciary Committee\u2019s jurisdiction, not the least of which is Federal immigration policy.\u00a0\u00a0\r\nI had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Johnson recently and discuss some of the issues that have been of interest to me over the last several years.\u00a0 I encouraged him to continue to support the exceptional work U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Alejandro Mayorkas has done to make USCIS a better, stronger agency.\u00a0 In particular, I encouraged Mr. Johnson to build upon Director Mayorkas\u2019 work to strengthen and improve the EB-5 Regional Center Program, which is a successful, job creating immigration program that has transformed parts of Vermont and other communities across the country.\u00a0 I look forward to working with Mr. Johnson, and Director Mayorkas following his confirmation as Deputy Secretary for Homeland Security, to continue the partnership the Senate Judiciary Committee developed with USCIS to make the improvements necessary to maintain the highest standards of integrity in this important program, and to sustain it as a significant economic engine for the United States.\u00a0\r\nI relayed to Mr. Johnson my concerns about Border Patrol checkpoints in the interior of the country, like the one that the previous administration implemented and operated nearly 100 miles south of the Canadian border on Interstate 91 in Vermont.\u00a0 Over the past several years, I have heard from many Vermonters who find the idea of a Federal checkpoint 100 miles from the Canadian border, deep into the state of Vermont, entirely inconsistent with Vermont values and an overbearing Federal presence that creates an environment susceptible to racial profiling and the needless harassment of law abiding citizens.\u00a0 I continue to have serious questions about the effectiveness of checkpoints like these, especially when weighed against the significant intrusion into the privacy of Americans.\u00a0\r\nI also discussed with Mr. Johnson my concerns related to the treatment of Americans returning to the United States, in particular the practice of CBP officials conducting warrantless searches of Americans\u2019 persons and belongings, including conducting forensic searches of electronic devices.\u00a0\u00a0 These searches within the border zone are not subject to the usual protections provided by the Fourth Amendment to Americans.\u00a0 Recent CBP activities have raised serious questions about whether Federal officials are circumventing the protections of the Fourth Amendment by conducting opportunistic searches on individuals when those officials know they will be reentering the United States.\u00a0 As I wrote in a letter to the current Acting Secretary, such authority must be used with great restraint.\u00a0 I look forward to continuing my discussions about these important issues with Mr. Johnson.\r\nFinally, I will seek to work with Mr. Johnson to address the overbroad material support bar in our immigration law.\u00a0 It has resulted in people, including vulnerable refugees, being unfairly barred from the United States based solely on de minimus commercial or social conduct that has negligible connection to the support of terrorism. One example involves an individual who sold flowers to members of a terrorist group, and is now considered to have provided \u201cmaterial support\u201d to terrorism. \u00a0That simply does not make sense and must be changed.\u00a0 As I have with his predecessors, I will urge Mr. Johnson to address this unjust situation as soon as possible after he takes office. \u00a0\r\nI congratulate Jeh Johnson on his confirmation and look forward to working with him as Secretary of Homeland Security.\u00a0\r\n#####\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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://welch.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/house-passes-bipartisan-welch-bill-fund-pediatric-research", "House Passes Bipartisan Welch Bill to Fund Pediatric Research", "2013-12-16", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "welch.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Kids First Research Act (H.R. 2019) invests in NIH research \nLast week, the House passed bipartisan legislation introduced by Rep. Welch and Rep. Greg Harper (R- MS) which authorizes $126 million in funding for pediatric research at the National Institutes of Health. The new funding is offset by eliminating taxpayer support for the Democratic and Republican political conventions held every four years.\nThis is a small but important step in advancing life-saving research into pediatric cancer and other chronic diseases affecting children,  said Welch. Passing this bipartisan bill demonstrates that this Congress can put down the partisan battle axes and do something constructive. And I hope it represents the first step in restoring drastic cuts in the NIH budget triggered by the irresponsible budget sequester.\nThe legislation would invest $12.6 million annually for 10 years in scientific research for pediatric disease and disorders by creating a `10-Year Pediatric Research Initiative Fund'. The initiative wouldbe administered by the Common Fund at the NIH. It was named in memory of Gabriella Miller, a 10-year-old children's health research advocate, who recently died of brain cancer. Her story is told in this CNN report.\n\n#####", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/comment-of-senator-patrick-leahy-d-vt_chairman-senate-judiciary-committee-on-the-one-year-anniversary-of-the-tragedy-at-sandy-hook-elementary-school", "Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),  Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On The One Year Anniversary Of The Tragedy At Sandy Hook Elementary School", "2013-12-14", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.14.13\n\t\t\t Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),  Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On The One Year Anniversary Of The Tragedy At Sandy Hook Elementary School \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\u201cIt has been one year since our hearts were broken by the unimaginable tragedy at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.\u00a0 Marcelle and I give our thoughts and prayers in honor and remembrance of the innocent children and educators whose lives were taken, and to their brave and\u00a0loving families who bear so great a burden.\u00a0 On this solemn anniversary, we keep in our hearts these families and a community that has lost so much.\u201d\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-of-senator-patrick-leahy-d-vt_chairman-senate-judiciary-committee--on-the-confirmation-of-patricia-m-wald-to-be-a--member-of-the-privacy-and-civil-liberties-oversight-board", "Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),  Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee  on the Confirmation of Patricia M. Wald to be a  Member of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board", "2013-12-13", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.13.13\n\t\t\t Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),  Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee  on the Confirmation of Patricia M. Wald to be a  Member of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tI commend the Senate for confirming Judge Patricia M. Wald to be a Member of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (\"PCLOB\").\u00a0 The Senate previously confirmed Judge Wald to this post on August 2, 2012.\u00a0 The President re-nominated Judge Wald to this position in March, and the Judiciary Committee favorably reported the nomination without objection months ago.\u00a0 Like many other nominees, her confirmation has been held up on the floor for months by Senate Republicans.\r\nDuring her tenure on this important oversight board, Judge Wald has served with great professionalism and dedication.\u00a0 And last month, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor that the President can bestow.\r\nFor the past several months, our nation has been engaged in a national debate about the ever-growing need for limits on the government\u2019s surveillance powers.\u00a0 The House and the Senate are considering bipartisan legislation to rein in those expansive powers, in an effort to better protect Americans\u2019 privacy and to increase transparency and oversight. The PCLOB is also expected to issue an important report on the government's surveillance programs to the President and Congress.\u00a0\u00a0\r\nToday's confirmation vote will ensure that the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board remains at full strength as the board continues this work to safeguard our constitutional rights.\u00a0 Democrats, Independents, and Republicans alike have supported the work of this non-partisan board.\u00a0 I commend the Senate for confirming this well qualified nominee, so that the PCLOB can continue to carry out its important responsibilities.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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://welch.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/reed-and-welch-laud-provision-house-passed-budget-agreement-protects", "Reed and Welch laud provision in House-passed budget agreement that protects rural hospitals and communities", "2013-12-13", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "welch.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman Tom Reed (R-NY) and Congressman Peter Welch (D-VT) announced today that the budget agreement passed by the House yesterday included a six-month extension strongly advocated by both Members to fund the federal low-volume and Medicare-dependent hospitals programs. Funding for this program, which helps rural hospitals provide quality health care in the communities they serve, had expired at the end of September. \nOur rural hospitals will see a much-needed extension in funding as part of the bipartisan budget agreement, Congressman Reed said. It's important we protect and care for our rural hospitals and the jobs they support, just as we rely on them for high-quality care close to home. I am pleased this policy was included and will continue to partner with the rural hospitals moving into next year to ensure long-term program funding.\n\"Vermont's rural hospitals have a strong reputation for providing high quality health care to seniors in the communities they serve,\" Congressman Welch said. \"This legislation will make sure our hospitals continue to serve them in the short term.\nEarlier this year, Congressmen Reed and Welch had introduced the bipartisan Rural Hospital Access Act (HR 1787) which reauthorizes for one year the Medicare-dependent hospital and enhanced low-volume hospital programs.\nNew York's 23rd Congressional District has three Medicare-dependent hospitals: Corning Hospital, Ira Davenport and St. Joseph's of Elmira, and three low-volume hospitals: Jones Memorial, Ira Davenport, and St. James Mercy. Vermont has two Medicare-dependent hospitals: Southwestern Vermont Medical Center and Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, and three low-volume hospitals: Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, Northwestern Medical Center and Central Vermont Medical Center.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-announces-witness-list-for-next-weeks-patent-troll-hearing", "Leahy Announces Witness List For Next Weeks Patent Troll Hearing", "2013-12-13", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.13.13\n\t\t\t Leahy Announces Witness List For Next Week's Patent Troll Hearing \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON (FRIDAY, Dec. 13, 2013)  Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on Friday released a witness list for the December 17 hearing on bipartisan legislation to combat so-called patent trolls. New England Federal Credit Union President and CEO John Dwyer, from Williston, Vt., is among those scheduled to testify. Leahy has also invited Michael Makin, president and CEO of Printing Industries of America, to appear before the panel. \r\nWhen small businesses in Vermont and across the country are threatened with patent lawsuits merely for offering wi-fi to their customers or using document scanners in their offices, we can all agree the system is not being used as intended, said Leahy. I am committed to passing effective legislation that will help innovators and inventors succeed, and I look forward to next week's hearing on this important subject.\r\nLeahy joined with Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) to introduce the Patent Transparency and Improvements Act in November. The hearing will be held on Tuesday, December 17, at 10 a.m. in Room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Member statements, witness testimony, and a live webcast will be available online on Tuesday.\r\n# # # # #\r\nWitness List  Hearing before the    Senate Committee on the Judiciary  On  Protecting Small Businesses and Promoting Innovation by Limiting Patent Troll Abuse Tuesday, December 17, 2013   Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 226    10:00 a.m.\r\n\r\nPanel I\r\n\r\nJohn J. Dwyer, Jr.\r\nPresident & CEO\r\nNew England Federal Credit Union\r\nWilliston, VT\r\n\r\nMichael Makin\r\nPresident & CEO\r\nPrinting Industries of America\r\nSewickley, PA\r\n\r\nDana Rao\r\nVice President and Associate General Counsel for Intellectual Property Litigation\r\nAdobe Systems, Inc.\r\nSan Jose, CA\r\n\r\nPhilip S. Johnson\r\nSenior Vice President and Chief Intellectual Property Counsel, Johnson & Johnson\r\nCoalition for 21st Century Patent Reform\r\nNew Brunswick, NJ\r\nPanel II\r\n\r\nSteve Bossone, Ph.D.\r\nVice President, Intellectual Property\r\nAlnylam Pharmaceuticals\r\nCambridge, MA\r\n\r\nHarry A. Wolin\r\nSenior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary\r\nAMD\r\nAustin, TX\r\n\r\nThe Honorable Q. Todd Dickinson\r\nExecutive Director, American Intellectual Property Law Association\r\nFormer Under Secretary for Intellectual Property and\r\nDirector of the United States Patent and Trademark Office\r\nArlington, VA\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/comment-of-senator-patrick-leahy-d-vt_chairman-senate-judiciary-committee-on-agreement-to-restoring-users-ability-to-unlock-cellphones", "Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),  Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On Agreement To Restoring Users’ Ability to Unlock Cellphones", "2013-12-12", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.12.13\n\t\t\t Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),  Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On Agreement To Restoring Users\u2019 Ability to Unlock Cellphones \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t[The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday announced that it had reached a voluntary agreement with the wireless industry allowing consumers to \u201cunlock\u201d their cell phones.\u00a0 Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) introduced the bipartisan Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act, S. 517, in March after the United States Library of Congress declined to renew an exemption to section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) that allowed consumers to easily transfer their cell phones to other providers.\u00a0Leahy\u2019s legislation restores the previous rule authorizing cell phone unlocking.\u00a0 A companion bill was approved by the House Judiciary Committee in July.]\r\n\u201cToday the wireless industry listened to the complaints of consumers and lawmakers by voluntarily agreeing to allow individuals to transfer their cell phones to other carriers.\u00a0Nine months ago, I introduced bipartisan legislation to provide consumers the ability to keep their phones and make their own decision about which wireless provider to use. I am glad the wireless industry agrees with this commonsense approach, and I applaud the industry\u2019s actions taken today. The Judiciary Committee will continue in its oversight capacity to monitor the implementation of this agreement and ensure that it provides consumers the freedom to choose the wireless provider that best suits their needs.\u201d\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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/senate-confirms-pillard-to-the-dc-circuit-court-", "Senate Confirms Pillard To The D.C. Circuit Court", "2013-12-12", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.12.13\n\t\t\t Senate Confirms Pillard To The D.C. Circuit Court  \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON  Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) applauded on Thursday the confirmation of Nina Pillard to serve on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.\r\nPillard's confirmation to a seat left vacant since October 2011 also marks an historic milestone for the prestigious court that will now have five active female judges currently serving.\r\nDespite having filled nearly half of law school classrooms for the last 20 years, women are grossly underrepresented on our Federal courts. We need women on the Federal bench, Leahy said. The Senate moved another step forward in that effort by voting to confirm Nina Pillard, one of several highly qualified women nominated by President Obama like Patricia Millett, Elena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor. I am proud to support such incredible nominees, and I applaud the Senate for voting to confirm Nina Pillard.\r\nPillard, who was nominated in June and testified before the Committee in July, has a unanimous rating of well qualified from the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary. She has argued nine cases before the Supreme Court and drafted the government's successful argument in the landmark Supreme Court case, United States v. Virginia, which opened the doors of the Virginia Military Institute to female cadets. Her nomination to the D.C. Circuit is supported by Viet Dinh, the former Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy under President George W. Bush, former FBI Director and Chief Judge of the Western District of Texas William Sessions, 30 former members of the U.S. armed forces including 8 retired generals, 25 former Federal prosecutors and other law enforcement officials, and 40 Supreme Court practitioners including Laurence Tribe and Carter Phillips.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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-d-vt-chairman-senate-judiciary-committee-on-the-nomination-of-cornelia-nina-pillard1", "Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On the Nomination of Cornelia Nina Pillard", "2013-12-12", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.12.13\n\t\t\t Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On the Nomination of Cornelia Nina Pillard \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tTonight we will vote on the nomination of Nina Pillard to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. On Tuesday, we were finally able to invoke cloture on her nomination, after it had been unjustifiably filibustered by Senate Republicans for nearly three months after being favorably voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The D.C. Circuit is often considered to be the second most important court in the Nation and should be operating at full strength. We are finally taking another step towards making this Court operate at full strength for the American people. \r\nNina Pillard is an accomplished litigator whose work includes 9 Supreme Court oral arguments, and briefs in more than 25 Supreme Court cases. She drafted the Federal government's brief in United States v. Virginia, which after a 7-1 decision by the Supreme Court made history by opening the Virginia Military Institute's doors to female students and expanded educational opportunity for women across the country. Since then, hundreds of women have had the opportunity to attend VMI and go on to serve our country.\r\nMs. Pillard has not only stood up for equal opportunities for women, but for men as well. In Nevada v. Hibbs, Ms. Pillard successfully represented a male employee of the state of Nevada who was fired when he tried to take unpaid leave under the Family Medical Leave Act to care for his sick wife. In a 6-3 opinion authored by then-Chief Justice William Rehnquist, the Supreme Court ruled for her client, recognizing that the law protects both men and women in their caregiving roles within the family.\r\nShe has also worked at the Department of Justice as the Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Counsel, an office that advises on the most complex constitutional issues facing the Executive Branch. And prior to that, Ms. Pillard litigated numerous civil rights cases as an assistant counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund. At Georgetown Law, Ms. Pillard teaches advanced courses on constitutional law and civil procedure, and co-directs the law school's Supreme Court Institute. She has earned the American Bar Association's highest possible ranking  Unanimously Well Qualified  to serve as a Federal appellate judge on the D.C. Circuit.\r\nToday, however, I have heard some unfortunate and unfair attacks on this fine woman. I have heard comments that she would be the most left wing judge in U.S. history; that she has extreme views on abortion and religious liberty; and that she would rubber stamp the most radical legislative and regulatory proposals. One might expect these outrageous accusations to come from right wing fringe groups, but to hear some of these outlandish accusations on the Senate floor is unfortunate.\r\nSo let me clear the record. Nina Pillard is one of the finest nominees we have had before this body. On the issue of abortion, Republicans have cherry picked quotes and taken them out of context to try to paint her as someone she is not. The truth is that taken as a whole, her writings have focused on bridging the gap between pro-life and pro-choice advocates by finding common ground for ways to reduce reliance on abortion.\r\nMore importantly, I cannot ignore the double standard of certain senators on the issue of abortion. In 2002, the Senate unanimously confirmed President Bush's nomination of Michael McConnell to the 10th Circuit by voice vote. Professor McConnell argued that Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided and urged the Supreme Court to overturn it. He applauded a Federal judge for refusing to convict anti-abortion protestors, even though they had clearly violated the law, because of his sympathetic reading of the defendants' motives. \r\nSimilarly, in 2002, the Senate confirmed William Pryor to Eleventh Circuit, even though he called Roe v. Wade the worst abomination in the history of constitutional law. Another President Bush nominee, J. Leon Holmes, was confirmed to the Federal district court in Arkansas, even though he had argued that abortion should be banned even in cases of rape because pregnancy from rape is as uncommon as snowfall in Miami. He had also written that wives should be submissive to their husbands. He was not filibustered. He was confirmed.\r\nEach of these judicial nominees stated under oath in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee that they could set aside their personal beliefs and would interpret the law consistent with the Constitution and Supreme Court precedent. They were confirmed. Nina Pillard testified under the same oath that, A judge's opinions and views should have no role in interpreting the Constitution. Are we to believe that only judicial nominees who do not support a woman's access to abortion services are able to set aside their personal views to be fair and impartial judges? I cannot help but notice the glaring double standard that is imposed on Nina Pillard.\r\nOn the issue of religious liberty, Senate Republicans continue to misrepresent an incorrect prediction Ms. Pillard made about the possible outcome of a Supreme Court case to suggest she is hostile to religious freedom. In a 2011 briefing to educate the press on legal issues in Hosanna Tabor v. EEOC, she described the issue in the case, identified what was difficult about it, and offered a prediction of how the Court might resolve it. Her prediction turned out to be wrong. If Senators, who have also sworn to uphold the Constitution, were held accountable every time they incorrectly predicted the outcome of a Supreme Court case, I am not sure how many of us would be left. Ultimately, she has testified that if confirmed she would uphold the Supreme Court's precedent on the issue.\r\nThe suggestion that Ms. Pillard will be the most left-wing judge in the history is simply outlandish hyperbole, as demonstrated by the bipartisan support she has received. Viet Dinh, the former Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy under President George W. Bush, wrote in a letter of support for her nomination that: Based on our long and varied professional experience together, I know that Professor Pillard is exceptionally bright, a patient and unbiased listener, and a lawyer of great judgment and unquestioned integrity Nina has always been fair, reasonable, and sensible in her judgments She is a fair-minded thinker with enormous respect for the law and for the limited, and essential, role of the federal appellate judge  qualities that make her well prepared to take on the work of a D.C. Federal Judge.\r\nFormer FBI Director and Chief Judge of the Western District of Texas William Sessions has written that her rare combination of experience, both defending and advising government officials, and representing individuals seeking to vindicate their rights, would be especially valuable in informing her responsibilities as a judge.\r\nNina Pillard has also received letters of support from 30 former members of the U.S. armed forces, including 8 retired generals; 25 former Federal prosecutors and other law enforcement officials; 40 Supreme Court practitioners, including Laurence Tribe and Carter Phillips, among many others.\r\nDespite having filled nearly half of law school classrooms for the last 20 years, women are grossly underrepresented on our Federal courts. We need women on the Federal bench. A vote to end this filibuster is a vote to break yet another barrier and move in the historic direction of having our Federal appellate courts more accurately reflect the gender balance of the country.\r\nI commend President Obama on his nominations of highly qualified women like Nina Pillard, Patricia Millett, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor. In each of these women, the Senate has had the opportunity to vote to confirm women practicing at the pinnacle of the legal profession. Once the Senate confirmed Justice Kagan, the highest court in the land had more women than ever before serving on its bench. With the confirmation and appointment of Nina Pillard, the same will be true for what many consider to be the second highest court in the land, the D.C. Circuit because she will be the fifth active female judge on the court. Never before have five women jurists actively served on that court at one time. I look forward to that moment and to further increasing the diversity of our federal bench.\r\nI urge my colleagues to vote to confirm this outstanding nominee. This Nation would be better off for Nina Pillard serving as a judge on the D.C. Circuit.\r\nToday, the Senate will also vote on the nominations of Elizabeth A. Wolford, of New York, to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of New York; Landya B. McCafferty, of New Hampshire, to be U.S. District Judge for the District of New Hampshire; Brian Morris, of Montana, to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Montana; and Susan P. Watters, of Montana, to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Montana.\r\nSenate Republicans have continued to abuse the filibuster and required cloture to confirm all four of these noncontroversial district court nominees. All four of these nominees were reported unanimously by voice vote from the Senate Judiciary Committee. They all have the support of their home state senators. With the filibuster of these four district court nominees, Senate Republicans have now filibustered 24 of President Obama's district court nominees. Not a single district court nominee was filibustered under President Bush's eight years in office. I hope Senate Republicans come around so that we can work together to meet the needs of our Federal judiciary so that the American people can have the justice system they deserve.\r\n# # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/senate-judiciary-committee-holds-third-oversight-hearing-on-government-surveillance-programs", "Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Third Oversight Hearing On Government Surveillance Programs", "2013-12-11", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.11.13\n\t\t\t Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Third Oversight Hearing On Government Surveillance Programs \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON (Wednesday, December 11, 2013) The Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday afternoon is holding a hearing titled Continued Oversight of U.S. Government Surveillance Authorities. Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) convened similar oversight hearings in July and October on the use of government surveillance programs. Member statements, witness testimony and a webcast of today's hearing are available online. \r\nStatement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, Hearing on Continued Oversight of U.S. Government Surveillance Authorities December 11, 2013\r\nToday, the Judiciary Committee meets to conduct further oversight of the intelligence community's surveillance activities. This Committee has held a series of open hearings that have sharpened the Committee's thinking and furthered the public dialogue on these important issues. Today marks our third full Committee hearing, and Senator Franken also convened a hearing on transparency issues last month in the Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law.\r\nAt our first hearing in July, we discussed with Deputy Attorney General Cole the broad relevance standard that is being used to justify the bulk collection of Americans' phone records under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act, and I appreciate that the Deputy Attorney General has returned today to continue that discussion. We also discussed the utility of the bulk phone records collection program in light of statements by some officials that had conflated the usefulness of Section 215 with Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), and left the inaccurate impression that 54 terrorist plots had been thwarted as a result of these programs. Deputy Director Inglis helped to clear up this confusion, and we learned that in fact there was only one example of the Section 215 phone records program being the but-for cause of disrupting a terrorist event. That sole example was a material support prosecution of a San Diego cabdriver who sent roughly $8,000 to Somalia.\r\nAt our second hearing in early October, General Alexander confirmed that the notion that the Section 215 phone records program had helped to thwart 54 terrorist plots was inaccurate. General Alexander and Director of National Intelligence Clapper also answered questions about the trust deficit arising from the range of serious legal violations committed in programs conducted under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act and Section 702 of FISA.\r\nToday, the Committee renews its examination of government surveillance activities  once again in the wake of a series of new revelations. These new disclosures raise significant questions about the scope and wisdom of our surveillance activities both at home and abroad. It is clear that the oversight work of the Committee is far from finished.\r\nJust in the last week, there have been press reports that the NSA is collecting billions of records a day of cell phone locations around the world, and can track individuals and map their relationships. There also have been reports that the NSA is monitoring online video games.\r\nAnd last month, the administration released a set of documents revealing details about yet another massive dragnet collection program, in addition to the phone records program. This time the NSA was gathering in bulk an enormous amount of Internet metadata, under the pen register and trap and trace device authority in FISA. Just like Section 215, there is nothing in the pen register statute that expressly authorizes the dragnet collection of data on this scale.\r\nAlthough the Internet metadata collection program is not currently operational, it resulted in a series of major compliance problems  just like the Section 215 program. According to the FISA Court, the NSA exceeded the scope of authorized acquisition not just once or twice, but continuously during many of the years the program was in operation. The problems were so severe that the FISA Court ultimately suspended the program entirely for a period of time before approving its renewal. Once renewed, the government asserted that this bulk collection was an important foreign intelligence tool  which is the claim it makes now about the Section 215 phone records program. But then in 2011 the government ended this Internet metadata program because, as Director Clapper explained, it was no longer meeting operational expectations. It is important to note that the administration does not believe that there is any legal impediment to re-starting this bulk Internet data collection program if it  or a future administration  wanted to do so.\r\nThe legal justification for this Internet metadata collection is troubling. As with the Section 215 program, the Internet metadata program was based on a relevance standard. And as with the Section 215 program, there is no adequate limiting principle to this legal rationale. The American people have been told that all of their phone records are relevant to counterterrorism investigations. Now they are told that all Internet metadata is also relevant; and apparently fair game for the NSA to collect. This legal interpretation is extraordinary, and will have serious privacy and business implications in the future  particularly as new communications and data technologies are developed.\r\nSo it should come as no surprise that the American technology industry is greatly concerned about these issues. I have heard from a number of companies who worry that their global competitiveness has been weakened and undermined. American businesses stand to lose tens of billions of dollars in the coming years, and we need to make substantial reforms to our surveillance laws to rebuild confidence in the U.S. technology industry.\r\nEarlier this week, eight major technology companies  including Microsoft, Google, Apple, Facebook, and Yahoo  released a set of five principles for surveillance reform. Citing the urgent need to reform government surveillance practices worldwide, the companies call for greater oversight and transparency, but importantly they also advocate for limits that would require the government to rely on targeted searches about specific individuals, rather than the bulk collection of Internet communications.\r\nI have introduced the USA FREEDOM Act with Senator Lee here in the Senate, and our bill takes many of these steps. I appreciate the support we have received from the technology industry for those efforts, and I look forward to hearing its perspective on the second panel. Without objection I will place in the record the open letter and reform principles from the technology companies, an earlier letter from technology companies applauding the USA FREEDOM Act, and a supportive letter from a coalition of civil society organizations, companies, trade associations and investors.\r\nSupport from the technology industry is representative of the broad-based, bipartisan support for our legislation. Organizations across the spectrum have endorsed the bill, from the ACLU to the NRA. I also want to thank Senator Lee, Senator Durbin, Senator Blumenthal and Senator Hirono on this Committee for their cosponsorship. Our bipartisan, bicameral legislation is a commonsense bill that makes real and necessary reforms. I welcome input on this legislation, and I look forward to working on this effort in the coming months. I want to thank our witnesses for being here today, and in particular for returning to this Committee after our unexpected postponement of this hearing in November. \r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-of-senator-patrick-leahy-d-vt-chairman-senate-judiciary-committee-on-the-nomination-of-alejandro-mayorkas-to-be-deputy-secretary_of-the-department-of-homeland-security", "Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On The Nomination Of Alejandro Mayorkas To Be Deputy Secretary  of the Department of Homeland Security", "2013-12-11", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.11.13\n\t\t\t Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On The Nomination Of Alejandro Mayorkas To Be Deputy Secretary  of the Department of Homeland Security \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t[Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) issued the following comment Wednesday after the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee reported out the nomination of Alejandro Mayorkas to be Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. The position has not had a Senate-confirmed leader since April.]\r\nI applaud Chairman Carper and members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for approving the nomination of Alejandro Mayorkas, a nominee who would fill an important role at the Department of Homeland Security. This nomination deserves consideration by all Senators, and that consideration should not be delayed by a highly questionable investigation by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General. It is unfortunate that like Director Mayorkas' confirmation hearing, a majority of Republican Senators declined to attend today's business meeting and discuss the issues about which they claim to be concerned.\r\nIt is also unfortunate that Republicans are using a seriously flawed review of Director Mayorkas's performance at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to obstruct his nomination. The conduct of the Deputy Inspector General at the Department of Homeland Security relative to his investigation of Director Mayorkas, including the Deputy Inspector General's public disclosure of sensitive information about the investigation and his failure even to interview Director Mayorkas, severely undermines the legitimacy of the investigation.In my view, this flawed investigation does not merit the delay of Director Mayorkas' confirmation process.\r\nFinally, I appreciate Chairman Carper's recognition of the bipartisan work the Judiciary Committee has done, in cooperation with USCIS, to improve the job-creating EB-5 Regional Center Program. Significant reforms were passed as part of the Senate's comprehensive immigration reform legislation and approved unanimously by the Judiciary Committee. Those who want to see these reforms enacted should join me in calling on the House to take up the Senate-passed comprehensive immigration bill.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/hearing-on-assistance-for-jordan-and-lebanon-and-refugee-relief-related-to-the-civil-war-in-syria", "Hearing On Assistance For Jordan And Lebanon And Refugee Relief, Related To The Civil War In Syria", "2013-12-10", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.10.13\n\t\t\t Hearing On Assistance For Jordan And Lebanon And Refugee Relief, Related To The Civil War In Syria \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tChairman Patrick Leahy   Hearing On Assistance For Jordan And Lebanon And Refugee Relief,   Related To The Civil War In Syria   Department of State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee   December 10, 2013\r\n\r\nI want to welcome our witnesses:\u00a0 Anne Richard, who is the Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration; Ambassador Bouran of Jordan and Ambassador Chedid of Lebanon; and Andrew Harper and Ewen Macleod from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Thank you for being here. \u00a0\r\n\r\nI know our United Nations witnesses traveled a long distance, and for that we are very grateful. The High Commissioner, who Senator Graham and I know personally, is highly regarded here.\r\n\r\nI also want to thank Senator Graham who proposed this hearing because of his deep concern, which we all share, with the Syria situation we are here to discuss.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\r\n\r\nWe have all been following the humanitarian catastrophe that continues to unfold for the people of Syria and surrounding countries.\u00a0 No neighbors of Syria have borne the brunt of this disaster more directly than Jordan and Lebanon, and the world is grateful for their generosity.\u00a0\r\n\r\nEstimates of the total number of Syrian refugees vary, but we are told that it exceeds 2.2 million, of who some 557,000 are in Jordan and 825,000 in Lebanon.\u00a0\r\n\r\nIn Jordan they are mostly living in sprawling tent camps, and you see the photograph of one here.\u00a0 In Lebanon they are scattered among the general population.\u00a0 But whatever their situation, it is extremely dire and it is putting huge strains on the two governments and local populations.\r\n\r\nMost worrisome, the civil war in Syria shows no sign of ending. This is a protracted crisis that will impose long-term burdens on Jordan and Lebanon, as well as Turkey and Iraq, and almost certainly require significant international donor aid for years to come.\u00a0\u00a0\r\n\r\nAnd whenever the war ends, the task of helping millions of refugees and internally displaced persons rebuild their shattered lives will be immense.\r\n\r\nJordan is a close ally of the United States and before this crisis was already accommodating some 2 million Palestinian refugees.\u00a0 Lebanon is struggling with a myriad of problems, not the least of which is the violent influence of Hezbollah.\u00a0\u00a0\r\n\r\nWe have an ongoing interest in helping both countries cope with this crisis, but as Assistant Secretary Richard knows there are other refugee crises \u2013 particularly in Africa \u2013 that also require our assistance and our budget is limited.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\r\n\r\nIn this hearing we want to hear about the most urgent needs, how we can further alleviate the burdens on Jordan and Lebanon as we continue to respond to the other demands on our humanitarian aid budget, how much other donors are providing and what we can realistically expect from them in the future.\r\n   # # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tDavid Carle: 202-224-3693\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"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/senate-confirms-millett-to-the-dc-circuit-court", "Senate Confirms Millett To The D.C. Circuit Court", "2013-12-10", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.10.13\n\t\t\t Senate Confirms Millett To The D.C. Circuit Court \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tSenate Confirms Millett To The D.C. Circuit Court\u00a0\r\n\r\nWASHINGTON (Tuesday, December 10, 2013) \u2013Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) applauded on Tuesday the confirmation of Patricia Millett to serve on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Millett will be just the sixth woman ever to serve on the influential court in its 120-year history.\u00a0\r\n\r\n\u201cPatricia Millett has risen through the ranks of government and private practice to earn a place among the best appellate practitioners in the country,\u201d said Leahy, who ushered her nomination from the Committee to the Senate floor.\u00a0\r\n\r\nMillett has served in Democratic and Republican administrations in the Solicitor General\u2019s office and has argued 32 cases before the Supreme Court. In addition to her record of public service, Millett is a military spouse whose husband was deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom while she served in the Solicitor General\u2019s office.\u00a0\r\n\r\nIn October, Senate Republicans blocked Millett\u2019s nomination to fill the 9th seat previously held by John Roberts, who the Senate confirmed to that seat by voice vote in 2003.\u00a0Because of Leahy\u2019s support of changes to the Senate rules to overcome Republican abuse of filibuster rules to block qualified nominees, Millett was finally able to be confirmed today.\r\n\r\n\u201cBy refusing to allow a vote for any existing vacancy on the D.C. Circuit, Republicans took their determined obstruction to an unprecedented level,\u201d Leahy said. \u201cNow that the Senate has changed its precedents to overcome the escalating obstruction of some, I hope reasonable Republicans will join us in restoring the Senate\u2019s ability to fulfill its constitutional duties.\u201d\u00a0\r\n\r\n# # # # #\r\nStatement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),\r\nChairman, Senate Judiciary Committee,\r\nOn the Nomination of Patricia Millett to the Circuit Court of Appeals for the\r\nDistrict of Columbia Circuit\r\nDecember 10, 2013\r\n\r\nToday, the Senate will finally have the opportunity to vote on the confirmation of Patricia Millett to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.\u00a0 Over the course of her 25-year legal career, Ms. Millett has risen through the ranks of government and private practice to earn a place among the best appellate practitioners in the country.\u00a0 She has argued 32 cases before the Supreme Court.\u00a0 She worked in the Justice Department under both Republican and Democratic administrations.\u00a0 She is unquestionably qualified and deserves to be confirmed without further delay so she can get to work for the American people.\u00a0\r\n\r\nPatricia Millett\u2019s career mirrors that of the last DC Circuit to occupy the very seat to which she is nominated\u2014that of John Roberts, Jr.\u00a0 I voted for his confirmation to both the D.C. Circuit and later to the Supreme Court.\u00a0 I knew at the time of those votes that I would not agree with every decision he would make on the bench, but I voted for him because of his temperament and his excellent reputation as a lawyer.\u00a0 John Roberts was confirmed unanimously to the D.C. Circuit on the day the Judiciary Committee completed consideration of his nomination and reported it to the Senate\u2014at a time when the caseload of the D.C. Circuit by any measure was lower than it is today.\u00a0 If only Senate Republicans had been willing to apply the same standard for Ms. Millett. Instead, they decided to filibuster her nomination even though they had promised to only filibuster nominations under \u201cextraordinary circumstances.\u201d\u00a0 If those Senators had been true to their word, I do not believe we would have reached the tipping point on the use of the filibuster.\u00a0\r\n\r\nBy refusing to allow a vote for any existing vacancy on the D.C. Circuit, Republicans took their determined obstruction to an unprecedented level.\u00a0\u00a0 As the senior most Senator serving today, I approach changes to the tradition and history of the Senate with great reluctance. I have always believed in the Senate\u2019s unique protection of the minority party.\u00a0 I have held to my belief that the best traditions of the Senate would win out; that the 100 of us who stand in the shoes of more than 310 million Americans would do the right thing.\u00a0\u00a0\r\n\r\nNow that the Senate has changed its precedents to overcome the escalating obstruction of some, I hope reasonable Republicans will join us in restoring the Senate\u2019s ability to fulfill its constitutional duties.\u00a0 I hope this will include a vote to confirm Patricia Millett to the D.C. Circuit.\r\n\r\nMs. Millett is a nominee with unquestionable integrity and character.\u00a0 She has engaged in significant community service and committed herself to pro bono work.\u00a0 She helps the neediest among us, volunteering through her church to prepare meals for the homeless and serving regularly as an overnight monitor at a local shelter.\u00a0\u00a0\r\n\r\nThrough her legal work, Ms. Millett has earned broad bipartisan support.\u00a0 This includes the support of Peter Keisler, Carter Phillips, Kenneth Starr, Theodore Olson and Paul Clement and a bipartisan group of 110 appellate practitioners, as well as 37 Deputy Solicitors General and Assistants to the Solicitor General from both Republican and Democratic Administrations.\u00a0 She is supported by the National President of the National Fraternal Order of Police, Chuck Canterbury; and many others.\u00a0\u00a0\r\n\r\nPatricia Millet\u2019s service to our Nation is not limited to her legal career or her humanitarianism.\u00a0 She is part of our Nation\u2019s storied military family, a family that we have called on repeatedly in the past decade.\u00a0 Her husband is a retired Navy reservist, and as a military spouse, Ms. Millett is part of our Nation\u2019s military fabric.\u00a0 She understands personally what we ask of our service members and their families.\u00a0 At the height of Patricia Millett\u2019s legal career, her husband received orders to deploy in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. For nearly a year, she balanced Supreme Court arguments and the demands of being a single parent all while reassuring her children that their father would return home safe.\u00a0\u00a0\r\n\r\nBut not only is Ms. Millett committed to her own military family, she has helped to secure employment protections for members of our National Guard and Reserve through her pro bono legal work.\u00a0 In a case decided by the Supreme Court in 2011, Ms. Millett represented an Army Reservist who was fired, in part, because some of his co-workers did not like his military absences.\u00a0 The successful arguments that Ms. Millett helped craft have made it easier for all members of our Reserve and National Guard to protect their rights under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.\r\nPatricia Millett embodies what we ask our military families to do on behalf of their country.\u00a0\u00a0\r\n\r\nMilitary spouses juggle all the challenges that every American family faces - but often with the added pressure of deployments and extended separations. I want to thank all the military spouses who are in the Senate gallery today and those watching on C-SPAN who have worked tirelessly to support the nomination of \u201cone of their own.\u201d\u00a0 We should recognize, honor and support our military families not just through words, but through meaningful action.\u00a0 A vote to confirm Patricia Millett is that meaningful action.\u00a0\r\n\r\nToday the Senate finally has the opportunity to vote for the confirmation of Patricia Millett.\u00a0 I urge my fellow senators to join me in supporting this outstanding nominee.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\r\n\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\t  David Carle: 202-224-3693", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/senate-moves-closer-to-filling-vacancies-on-dc-circuit", "Senate Moves Closer To Filling Vacancies On D.C. Circuit", "2013-12-10", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.10.13\n\t\t\t Senate Moves Closer To Filling Vacancies On D.C. Circuit \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 Pillard Poised To Be Confirmed To 10th Seat\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t WASHINGTON  The Senate moved closer Tuesday to confirming Nina Pillard to serve on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals after voting to overcome a filibuster of her nomination.\r\nRepublicans last month blocked the Senate from debating Pillard's nomination, but recent changes to Senate rules have now enabled the chamber to overcome such obstruction. As a result, Pillard is poised to be confirmed to what is often referred to as the nation's second most important court behind the Supreme Court. \r\nThe D.C. Circuit is often considered to be the second most important court in the Nation and should be operating at full strength, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said in a statement. Today we will take a step toward making this Court operate at full strength for the American people.\r\nPillard has argued nine cases before the Supreme Court and briefed dozens more before the Supreme Court and other Federal appellate courts. The procedural vote tonight on her nomination comes the same day the Senate confirmed Patricia Millett to serve on the D.C. Circuit. If confirmed, Pillard would become the fifth active female judge currently serving on the D.C. Circuit, an historic milestone that Leahy said would break yet another barrier and move in the historic direction of having our Federal appellate courts more accurately reflect the gender balance of the country.\r\nNever before have five women jurists actively served on this court at one time, Leahy said. I look forward to that moment and to further increasing the diversity of our federal bench.\r\n\r\n# # # # #\r\nStatement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On the Nomination of Cornelia Nina Pillard December 10, 2013\r\nToday, for the second time in a month, we are debating whether to allow a confirmation vote on the nomination of Nina Pillard to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. This morning, we were finally able to vote on the nomination of Patricia Millett after many months of being filibustered by Senate Republicans. I am glad we are making more progress now on another exceptional nominee.\r\nThe D.C. Circuit is often considered to be the second most important court in the Nation and should be operating at full strength. Today we will take another step towards making this Court operate at full strength for the American people.\r\nIn late November, a bipartisan majority of Senators voted in favor of moving to an up-or-down vote on Nina Pillard's nomination, but we fell short by three votes. The same efforts to remove the Republican blockade of this President's nominees to fill vacancies on the D.C. Circuit that allowed the Senate to confirm Patricia Millett this morning will similarly allow the Senate to move forward on Nina Pillard's nomination so she can be confirmed and get to work for the American people.\r\nNina Pillard is an accomplished litigator whose work includes nine Supreme Court oral arguments, and briefs in more than 25 Supreme Court cases. She drafted the Federal government's brief in United States v. Virginia, which after a 7-1 decision by the Supreme Court made history by opening the Virginia Military Institute's doors to female students and expanded educational opportunity for women across the country. Since then, hundreds of women have had the opportunity to attend VMI and go on to serve our country.\r\nMs. Pillard has not only stood up for equal opportunities for women, but for men as well. In Nevada v. Hibbs, Ms. Pillard successfully represented a male employee of the state of Nevada who was fired when he tried to take unpaid leave under the Family Medical Leave Act to care for his sick wife. In a 6-3 opinion authored by then-Chief Justice William Rehnquist, the Supreme Court ruled for her client, recognizing that the law protects both men and women in their caregiving roles within the family.\r\nShe has also worked at the Department of Justice as the Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Counsel, an office that advises on the most complex constitutional issues facing the Executive Branch. And prior to that, Ms. Pillard litigated numerous civil rights cases as an assistant counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund. At Georgetown Law, Ms. Pillard teaches advanced courses on constitutional law and civil procedure, and co-directs the law school's Supreme Court Institute.\r\nShe has earned the American Bar Association's highest possible ranking  Unanimously Well Qualified  to serve as a Federal appellate judge on the D.C. Circuit. She also has significant bipartisan support. Viet Dinh, the former Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy under President George W. Bush, has written that: Based on our long and varied professional experience together, I know that Professor Pillard is exceptionally bright, a patient and unbiased listener, and a lawyer of great judgment and unquestioned integrity Nina has always been fair, reasonable, and sensible in her judgments She is a fair-minded thinker with enormous respect for the law and for the limited, and essential, role of the federal appellate judge  qualities that make her well prepared to take on the work of a D.C. Federal Judge.\r\nFormer FBI Director and Chief Judge of the Western District of Texas William Sessions has written that her rare combination of experience, both defending and advising government officials, and representing individuals seeking to vindicate their rights, would be especially valuable in informing her responsibilities as a judge.\r\nNina Pillard has also received letters of support from 30 former members of the U.S. armed forces, including 8 retired generals; 25 former Federal prosecutors and other law enforcement officials; 40 Supreme Court practitioners, including Laurence Tribe and Carter Phillips, among many others.\r\nDespite having filled nearly half of law school classrooms for the last 20 years, women are grossly underrepresented on our Federal courts. We need women on the Federal bench. A vote to end this filibuster is a vote to break yet another barrier and move in the historic direction of having our Federal appellate courts more accurately reflect the gender balance of the country.\r\nI commend President Obama on his nominations of highly qualified women like Nina Pillard, Patricia Millett, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor. In each of these women, the Senate has had the opportunity to vote to confirm women practicing at the pinnacle of the legal profession. Once the Senate confirmed Justice Kagan, the highest court in the land had more women than ever before serving on its bench. With the confirmation and appointment of Nina Pillard, the same will be true for what many consider to be the second highest court in the land, the D.C. Circuit because she will be the fifth active female judge on the court. Never before have five women jurists actively served on that court at one time. I look forward to that moment and to further increasing the diversity of our federal bench.\r\nI urge my colleagues to vote in favor of ending the filibuster on this outstanding nominee. This Nation would be better off for Nina Pillard serving as a judge on the D.C. Circuit.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/boxer-casey-leahy-shaheen-cardin-blumenthal-and-ayotte-urge-president-hamid-karzai-to-protect-women-in-the-afghan-national-police", "BOXER, CASEY, LEAHY, SHAHEEN, CARDIN, BLUMENTHAL AND AYOTTE URGE PRESIDENT HAMID KARZAI TO PROTECT WOMEN IN THE AFGHAN NATIONAL POLICE", "2013-12-06", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.06.13\n\t\t\t BOXER, CASEY, LEAHY, SHAHEEN, CARDIN, BLUMENTHAL AND AYOTTE URGE PRESIDENT HAMID KARZAI TO PROTECT WOMEN IN THE AFGHAN NATIONAL POLICE \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 An Alarming 70 Percent of Afghan Policewomen Report Experiencing Sexual Harassment or Sexual Violence\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t BOXER, CASEY, LEAHY, SHAHEEN, CARDIN, BLUMENTHAL AND AYOTTE URGE PRESIDENT HAMID KARZAI TO PROTECT WOMEN IN THE AFGHAN NATIONAL POLICE\r\nAn Alarming 70 Percent of Afghan Policewomen Report Experiencing Sexual Harassment or Sexual Violence\r\nWashington, D.C.  U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Bob Casey (D-PA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) today sent a letter to Afghan President Hamid Karzai urging him to take immediate action to protect women within the Afghan National Police (ANP).\r\n   We are deeply concerned by recent reports of endemic sexual violence and harassment of Afghan policewomen by their male counterparts, the Senators wrote. These brave women deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.\r\nA recent United Nations report found that 90 percent of Afghan police women viewed sexual harassment and sexual violence as a serious problem and that 70 percent had personally experienced sexual harassment or sexual violence.\r\n   In the bipartisan letter, the Senators praised the steps the Afghan government has already taken to protect and support women in the ANP, but urged President Karzai to expand efforts to recruit, retain and promote qualified women, who currently make up less than one percent of the ANP force.\r\n   As Afghan policewomen work to build a better future for their communities, we hope you agree they deserve nothing less than to know their government will do everything it can to protect them in return, the Senators wrote.\r\nThe full text of the letter follows: December 6, 2013 His Excellency Hamid Karzai   President, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Dear President Karzai:\r\nWe write to urge you to take immediate and concrete action to improve the situation of women within the Afghan National Police (ANP). We are deeply concerned by recent reports of endemic sexual violence and harassment of Afghan policewomen by their male counterparts. These brave women deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.\r\nAccording to available information, a recent unpublished United Nations report found that 90 percent of Afghan policewomen viewed sexual harassment and sexual violence as a serious problem and that 70 percent had personally experienced sexual harassment or sexual violence. In addition, a report released in September by Oxfam International describes further challenges facing Afghan policewomen including resistance to women in the ANP and a lack of female-specific facilities such as private, locked female restrooms.\r\n\r\nUnfortunately, many Afghan policewomen are afraid to report or even complain about these problems out of fear that they will be fired, demoted, or even forced to serve far away from their homes and families. They are also deterred from reporting problems by the fact that there appear to have been no successful prosecutions in these cases, and in the extremely rare situations in which there have been prosecutions, the government's failure to provide any type of protection to complainants has typically lead to them recanting after threats. The situation is made more precarious by the fact that women make up less than one percent of the ANP's 157,000 members.\r\nWe appreciate the steps your government has taken to protect and support women in the ANPincluding the increased recruitment of female officers, the construction of female facilities at several police training centers, and the implementation of gender training for all police officers. We also welcome your Ten Year Vision for the Afghan National Police, which includes a commitment to 10 percent female participation rates by 2024.\r\nWe urge you to continue and expand these types of efforts to encourage recruitment and retention of qualified women in the ANP. We also urge you to expand opportunities for the advancement of women in the ANP so that they are represented at the highest levels. In order to effectively tackle these issues and meet the commitment outlined in the Ten Year Vision, we encourage your government to develop and implement a large-scale recruitment and information campaign regarding women in the police.We stand ready to assist you in these endeavors.\r\nWe believe Afghan policewomen have an essential role in promoting security and stability in Afghanistan. For example, your Ministry of Interior has estimated that 12,000 women will be needed to ensure women's participation in the upcoming April, 2014 elections.Therefore, Afghan policewomen could play a crucial role in searching women at checkpoints on their way to polling stations and by working in the polling stations.This will not only help in promoting security but ensuring Afghan women will be able to vote.\r\nAfghan women choose to serve their country in the ANP at great personal risk. The recent tragic assassinations of Second Lieutenant Nigara and Lieutenant Islam Bibi in Helmand province are a stark reminder of the very real threats these women face each and every day. As Afghan policewomen work to build a better future for their communities, we hope you agree they deserve nothing less than to know their government will do everything it can to protect them in return.\r\nThank you for your consideration.\r\nSincerely,\r\nBarbara Boxer\r\nUnited States Senator\r\nRobert P. Casey, Jr.\r\nUnited States Senator\r\nPatrick J. Leahy\r\nUnited States Senator\r\nJeanne Shaheen\r\nUnited States Senator\r\nBenjamin L. Cardin\r\nUnited States Senator\r\nRichard Blumenthal\r\nUnited States Senator\r\nKelly Ayotte\r\nUnited States Senator\r\n   ###\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/comment-of-senator-patrick-leahy-d-vt-chairman-senate-judiciary-committee-on-house-passage-of-legislation-to-combat-patent-trolls", "Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On House Passage Of Legislation To Combat Patent Trolls", "2013-12-05", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.05.13\n\t\t\t Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On House Passage Of Legislation To Combat Patent Trolls \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t[Judiciary Committee Chairman Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) issued the following comment Thursday after the House of Representatives passed legislation to combat patent troll abuse. Leahy recently introduced the Patent Transparency and Improvements Act of 2013 to protect retailers and innovators from misuse of the patent system. The Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the legislation later this month.]\r\n\u201cI commend the House for taking action to address the growing problem of patent trolls. \u00a0Supporting American innovators and protecting those who are being targeted by patent trolls is a bipartisan priority. Targeted reforms should address abuses in the system while ensuring that legitimate inventors can continue to succeed and grow our economy. I look forward to working through the Committee process in the Senate to achieve this goal.\u201d\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/comments-of-senator-patrick-leahy-d-vt-president-pro-tempore-of-the-senate-on-the-death-of-nelson-mandela", "Comments Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt., President Pro Tempore Of The Senate) On The Death Of Nelson Mandela", "2013-12-05", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.05.13\n\t\t\t Comments Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt., President Pro Tempore Of The Senate) On The Death Of Nelson Mandela \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tNelson Mandela is a legend for our times and for the ages.\u00a0 He was the world\u2019s compass through the dark night of South African apartheid, leading his country into the light.\u00a0 The images of his walk to freedom through the prison gates are etched in our memories and on the pages of history.\r\nHis courage is a lesson to us all, and so is his selflessness.\u00a0 I will always cherish the memory of meeting with him when he came to the Capitol in 1994.\u00a0 I had the honor of serving on the Senate\u2019s escort committee to accompany him to the House Chamber for his address to a joint meeting of Congress.\u00a0 Sitting together in a room off the House floor, I said to him, \u201cMr. President, you spent decades in prison, unjustly, yet you don\u2019t seem bitter.\u201d\u00a0 He replied, \u201cPatrick, because of my imprisonment I was able to lead my country out of apartheid.\u00a0 For that I do not feel bitterness, but joy.\u201d\u00a0\r\nThe world, his beloved nation and humankind are incalculably richer for his leadership and for his example.\u00a0\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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://welch.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/bipartisan-support-extension-energy-efficiency-initiative", "Bipartisan Support for Extension of Energy Efficiency Initiative", "2013-12-05", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "welch.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Rep. Cory Gardner (R-CO), Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT), Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), and Senator John Boozman (R-AR) applauded the decision by the Obama Administration to extend President Obama's federal buildings energy efficiency initiative.  The Administration announced yesterdaythat federal agencies will work with the Energy Department's Federal Energy Management Program in early 2014 to identify a pipeline of additional project commitments to further reduce energy use through 2016.  Gardner, Welch, Coons, and Boozman  joined by 118 House colleagues and 26 Senate colleagues  sent a letter last monthto President Obama requesting an extended residential initiative setting a goal of $1 billion a year for the next five years for the federal government to utilize performance contracts to achieve energy savings.  Americans are tired of a Congress that has a seemingly endless inability to work together, Rep. Cory Gardner said. A growing bipartisan group of Members of Congress have come together to achieve a simple goal: save taxpayer money, and reduce the amount of energy the federal government uses. I am glad the Obama Administration had made the decision to extend this commonsense initiative.  Energy efficiency is a practical idea that cuts through partisan gridlock in Washington and achieves real progress for the American people by creating jobs and saving taxpayer dollars. There is broad bipartisan and bicameral support for energy efficiency investments and the Administration's announcement today reflects that support. I applaud their decision to extend this program and look forward to working with them achieve even more energy savings, Rep. Peter Welch said.  \"Investments in energy efficiency upgradespromote energy independence, help our environment, and support American jobs,\"Senator Chris Coonssaid. \"Outdated federal facilities spend billions intaxpayerdollars every year on energy use alone. In just two years, thefederal buildings energy efficiency initiativehas already yieldedsignificantenergy and cost savings for the federal government, andIam pleased theadministration has chosen to extend this valuable program.\"  I applaud this commonsense effort to use public-private partnerships to achieve both energy efficiency and savings for American taxpayers. While debate and disagreement are part of a healthy democracy, our bipartisan letter and today's announcement show that we can also find areas of common ground and agreement to tackle challenges our nation faces, Senator John Boozman said.  In 2011, the President kicked off a2-year initiativeto achieve $2 billion in energy savings in federal buildings. The 2011 executive order employed the use of Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs) and Utility Energy Services Contracts (UESCs) to achieve energy savings in federal buildings.Under an ESPC or UESC, an energy services company or a utility negotiates a contract with a federal agency that specifies the amount of energy savings it will achieve through retrofits and other measures. The company or utility is then paid for its performance out of the savings it achieves rather than through appropriated funds. ###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-senate-judiciary-committee-to-hold-hearing-on-patent-trolls-this-month", "Leahy: Senate Judiciary Committee To Hold Hearing On Patent Trolls This Month", "2013-12-05", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.05.13\n\t\t\t Leahy: Senate Judiciary Committee To Hold Hearing On Patent Trolls 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 December 17th Hearing To Focus On Legislation To Combat Patent Abuse\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t WASHINGTON (Thursday, December 5, 2013)  The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing this month to examine pending patent troll legislation, Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced Thursday.\r\nThe hearing, titled Protecting Small Businesses and Promoting Innovation by Limiting Patent Troll Abuse, comes just weeks after Leahy and Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) introduced the Patent Transparency and Improvements Act of 2013. The bipartisan bill aims to protect businesses and innovators who are being improperly targeted by patent trolls. Witnesses at the December 17th hearing will provide testimony on the Leahy-Lee bill and other proposals before the Judiciary Committee.\r\nAmerica's patent system is the envy of the world and an engine for job creation, Leahy said. Supporting American innovators and protecting those who are being targeted by patent trolls is a bipartisan priority. I look forward to hearing testimony on this important issue and working to pass meaningful legislation this Congress.\r\nThe hearing will be held on Tuesday, December 17, at 10 a.m. in Room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Member statements, witness testimony, and a live webcast will be available online on December 17.\r\n# # # # #\r\nNOTICE OF COMMITTEE HEARING\r\n\r\nThe Senate Committee on the Judiciary has scheduled a hearing entitled Protecting Small Businesses and Promoting Innovation by Limiting Patent Troll Abuse for Tuesday, December 17, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. in Room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.\r\nBy order of the Chairman.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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/senator-patrick-leahy-keynote-address-human-rights-first-summit-the-newseum-washington-dc-", "SENATOR PATRICK LEAHY KEYNOTE ADDRESS HUMAN RIGHTS FIRST SUMMIT THE NEWSEUM WASHINGTON, D.C.", "2013-12-05", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.05.13\n\t\t\t SENATOR PATRICK LEAHY KEYNOTE ADDRESS HUMAN RIGHTS FIRST SUMMIT THE NEWSEUM WASHINGTON, D.C.  \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tThank you, Elisa, for inviting me here. I also want to thank all the Human Rights First staff and board members who made this two day summit possible. The breadth of the issues you are covering is impressive.\r\nI have long been an admirer of Human Rights First. A great deal of what I have been able to do on human rights during my time in the Senate is because of the research and advocacy of your organization and of others who are involved in this work.\r\nThere are several topics I want to touch on briefly, but none more important than rededicating ourselves to the mission that Human Rights First has had for many years.\r\nIt may seem obvious that that is a central purpose of this summit, but I think it needs to be said nonetheless:\r\nWe are here because each of us feels a responsibility to defend the fundamental freedoms and principles that define our humanity and that we regard as universal, but which are often violated or denied by the very governments whose responsibility it is to protect them.\r\nAs we all know, the history of the United States has been one of groundbreaking human rights leadership, and tragic failures.\r\nCertainly the Bill of Rights was a monumental achievement that inspired the Universal Declaration and the freedoms enshrined in the constitutions of many other nations.\r\nThe more recent advances we have seen in support of the rights of people with disabilities, women, and LBGT and immigrants are examples of what we can accomplish by persevering against longstanding prejudice.\r\nI am encouraged by our recent efforts in Congress to further support those who need our help with improvements to the Violence Against Women Act, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, and Senate-led efforts to achieve comprehensive immigration reform.\r\nI am also very pleased that you will be honoring Bob Dole this evening. His leadership in passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act more than two decades ago was a great milestone in our human rights history.\r\nHis tireless efforts to see the United States ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities deserve our gratitude and praise. We need more leaders like Senator Dole  statesmen willing to put aside petty political differences to find common ground and improve the lives of all Americans  indeed, of all people. I miss him greatly in the Senate.\r\nOf course there are also many examples of when the United States fell short of our ideals  the internment of Japanese citizens during World War II, segregation laws upheld by the Supreme Court, or our more recent efforts to close Guantanamo or to end mass incarceration.\r\nIn fact, few days go by when we are not confronted by significant challenges to our standing as a global leader on human rights. Some of these challenges are due to external forces, but unfortunately others are of our own making.\r\nIn 1997, when I wrote what has become known as the Leahy Law, I had no idea what impact it might have. But I did know that we should not provide training and equipment to foreign security forces that abuse and murder innocent civilians. It had happened many times, it was wrong and contradicted everything this country stands for, and it undermined our standing as a global defender of human rights.\r\nThe Leahy Law is perhaps the most effective tool we have for drawing a clear line between the United States and those who commit atrocities, and for providing an incentive for foreign governments to hold abusive military and police officers accountable.\r\nBut while it has been the law for a decade and a half, some officials in our embassies have not enforced it. Others insist that we should provide military training to people who commit crimes in foreign countries for which they would be imprisoned for life in this country. Enforcement of the Leahy Law depends on the active, sustained participation and vigilance of civil society here and around the world, including all of you.\r\nWe should feel just as strongly about defending human rights activists  whether in Egypt, Russia, Sri Lanka, China, Vietnam or any other country  who are persecuted for peaceful expression or association, or their religious beliefs  rights that we Americans take for granted and take great pride in.\r\nLike many of you, I have met some of these activists who have been harassed, arrested, and tortured. I have been awed by their courage and their unbreakable spirit. We have a responsibility to support them, and when they are imprisoned Democrats and Republicans must continue to work together for their release.\r\nContrary to popular belief, bipartisanship is not extinct, at least not in the Senate and not on human rights. Senator James Inhofe and I  on opposite side of the political spectrum  are sponsors of legislation, the Foreign Prison Conditions Improvement Act that was recently reported by the Foreign Relations Committee. It encourages governments to work to eliminate inhumane prison conditions, and offers U.S. aid to those that do.\r\nI suspect some of you have seen, as I have, horrific, life threatening prison conditions in poor countries where the majority of inmates, crammed into filthy cells, waiting for years to see a judge  caught up in byzantine justice systems that dispense anything but justice. Our bill would help shine a spotlight on these abuses.\r\nHere at home, we have yet to fully recover from the effects of the 9/11 attacks. We continue to mourn the horrific loss of innocent lives on that day, and our country remains vigilant against the threat of future attacks. But as Americans we cannot ignore the damage done by some of the ill-conceived policies and practices in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.\r\nBefore 9/11, I doubt any of us could have imagined that torture, which Members of Congress of both parties condemn when used by repressive governments, would be defended by top U.S. officials as a legitimate practice in the 21st Century. We must never again allow the use of torture to be cloaked in euphemisms like enhanced interrogation techniques, or justified by twisted and flawed legal analyses that run counter to our core morals and values.\r\nWe must also put an end to the indefinite detention of suspected enemy combatants, and the use of flawed military commissions in an open-ended, ill-defined global war on terrorism.\r\nIt is appalling that we continue to indefinitely imprison at Guantanamo individuals who were not remotely the worst of the worst, to use former Secretary Rumsfeld's flawed description, and who years ago were determined by the U.S. military to pose no threat to the United States.\r\nFor more than a decade, the indefinite detention of prisoners at Guantanamo has contradicted our most basic principles of justice, degraded our international standing as a champion of human rights, and harmed our national security. Countries that respect the rule of law and human rights do not lock away prisoners indefinitely without charge or trial. We condemn authoritarian states that use such practices and we should not tolerate them here.\r\n\r\nWhile I am heartened by the incremental positive changes in this year's Senate version of the defense authorization bill, we must do more to ensure that Guantanamo is closed. I greatly appreciate Human Rights First's advocacy to close Guantanamo.\r\nI am also grateful for your important work regarding drone attacks.\r\nI believe the United States should be able to use drones in an armed conflict, but only in accordance with international humanitarian law. The United States for years conducted lethal operations using drones in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Yemen, some of which have killed or wounded innocent civilians and further enflamed local populations against the United States.\r\nI am concerned with the lack of transparency surrounding these operations, and the alleged use of signature strikes has raised serious questions about whether these drone attacks comply with international humanitarian law. We should also ask whether the laws of war need to be strengthened to adequately control this new form of warfare.\r\nGiven the precedent that we are setting for the rest of the world  including other countries that have terrible human rights records  we must ensure that our government is as transparent as possible about when and how it uses drones to conduct lethal operations, and that their use is appropriately prescribed.\r\nThese issues pose defining challenges and opportunities for U.S. leadership on human rights, and the manner in which we address them will determine our standing in the world for years to come.\r\nI have not hesitated to criticize foreign governments that allow heinous crimes to go unpunished, or that punish peaceful expression and other fundamental rights  often, in violation of their own international obligations. So, too, have I criticized my government when it fails to live up to the standards we demand of others, and that others expect of us.\r\nI think of the international treaty banning landmines. I think of the trend of innocent civilians becoming the majority of war casualties. The Clinton, George W. Bush, and so far the Obama administrations have failed to join our NATO allies in signing the landmine treaty. We should be ashamed of this failure of leadership.\r\nOn November 22nd, we remembered the great loss this country suffered fifty years ago when President Kennedy was assassinated. One of the many markers President Kennedy set for us in his memorable inaugural address was the, quote, unwilling[ness] to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this Nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world. Unquote.\r\nAlmost 53 years later, I believe his words are even more relevant today. In fact, I would argue that among the most important things that we can do for our country, as he asked of us each of us back then, is to continue to reaffirm and uphold that commitment.\r\nThe American people, and people everywhere, are counting on us to do that.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/comments-of-senator-patrick-leahy-on-secretary-hagels-commitment-to-facilitate-equal-access-to-benefits-for-same-sex-partners-in-the-national-guard", "Comments of Senator Patrick Leahy On Secretary Hagel’s Commitment To Facilitate Equal Access To Benefits For Same-Sex Partners In The National Guard", "2013-12-04", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.04.13\n\t\t\t Comments of Senator Patrick Leahy On Secretary Hagel\u2019s Commitment To Facilitate Equal Access To Benefits For Same-Sex Partners In The National Guard \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\u201cAs co-chair of the National Guard Caucus and a strong supporter of equal rights for same-sex partners, I was pleased to hear Secretary Hagel's announcement that we are close to reaching the goal of equality for all men and women in the National Guard and for their loved ones. \u00a0Vermonters and all Americans rely on the dedication and professionalism of all of the members of our National Guard, whoever they are, to defend our security in times of conflict and to support our communities in times of need. \u00a0It is only right and just that we as a nation also provide for the spouses and partners of every member of the National Guard, without discrimination.\u201d\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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-sanders-welch-shumlin_on-afs-selection-of-burlington-for-f-35-basing-", "Leahy, Sanders, Welch, Shumlin  On AFs Selection Of Burlington For F-35 Basing", "2013-12-03", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.03.13\n\t\t\t Leahy, Sanders, Welch, Shumlin  On AF's Selection Of Burlington For F-35 Basing  \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tBURLINGTON, Vt.  Vermont's congressional delegation  Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) -- and Gov. Peter Shumlin (D) Tuesday issued the following statement after the Air Force announced its decision on basing F-35 aircraft at the Vermont Air National Guard:\r\nThe Air Force decision to base its newest generation of planes in Burlington is a tribute to the Vermont Air National Guard, which is the finest in the nation. It reflects the Guard's dedication to its mission and long record of outstanding performance. The Air Force has made clear that this aircraft, which will anchor our national air defenses, is the Air Force's future. Now the men and women of Vermont's Air National Guard have been chosen for a vital role in that future. The decision ensures the Vermont Air Guard's continuing mission and protects hundreds of jobs and educational opportunities for Vermonters while securing its significant contribution to the local economy. We appreciate the Guard's commitment to continue working with its airport neighbors to address legitimate concerns about noise and other environmental concerns.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/photos/november-2013", "November 2013", "2013-11-30", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.30.13\n\t\t\t\t November 2013 \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tView photos from various events in November.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/comments-of-senator-patrick-leahy-on-the-interim-nuclear-agreement-with-iran", "Comments Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Interim Nuclear Agreement With Iran", "2013-11-25", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.25.13\n\t\t\t Comments Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Interim Nuclear Agreement With Iran \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t[Senator Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., is President Pro Tempore of the Senate and chairs the State Department And Foreign Operations Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee.]\r\n\u00a0\r\n\"I\u2019ve been briefed by our negotiators in Geneva.\u00a0 I am encouraged that they and most of our allies believe this is a good, interim deal with the necessary checks and balances.\u00a0 Obviously some of our friends in the region like Saudi Arabia and Israel have concerns about the deal.\u00a0 The Administration will have a short window before Congress is back in session to make their case. \u00a0I will listen to all the arguments and will also discuss this with experts outside the government, and then I will decide if this is an agreement that I can support.\"\r\n   # # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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-sanders-welch-urge-rewrite-of-food-safety-rules", "Leahy, Sanders, Welch Urge Rewrite Of Food Safety Rules", "2013-11-22", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.22.13\n\t\t\t Leahy, Sanders, Welch Urge Rewrite Of Food Safety Rules \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tSenator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vt.) are urging the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to revise rules implementing the Food Safety Modernization Act in a way that enhances food safety and the continued strength of Vermont's agricultural sector.\r\nLeahy said, Strong food safety rules are essential to protecting consumers and ensuring the quality that has become synonymous with the Vermont' brand, and that is why I supported the Food Safety Modernization Act. However, the implementation rules, as drafted, would place unacceptable burdens on small, diversified Vermont farms and stifle our burgeoning local food movement, while making only marginal gains in food safety. We can do better.\r\nSanders said, Food safety is our priority and I support the FDA's focus on strong, consistent food safety rules to protect consumers. In our state of Vermont, the Food Safety Modernization Act must support the dynamic agricultural enterprises that are strengthening our economy.\r\nWelch said, We all agree that safe food production is vitally important for public health, the health of our food systems, and the integrity of our strong Vermont brand. But steps taken to protect our food supply should reflect best practices and an appreciation for the diversity of agriculture nationwide.\r\nThe 2011 Food Safety Modernization act, signed into law in 2011, broadened the authority of the FDA to regulate food production and allows the agency to order recalls of contaminated food. But the draft rules, as subsequently drawn by FDA to implement the law, have the serious potential to disrupt Vermont's small, local and diversified farmers and food hubs with large fees and expensive testing and booking requirements.\r\nLast week the members of Vermont's congressional delegation wrote a letter to FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, urging that the FDA rewrite the rules and allow for a second public comment period before issuing a final decision. The delegation members are concerned about the lack of clear authority between the State and the FDA in implementing the law. Moreover, the rules seem to negate hard-fought exemptions for small, diversified producers, like many Vermont farms.\r\nOther concerns raised by the delegation include conflicts with the National Organic Program, the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance, and water and soil health regulations.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-supports-change-in-senate-rules-to-address-unprecedented-filibusters-", "Leahy Supports Change In Senate Rules To Address Unprecedented Filibusters", "2013-11-21", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.21.13\n\t\t\t Leahy Supports Change In Senate Rules To Address Unprecedented Filibusters  \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 \u201cAs a result of Republican obstruction of nominees, the Senate has failed to do its job for the courts and for the American people\u201d\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Thursday voted in favor of making changes to the Senate rules to overcome Republican abuse of filibuster rules and ensure the Senate\u2019s ability to confirm qualified nominees to judicial and executive posts. Leahy, the President Pro Tempore and the Senate\u2019s longest-serving member, presided over the series of procedural votes.\r\nIn recent weeks, Senate Republicans have blocked three highly qualified nominees to serve on the D.C. Circuit.\u00a0 Since 2009, 14 circuit court nominees have been filibustered, and Senate Republicans have forced cloture to end filibusters on nearly three dozen of President Obama\u2019s judicial nominees.\u00a0 Meanwhile, federal judicial vacancies have consistently hovered around 90. \u00a0The obstruction, Leahy said, \u201cis damaging our ability to fulfill the Senate\u2019s unique constitutional responsibility of advice and consent to ensure that the judicial branch has the judges it needs to do its job.\u201d\r\n\u201cI have always believed in the Senate\u2019s unique protection of the minority party, even when Democrats held a majority in the Senate,\u201d Leahy said.\u00a0 \u201cWhen the minority has stood in the way of progress, I have defended their rights and held to my belief that the best traditions of the Senate would win out; that the 100 of us who stand in the shoes of over 310 million Americans would do the right thing.\u00a0 That is why I have always looked skeptically at efforts to change the Senate rules.\u201d\r\nToday, Leahy said, the Senate \u201cis faced with what to do to overcome this abuse and what action we should take to restore this body\u2019s ability to fulfill its constitutional duties and do its work for the American people.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\r\n# # # # #\r\nStatement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On the Abuse of Filibuster and Senate Rules by Senate Republicans November 21, 2103\r\n[Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) delivered the following floor statement Thursday after the Senate moved to make changes to the rules in order to consider qualified nominees to fill judicial vacancies and executive posts. Leahy, the President Pro Tempore and the Senate\u2019s longest-serving member, spoke in support of these changes and presided over the series of procedural votes earlier in the day.]\r\nDuring my nearly four decades serving in the United States Senate, I have served with Democratic majorities and Republican majorities, through both Republican and Democratic administrations.\u00a0 Though there have been moments of crisis in the past when I worried that our political differences risked outweighing the Senate\u2019s common responsibility, we have always been able to steer our way out of trouble.\u00a0 Majorities of both parties have come and gone, but I have never before lost faith in our ability to set aside our divisions and come together for the sake of the Nation.\r\nI have always believed in the Senate\u2019s unique protection of the minority party, even when Democrats held a majority in the Senate.\u00a0 When the minority has stood in the way of progress, I have defended their rights and held to my belief that the best traditions of the Senate would win out; that the 100 of us who stand in the shoes of over 310 million Americans would do the right thing.\u00a0 That is why I have always looked skeptically at efforts to change the Senate rules.\r\nYet over the past five years, Senate Republicans have changed the tradition of the Senate with an escalating obstruction of nominations.\u00a0 Through this obstruction, Senate Republicans have crossed the line from use of the Senate rules to abuse of the rules.\u00a0 This same abuse recently, and needlessly, shut down our government. It also poses a real threat to the independent, judicial branch of government.\r\nAs Chairman of the Judiciary Com\u00admittee, I am especially concerned with how Republican obstruction is damaging our ability to fulfill the Senate\u2019s unique constitutional responsibility of advice and consent to ensure that the judicial branch has the judges it needs to do its job. Unfortunately, Senate Republicans have abandoned this responsibility, using unprecedented filibusters to delay and obstruct President Obama from appointing to the Federal bench even nominations that enjoy bipartisan support.\u00a0 Senate Republicans have forced cloture to end filibusters on 34 nominees, nearly twice as many nominees than required cloture during President Bush\u2019s 8 years in office.\u00a0 Almost all of these nominees were, by any standard, noncontroversial and ultimately were confirmed overwhelmingly. Republican obstruction has left the federal judiciary often with 90 or more vacancies over the past 5 years.\r\nTake for example the Republican filibuster of a judicial nominee to the Tenth Circuit, Robert Bacharach last year, despite the support of the Republican Senators from Oklahoma.\u00a0 This marked a new and damaging milestone.\u00a0 Never before had the Senate filibustered and refused to vote on a judicial nominee with such strong bipartisan support, and who was voted out of the Judiciary Committee with virtually unanimous support.\u00a0\u00a0 Republicans continued to block Senate action on the Bacharach nomination through the end of last Congress and forced his nomination to be returned without action to the President.\u00a0 There is no good reason\u2014none\u2014why Robert Bacharach was not confirmed to serve the people of Oklahoma and the Tenth Circuit as a Federal judge last year.\u00a0 He was finally confirmed this year unanimously.\r\nRepublicans last year also filibustered William Kayatta, another consensus circuit nominee who had the support of both Republican home state Senators.\u00a0 Like Judge Bacharach, Mr. Kayatta received the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal judiciary\u2019s highest possible rating and had strong bipartisan support and unimpeachable credentials. The same also applies to Richard Taranto, whose nomination was returned to the President at the end of last year after Republicans blocked action on his nomination to a vacancy on the Federal Circuit for more than eight months, despite no opposition in the Senate and despite the support of both Paul Clement and the late Robert Bork.\u00a0 Neither of these nominees faced any real opposition.\u00a0 Yet Republicans stalled both of them through the end of last Congress and forced their nomination to be returned without action to the President.\u00a0 They were both confirmed this year with overwhelming bipartisan support.\u00a0 \u00a0\r\nSenate Republicans used to insist that the filibustering of judicial nominations was unconstitutional.\u00a0 The Constitution has not changed, but as soon as President Obama took office Republicans reversed course and filibustered his very first judicial nomination.\u00a0 There are the examples of Mr. Bacharach and Mr. Kayatta, and David Hamilton before that.\u00a0 Judge Hamilton of Indiana was a widely-respected 15-year veteran of the Federal bench nominated to the Seventh Circuit.\u00a0 President Obama reached out to the longest-serving Republican in the Senate, Senator Dick Lugar, to select a nominee he supported.\u00a0 Yet, Senate Republicans filibustered his nomination, requiring a cloture vote before his nomination could be confirmed after a delay of seven months.\r\nSenate Republicans have obstructed and delayed nearly every circuit court nominee of this President, filibustering 14 of them.\u00a0 They abused the Senate\u2019s practices and procedures to delay confirmation of Judge Albert Diaz of North Carolina to the Fourth Circuit for 11 months, before he was confirmed by voice vote.\u00a0 They delayed confirmation of Judge Jane Stranch of Tennessee to the Sixth Circuit for 10 months before she was confirmed 71-21.\u00a0 Senate Republicans used procedural tactics to delay for months the Senate confirmation of nominations with the strong support of Republican home state Senators\u2014including Judge Scott Matheson of Utah to the Tenth Circuit; Judge James Wynn, Jr. of North Carolina to the Fourth Circuit; Judge Henry Floyd of South Carolina to the Fourth Circuit; Judge Adalberto Jordan of Florida to the Eleventh Circuit; Judge Beverly Martin of Georgia to the Eleventh Circuit; Judge Mary Murguia of Arizona to the Ninth Circuit; Judge Bernice Donald of Tennessee to the Sixth Circuit; Judge Thomas Vanaskie of Pennsylvania to the Third Circuit; Judge Andrew Hurwitz of Arizona to the Ninth Circuit; Judge Morgan Christen of Alaska to the Ninth Circuit; and Judge Stephen Higginson of Louisiana to the Fifth Circuit.\r\nThe results are clear and devastating.\u00a0 The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service has reported that the median time circuit nominees had to wait before a Senate vote has skyrocketed from 18 days for President Bush\u2019s nominees during his first term in office to 132 days for President Obama\u2019s nominees during his first term in office.\u00a0 This is the result of Republican obstruction and abuse of Senate rules.\u00a0 In most cases, Senate Republicans have delayed and stalled without explanation.\u00a0 How do you explain the filibuster of the nomination of Judge Barbara Keenan of Virginia to the Fourth Circuit who was ultimately confirmed 99-0?\u00a0 And how else do you explain the needless obstruction of Judge Denny Chin of New York to the Second Circuit, who was filibustered for four months before he was confirmed 98-0?\u00a0\r\nIn 2012, Senate Republicans refused to consent to a vote on a single circuit court nominee until the Majority leader filed cloture, even for nominees with home state Republican support like Adalberto Jordan of Florida \u2014 strongly supported by Senator Rubio \u2014 and Andrew Hurwitz of Arizona, strongly supported by Senator Kyl.\u00a0 They blocked the Senate from voting on a single circuit court nominee nominated by President Obama last year.\u00a0 Since 1980, the only other presidential election year in which there were no circuit nominees confirmed who was nominated that same year was in 1996, when Senate Republicans shut down the process against President Clinton\u2019s circuit nominees. \r\nThe level of partisanship and obstruction by Senate Republicans has become so extreme that for the first time in history it has extended to the Federal trial courts.\u00a0 Until 2009, Senators deferred to the President and to home state Senators on district court nominees.\u00a0 During the eight years that George W. Bush served as President, only five of his district court nominees received any opposition on the floor.\u00a0 In just 5 years, Senate Republicans have voted against 42 of President Obama\u2019s district court nominees, and the Majority Leader has been forced to file cloture on 20 of them.\r\nFederal district court judges are the trial court judges who hear cases from litigants across the country and preside over Federal criminal trials, applying the law to facts and helping settle legal disputes.\u00a0\u00a0 They handle the vast majority of the caseload of the Federal courts and are critical to making sure our courts remain available to provide a fair hearing for all Americans.\u00a0 Nominations to fill these critical positions, whether made by a Democratic or Republican president, have always been considered with deference to the home state Senators who know the nominees and their states best, and have been confirmed quickly with that support.\u00a0 Never before in the Senate\u2019s history have we seen district court nominees blocked for months and opposed for no good reason.\u00a0 Many are needlessly stalled and then confirmed virtually unanimously with no explanation for the obstruction.\u00a0 Senate Republicans have politicized even these traditionally non-partisan positions.\u00a0\r\nAs Chairman of the Judiciary Committee I have always acted fairly and consistently whether the president has been a Democrat or a Republican.\u00a0 I have not filibustered nominees with bipartisan support.\u00a0 I have steadfastly protected the rights of the minority and I have done so despite criticism from Democrats.\u00a0 I have only proceeded with judicial nominations supported by both home state Senators.\u00a0 I will put my record of consistent fairness up against that of any chairman and never acted as some Republican chairmen have acted in blatantly disregarding evenhanded practices to ram through the ideological nominations of President George W. Bush.\r\nRegrettably, the answer to my fairness and to my commitment to protecting the rights of the minority has been unprecedented and meritless obstruction.\u00a0 Even though President Obama has nominated qualified, mainstream lawyers, Republicans in the Senate have done away with regular order, imposing unnecessary and damaging delays.\u00a0 Until 2009, judicial nominees reported by the Judiciary Committee with bipartisan were generally confirmed quickly.\u00a0 That has changed, with district nominations taking over four times longer and circuit court nominees over seven times longer than it took to confirm them during the Bush administration.\u00a0 Until 2009, we observed regular order and usually confirmed four to six nominees per week, and we cleared the Senate Executive Calendar before long recesses.\u00a0 Since then, Senate Republicans have refused to clear the calendar and slowed us down to a snail\u2019s pace.\u00a0 Until 2009, if a nominee was filibustered, it was almost always because of a substantive issue with the nominee\u2019s record.\u00a0 We know what has happened since 2009\u2014Republicans have required cloture to consider even those nominees later confirmed unanimously.\u00a0\r\nThis obstruction was not merely a product of extreme partisanship in a presidential election year\u2014it has been a constant and across the board practice since President Obama took office.\u00a0 At the end of each calendar year, Senate Republicans have deliberately refused to vote on several judicial nominees just to take up more time the following year.\u00a0 At the end of 2009 Republicans denied 10 nominations pending on the Executive Calendar a vote. The following year, it took 9 months for the Senate to take action on 8 of them.\u00a0 At the end of 2010 and 2011, Senate Republicans left 19 nominations on the Senate Executive Calendar, taking up nearly half the following year for the Senate to confirm them.\u00a0 Last year they blocked 11 judicial nominees from votes, and refused to expedite consideration of others who already had hearings.\r\nThe effects of this obstruction have been clear.\u00a0 When the Senate adjourned last year, Senate Republicans had blocked more than 40 of President Obama\u2019s circuit and district nominees from being confirmed in his first term.\u00a0 That obstruction has led to a damagingly high level of judicial vacancies persisting for over four years.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\r\nThis year, Senate Republicans reached a new depth of pure partisanship.\u00a0 They have decided to shut down the confirmation process altogether for an entire court \u2014 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, even though there are three vacancies on that court.\u00a0 Senate Republicans attempt to \u00adjustify their opposition to filling any of the three vacancies on the D.C. Circuit with an argument that the court's caseload does not warrant the appointments.\r\nWe all know that this ploy is a transparent attempt to prevent a Democratic president from appointing judges to this important court.\u00a0 In 2003, the Senate unanimously confirmed John Roberts by voice vote to be the 9th judge on the D.C. Circuit \u2014 at a time when its caseload was lower than it is today \u2013 and, in fact, his confirmation marked the lowest caseload level per judge on the D.C. Circuit in 20 years.\u00a0 Not a single Senate Republican raised any concerns about whether the caseload warranted his confirmation, and during the Bush administration, they voted to confirm 4 judges the D.C. Circuit \u2013 giving the court a total of 11 judges in active service.\u00a0 Today there are only eight judges on the court.\r\nWe also should not be comparing the D.C. Circuit\u2019s caseload with that of other circuits, as Republicans have recently done.\u00a0 The D.C. Circuit is often understood to be the second most important court in the land because of the complex administrative law cases that it handles.\u00a0 The court reviews complicated decisions and rulemakings of many Federal agencies, and in recent years has handled some of the most important terrorism and enemy combatant and detention cases since the attacks of September 11, 2001.\u00a0 Comparing the D.C. Circuit\u2019s caseload to other circuits is a false comparison, and those who are attempting to make this comparison are not being fully forthcoming with the American public.\u00a0 Years ago, one of the senior most Republican Senators on the Judiciary Committee said this:\u00a0 \u201c[C]omparing workloads in the D.C. Circuit to that of other circuits is, to a large extent, a pointless exercise.\u00a0 There is little dispute that the D.C. Circuit\u2019s docket is, by far, the most complex and time consuming in the Nation.\u201d\u00a0 Now, however, that same Senator has engaged in the precise pointless exercise he once railed against.\r\nThis is an unprecedented level of obstruction.\u00a0 I have seen substantive arguments mounted against judicial nominees, but I have never seen a full blockade against every single nominee to a particular court, regardless of the individual\u2019s qualifications.\u00a0 Republicans attempted to take this type of hardline stance with certain executive positions last year and earlier this year, when they refused to allow a vote for any nominee to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the National Labor Relations Board.\u00a0 Rather than representing substantive opposition to these individual nominees, this obstruction was a partisan attempt to sabotage and eviscerate these agencies which protect consumers and American workers.\u00a0 I have heard some call this tactic \u201cnullification.\u201d\u00a0 It is as if the Republicans have decided that the President did not actually win the election in 2008, and was not re-elected in 2012.\r\nSenate Republicans backed off this radical and unprecedented hardline stance on executive nominees earlier this year, but they have shown no signs of doing the same with the D.C. Circuit.\u00a0 And it is not for lack of qualified nominees.\u00a0 This year, Senate Republicans filibustered the nominations of three exceptionally qualified women: Caitlin Halligan, Patricia Millett and Nina Pillard.\u00a0 Earlier this week Republicans filibustered another stellar nominee to this court, Judge Robert Wilkins.\r\nSuch tactics are not just bad for the Senate, they are a disaster for our Nation\u2019s overburdened courts.\u00a0 Persistent vacancies force fewer judges to take on growing caseloads, and make it harder for Americans to have access to justice.\u00a0 While they have delayed and obstructed, the number of judicial vacancies has remained historically high and it has become more difficult for our courts to provide speedy, quality justice for the American people.\u00a0 In short, as a result of Republican obstruction of nominees, the Senate has failed to do its job for the courts and for the American people, and failed to live up to its constitutional responsibilities.\r\nThe Senate today is faced with what to do to overcome this abuse and what action we should take to restore this body\u2019s ability to fulfill its constitutional duties and do its work for the American people.\u00a0\u00a0\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-of-senator-patrick-leahy-d-vt-on-national-homelessness-and-hunger-awareness-week", "Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), On National Homelessness and Hunger Awareness Week", "2013-11-21", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.21.13\n\t\t\t Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), On National Homelessness and Hunger Awareness Week \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tNext week, Americans across the country will gather with family and friends to celebrate a national tradition, Thanksgiving. Some will give thanks for their good fortune or health over the past year, while others will simply be thankful to see their loved ones together in one place. What most of us will take for granted, however, is that we will have a meal to eat and have a home in which to gather. Far too many Americans will not have that luxury. During this time of reflection, and in honor of National Homelessness and Hunger Awareness week, I would like to take a moment to speak about those who are all too often overlooked, the homeless and the hungry.\r\nEach and every day, millions of Americans face the uncertainty of when their next meal will be or when they will be able to feed their family. On any given night, a disgraceful number of Americans face the uncertainty of not knowing where they will sleep. Sadly, many have nowhere to turn. These Americans live in both large states and small, in urban centers, and small, rural towns across the country. These are men, women, and children who live, work, and attend schools in our communities without the basic needs of food security and a place to call home.\u00a0\r\nThere are nearly 3000 Vermonters who do not have a roof over their head each night. And while organizations like the Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS), Spectrum Youth and Family Services, and the Vermont Coalition for Runaway and Homeless Youth do their best to provide emergency shelter, services, and housing for people who are homeless or marginally housed, the need far outweighs their capacity.\u00a0\r\nNationally, we have made some progress to address this issue and have seen the number of individuals experiencing chronic homelessness and homeless veterans significantly decrease. Unfortunately, the face of homelessness is changing, and the number of families facing homelessness has dramatically increased. Shelters are seeing an unprecedented number of families.\u00a0 Many of these families have at least one adult who is working full time, but who does not earn enough to afford a place to live. Of the 4244 people who used emergency shelters in Vermont last year, 952 of them were children. We know that children who experience homelessness suffer from high rates of anxiety, depression, behavioral problems, and below-average school performance. Regrettably, shelter workers are beginning to see the first signs of generational homelessness.\u00a0 This is unacceptable, and we owe it to those children and families to do more.\r\nAcross the country nearly one in six people faces hunger on a daily basis. One in five children are living in a household with food insecurity.\u00a0 In a nation where $165 billion worth of food goes to waste each year, it is clear that there is enough food to feed everyone in America.\u00a0 We need to do a better job of getting that food to those who need it most. For the more than 84,000 Vermonters facing food insecurity, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known as 3Squares in Vermont, is a lifeline helping to feed their families. SNAP is our single most important anti-hunger program providing assistance to nearly 49 million Americans in need of help to afford food. With so many Americans still struggling to put food on the table, it is deplorable that some in Congress continue to call for reductions to food assistance as a way to solve our nation's deficit problems.\r\nNo one can deny the effects of hunger on Americans, especially children. Children who live in food insecure homes are at a greater risk of developmental delays, poor academic performance, nutrient deficiencies, obesity and depression. Yet participation in food assistance programs turns these statistics on their head. Federal nutrition programs have been shown to decrease the risk a child will develop health problems and is associated with decreases in the incidence of child abuse. Children from families who receive food stamps have a higher achievement in math and reading and have improved behavior, social interactions and diet quality than children who go without.\r\n\u00a0\r\nTwo-thirds of SNAP beneficiaries are children, the disabled, or the elderly who cannot be expected to work. The remaining participants in the program are subject to rigorous work requirements in order to receive continuing benefits.\u00a0 While SNAP offers crucial support to a family's grocery expenses, the benefits far from cover a family's food expenses. With a benefit average of about $1.25 per person, per meal, it is understandable that families typically fall short on benefits by the middle of the month.\r\nAcross the nation, wages have remained flat as prices for every day essentials like food, heat and especially housing continue to rise.\u00a0 At the same time, as more families find themselves in need of some help, the programs that provide that safety net have been devastated by cuts over the past several years and continue to be targeted for even further reductions in the name of protecting tax loopholes for corporate jets and oil companies.\r\nThe budget decisions made in Congress have real impacts for real people.\u00a0 Reductions to funding for the organizations providing emergency shelter, or programs that build much needed affordable housing, means more Americans face housing insecurity.\u00a0 Cuts to the SNAP program means benefits will run out earlier in the month and even though donations to food banks and soup kitchens are down, they will see a record number of families looking for a little help to just make it to the next month.\r\nAs the budget conferees discuss a path forward, it is essential that they find a common sense compromise to replace sequestration and put an end to the deficit reduction on the backs of those most in need. There are just too many people that are one unforeseen expense away from a desperate financial situation that could result in them losing the roof over their head, and the means to feed their family.\u00a0 We can all agree that there is something fundamentally wrong with the reality that children living in one of the wealthiest nations in the world do not know when they will get their next meal and do not have a safe place to sleep at night.\r\nEvery child in America deserves a fair shot. This is why I have championed the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act.\u00a0 Programs authorized by the RHYA have successfully helped countless runaway and homeless youth and their families in Vermont and across the nation over the last 30 years, but we can and must do more.\u00a0We must recognize the importance of investing in our nation\u2019s youth, and direct resources where they are needed most.\u00a0 Programs authorized by the RHYA expired at the end of September.\u00a0\u00a0 I hope that we can work to reauthorize and improve RHYA by addressing the needs of children in the most vulnerable communities, and provide services that meet the needs of youth who identify as LGBT and the young victims of trafficking or exploitation. We need more training and resources to help our grantees meet the needs of young victims, and that\u2019s what the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act provides.\r\nThere are families that are having difficulty making ends meet. We must pass a Farm Bill that does not include the extreme House cuts to SNAP benefits at levels ten times as high as the bipartisan Senate bill and nearly twice as high as the House\u2019s original bill. Those cuts would mean that each year, an average of three million people will be kicked off food assistance, and hundreds of thousands of children will lose access to school means. I hope that the bipartisan efforts of the Senate to pass a responsible Farm Bill will help produce a good farm bill out of conference that does not contain these deep and damaging cuts to food assistance.\r\nWe owe it to the American people to put politics aside and especially during this time of year, to give a voice to those who are most in need, to those often overlooked and marginalized and to start making meaningful progress to eliminating homelessness and hunger in this country.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-of-senator-patrick-leahy-d-vt-on-sexual-assault-in-the-us-military", "Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) On Sexual Assault in the U.S. Military", "2013-11-21", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.21.13\n\t\t\t Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) On Sexual Assault in the U.S. Military \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEarlier this year, as many others were, I was shocked when the Department of Defense released a stunning report about the increase in sexual assault among the branches of the armed forces.\u00a0 Sexual assault in the military is neither a new issue, nor an uncommon one.\u00a0 It has been a problem for decades.\u00a0 Its occurrence is a stain on the honor of our military and nation that we must all work to eliminate.\u00a0 Military bases are where our troops are supposed to be safe, and to know that they risk being in harm\u2019s way not only when deployed, but among their fellow service members as well, is horrible.\u00a0\r\nI have worked hard to bring greater attention to the ongoing problem of sexual violence in our communities and am proud of the significant improvements we made in the recent reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act earlier this year. It is time we bring the same level of attention to the crisis on our military bases.\r\nWhile this epidemic is not representative of the vast majority of our service men and women, who serve honorably and conduct themselves commensurate with our expectations of those in uniform, it is also not isolated to just a handful of bad actors.\u00a0 We can no longer ignore that the time is long overdue for meaningful changes to help end sexual assault and harassment in the ranks of our armed forces.\u00a0 We must work together to protect victims and provide appropriate help and support, and to ensure that those responsible for such crimes are held accountable.\u00a0\r\nJust as our civilian justice system is the envy of the world, our military justice system must also meet that standard.\u00a0 That is why I am a cosponsor of Senator Gillibrand\u2019s Military Justice Improvement Act, and why I support her amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).\r\nIn last year\u2019s defense authorization bill, Congress included provisions meant to address sexual assault in the military.\u00a0 That legislation required the Secretary of Defense to prescribe standards for victim support, and mandated an independent review and assessment of the systems used to adjudicate crimes involving sexual assault and related offenses.\r\nWhen the Department of Defense released its Fiscal Year 2012 report on sexual assault in the military earlier this year, its findings were jarring, and for many \u2013 myself included \u2013 they were infuriating. \u00a0To make matters worse, the problem seems only to be growing.\r\nThe status quo for how we deal with sexual assault and unwanted sexual contact in the military is untenable. \u00a0If we are serious about curing this problem, we need to get serious about making fundamental changes to how it is addressed.\u00a0 We cannot expect that by doing the same thing over and over again we will achieve different results.\r\nI supported Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel\u2019s proposals this summer to limit a commander\u2019s authority to overturn major court martial verdicts, among other reforms to the system.\u00a0 I am pleased that the members of the Senate Armed Services Committee included this key provision, as well as other measures to address the so-called \u201cgood solder\u201d defense, and to require commanders to immediately report alleged sexual assaults to the investigative office, in this year\u2019s defense authorization bill.\r\nSenator Gillibrand\u2019s proposal is another move in the right direction, taking these reforms a step further by removing the determination to bring sexual assault cases from the chain of command, and giving that discretion to an experienced military prosecutor.\u00a0 This is a commonsense solution, and I commend her for her clear-eyed and energetic leadership on this issue.\u00a0\r\nSenator McCaskill\u2019s proposal also includes strong protections for victims, so that the process of getting justice for these crimes does not revictimize those who come forward to report them.\u00a0 I believe Senator McCaskill\u2019s proposal also is a step in the right direction to encourage victims to come forward and report these crimes.\u00a0 Our nation\u2019s troops should not have to fear sexual assault, and if they are victims, they certainly should not fear any stigma after bringing to light unwanted sexual contact.\r\nSurely we can all agree that we have an obligation to ensure that our men and women in uniform are protected from the threats we can control.\u00a0 Holding perpetrators of sexual assault and unwanted sexual contact accountable, and caring for, supporting and protecting those victims, is within our control.\u00a0 I hope Senators on both sides of the aisle will join me in supporting reforms that will fundamentally change the way we approach this issue in order to achieve better results.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-of-senator-patrick-leahy-on-impact-of-a-continuing-resolution-and_sequestration-on-americas-children-teachers-and-families", "Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy On Impact of a Continuing Resolution and  Sequestration on America’s Children, Teachers and Families", "2013-11-21", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.21.13\n\t\t\t Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy On Impact of a Continuing Resolution and  Sequestration on America\u2019s Children, Teachers and Families \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tMr. President.\u00a0 It has been only a few short weeks since the needless government shutdown that cost the Treasury more than $20 billion dollars, disrupted the lives of hundreds of thousands of federal workers and their families in every state, threatened to wreak havoc with the world\u2019s financial markets, and accomplished nothing.\u00a0\r\nBut an important deadline, one critical to determining how we resolve the current budget crisis, is just a few days away.\r\nWhile this approaching deadline does not come with the threat of another government shutdown, if Congress is going to complete work on Appropriations bills before the continuing resolution expires on January 15th, we need a top-line number from the Budget conferees by the end of this week.\r\nBy Friday, the Budget conferees need to find enough common ground to agree on a level to fund the Federal Government for the remainder of the fiscal year. \u00a0And while many have expressed their doubts, there is no reason this cannot be done.\u00a0 People are fed up with putting the process of setting and funding our national priorities on autopilot. \u00a0It is an abdication of responsibility and a wasteful way to do business.\r\nIt is equally important that the level of funding replace sequestration. \u00a0A long term continuing resolution that funds the Government at the House level of $967 billion would be a disaster.\u00a0 Sequestration would become the new normal, funding programs and agencies at levels far below those passed by the Senate Appropriations Committee and below fiscal year 2013.\r\nIt is stunning \u2013 and frightening -- that instead of looking to replace sequestration\u2019s devastating cuts, we hear from some members that it is \u201cworking.\u201d \u00a0If their intention is to stunt the economic recovery and indiscriminately slash services upon which American families and businesses depend, then I guess they are right.\u00a0\r\nBut I don\u2019t think most Members of Congress, or most Americans, see it that way.\u00a0 \u00a0\r\nFor those of us who want to support our communities and invigorate and sustain our economic recovery, another year of sequestration would be catastrophic.\u00a0 While we are still trying to gauge the full impact of the first round of cuts this year, one thing is clear \u2013 another year would be far worse.\u00a0 Agencies have exhausted their carry-over funds and creative budgeting options to avoid layoffs, furloughs, and eliminating programs. \u00a0\r\nAbsent a budget agreement, the entire Federal Government, from the Department of Defense to the Department of Labor, will suffer significant, mindless cuts.\u00a0 I have spoken several times about the impact of another full year continuing resolution at the House\u2019s funding level.\u00a0 I want to take a minute to describe what it would mean for America\u2019s children, teachers and families.\r\nLIHEAP, which provides lifesaving home energy assistance, would not receive the $325 million increase over the level included in a continuing resolution, cutting off assistance to about 760,000 more households this winter and next summer. \u00a0Nearly 40,000 Vermont families rely on LIHEAP in the cold Vermont winters.\r\nEarly Head Start programs won\u2019t be expanded as the Senate appropriations bill intended, and the 177,000 children who would have received Head Start services will be turned away.\u00a0 Nearly 1,600 Vermont children depend on this assistance every year.\r\nSchools around the country already facing budget shortfalls, and look to the Federal Government to fund services to disadvantaged children through Title I grants.\u00a0 Those schools would not receive the $852 million included in the Senate Appropriations bill. \u00a0They would have to look elsewhere for money to provide those services to 1.3 million students in need.\r\nSchools would also lose $748 million in grants for special education that were included in the Senate appropriations bill, to help cover the costs of employing more than 9,000 additional special education aides in our schools. \u00a0\u00a0\r\nNIH would not receive the $2 billion in additional funds included in the Senate appropriations bill, and instead would not be able to award 1,300 new research grants.\u00a0 This means that 1,300 additional opportunities to achieve scientific advances that could lead to life-saving treatments and cures would be missed opportunities.\r\nUnder a continuing resolution, 159,000 families looking for assistance through the Section 8 Housing Program to help keep a roof over their heads will be turned away, because the funding won\u2019t be there. \u00a0In Vermont, 774 families would face losing their housing assistance.\r\nThe WIC program won\u2019t be able to provide food to the nearly 500,000 infant, children and families the Senate appropriations bill would help, and working families won\u2019t receive the $291 million in additional funding the Senate provides for child care subsidies.\r\nBeyond our borders, we would lose the additional $389 million included in the Senate appropriations bill for global health programs to combat HIV/AIDS and other preventable infectious diseases like malaria, tuberculosis and pneumonia, as well as malnutrition.\u00a0\r\nThe consequences of such a cut can be measured in lives.\u00a0 Tens of thousands of additional deaths would result from these diseases, tens of thousands of additional children would be orphaned by AIDS, and there would be millions fewer life-saving immunizations for children resulting in tens of thousands of deaths that could have been prevented.\r\nA full year continuing resolution would cut the international development assistance account that supports the basic needs of people in the poorest countries by nearly $115 million, including for primary education, food security, and clean water and sanitation programs.\r\nThe examples go on and on.\u00a0 What we face is, in fact, not a hard choice.\u00a0 It is a choice between doing what is right, or scoring political points.\u00a0 The Budget conferees have an opportunity to reach meaningful compromise, to replace the \u201cnever supposed to happen\u201d sequester, and to prove to the American people that they can put partisanship aside when it is in the national interest.\r\nThat is what is at stake, and I commend the Chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Mikulski, and her counterpart in the House, Chairman Rogers, for the united stand they have taken for the good of the country.\u00a0 I hope the Budget conferees follow their example.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://welch.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/gardner-welch-introduce-bipartisan-legislation-reduce-federal-utility", "Gardner, Welch introduce bipartisan legislation to reduce federal utility bill", "2013-11-21", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "welch.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Today, Rep. Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) introduced bipartisan energy efficiency legislation that gives federal agencies greater opportunities to reduce energy use through Utility Energy Service Contracts (UESCs). The federal government is the largest consumer of energy in the country, spending $6 billion annually in federal facilities.\nCongress has had no shortage of partisan battles lately, and it can be difficult to imagine any area where both parties can find common ground  but it does exist. I believe there lies a great deal of bipartisan promise in energy efficiency, said Gardner. This commonsense legislation would advance important projects to allow the government to use less energy and save taxpayer dollars.\nThere is a groundswell of bipartisan support in Congress for energy efficiency investments. Extending the terms of UESCs is a positive step that Congress can take to save the taxpayer money, create jobs and improve the environment, said Welch.\nThe Utility Energy Service Contracts Improvement Act of 2013 allows federal agencies to enter into performance contracts with utility companies for up to 25 years, allowing agencies to achieve longer term energy savings goals. Under a UESC, a utility negotiates a contract with a federal agency that specifies the amount of energy savings it will achieve through retrofits and other measures. The utility is then paid for its performance out of the savings it achieves.Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Dan Coats (R-IN) recently introduced companion legislation in the Senate. \nYesterday, Rep. Gardner, Rep. Welch, Sen. Coons and Sen. Boozman announced a bipartisan coalition of 117 House Members and 22 Senators calling for a 5-year extension of President Obama's federal buildings energy efficiency initiative. The 2011 executive order employed the use of Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs) and Utility Energy Services Contracts (UESCs) to achieve energy savings in federal buildings.\n#####", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/broad-coalition-of-tech-companies-nonprofit-groups-offers-support-for-the-leahy-sensenbrenner-usa-freedom-act", "Broad Coalition Of Tech Companies, Nonprofit Groups Offers Support For The Leahy-Sensenbrenner USA FREEDOM Act", "2013-11-21", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.21.13\n\t\t\t Broad Coalition Of Tech Companies, Nonprofit Groups Offers Support For The Leahy-Sensenbrenner USA FREEDOM Act \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), coauthors of the USA FREEDOM Act to end dragnet collection of Americans' phone records, Thursday welcomed the support of a broad coalition of technology companies, trade associations and nonprofit organizations that advocate privacy protections, oversight and accountability mechanisms that govern surveillance authorities.\r\nIn a letter to Leahy and Sensenbrenner, the group of nearly 60 signees including Hewlett-Packard, Dropbox and Tumblr outline their priorities to address privacy and transparency concerns raised by revelations of sweeping surveillance use. They call for legislation to allow companies to disclose surveillance requests, to provide greater transparency on government use of surveillance authorities, to focus intelligence gathering on foreign powers, and to protect constitutional and human rights. A copy of the letter is below and available online.\r\nThe USA FREEDOM Act, which Leahy and Sensenbrenner introduced last month, would end the dragnet collection of Americans' phone records under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act and ensure that other authorities cannot be used to justify similar dragnet collection. The bill also provides more safeguards for warrantless surveillance under the FISA Amendments Act.\r\nThe bill includes other significant privacy and oversight provisions, provides for the creation of a Special Advocate to focus on the protection of privacy rights and civil liberties before the FISA Court, and requires more detailed public reporting about the number and types of FISA orders that are issued.\r\nThe USA FREEDOM Act has over 115 cosponsors in the House and Senate and is supported by dozens of groups and businesses crossing the political spectrum. A full list of supporters can be found online.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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://welch.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/bipartisan-coalition-117-house-members-and-22-senators-push-extend-2011", "Bipartisan coalition of 117 House Members and 22 Senators push to extend 2011 energy efficiency initiative in federal buildings", "2013-11-20", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "welch.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Rep. Cory Gardner (R-CO), Rep. Peter Welch, (D-VT), Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) and Sen. John Boozman (R-AR), joined by 117 House colleagues and 22 Senate colleagues, are calling for a 5-year extension of President Obama's federal buildings energy efficiency initiative. In 2011, the President kicked off a 2-year initiative to achieve $2 billion in energy savings in federal buildings. The bipartisan, bicameral coalition of legislators is calling on the President to continue the successful use of performance contracting in federal facilities by launching a 5-year, $5 billion extension of the 2011 initiative. The 2011 executive order employed the use of Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs) and Utility Energy Services Contracts (UESCs) to achieve energy savings in federal buildings.Under an ESPC or UESC, an energy services company or a utility negotiates a contract with a federal agency that specifies the amount of energy savings it will achieve through retrofits and other measures. The company or utility is then paid for its performance out of the savings it achieves rather than through appropriated funds. The federal government spends over $6 billion annually on energy use in federal facilities. Rep. Gardner, Rep. Welch, and Senator Coons have introduced legislation(H.R.2689 and S.1308) to advance the use of ESPCs and UESCs in the federal government that mirrors the expansion proposed in the coalition's letter to the President. The legislators point out in their letter that the 2011 initiative has led to a substantial increase in federal facility upgrades carried out by private-sector entities without any upfront cost to the taxpayer  There is still substantial potential for achieving more savings and the success of the past two years' effort has created important momentum that should now be continued. 117 House Members, including 70 Democrats and 47 Republicans, have signed onto the Gardner-Welchletter which can be read here. 22 Senators, including 16 Democrats and 6 Republicans, have signed the identical Coons-Boozman letter which is still open for signatures in the Senate. The following Representatives and Senators have signed the Gardner-Welch-Coons-Boozman letter to date:\n\t\t\t\t\tHOUSE\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tSENATE\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Mark Amodei\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tSen. Chris Coons\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Andy Barr\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tSen. John Boozman\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. John Barrow\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tSen. Ron Wyden\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Marsha Blackburn\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tSen. Rob Portman\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Earl Blumenauer\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tSen. Bernie Sanders\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Bruce Braley\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tSen. Lamar Alexander\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Paul Broun\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tSen. Tom Udall\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Julia Brownley\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tSen. John Hoeven\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Vern Buchanan\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tSen. Jeanne Shaheen\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Cheri Bustos\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tSen. Saxby Chambliss\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Lois Capps\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tSen. Brian Schatz\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Tony Cardenas\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tSen. Jim Inhofe\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Matt Cartwright\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tSen. Al Franken\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Judy Chu\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tSen. Jeff Merkley\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Howard Coble\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tSen. Mark Begich\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Mike Coffman\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tSen. Martin Heinrich\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Steve Cohen\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tSen. Ed Markey\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Doug Collins\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tSen. Richard Blumenthal\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Gerald Connolly\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tSen. Chris Murphy\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. John Conyers\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tSen. Robert Menendez\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Jim Cooper\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tSen. Jack Reed\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Rodney Davis\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tSen. Dick Durbin\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. John Delaney\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Rosa DeLauro\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Jeff Denham\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Charlie Dent\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Donna Edwards\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Renee Ellmers\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Anna Eshoo\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Sam Farr\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Stephen Fincher\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Mike Fitzpatrick\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Bill Flores\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Trent Franks\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Cory Gardner\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Chris Gibson\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Phil Gingrey\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Paul Gosar\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Tim Griffin\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Raul Grijalva\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Brett Guthrie\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Ralph Hall\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Richard Hanna\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Denny Heck\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Jim Himes\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Rush Holt\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Mike Honda\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Jared Huffman\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Randy Hultgren\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Lynn Jenkins\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Pitts Joseph\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Bill Keating\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Joseph P. Kennedy, III\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Derek Kilmer\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Adam Kinzinger\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Anne McLane Kuster\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Jim Langevin\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Barbara Lee\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Zoe Lofgren\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Alan Lowenthal\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Dan Maffei\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Jim Matheson\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Doris Matsui\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Michael McCaul\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Betty McCollum\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Jim McDermott\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Jim McGovern\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Mike McIntyre\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. David McKinley\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. George Miller\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Jim Moran\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Mick Mulvaney\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Patrick Murphy\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Richard Nolan\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Alan Nunnelee\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Bill Owens\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Frank Pallone\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Bill Pascrell\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Erik Paulsen\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Ed Perlmutter\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Scott Peters\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Pingree Pingree\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Mark Pocan\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Jared Polis\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Bill Posey\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. David Price\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Mike Quigley\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Charlie Rangel\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Reid Ribble\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Raul Ruiz\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Tim Ryan\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. John Sarbanes\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Jan Schakowsky\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Kurt Schrader\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Robert \"Bobby\" Scott\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Carol Shea Porter\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Mike Simpson\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Krysten Sinema\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Jackie Speier\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Lee Terry\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. John Tierney\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Paul Tonko\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Niki Tsongas\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Fred Upton\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Chris Van Hollen\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Greg Walden\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Jackie Walorski\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Henry Waxman\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Daniel Webster\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Peter Welch\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Ed Whitfield\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Roger Williams\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Joe Wilson\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Frank Wolf\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Steve Womack\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. John Yarmuth\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRep. Todd Young", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://welch.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-welch-jp-morgan-do-right-thing-do-not-shift-settlement-costs", "Rep. Welch to J.P. Morgan: Do the right thing: Do not shift settlement costs to taxpayers.", "2013-11-19", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "welch.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Leads House effort to stop write offs of settlements over corporate wrongdoing\nRep. Peter Welch (D-VT) made the following statement after this afternoon's announcement that J.P. Morgan and the U.S. Justice Department have reached final agreement on a $13 billion settlement over J.P. Morgan's role in the near collapse of the American economy in 2008. It appears that, under current law, a portion of the settlement would be tax deductible.\nWelch said, J.P. Morgan, whose conduct caused great harm to taxpayers and the American economy, should not ask the taxpayer to pay any portion of its penalty in this important settlement. Jamie Dimon should do the right thing and direct his accountants to forgo the exploitation of any tax loopholes that could reduce the burden imposed by this settlement. He should accept full responsibility for J.P. Morgan's egregious conduct and that includes paying the full cost of this settlement.\nRep. Welch and Rep. Luis Gutierrez(D-IL) recently sent a letter to J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon demanding that his company accept the full payment of any fine. They also introduced the Stop Deducting Damages Act (HR 3445) which would prevent corporations from reaching into the taxpayer's pocket to pay their fines for breaking the law.\n\n\n#####", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/in-the-news/leahy-arguments-of-convenience-block-judicial-appointments", "Leahy: Arguments of Convenience Block Judicial Appointments", "2013-11-18", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Leahy: Arguments of Convenience Block Judicial Appointments \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\nMonday, November 18, 2013\n\t\n  \n    By:\u00a0\n    Patrick Leahy\n\n\n    \n    The National Law Journal \n    \n    \nDuring nearly four decades in the Senate, I have served with Demo\u00adcratic majorities and Republican majorities, through both Republican and Democratic administrations. I have always believed in the Senate's unique protection of the minority party, even when Democrats held a majority in the Senate.\r\nYet, over the past five years, Senate Republicans have changed the tradition of the Senate with an escalating obstruction of judicial nominations. These actions threaten the Senate's ability to do the work of the American people. Through this obstruction, Senate Republicans have crossed the line from use of the Senate rules to abuse of the rules, exploiting those rules to undermine our ability to address national problems. This same abuse recently, and needlessly, shut down our government, and also poses a threat to the independent, judicial branch of government.\r\nAs chairman of the Judiciary Com\u00admittee, I am especially concerned with how Republican obstruction is damaging our ability to fulfill our constitutional responsibility of advice and consent. The Senate has a unique responsibility to ensure that the judicial branch has the judges it needs to do its job. Unfortunately, Senate Republicans have abandoned this responsibility, using unprecedented filibusters to delay and obstruct President Obama from appointing to the federal bench even nominations that enjoy bipartisan support. Senate Republicans have forced cloture, a procedural mechanism to bring a matter to a vote, to end filibusters on 34 nominees, nearly twice as many nominees than required cloture during President Bush's two terms. Almost all of these nominees were, by any standard, noncontroversial and ultimately were confirmed overwhelmingly. Republican obstruction has left the federal judiciary often with 90 or more vacancies over the past five years.\r\nSenate Republicans once insisted that filibustering judicial nominations was unconstitutional, but when a Democrat was elected to the White House, they reversed course and filibustered his very first judicial nomination. Judge David Hamilton of Indiana, nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, was a widely respected 15-year veteran of the federal bench and supported by the Senate's longest-serving Republican, Sen. Dick Lugar. Yet, Senate Republicans filibustered Hamilton's nomination, requiring a cloture vote before he could be confirmed after a delay of more than five months. This is the pattern Senate Republicans continued to follow, filibustering 14 of this president's circuit court nominees. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, the median time that circuit nominees had to wait on the Senate floor before getting a vote during Obama's first term was 132 days, compared to just 18 days for Bush's nominees.\r\nIn 2012, Republicans blocked the Senate from voting on a single circuit court nominee nominated by Obama that same year, forcing cloture even for nominees with home-state Republican support. Since 1980, the only other presidential election year in which there were no circuit nominees confirmed who were also nominated that year was in 1996, when Senate Republicans shut down the process against President Clinton's circuit nominees.\r\nThe unprecedented obstruction also has affected the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, widely considered the second most important court in the country. This year, Senate Republicans filibustered the nominations of three exceptionally qualified women \u2014 Caitlin Halligan, Patricia Millett and Nina Pillard. Senate Republicans attempt to \u00adjustify their opposition to three of the most qualified attorneys in the country with an argument that the court's caseload does not warrant the appointments. Yet during the Bush administration, these same senators saw fit to confirm judges to the 9th, 10th, 11th and again the 10th seat on the court when the caseload was lower than it is today. Just eight active judges currently are on the D.C. Circuit. When Bush was in office, it operated at full strength with 11 active judges. The same Republican senator who\u00a0in these pages recently cited\u00a0caseload concerns once noted that \"comparing workloads in the D.C. Circuit to that of other circuits is, to a large extent, a pointless exercise. There is little dispute that the D.C. Circuit's docket is, by far, the most complex and time consuming in the Nation.\"\r\nSenate Republicans' obstruction is more than unfortunate. It is politics at its worst. Halligan, after being filibustered in March, withdrew her nomination. I will continue to fight for Millett and Pillard to receive a vote on their nominations' merits. On Nov. 18, the Senate will again try to end a Republican filibuster, this time on the nomination of Robert Wilkins. When the vote fails to garner the supermajority needed to end the filibuster, as I expect it will, a majority of senators will need to confront the escalating need to change the Senate rules that the minority have abused for too long.\r\nSen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/in-the-news/senator-leahy-on-watching-jfks-funeral-cortege", "Senator Leahy on watching JFK's funeral cortege", "2013-11-18", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Senator Leahy on watching JFK's funeral cortege \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\nMonday, November 18, 2013\n\t\n\n    \n    The Washington Post \n    \n    \nBelow is the LINK to a Washington Post/Witnify video interview with Senator Leahy, about his recollections from the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, 50 years ago this Friday.\u00a0 Patrick Leahy at the time was a law student at the Georgetown Law Center, and he and wife Marcelle were in Washington as they lived through the trauma that roiled the nation.\u00a0 \u00a0\r\nSenator Leahy on watching JFK's funeral cortege", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/patent-trolls-leahy-introduces-bipartisan-bill-to-protect-vt-businesses-from-patent-lawsuit-abuse-", "PATENT TROLLS: Leahy Introduces Bipartisan Bill To Protect VT Businesses From Patent Lawsuit Abuse", "2013-11-18", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.18.13\n\t\t\t PATENT TROLLS: Leahy Introduces Bipartisan Bill To Protect VT Businesses From Patent Lawsuit Abuse  \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON\u00a0 -- Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Committee member Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) joined together Monday to introduce legislation to protect businesses and innovators who are being improperly targeted by so-called \u201cpatent trolls.\u201d\r\nThe Patent Transparency and Improvements Act of 2013 would increase transparency in patent ownership, customers who are sued for patent infringement by allowing the case against them to be stayed while the manufacturer litigates the suit, target the widespread sending of frivolous demand letters, and improve resources for small businesses that are targeted in patent infringement suits, among other provisions.\u00a0 Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) is an original cosponsor of the bill.\r\n\u201cAmerica\u2019s patent system is the envy of the world, but unfortunately some bad actors are misusing the system to sue unsuspecting consumers or extort monetary settlements by making misleading demands,\u201d Leahy said.\u00a0 \u201cWhen small businesses in Vermont and across the country are threatened with lawsuits for offering wi-fi to their customers or using document scanners in their offices, we can all agree the system is not being used as intended.\u00a0 The bipartisan legislation I am introducing today takes important steps to protect those who are targeted by patent trolls while preserving what has made America\u2019s patent system great.\u201d\r\nJerry Tarrant, the chief operating officer of Winooski, Vt.-based MyWebGrocer, said today\u2019s bill introduction \u201cis a great example of our elected leaders working together to make small changes in federal law that will foster innovation and job creation across the country.\u201d\r\n\u201cAs a Vermont based company, we and our coalition members appreciate Senator Leahy\u2019s willingness to listen to our concerns and be one of the leaders in D.C. on this issue,\u201d Tarrant said.\r\nLeahy previously announced his intent to introduce legislation on this issue and his collaboration with Senator Lee and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte in an op-ed published earlier this year.\u00a0 Leahy has also pressed the Administration to assist in addressing the problem of patent trolls, urging the Federal Trade Commission in June to more aggressively pursue enforcement actions against patent trolls using its consumer protection authority.\u00a0 Leahy\u2019s efforts were praised in an op-ed that ran Sunday in the Valley News.\r\nAn outline of the Patent Transparency and Improvements Act of 2013 can be found here, and text of legislation can be found online.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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://welch.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/energy-savings-performance-contracts", "Energy Savings Performance Contracts", "2013-11-18", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "welch.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", null, 0, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://welch.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/pdf-example", "PDF Example", "2013-11-18", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "welch.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", null, 0, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/sjc-chairman-leahy-dc-circuit-vacancies-must-be-filled", "SJC Chairman Leahy: D.C. Circuit Vacancies Must Be Filled", "2013-11-18", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.18.13\n\t\t\t SJC Chairman Leahy: D.C. Circuit Vacancies Must Be Filled \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 I am especially concerned with how Republican obstruction is damaging our ability to fulfill our constitutional responsibility of advice and consent.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t WASHINGTON  U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the Senate's longest-serving member, spoke out against the growing obstruction to highly-qualified judicial nominees in a floor statement Monday.\r\nSpeaking in favor of Judge Robert Wilkins, a nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Leahy stated Over the course of almost four decades, I have seen dramatic changes in Senate majorities and leadership styles. But nothing in all that time compares to the change that has occurred over the last five years.\r\nWilkins currently serves on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, a position to which he was confirmed in 2010 on a voice vote. Now appointed to serve on the powerful D.C. Circuit, Wilkins's nomination is being blocked by Republicans. Wilkins is the third D.C. Circuit Court nominee in as many weeks to require a procedural vote.\r\nRepublicans once insisted that the filibustering of judicial nominations was unconstitutional. The Constitution has not changed but when a Democrat was elected to the White House, they reversed course and filibustered this president's very first judicial nomination despite that nominee having the support of the most senior Republican then serving in the Senate, Leahy said, suggesting that a filibuster of Wilkins's nomination would be a tipping point for efforts to change Senate rules to ensure consideration of judicial nominees.\r\nLeahy also wrote about the issue of GOP obstruction to D.C. Circuit Court nominees in an op-ed appearing in the National Law Journal. The Washington Post also highlighted the issue in a Monday editorial.\r\nAfter tonight the talk about changing the cloture rules for judicial nominations will no longer be just talk. There will be action, Leahy said. We cannot allow this unprecedented, wholesale obstruction to continue without undermining the Senate's role provided in the Constitution and without harming our independent federal judiciary. \r\n# # # # #  Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),  Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee,  On the Nomination of Judge Robert Wilkins  November 18, 2013\r\nOver the course of almost four decades, I have experienced dramatic changes in Senate majorities and leadership styles. But nothing in all that time compares to the change that has occurred over the last five years. \r\nSince President Obama was sworn in as President of the United States, Senate Republicans have made it their priority to obstruct at every turn the consideration of nominations that he has put forward. Confirmation votes that regularly occurred by consent, now require a lengthy cloture process. Bipartisan and home state support for a nominee no longer ensures a timely confirmation. Through this obstruction, Senate Republicans have crossed the line from use of the Senate rules to abuse of the rules. This same abuse that recently shut down our Federal government is also posing a threat to an independent branch of government, the Federal judiciary.\r\nAs Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, I am especially concerned with how Republican obstruction is damaging our ability to fulfill our constitutional responsibility of advice and consent. Republican obstruction has left the Federal judiciary often with 90 or more vacancies over the last five years. This severely impacts the ability of our Federal justice system to serve the interests of the American people.\r\nRepublicans once insisted that the filibustering of judicial nominations was unconstitutional. The Constitution has not changed but when a Democrat was elected to the White House, they reversed course and filibustered this president's very first judicial nomination despite that nominee having the support of the most senior Republican then serving in the Senate. This is the pattern Senate Republicans continued to follow, filibustering 34 of President Obama's judicial nominees. This is nearly twice as many nominees than required cloture during President Bush's two terms. Almost all of these nominees were, by any standard, noncontroversial, but it took a great deal of effort by the Senate Judiciary Committee members and by Majority Leader Reid to get to a simple up or down vote on those confirmations. \r\nMost recently, Senate Republicans have decided to filibuster well-qualified nominee after well-qualified nominee for the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. That court has three vacant seats. During the Bush Administration the Senate confirmed his nominees to the 9th, 10th, 11th and again the 10th seats. But suddenly, Senate Republicans want to strip those very same seats now that a different President was elected (and re-elected) by the American people. The Senate Republican blockade of D.C. Circuit nominees is an unprecedented level of obstruction. As Maine's former senior Senator Olympia Snowe recently said, When you have these back-to-back rejections of nominees, at some point it may be trying to reverse the results of the election.\r\nI fear that the obstruction will continue tonight, when we will try to end the filibuster being waged against Robert Wilkins. Judge Wilkins was unanimously confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia less than three years ago. He has presided over hundreds of cases and issued significant decisions in various areas of the law, including in the fields of administrative and constitutional law. Prior to serving on the bench, he was a partner for nearly 10 years in private practice and served more than 10 years as a Public Defender in the District of Columbia. \r\nDuring his time at the Public Defender Service, Judge Wilkins served as the lead plaintiff in a racial profiling case, which arose out of an incident in which he and three family members were stopped and detained while returning from a funeral in Chicago. This lawsuit led to landmark settlements that required systematic statewide compilation and publication of highway traffic stop and search data by race. These settlements inspired an Executive Order by President Clinton, legislation in the House and Senate, and legislation in at least 28 states prohibiting racial profiling or requiring data collection.\r\nDespite the progress made in the past several decades, the struggle to diversify our Federal bench continues. If confirmed, Judge Wilkins would be only the sixth African American to have ever served on what is often considered the second most powerful court in our country, the D.C. Circuit.\r\nJudge Wilkins again earned the ABA's highest possible rating of unanimously well qualified. He also has the support of the National Bar Association, the nation's largest professional association of African-American lawyers and judges, as well as several other prominent legal organizations. I ask unanimous consent to include a list of support in the Record.\r\nThe D.C. Circuit should be operating at full strength as it was when President Bush held office. The Senate should consider Judge Wilkins based on his qualifications, and not hide behind some pretextual argument that most Americans can see through. As today's Washington Post editorial states, It's transparently self-serving of GOP lawmakers to oppose D.C. Circuit nominees only when it's a Democrat's turn to pick them. I would like to enter a copy of this editorial into the Record.\r\nIf the Republican caucus continues to abuse the filibuster rules and obstruct these fine nominees without justification, then I believe this body must consider anew whether a rules change should be in order. As I stated above, that is not a change that I want to see happen but if Republican Senators are going to hold nominations hostage without consideration of their individual merit, drastic measures may be warranted. I hope it does not come to that.\r\nEarlier this year, nearly every single Senate Democrat pushed the Majority Leader for a rules change in the face of Republican obstruction. I was one of the few members of the majority who voiced concern about changing the Senate rules. I believe that if Republicans filibuster yet another well-qualified nominee to this court tonight, it will be a tipping point. Senate Republicans have blocked three well-qualified women in a row from receiving a confirmation vote and now they are on the brink of filibustering the next nominee, Robert Wilkins. I fear that after tonight the talk about changing the cloture rules for judicial nominations will no longer be just talk. There will be action. We cannot allow this unprecedented, wholesale obstruction to continue without undermining the Senate's role provided in the Constitution and without harming our independent federal judiciary. \r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://welch.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/ethanol-policy-reform-legislators-react-epa-decision-ethanol-blend", "Ethanol policy reform legislators react to EPA decision on ethanol blend requirement", "2013-11-15", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "welch.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC. (November 15th, 2013)- Reps. Peter Welch (D-VT), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Jim Costa (D-CA) and Steve Womack (R-AR), authors of the Renewable Fuel Standard Reform Act (H.R. 1462), reacted this afternoon to the Environmental Protection Agency's decision to reduce the amount of ethanol blended into fuel in 2014. These same Members led an October letter signed by 169 House colleagues urging the EPA to adjust ethanol levels.\nToday's announcement is welcome news and a call to action for Congress to move forward with much needed ethanol policy reform. While well-intentioned, the federal ethanol mandate is inflicting significant economic harm on families by driving up food prices, on dairy farmers by driving upfeed prices, and on homeowners and outdoorsmen by ruining small engines, Rep. Welch said.The EPA's decision to lower the fuel standard is a clear sign that this law isn't working. Congress should get about the business of overhauling this misguided policy before more harm is done.\nWhile the EPA's slight reduction of the RFS for 2014 acknowledges that the mandate is unworkable, it is not enough to provide the much-needed relief businesses, farmers, and consumers need,' said Goodlatte.Today's announcement makes it even clearer that it will now be up to Congress to fix this broken mandate.There is a growing appetite in Congress to reform the ethanol mandate, and I urge Chairman Upton and the House Energy and Commerce Committee to consider the RFS Reform Act (H.R. 1462) as a legislative fix to the growing problems with the RFS.\nEPA has finally realized that it was time to step back and stop gambling our food and energy security on a broken policy. The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) was well-intentioned, but this flawed policy needed to be brought back into balance, said Costa. There is still more that needs to be done to restore balance to our energy and ethanol policies, but this is the good-faith effort we needed to continue the conversation about the future of the RFS.\nToday's decision by the EPA is a step in the right direction that acknowledges that the RFS isn't working, but it's not enough, said Womack.The RFS is a weight on our economy, and Congress must make fundamental ethanol policy reforms, which provide a long-term solution to this problem and do more to protect American consumers and businesses.\nThe Renewable Fuel Standard Reform Act would repeal the corn ethanol mandate; cap ethanol use at 10% (E10); and preserve the mandate for the fledgling cellulosic biofuels industry.\n#####", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://welch.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/welch-statement-after-vote-house-republican-health-care-bill", "Welch statement after vote on House Republican health care bill", "2013-11-15", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "welch.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Rep. Peter Welch made the following statement after a vote this afternoon on the Republican majority's health care bill offered by Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI).\nWhere there are problems with the Affordable Care Act, they should be swiftly acknowledged and fixed. It's time for Congress to get about the business of making health care reform work for the American people. I support the President's decision to allow Americans who wish to do so to keep their health insurance plans while health care reforms are implemented.Today, the House Republican majority erred in passing a bill that restores the practice of insurance companies selling unreliable and deceptive policies to their customers.That is a practice long ago banned in Vermont through our progressive insurance reforms. Health insurance should work for you when you need it the most.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-sanders-welch-vermont-nets-350000-for-housing-condition-improvements", "Leahy, Sanders, Welch: Vermont Nets $350,000 For Housing Condition Improvements", "2013-11-14", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.14.13\n\t\t\t Leahy, Sanders, Welch: Vermont Nets $350,000 For Housing Condition Improvements \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tU.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and U.S. Representative Peter Welch (D-Vt.) Thursday announced $350,000 in grants awarded to four organizations across Vermont to improve housing conditions for limited income rural residents.\r\nNearly $300,000 of the grants were designated to the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont \u2013 Caledonia, Essex and Orleans Counties \u2013 as a Rural Economic Area Partnership (REAP) Zone, a USDA Rural Development designation recognizing the unique rural nature of a region that prioritizes the regions\u2019 grant applications.\u00a0\r\nIn a joint statement, Leahy, Sanders and Welch said: \u00a0\u00a0\u201cThese lifeline investments in housing improvements will make lives and communities better. \u00a0The Northeast Kingdom\u2019s REAP Zone standing is the key to three of these grants.\u00a0 \u00a0Again and again, the NEK\u2019s REAP Zone has been a catalyst for growth, for progress and for helping to build a durable rural economy.\u00a0 It\u2019s a program that works, and it deserves to be renewed in the pending Farm Bill.\u201d\r\nIn the 2013 Senate Farm Bill, Leahy fought to continue the REAP Zone authorization that has been so successful in establishing collaborative and citizen-led efforts to enhance economic development. \u00a0As the senior most member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and a conferee in the 2013 Farm Bill conference, Leahy will continue to fight for a balanced Farm Bill that preserves the REAP Zone authorization. \u00a0\r\nThe grants are part of the $3.8 million released by the United States Department of Agriculture\u2019s Rural Development\u2019s Housing Preservation Grant program Tuesday.\u00a0 Vermont\u2019s allocation of nearly 9 percent of the total grant awards make it the second largest recipient in the country and will be used to make general repairs, energy and weatherization improvements and code updates to more than 130 households in Vermont.\r\nThe grant recipients are listed below:\r\nVermont Center for Independent Living:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0$100,000 for repair and code compliance of very low income homes\r\nSoutheastern Vermont Community Action Program: $50,000 to resolve serious health and safety issues and weatherization\r\nRural Edge:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0$100,000\u00a0 for repair\u00a0 and compliance to housing standards\r\nNortheast Employment and Training Organization:\u00a0\u00a0 $100,000 for repair, weatherization and compliance to housing\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0standards\r\n####\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-of-senator-patrick-leahy-d-vt-chairman-senate-judiciary-committee-on-closing-guantanamo", "Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On Closing Guantanamo", "2013-11-14", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.14.13\n\t\t\t Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On Closing Guantanamo \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tMore than 12 years after the terrorist attacks of September 11, as our military presence in Afghanistan winds down, it is time to take a hard look at our counterterrorism policy.\u00a0\u00a0We need to consider which of our policies are working and which, while perhaps well-intentioned when they were adopted in the highly charged weeks and months after 9/11, are not making us safer.\u00a0\r\nThere is ample evidence that the status quo is unsustainable.\u00a0\r\nAs recent revelations have made clear, we need a careful review of our surveillance activities.\u00a0 This summer, many Americans learned for the first time that Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act has for years been secretly interpreted to authorize the collection of Americans\u2019 phone records on an unprecedented scale.\u00a0\r\nDespite the massive privacy intrusion of this program, the executive branch has not made the case that this program is uniquely valuable to protecting our national security.\u00a0 That is why I have introduced the bipartisan USA FREEDOM Act with Congressman Sensenbrenner, to end this dragnet collection and finally place appropriate safeguards on a wide range of government surveillance authorities.\r\nWe also must close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay.\u00a0 In the coming days the Senate will take up and debate the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014, which contains many provisions that are central to our national security.\u00a0\r\nAmong the most important are provisions that would help make it possible to close the detention facility at Guantanamo.\u00a0 As long as Guantanamo remains open, it will serve as a recruiting tool for terrorists, needlessly siphon away critical national security dollars, and discredit America\u2019s historic role as a global leader that defends human rights and the rule of law.\r\nCurrently, 164 individuals remain detained at Guantanamo.\u00a0 Most of them have been there for more than a decade.\u00a0 Of those, more than half \u2013 84 \u2013 have been cleared for transfer to another country, but efforts to do so have stalled, largely due to irrationally onerous restrictions imposed by Congress.\u00a0 These unnecessary and counterproductive hurdles have made it all but impossible to close Guantanamo, and they have severely damaged our credibility when we criticize other governments for their use of indefinite detention.\r\nProvisions in the 2014 NDAA would ease these restrictions.\u00a0 While incremental, they would streamline procedures for transferring detainees to other countries and, where appropriate, allow transfers to the United States for trial or detention.\u00a0 These are common sense changes and they are necessary if we are serious about putting an end to this ugly chapter in our history.\r\nThere are sure to be some who will come to the floor of this Chamber over the next several days to tell us how dangerous and irresponsible it would be to close Guantanamo.\u00a0 But the facts are simply not with them.\u00a0 The bottom line is that Guantanamo hurts us; it does not help us.\r\nGuantanamo does not make us safer.\u00a0 We are all committed to protecting the national security of the United States and of the American people, but Guantanamo undermines those efforts.\u00a0 Our national security and military leaders have concluded that keeping Guantanamo open is itself a risk to our national security.\u00a0 The facility continues to serve as a recruitment tool for terrorists and weakens our alliances with key international partners. \u00a0\r\nGuantanamo does not hold terrorists accountable.\u00a0 The military commission system for trying these detainees does not work.\u00a0 Federal courts have recently overturned two Guantanamo convictions in opinions that will prevent the military commission prosecutors from bringing conspiracy and material support charges against detainees \u2013 a fact acknowledged by the lead military prosecutor at Guantanamo.\r\nThese charges can be pursued, however, in Federal courts where our prosecutors have a strong track record of obtaining long prison sentences against those who seek to do us harm.\u00a0 Since 9/11, Federal courts have convicted more than 500 terrorism-related suspects who remain securely behind bars.\r\nGuantanamo also diverts scarce resources from critical national security efforts.\u00a0 At a time when the Department of Defense faces deep and ongoing cuts, operating the Guantanamo detention facility costs about $450 million a year to house 164 individuals.\u00a0 That is about $2.7 million per detainee, every year, and many of them have been there for a decade or more.\r\nBy comparison, it costs less than $80,000 per year to hold a prisoner at America\u2019s most secure Federal prisons, which have housed hundreds of convicted terrorists for decades and never had an escape.\u00a0 And, despite the fact that the Pentagon rejected a request earlier this year to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to overhaul the aging compound, House Republicans included this spending in their version of the National Defense Authorization Act.\u00a0\r\nThe money squandered on this long-failed experiment would be better served helping disabled veterans returning home from war and soldiers preparing to defend our Nation in the future.\u00a0 This waste must end.\r\nGuantanamo has undermined our reputation as a champion of human rights.\u00a0 Countries that respect the rule of law and human rights do not lock away prisoners indefinitely without charge or trial.\u00a0 We condemn authoritarian states that carry out such practices and we should not tolerate them for even our worst enemies.\r\nThe status quo at Guantanamo is untenable and I appreciate President Obama\u2019s renewed vow to shutter this unnecessary, expensive, and counterproductive prison.\u00a0 But in order for the President\u2019s plan to be successful, Congress must do its part.\r\nWe must pass the common sense provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act.\u00a0 I thank Senator Levin for his leadership on this issue as Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and I stand solidly with Senators Feinstein, Durbin and others who have long recognized that it is in our national security interest to close Guantanamo.\u00a0 It is the fiscally responsible thing to do, it is the morally responsible thing to do, and, above all, it will make our country safer.\r\nFor over a decade, the indefinite detention of prisoners at Guantanamo has contradicted our most basic principles of justice, degraded our international standing, and harmed our national security. It is shameful that we are still debating this issue.\u00a0 The status quo is unacceptable.\r\n\u00a0# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://welch.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/leahy-sanders-welch-vermont-nets-350000-housing-condition-improvements", "Leahy, Sanders, Welch: Vermont Nets $350,000 For Housing Condition Improvements", "2013-11-14", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "welch.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and U.S. Representative Peter Welch (D-Vt.) Thursday announced $350,000 in grants awarded to four organizations across Vermont to improve housing conditions for limited income rural residents.\nNearly $300,000 of the grants were designated to the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont  Caledonia, Essex and Orleans Counties  as a Rural Economic Area Partnership (REAP) Zone, a USDA Rural Development designation recognizing the unique rural nature of a region that prioritizes the regions' grant applications.\nIn a joint statement, Leahy, Sanders and Welch said: These lifeline investments in housing improvements will make lives and communities better. The Northeast Kingdom's REAP Zone standing is the key to three of these grants. Again and again, the NEK's REAP Zone has been a catalyst for growth, for progress and for helping to build a durable rural economy. It's a program that works, and it deserves to be renewed in the pending Farm Bill.\nThe grants are part of the $3.8 million released by the United States Department of Agriculture's Rural Development's Housing Preservation Grant program Tuesday. Vermont's allocation of nearly 9 percent of the total grant awards make it the second largest recipient in the country and will be used to make general repairs, energy and weatherization improvements and code updates to more than 130 households in Vermont.In the 2013 Senate Farm Bill, Leahy fought to continue the REAP Zone authorization that has been so successful in establishing collaborative and citizen-led efforts to enhance economic development. As the senior most member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and a conferee in the 2013 Farm Bill conference, Leahy will continue to fight for a balanced Farm Bill that preserves the REAP Zone authorization. \nThe grant recipients are listed below:\nVermont Center for Independent Living:                     \n$100,000 for repair and code compliance of very low income homes\nSoutheastern Vermont Community Action Program:                                              \n$50,000 to resolve serious health and safety issues and weatherization\nRural Edge: \n$100,000 for repair and compliance to housing standards\nNortheast Employment and Training Organization:\n$100,000 for repair, weatherization and compliance to housing standards\n####", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://welch.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-welch-questions-agency-officials-border-wait-times-stressing", "Rep. Welch questions agency officials on border wait times, stressing economic impact on Vermont", "2013-11-14", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "welch.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "At a Congressional oversight hearing today, Rep. Peter Welch questioned agency officials in charge of border crossings about the NEXUS program that allows for expedited processing for Vermonters and Canadian visitors. Vermonters have contacted Rep. Welch to tell him that it can still take up to 30-45 minutes to get across the border even after they have paid out-of-pocket and gone through the trouble to get a NEXUS card. Rep. Welch emphasized that long wait times at the Canadian border do real economic harm to our state's economy. Watch here:\n\n\n#####", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://welch.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-welch-questions-agency-officials-border-wait-times-stressing-0", "Rep. Welch questions agency officials on border wait times, stressing economic impact on Vermont", "2013-11-14", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "welch.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "At a Congressional oversight hearing today, Rep. Peter Welch questioned agency officials in charge of border crossings about the NEXUS program that allows for expedited processing for Vermonters and Canadian visitors. Vermonters have contacted Rep. Welch to tell him that it can still take up to 30-45 minutes to get across the border even after they have paid out-of-pocket and gone through the trouble to get a NEXUS card. Rep. Welch emphasized that long wait times at the Canadian border do real economic harm to our state's economy. Watch here:\n\n\n#####", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://welch.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-welch-questions-agency-officials-border-wait-times-stressing-1", "Rep. Welch questions agency officials on border wait times, stressing economic impact on Vermont", "2013-11-14", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "welch.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "At a Congressional oversight hearing today, Rep. Peter Welch questioned agency officials in charge of border crossings about the NEXUS program that allows for expedited processing for Vermonters and Canadian visitors. Vermonters have contacted Rep. Welch to tell him that it can still take up to 30-45 minutes to get across the border even after they have paid out-of-pocket and gone through the trouble to get a NEXUS card. Rep. Welch emphasized that long wait times at the Canadian border do real economic harm to our state's economy. Watch here:\n\n\n#####", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-portman-introduce-legislation-to-support-ex-offenders-and-reduce-crime", "Leahy, Portman Introduce Legislation To Support Ex-Offenders & Reduce Crime", "2013-11-13", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.13.13\n\t\t\t Leahy, Portman Introduce Legislation To Support Ex-Offenders & Reduce Crime \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 . . Second Chance Reauthorization Act Would Extend Successful Programs\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t WASHINGTON -- Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) introduced bipartisan legislation Wednesday to reauthorize the Second Chance Act, a law that supports state and local reentry programs to reduce recidivism. \u00a0\r\nWednesday\u2019s bill introduction comes as the Judiciary Committee is considering ways to reduce prison costs for federal, state and local governments. The Second Chance Act, which was first enacted in 2008, aims to tackle those costs by improving prisoner reentry policy at the state and federal levels, ultimately decreasing the number of repeat offenders.\r\n\u201cAs a former prosecutor, I believe strongly in securing tough and appropriate prison sentences for people who break our laws,\u201d Leahy said.\u00a0\u201cIt is also important that we do everything we can to ensure that when people get out of prison, they enter our communities as productive members of society, so we can start to reverse the dangerous cycle of recidivism and violence.\u00a0 The Second Chance Reauthorization Act helps break this cycle.\u201d\r\nLeahy and Portman joined in 2011 to introduce a similar reauthorization bill to the one they introduced today.\u00a0 Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) and Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.), coordinating in a bipartisan, bicameral effort, introduced a companion bill in the House today.\r\n\u201cSecond Chance works, and that is why we have joined together to craft a reauthorization bill for the legislation that has strong bipartisan support,\u201d Portman said. \u201cWe all want to reduce the crime and violence that plagues our communities; that we read about in the paper and see on the news every night. Rather than incarcerating repeat offenders in the same families generation after generation, we can put our taxpayer dollars to better use to break this vicious cycle and turn lives around. The ultimate goal of our criminal justice system is to make our families and our communities safer. The work done under the Second Chance Act helps us to accomplish that goal, one life at a time.\u201d\r\nThe Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2013 (S. 1690) reauthorizes the law for five years. Key provisions in the bill would:\r\n\u00a0\r\n \r\nProvide support for planning and implementation of key reentry projects to ensure that those projects use methods proven through testing and review to lead to meaningful reductions in recidivism rates;\r\nOffer grant funding for creative job training programs;\r\nExpand eligible applicants for several programs to include nonprofit organizations;\r\nRepeal several programs that have not been funded or have been completed, and consolidate other programs to ensure that federal dollars are effectively spent; and\r\nRequire periodic audits of grantees to ensure that federal dollars are responsibly spent; grantees with unresolved audits will not be eligible for funding in future years.\r\n \r\nAn outline of the Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2013 can be found here. A sectional analysis of the bill is available here, and text of legislation can be found here.\r\n# # # # #\r\n\u00a0Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On Introduction of the Second Chance Reauthorization Act November 13, 2013\r\nToday I join with Senator Portman to introduce the bipartisan Second Chance Reauthorization Act, a bill that builds on recent successes and takes important new steps to ensure that people coming out of prison have the opportunity to turn their lives around, rather than returning to a life of crime.\u00a0 Investing in community-based reentry programs prevents crime, reduces prison costs, improves public safety, and saves taxpayer dollars.\u00a0 It is also the right thing to do.\r\nThis important legislation improves federal reentry policy and funds collaborations between state and local corrections agencies, nonprofits, educational institutions, service providers, and families to ensure that former offenders have the resources and support they need to become contributing members of the community.\u00a0 Our bill also seeks to expand upon the successes of the original Second Chance Act by continuing, improving, and consolidating its programs, while reauthorizing these important grant programs at reduced levels in recognition of current fiscal constraints.\u00a0\r\nIn 2008, I joined with Senators Biden, Specter, and Brownback as an original cosponsor of the Second Chance Act, and helped to shepherd that legislation through the Senate.\u00a0 I was proud when the Senate recognized the value of the Second Chance Act and, after a great deal of work and compromise, passed the bill unanimously.\r\nThe bipartisan spirit of this legislation also continues in the House, where today Representatives Sensenbrenner and Davis will introduce an identical version of the Senate bill authored by myself and Senator Portman.\u00a0 Together, we have been working hard for the past several months to reach an agreement that is fair, fiscally responsible, and meets the needs of key stakeholders.\u00a0 As a result, we have the support of faith groups, law enforcement, and community groups who provide services to the mentally ill and those struggling with addiction.\u00a0 This broad coalition has one thing in common - we all want to see our justice system work better.\u00a0\r\nIn the past few decades, Congress and the states have passed new criminal laws creating longer sentences for more and more crimes.\u00a0 As a result, our country currently incarcerates more than two million people, and more than 13 million people spend some time in jail or prison each year.\u00a0 This has resulted in severely stretched budgets and we have fewer resources for programs that actually prevent crime in the first place.\u00a0 We cannot afford to stay on our current path, and I am working on separate legislation to address the exploding costs of our federal prisons. \u00a0The Second Chance Reauthorization Act helps support innovative reentry programs at the state and local level which have brought down costs and reduced recidivism, and the federal system should replicate these efforts.\r\nMore than 650,000 ex-offenders are released from prison each year.\u00a0 The experience inmates have in prison, how we prepare them to rejoin society, and how we integrate them into the broader community when they are released are issues that profoundly affect the communities in which we live.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\r\nThe Second Chance Act funds grants for key reentry programs and requires that these programs demonstrate measurable positive results, including a reduction in recidivism.\u00a0\r\nThe Second Chance Act of 2008 authorized research into educational methods used in prisons and jails.\u00a0 Today\u2019s reauthorization bill directs the Attorney General to review that research, identify best practices, and implement them in our prisons and jails.\u00a0\r\nThe bill also makes nonprofit organizations eligible for grants promoting family-based substance abuse treatment and training in technology careers.\u00a0 It gives priority consideration to applicants that conduct individualized post-release employment planning, demonstrate connections to employers within the local community, or track and monitor employment outcomes.\r\nThis legislation also makes improvements to federal reentry policy that have the added benefit of reducing Bureau of Prison costs.\u00a0 It continues the successful Elderly and Family Reunification for Certain Non-Violent Offenders Pilot Program and expands the pool of inmates eligible to apply for the program.\u00a0\r\nFinally, the Second Chance Reauthorization Act promotes accountability by requiring periodic audits of grantees to ensure that federal dollars are spent responsibly.\u00a0 Grantees who have unresolved audit problems will not be eligible for funding in future years.\r\nAs a former prosecutor, I believe strongly in securing tough and appropriate prison sentences for people who break our laws.\u00a0 But it is also important that we do everything we can to ensure that when people get out of prison, they enter our communities as productive members of society, so we can start to reverse the dangerous cycle of recidivism and violence.\u00a0 The Second Chance Reauthorization Act helps break this cycle.\r\nI thank Senator Portman, Representative Sensenbrenner, and Representative Davis for their hard work and cooperation in leading these efforts.\u00a0 We have come together in a truly exceptional way in this bipartisan, bicameral effort.\u00a0 I am proud of the work we have done so far and I look forward to joining with Democrats and Republicans to get this bill passed and signed into law.\r\nI ask unanimous consent that that a copy of the bill be printed in the Record.\r\n\u00a0\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-calls-on-senate-republicans-to-end-filibuster_of-highly-qualified-circuit-court-nominee", "Leahy Calls On Senate Republicans To End Filibuster  Of Highly Qualified Circuit Court Nominee", "2013-11-12", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.12.13\n\t\t\t Leahy Calls On Senate Republicans To End Filibuster  Of Highly Qualified Circuit Court Nominee \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON (Tuesday, November 12, 2013)  U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on Tuesday called on Republicans to end their filibuster of Nina Pillard's nomination to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, and confirm this highly qualified nominee. Pillard would fill one of three vacancies on what is widely considered the second most important court in the country.\r\nPillard is also the third woman nominated to the D.C. Circuit in the Obama administration to be subjected to a filibuster by Senate Republicans.\r\nLike Caitlin Halligan, and like Patricia Millett, I am confident that Nina Pillard would be confirmed if Republicans would stop filibustering and allow an up or down vote on her nomination, Leahy said in a floor statement. If Republicans vote in lock step to continue their filibuster against Nina Pillard, Senate Republicans will have blocked three outstanding women in a row from being confirmed to what is considered the second highest court in our country.\r\nPillard, who testified before the Judiciary Committee in July, has a unanimous rating of well qualified from the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary. She has argued nine cases before the Supreme Court as well as drafted the government's successful argument in the landmark Supreme Court case, United States v. Virginia, which opened the doors of the Virginia Military Institute to female cadets. She is currently a professor at Georgetown University Law Center. She serves as the Faculty Co-Director of the Supreme Court Institute, where she has helped prepare fellow lawyers in dozens of cases.\r\nWe need women on our Federal courts, Leahy said. A vote to end this filibuster is a vote in the historic direction of having our Federal appellate courts more accurately reflect the gender balance of the country.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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-d-vt-chairman-senate-judiciary-committee-on-the-nomination-of-cornelia-nina-pillard", "Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On the Nomination of Cornelia Nina Pillard", "2013-11-12", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.12.13\n\t\t\t Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On the Nomination of Cornelia Nina Pillard \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tHere we are again. For the third time this year, we are debating whether to end a Republican filibuster and allow a confirmation vote for a highly qualified woman to the D.C. Circuit. In March, it was Caitlin Halligan. Last month, it was Patricia Millett. Today, it is Nina Pillard. The qualifications of each of these nominees surpass those of many other attorneys confirmed to the Federal bench. These three women have earned their way to the top of the legal profession and it appears that Senate Republicans are going to continue to launch filibuster after filibuster at these stellar nominees.\r\nLike Caitlin Halligan, and like Patricia Millett, I am confident that Nina Pillard would be confirmed if Republicans would stop filibustering and allow an up or down vote on her nomination. If Republicans vote in lock step to continue their filibuster against Nina Pillard, Senate Republicans will have blocked three outstanding women in a row from being confirmed to what is considered the second highest court in our country.\r\nSenate Republicans have an opportunity to make this right by voting to end the filibuster of Nina Pillard's nomination today, and by voting on the nomination of Patricia Millett once the Majority Leader brings it again before the Senate as he said he intends to do. Confirming these two highly qualified nominees is the right thing to do and it will make history--once these two extraordinary women are confirmed, the D.C. Circuit will be the first Federal appellate court in our country to have an equal number of women serving as judges as men.\r\nDespite having filled nearly half of law school classrooms for the last 20 years, women are grossly underrepresented on our Federal courts. What kind of message are Senate Republicans sending by refusing to even allow a vote on three of the most qualified female attorneys in the country? We need women on our Federal courts. A vote to end this filibuster is a vote in the historic direction of having our Federal appellate courts more accurately reflect the gender balance of the country.\r\nNina Pillard is a stellar nominee. She is an accomplished litigator whose work includes 9 Supreme Court oral arguments, and briefs in more than 25 Supreme Court cases. She drafted the Federal government's brief in United States v. Virginia, which after a 7-1 decision by the Supreme Court made history by opening the Virginia Military Institute's doors to female students and expanded educational opportunity for women across the country. Since then, hundreds of women have had the opportunity to attend VMI and go on to serve our country. Josiah Bunting III, the Superintendent of VMI when female cadets were first integrated into the corps, has since called VMI's transition to coeducation one of its finest hours.\r\nNina Pillard has not only stood up for equal opportunities for women, but for men as well. In Nevada v. Hibbs, she successfully represented a male employee of the state of Nevada who was fired when he tried to take unpaid leave under the Family Medical Leave Act to care for his sick wife. In a 6-3 opinion authored by then-Chief Justice William Rehnquist, the Supreme Court ruled for her client, recognizing that the law protects both men and women in their caregiving roles within the family.\r\nNina Pillard has also worked at the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel, an office that advises on the most complex constitutional issues facing the Executive Branch. Prior to that service, she litigated civil rights cases at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund. At Georgetown Law, my alma mater, Nina Pillard teaches advanced courses on constitutional law and civil procedure, and co-directs the law school's prestigious Supreme Court Institute.\r\nShe has earned the American Bar Association's highest possible ranking  Unanimously Well Qualified  to serve as a federal appellate judge on the D.C. Circuit. She also has significant bipartisan support. Viet Dinh, the former Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy under President George W. Bush, has written that: Based on our long and varied professional experience together, I know that Professor Pillard is exceptionally bright, a patient and unbiased listener, and a lawyer of great judgment and unquestioned integrity Nina has always been fair, reasonable, and sensible in her judgments She is a fair-minded thinker with enormous respect for the law and for the limited, and essential, role of the federal appellate judge  qualities that make her well prepared to take on the work of a D.C. Federal Judge.\r\nFormer FBI Director and Chief Judge of the Western District of Texas, William Sessions, has written that her rare combination of experience, both defending and advising government officials, and representing individuals seeking to vindicate their rights, would be especially valuable in informing her responsibilities as a judge.\r\nNina Pillard has also received letters of support from 30 former members of the U.S. armed forces, including 8 retired generals; 25 former Federal prosecutors and other law enforcement officials; 40 Supreme Court practitioners, including Laurence Tribe, Carter Phillips, and Neal Katyal, among others. I ask unanimous consent to include a list of those letters of support for Ms. Pillard in the Record at the conclusion of my remarks.\r\nNina Pillard's nomination does not rise to the level of an extraordinary circumstance, which was what the Gang of 14 decided should be the standard for filibustering nominees back in 2005. According to a Senate Republican who still serves today, Ideological attacks are not an extraordinary circumstance.' To me, it would have to be a character problem, an ethics problem, some allegation about the qualifications of the person, not an ideological bent. There is no reasonable interpretation of that definition in which one could find an extraordinary circumstance with Nina Pillard. She has no character problem, no ethics problem, and most importantly, she has extraordinary qualifications.\r\nRather than debate the merits of President Obama's well- qualified nominees to the D.C. Circuit, Senate Republicans have made clear that partisanship is more important to them than the Federal judiciary, the administration of justice, and the needs of the American people. With the exception of Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, every single Republican Senator voted to filibuster Patricia Millett's nomination, arguing that we should not fill existing vacancies because suddenly they are concerned about the need for these existing judgeships. We know that this is just a prextext for two reasons. First, they had no such concerns about the unique caseload of the DC Circuit when a Republican was in the White House and nominating judges to the ninth, tenth and eleventh seats. And second, if Republicans actually cared about the cost of hampering our government's functions they would not have shut down our federal government, which cost billions of dollars and set back our recovering economy.\r\nIn 2003, the Senate unanimously confirmed John Roberts by voice vote to be the ninth judge on the D.C. Circuit  at a time when its caseload was lower than it is today  and, in fact, his confirmation marked the lowest caseload level per judge on the D.C. Circuit in 20 years. Not a single Senate Republican raised any concerns about whether the caseload warranted his confirmation, and during the Bush administration, they voted to fill four vacancies on the D.C. Circuit  giving the court a total of 11 judges in active service. Today there are only eight judges on the court. What has changed? It is not the caseload  that has remained fairly constant over the past 10 years. In fact, the cases pending per active judge are actually higher today than they were when President Bush's nominees were confirmed to the D.C. Circuit. The only thing that has changed is the party of the President nominating judges to the court.\r\nWe also should not be comparing the D.C. Circuit's caseload with the caseload of other circuits, as Republicans have recently done. The D.C. Circuit is often understood to be the second most important court in the land because of the complex administrative law cases that it handles. The court reviews complicated decisions and rulemakings of many Federal agencies, and in recent years has handled some of the most important terrorism and enemy combatant and detention cases since the attacks of September 11th. So comparing the D.C. Circuit's caseload to other circuits is a false comparison, and those who are attempting to make this comparison are not being fully forthcoming with the American public.\r\nThe D.C. Circuit should be operating at full strength as it was when President Bush held office. There are currently three vacancies and President Obama has fulfilled his constitutional role by nominating three eminently qualified nominees to fill these seats. Patricia Millett, Nina Pillard, and Robert Wilkins would fill the ninth, tenth, and eleventh seats on the D.C. Circuit. These are the same seats that were filled during President Bush's tenure when the caseload was lower. So let us judge each nominee based on his or her qualifications, and not hide behind some pretextual argument that most Americans can see through.\r\nIf the Republican caucus continues to abuse the filibuster rules and obstruct the President's fine nominees to the D.C. Circuit, then I believe this body will need to consider anew whether a rules change should be in order. That is not a change that I want to see happen, but if Republican Senators are going to hold nominations hostage without consideration of nominees' individual merit, drastic measures may be warranted. I hope it does not come to that. I hope that the same Senators who stepped forward to broker compromise when Republicans shut down the government will decide to put politics aside and vote on the merits of these exceptional nominees. I also hope the same Senators who have said judicial nominees should not be filibustered barring extraordinary circumstances will stay true to their word. Let us stop the filibustering and consider Nina Pillard's nomination based on her qualifications. Let us treat her with the decency that she deserves. This Nation would be better off having her serve as a judge on the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-leads-coalition-of-lawmakers-in-welcoming-the-fdas-release-of-proposed-rules_to-protect-consumers-using-generic-drugs", "Leahy Leads Coalition of Lawmakers in Welcoming the FDAs Release of Proposed Rules  To Protect Consumers Using Generic Drugs", "2013-11-08", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.08.13\n\t\t\t Leahy Leads Coalition of Lawmakers in Welcoming the FDA's Release of Proposed Rules  To Protect Consumers Using Generic Drugs \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON  Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and a coalition of lawmakers on Friday welcomed the Food and Drug Administration's release of proposed rules to ensure that generic manufacturers of prescription drugs can update their warning labels to provide betterpatient safety information to consumers.\r\nLeahy, Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.), Senate HELP Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Senate Aging Committee Chairman Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Representatives Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), Bruce Braley (D-Iowa), Matthew Cartwright (D-Pa.) and other lawmakers have long called for the FDA to act on this important patient safety issue. The rulemaking follows a Supreme Court case in which a patient who was gravely injured by a prescription drug was unable to seek relief from the drug's manufacturer because she took the generic version of the drug. The Court held that generic manufacturers could not be held responsible for inadequate labeling because they lack authority to update their warning labels, even if they become aware of new safety problems. That issue would be addressed by the proposed rule released Friday.\r\nLawmakers applauded the FDA's announcement:\r\nA consumer should not have her rights foreclosed simply because she takes the generic version of a prescription drug, Leahy said. I welcome this action by the Food and Drug Administration to ensure that generic manufacturers can improve their patient safety labels. Responsible brand-name and generic manufacturers alike should have the ability, and the obligation, to give doctors and patients the information they need to avoid injuries.\r\nA senior in Minnesota may have no idea that a prescription drug they're taking could cause devastating complications because generic drug manufacturers aren't allowed to update their labels to accurately reflect all side effects or risks, Franken said. Last year, we introduced a bill to fix this problem. And today, after our urging, the FDA took a critical step forward to right this wrong. I'll be pushing to get the FDA's labeling fix implemented as soon as possible.\r\nConsumers and health care professionals should have access to the most up-to-date product labeling information, regardless of whether they choose to use a name-brand or a generic drug, Harkin said. I applaud the FDA for working to ensure that important generic drug safety information reaches consumers and health care professionals in the most timely manner possible, and hope this rule can be finalized quickly.\r\nThis new guidance will give consumers clear, safe and accurate drug informationregardless of whether a drug is brand-name or generic, Nelson said.\r\nToday's action by FDA will not only allow patients and physicians to have access to the newest safety information about all drugs at the earliest possible time, but it will grant patients who take generic drugs the same right to access the courts as those who take a brand drug, Waxman said. I am also glad to see that FDA is carefully evaluating ways to preserve the sameness' principle between generic and brand drugs that has been so critical to the success of the U.S. generic drug system. Patients need to have confidence that the generic drugs are the same as their brand counterparts in all significant respects, including risk information on the drug labeling.\r\nI applaud the FDA's action today to ensure that consumers are armed with the most accurate information about new risks and side effects of all drugs. This will help ensure that generic manufacturers have the ability to independently add or strengthen the warning on their products, like brand name manufacturers do. It is a critical change that we've been fighting for, and it will improve safety and help Americans make the best decisions for their families, Van Hollen said.\r\nI'm glad to see this important step forward for patient safety, Braley said. This is a common sense solution to protect American patients who deserve to know the risks of the drugs they're taking. American consumers don't wantmultiple sets of rules when it comes to the accuracy of drug labels. Today's announcement is an important step towards preventing the misuse of prescription drugs, and keeping Americans safer and healthier.\r\nI applaud the FDA's decision to allow generic drug manufacturers to update labels with the latest safety information, Cartwright said. This proposal will help equip health care providers and consumers who depend on generic drugs with the best possible information to avoid adverse outcomes.\r\nThe lawmakers sent letters urging the FDA to act on this issue in June 2013, May 2012 and April 2012. Leahy, Franken and other members also introduced related legislation last year. Action on this issue has been supported by a broad coalition of patient safety and consumer groups, including the AARP, Public Citizen, Breast Cancer Action, and the National Women's Health Network.\r\n#####\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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/sjc-to-begin-consideration-of-legislation-to-address-the_nations-burgeoning-prison-population", "SJC To Begin Consideration Of Legislation To Address The  Nations Burgeoning Prison Population", "2013-11-08", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.08.13\n\t\t\t SJC To Begin Consideration Of Legislation To Address The  Nation's Burgeoning Prison Population \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON (Friday, November 8, 2013) The Senate Judiciary Committee will begin consideration next week of legislation to confront the unsustainable growth of the federal prison population, Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced Friday.\r\nAfter years of debate, I am encouraged that we have bipartisan agreement that we must act; that we must reevaluate how many people we send to prison and for how long. Public safety demands it. Fiscal responsibility demands it. Justice demands it. Leahy said. We have in the Judiciary Committee an historic opportunity to improve, in a comprehensive way, our nation's sentencing laws. I urge all members of the Committee who want to join this effort to come together toward a comprehensive solution to confront the unsustainable costs of our federal prisons.\r\nLeahy is the coauthor of bipartisan legislation with Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the Justice Safety Valve Act of 2013, that would expand the so-called safety valve that allows judges to impose a sentence below the mandatory minimum when, based on the individual circumstances of a case, it is counterproductive and unnecessary to protect public safety. He is also a cosponsor of the Smarter Sentencing Act, a bill authored by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), which would lower certain drug mandatory sentences, modestly expand the existing federal safety valve and promote sentencing consistent with the bipartisan Fair Sentencing Act. Those bills, along with the Recidivism Reduction and Public Safety Act of 2013 authored by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), are listed on the Committee's agenda for the upcoming executive business meeting.\r\n# # # # #\r\n\r\n\r\nNOTICE OF COMMITTEE EXECUTIVE BUSINESS MEETING\r\n\r\n An Executive Business Meeting has been scheduled by the Committee on the Judiciary for Thursday, November 14, 2013 at 10:00 a.m., in Room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.\r\n By order of the Chairman.\r\nAGENDA\r\n\r\nSenate Committee on the Judiciary   Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 226   November 14, 2013 at 10:00 a.m.\r\nI. Nominations\r\nCarolyn B. McHugh, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Tenth Circuit\r\n\r\nPamela L. Reeves, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee\r\n\r\nVince Girdhari Chhabria, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of California\r\n\r\nJames Maxwell Moody, Jr., to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas\r\n\r\nPeter Joseph Kadzik, to be an Assistant Attorney General\r\n\r\n\r\nII. Bills\r\n\r\nS.619, Justice Safety Valve Act of 2013 (Leahy, Paul)\r\n\r\nS.1410, Smarter Sentencing Act of 2013 (Durbin, Lee, Leahy)\r\n\r\nS.1675, Recidivism Reduction and Public Safety Act of 2013 (Whitehouse)\r\n\r\nS.975, Court-Appointed Guardian Accountability and Senior Protection Act (Klobuchar, Cornyn)\r\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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-d-vt-chairman-senate-judiciary-committee_on-the-employment-non-discrimination-act", "Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee,  On The Employment Non-Discrimination Act", "2013-11-07", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.07.13\n\t\t\t Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee,  On The Employment Non-Discrimination Act \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tThe Senate has an historic opportunity today to take discrimination out of the workplace by casting a vote for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Today's vote has been 20 years in the making, and it is long overdue for Congress to extend these protections to all American workers. Years from now we will look back on this remedy as another substantial milestone on our Nation's everlasting quest to achieve a more perfect union  a quest to realize more completely the motto engraved in Vermont marble above the Supreme Court building that declares: Equal Justice Under Law.\r\nWe now have protections for workers from discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin and disability, as we should. Yet there are no Federal protections from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. In 29 states, it is still legal for an employer to fire employees based on their sexual orientation, and in 33 states employees can be fired based on their gender identity. Maintaining the status quo would keep in place a system that supports a second-class of workers in a majority of states. This runs counter to our founding values. It is time to remedy that.\r\nAs the son of Vermont printers, I learned at an early age the primary importance of the First Amendment. The First Amendment in our Bill of Rights is the foundation of our democracy and our way of life. It is one of the most defining principles of our national character. It helps preserve all of our other rights. By guaranteeing a free press and the free exercise of religion, it ensures an informed electorate and the freedom to worship God and to practice our religion as we choose  or to practice no religion at all. \r\nReligious freedom does not end with the vital protections afforded by the First Amendment. The bill before us contains important protections for religious organizations by ensuring that they can continue to make significant faith-based employment decisions. The carefully crafted religious exemption in this legislation is consistent with the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution.\r\nAll Americans deserve civil rights protections under our Constitution, which, in addition to the First Amendment, also ensures due process and equal protection. In previous legislative debates like the one before us today, Congress has protected and bolstered these rights by passing legislation to fill gaps in our Federal laws. This includes passing legislation to protect the practice of religion without discrimination, to prevent pay discrimination based on sex, and to serve openly in the military. By passing the remedy before us today, we will take another significant step forward in taking discrimination out of our laws and ensuring the equal treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans.\r\nI thank Chairman Harkin and Senators Merkley and Collins for their leadership on this significant, overdue, and bipartisan antidiscrimination remedy. I also am mindful and appreciative of the leading role that Senator Jim Jeffords of my State of Vermont took in advancing this remedy during his time in this body. And I thank Majority Leader Reid for making this a priority for the Senate. I know that my late friend Senator Kennedy is smiling down on this chamber today as we advance his efforts to end employment discrimination. Today we can honor his legacy with this historic vote.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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://welch.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/welch-announces-bipartisan-telehealth-legislation-improve-rural-care", "Welch announces bipartisan telehealth legislation to improve rural care", "2013-11-06", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "welch.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Rep. Peter Welch, joined by representatives from the Central Vermont Medical Center (CVMC), announced his bipartisan legislative initiative to expand the use of telehealth technology in the health care system. The announcement was followed by a demonstration of CVMC's telehealth system which focused on remote patient care for stroke patients.\nRep. Welch said, This legislation will advance the use of technology in improving health outcomes and in providing better access to health care in underserved rural communities.I applaud CVMC's leadership in the use of this exciting technology to better serve their patients.\nJudy Tartaglia, CVMC President and CEO, spoke about the benefits of telehealth to Vermont hospitals. We do a great job providing health care to our patients but we do not havethe wide range of specialistsin central Vermont that are available at Fletcher Allen Health Care, said Tartaglia. Telemedicine makes it possible for us to have a specialist at FAHC speak to a physician at CVMC in real time while also viewing the patient.\nRep. Welch's legislation, The Telehealth Enhancement Act of 2013, is cosponsored by Rep. Gregg Harper (R-MS), Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) and Mike Thompson (D-CA). It adjusts Medicare home health payments to account for remote patient monitoring and expands coverage to all critical access and sole community hospitals. The bill also covers home-based video services for hospice care, home dialysis, and homebound beneficiaries. It would also give states the opportunity to expand Medicaid coverage to include telehealth services for women with high-risk pregnancies.\n#####", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/guest-column-by-senator-patrick-leahy-another-successful-vermont-drug-take-back-day", "Guest Column By Senator Patrick Leahy: Another Successful Vermont Drug Take Back Day", "2013-11-06", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.06.13\n\t\t\t Guest Column By Senator Patrick Leahy: Another Successful Vermont Drug Take Back Day \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tAnother Successful Vermont Drug Take Back Day by U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy\r\nOn October 26, police agencies around Vermont took part in a program that allowed Vermonters to dispose of their prescription drugs, no questions asked, at safe disposal sites in every county of the state. In just one day, Vermonters turned in 3,429 pounds of unused prescription drugs at 57 collection sites, taking thousands of dangerous pills out of circulation. They include leftover painkillers like Vicodin and OxyContin that could have been targets for theft and resale, fueling the addictions of our teenagers and young adults. Unused drugs when flushed away also pollute water supplies.\r\nThese impressive results would not have been possible without the cooperation of local and county law enforcement agencies, working closely with Vermont State Police and their federal counterparts at the Drug Enforcement Administration.\r\nIn Chittenden County alone, we saw 1,188 pounds of drugs turned in at 13 different sites, including 93 pounds collected at the Vermont National Guard. Bennington County officials collected 367 pounds of pills; Franklin County, 292 pounds; Windsor County, 228; Rutland County, 226 pounds, and the list goes on. Combined with a similar Take Back Day last April, these efforts have removed 5,822 pounds of pills from potential circulation this year alone. It's so effective that some police stations are now offering to take back drugs any day of the year, not just on chosen dates.\r\nOur small state suffers from a big addiction problem. We hear this from law enforcers, addiction specialists, courts and health departments in every corner of Vermont. Filmmaker Bess O'Brien is currently touring the state to show the toll of such addiction in her touching documentary, The Hungry Heart, based on the experience of a St. Albans pediatrician treating dozens of young addicts.\r\nThanks and congratulations to all involved -- particularly our law enforcement agencies -- for their time and effort in working to make Vermont a safer place. Taking these drugs out of circulation puts a dent in a dangerous black market.\r\nTo learn more about these efforts and how you can help, please visit the Vermont State Police website at http://vsp.vermont.gov/drugdiversion.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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/sjc-holds-oversight-hearing-on-bureau-of-prisons", "SJC Holds Oversight Hearing On Bureau Of Prisons", "2013-11-06", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.06.13\n\t\t\t SJC Holds Oversight Hearing On Bureau Of Prisons \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing titled Oversight of the Bureau of Prisons & Cost-Effective Strategies for Reducing Recidivism. Charles Samuels, the director of the Bureau of Prisons, is testifying before the panel. Chairman Leahy, who has made sentencing reform a priority this year and is a coauthor of the Justice Safety Valve Act of 2013, delivered the following statement at the beginning of today's hearing. Member statements, witness testimony and a webcast of today's hearing are available online. \r\nStatement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Oversight of the Bureau of Prisons & Cost-Effective  Strategies for Reducing Recidivism November 6, 2013\r\nThis is the second hearing this fall in which the Judiciary Committee turns its attention to the unsustainable growth in the federal prison population. In the last 30 years, the Bureau of Prisons has seen a 700 percent increase in its population, which now accounts for a full quarter of the Justice Department's operating budget.\r\nThis dramatic increase in the prison population threatens public safety and critical funding for victim services. As BOP's budget diverts more and more resources from the basic law enforcement functions of the Department of Justice, we are losing the prosecutors and agents necessary to investigate and charge the crimes that threaten our communities. We are cutting support for the critical work of our state and local law enforcement partners and the victim services providers that help rebuild lives. And we are placing the men and women who work and live in our prison facilities at ever greater risk. It is urgent that we act to reverse these trends.\r\nAs we discussed at the Committee's hearing in September, the main drivers of prison growth are front-end sentencing laws enacted by Congress, like the proliferation of mandatory minimum sentences. I am committed to addressing sentencing reform this year - as I know other Senators are from both sides of the aisle. It is a problem that Congress created and it is time that we fix it. Public safety demands it.\r\nBut it is also true that there are important steps that can be taken to reduce the prison population already in custody. For example, the first and easiest thing we could do is to clarify how good time credit is calculated to ensure that prisoners may earn the 54 days a year for appropriate behavior that Congress intended, rather than the 47 days BOP actually credits them. This was a change I included in the Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2011 and a reform I understand Senator Whitehouse will champion in a bill he plans to introduce soon. This very modest change would save BOP tens of millions of dollars a year, a savings that we can reinvest in our law enforcement efforts.\r\nWe must also look at reducing recidivism. More than 90 percent of Federal inmates will be released from prison at some point and return to our communities. Public safety demands that we do all we can to ensure that when they are released they are prepared to become productive members of society. That is why I have led efforts to reauthorize the Second Chance Act and other initiatives to improve reentry. I look forward to hearing what efforts are underway at the Bureau to improve evidence-based programing to reduce recidivism. I know this is an interest shared by many members of this Committee, including Senators Whitehouse and Cornyn.\r\nLastly, I want to commend Director Samuels and his staff for their prompt attention to concerns I raised along with other Senators, including Senator Blumenthal, regarding the proposed closing of the only secure facility for female inmates in the Northeast. We were very pleased to learn earlier this week that the Bureau took our concerns to heart and have drafted an alternative plan that will allow those prisoners from the Northeast to remain closer to their families. There is no question that maintaining family ties is a critical element in easing reentry to the community and I applaud the Bureau's efforts in this instance.\r\nI look forward to hearing from Director Samuels today about steps we here in Congress can take to address these and other important issues in the area of prison management and recidivism reduction. I ask that my full statement be placed in the record.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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/sjc-to-hold-additional-oversight-hearing-on-government-surveillance-programs-", "SJC To Hold Additional Oversight Hearing On Government Surveillance Programs", "2013-11-06", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.06.13\n\t\t\t SJC To Hold Additional Oversight Hearing On Government Surveillance Programs  \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 Leahy To Preside Over Third Oversight Hearing In Recent Months\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t WASHINGTON  The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a third oversight hearing on the government's use of surveillance authorities later this month, Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced Wednesday.\r\nLeahy has invited Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Gen. Keith Alexander, Director of the National Security Agency, and Deputy Attorney General James Cole to testify before the Committee on Wednesday, Nov. 20, at a hearing titled Continued Oversight of U.S. Government Surveillance Authorities. Leahy also chaired oversight hearings in July and October on the scope of the government's intelligence-gathering powers following revelations of massive collection of Americans' phone records. Leahy last week introduced bipartisan legislation, the USA FREEDOM Act, to end this dragnet collection.\r\nThe intelligence community faces a trust deficit, and I am particularly concerned that the NSA has strayed and overreached beyond its core missions, Leahy said in a Record statement Wednesday. One important step toward rebuilding that trust would be for the NSA to spend less of its time collecting data on innocent Americans, and more on keeping our nation's secrets safe and holding its own accountable.\r\nAdditionally, the Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, chaired by Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), will hold a separate hearing next week on the Surveillance Transparency Act of 2013. That hearing will be held next Wednesday. Leahy is a cosponsor of Franken's bill, which would provide more transparency about the number of FISA orders issued and the number of Americans affected.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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-d-vt-chairman-senate-judiciary-committee-hearing-on-oversight-of-the-bureau-of-prisons-and-cost-effective_strategies-for-reducing-recidivism", "Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Oversight of the Bureau of Prisons & Cost-Effective  Strategies for Reducing Recidivism", "2013-11-06", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.06.13\n\t\t\t Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Oversight of the Bureau of Prisons & Cost-Effective  Strategies for Reducing Recidivism \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tThis is the second hearing this fall in which the Judiciary Committee turns its attention to the unsustainable growth in the federal prison population. In the last 30 years, the Bureau of Prisons has seen a 700 percent increase in its population, which now accounts for a full quarter of the Justice Department's operating budget.\r\nThis dramatic increase in the prison population threatens public safety and critical funding for victim services. As BOP's budget diverts more and more resources from the basic law enforcement functions of the Department of Justice, we are losing the prosecutors and agents necessary to investigate and charge the crimes that threaten our communities. We are cutting support for the critical work of our state and local law enforcement partners and the victim services providers that help rebuild lives. And we are placing the men and women who work and live in our prison facilities at ever greater risk. It is urgent that we act to reverse these trends. \r\nAs we discussed at the Committee's hearing in September, the main drivers of prison growth are front-end sentencing laws enacted by Congress, like the proliferation of mandatory minimum sentences. I am committed to addressing sentencing reform this year - as I know other Senators are from both sides of the aisle. It is a problem that Congress created and it is time that we fix it. Public safety demands it.\r\nBut it is also true that there are important steps that can be taken to reduce the prison population already in custody. For example, the first and easiest thing we could do is to clarify how good time credit is calculated to ensure that prisoners may earn the 54 days a year for appropriate behavior that Congress intended, rather than the 47 days BOP actually credits them. This was a change I included in the Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2011 and a reform I understand Senator Whitehouse will champion in a bill he plans to introduce soon. This very modest change would save BOP tens of millions of dollars a year, a savings that we can reinvest in our law enforcement efforts.\r\nWe must also look at reducing recidivism. More than 90 percent of Federal inmates will be released from prison at some point and return to our communities. Public safety demands that we do all we can to ensure that when they are released they are prepared to become productive members of society. That is why I have led efforts to reauthorize the Second Chance Act and other initiatives to improve reentry. I look forward to hearing what efforts are underway at the Bureau to improve evidence-based programing to reduce recidivism. I know this is an interest shared by many members of this Committee, including Senators Whitehouse and Cornyn.\r\nLastly, I want to commend Director Samuels and his staff for their prompt attention to concerns I raised along with other Senators, including Senator Blumenthal, regarding the proposed closing of the only secure facility for female inmates in the Northeast. We were very pleased to learn earlier this week that the Bureau took our concerns to heart and have drafted an alternative plan that will allow those prisoners from the Northeast to remain closer to their families. There is no question that maintaining family ties is a critical element in easing reentry to the community and I applaud the Bureau's efforts in this instance.\r\nI look forward to hearing from Director Samuels today about steps we here in Congress can take to address these and other important issues in the area of prison management and recidivism reduction. I ask that my full statement be placed in the record.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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-d-vt-chairman-senate-judiciary-committee-on-nsa-oversight-and-accountability1", "Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On NSA Oversight and Accountability", "2013-11-06", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.06.13\n\t\t\t Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On NSA Oversight and Accountability \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWe are at a watershed moment in the history of intelligence oversight, like nothing I have seen since the Church Committee. Some of the recent revelations have led to important national conversations about the scope of our nation's intelligence-gathering powers here at home, and to renewed legislative efforts to recalibrate those authorities and the related oversight regimes. The USA FREEDOM Act that Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner and I introduced last week along with more than 100 members of Congress does just that.\r\nIt is important, however, to acknowledge that some of the leaks have led to needless risk to our national security and have threatened our relationships with some of our most important international partners.\r\nAnd all of this leads back to a 29-year-old contractor named Edward Snowden.\r\nLet me make clear once more that I do not condone the way any of these highly classified programs were disclosed. I am deeply concerned about the potential damage to our intelligence-gathering capabilities, foreign relationships, and national security.\r\nI am also deeply concerned that one person could wreak this much havoc in such a short period of time. Especially in the wake of the Private Manning leaks, I do not understand how the National Security Agency could have allowed this to happen.\r\nThis past weekend, Colbert King wrote in The Washington Post that this damage was, in a sense, self-inflicted. I ask unanimous consent that the King op-ed be placed in the record. As Mr. King put it, I want to know how Snowden got his hands on so much of the nation's most sensitive intelligence and was able to flee the country, all within three months.\r\nI want to know too. We need to hold people accountable for allowing such a massive leak to occur, and we need to change the way we do business to ensure that we prevent this type of breach in the future. In public and in private, I have continued to ask the leaders of the intelligence community to tell me who is being held accountable, and what is being done to prevent this from happening again.\r\nWithout adequate answers to these questions, the American people are rightly concerned that their private information could be swept up into a massive database, and then compromised. The NSA has acknowledged that it is collecting U.S. phone records on an unprecedented scale, and that it is also collecting massive amounts of Internet content against targets abroad, which also includes some communications of law-abiding Americans. And yet the government asks us to trust that it will keep this information safe, and that we should have faith in its internal policies and procedures.\r\nThis plea comes from the same intelligence community that the FISA Court found to have made substantial misrepresentations about the scope of its collection; and the same intelligence community that allowed Edward Snowden to steal such vast amounts of information.\r\nAnd it comes from the same intelligence community whose inspector general just wrote to tell me that he is unable at this time to conduct a community-wide review of government activities conducted under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act and Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. I ask unanimous consent that the September 23, 2013, letter from a bipartisan group of Senate Judiciary Committee members to the inspector general of the intelligence community be placed in the record, as well as his November 5, 2013, response.\r\nThe intelligence community faces a trust deficit, and I am particularly concerned that the NSA has strayed and overreached beyond its core missions. One important step toward rebuilding that trust would be for the NSA to spend less of its time collecting data on innocent Americans, and more on keeping our nation's secrets safe and holding its own accountable.\r\nThe Senate Judiciary Committee will continue its work on these issues in the next few weeks. On November 13, the Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law will hold a hearing on Senator Franken's Surveillance Transparency Act, which I have cosponsored. And on November 20, I have invited back to the Committee Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, NSA Director Keith Alexander, and Deputy Attorney General James Cole for another hearing to review the Intelligence Community's surveillance authorities.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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-on-reducing-waste-and-unnecessary-spending-at-the-department-of-state_and-the-us-agency-for-international-development-", "Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy On Reducing Waste and Unnecessary Spending at the Department of State  and the U.S. Agency for International Development", "2013-11-06", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.06.13\n\t\t\t Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy On Reducing Waste and Unnecessary Spending at the Department of State  and the U.S. Agency for International Development  \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tMr. President, during this time of budget constraints, sequestration, and continuing resolutions, it is crucial that every Federal department and agency identify maximum cost savings and improve efficiencies to minimize the impact of reductions on critical programs and personnel. It is also the responsibility of Congress to encourage departments and agencies to consistently identify and implement such savings and efficiencies.\r\nWe do not have the luxury of allowing the continuation of programs that are no longer relevant, are redundant with other Federal programs, can be done more cheaply, or that perpetuate past mistakes. Unfortunately it seems that the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development are not able to identify some potential savings. It takes outside watchdogs such as the Inspectors General and the Government Accountability Office to review and independently evaluate department or agency programs and operations.\r\nAs Chairman of the appropriations subcommittee that funds the State Department and USAID, I and Ranking Member Lindsey Graham have taken steps to avoid wasteful and unnecessary spending. We have reduced costs based on Inspector General findings, directed the State Department to eliminate unnecessary overseas support staff and administrative expenses, and directed the Department and USAID to improve financial and contract management. We will continue to look for opportunities to reduce waste, terminate programs that are poorly designed or not meeting their goals, and save taxpayer dollars.\r\nBut this is not enough. The State Department, USAID, and other federal agencies need to act proactively to identify efficiencies and reduce costs. Unfortunately, some of the Inspector Generals' findings are so obvious it is surprising, and troubling, that the State Department or USAID did not identify the savings on their own.\r\nHere are just a few examples from fiscal year 2013 reports of the State Department and USAID Inspectors General.\r\nThe State Department Inspector General found that the Department has a team based in Frankfurt, Germany, that travels to posts in the former Yugoslavia and the countries of the former Soviet Union to train local staff and provide administrative support to posts. This might have made sense in the early 1990s, but it makes no sense 24 years after the fall of the Iron Curtain.\r\nThe Inspector General determined that 80 percent of the Regional Information Management Center staff in Frankfurt does not need to be assigned overseas. Their work could be done in Washington, saving millions of dollars each year. According to the Inspector General, an employee assigned overseas costs $232,000 more each year than an employee based in the United States.\r\nIn Iraq, at one of our most over-sized and expensive embassies, the Inspector General found that the Department hired and paid for 513 Baghdad security personnel when only 253 were actually used. The Department also paid $20.6 million for an unnecessary airport security program that added 84 personnel.\r\nThe Inspector General found that the Department had 955 expired grants with a total of $81.9 million in unspent funds. The Inspector General also found that the Department had not closed out 1,421 expired grants each with a $0 balance, costing $97,069 each year in unnecessary administrative fees.\r\nThe USAID Inspector General found that USAID added five overseas food storage warehouses, but had not determined whether delivery times of food prepositioned overseas justifies the additional cost when compared with prepositioning food domestically. In fact, a cost-benefit analysis conducted in response to a 2007 Government Accountability Office recommendation found that food prepositioned overseas is seven times more costly than food prepositioned domestically, and recommended that USAID consider increasing the amount of domestic prepositioned food. USAID has now agreed to compare the timeliness and cost of prepositioning food overseas versus domestically. We cannot afford to make decisions that expand programs or increase costs without some evidence that there is a benefit worth the additional expense.\r\nThe USAID Inspector General found that in a three month period, September through November 2012, USAID paid $64,000 for more than 300 mobile devices that had not been used for a least one month during that time period and $48,000 for 267 devices that had not been used at all during those three months, and an average of 127 employees had excessive user charges of $118,000 which USAID could not verify had been reviewed and accepted. While these are relatively small amounts, they add up.\r\nAnd the list goes on.\r\nI know that the employees of the State Department and USAID are dedicated, hard-working people. Most Americans have little if any idea of what they do to protect the interests of the United States around the world. But it is because their work is so important that we cannot afford to waste the money they need to do their jobs. Top officials at the State Department and USAID must identify and eliminate outdated, redundant, and ineffective programs and unnecessary operating expenses. We cannot wait for the Inspectors General to do their job for them.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-of-senator-patrick-leahy_consequences-of-the-house-allocation-for--the-department-of-state-and-foreign-operations", "Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy  Consequences of the House Allocation for  the Department of State and Foreign Operations", "2013-11-06", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.06.13\n\t\t\t Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy  Consequences of the House Allocation for  the Department of State and Foreign Operations \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tMr. LEAHY. Mr. President, as the Budget conferees work to reach agreement on the fiscal year 2014 budget, I want to join those who have expressed strong support for their efforts.\r\nWe all know what the consequences will be if they do not reach agreement on a budget.\r\nDraconian cuts to defense acquisitions and readiness, to social safety net programs, to infrastructure, public schools, police  every federal program will suffer, and every American will feel the impact.\r\nHaving been in the Senate a long time I know that anything that gets done around here happens as a result of compromise. And when it comes to a budget agreement that means increased revenues and it means additional savings. There is no other way. You have to do both.\r\nThose who think it can be done by only cutting spending, or by only closing corporate tax loopholes, but not by doing both together, are legislators in name only. That is a recipe for continued gridlock and another year of sequestration, which would be a disaster.\r\nThe outcome of this budget conference will determine the extent to which the Congress will play a meaningful role in federal spending for the rest of this Administration, and possibly well beyond.\r\nThere is no better way to illustrate what is at stake than to use concrete examples. I want to do that by comparing the impact of the fiscal year 2014 House and Senate versions of the bill that funds the Department of State and foreign operations. The choices are stark, and it puts things in perspective.\r\nThe House bill provides $40 billion to fund the Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and our contributions to the World Bank, UN peacekeeping, and countless other organizations and programs that contribute to global security.\r\nIn contrast, the Senate bill would provide $50 billion, 25 percent more than the House bill for these same agencies and programs. But, lest anyone falsely accuse the Senate of being big spenders, the Senate bill responds to the current budget climate.\r\nIt is $500 million below the fiscal year 2013 continuing resolution after sequestration and across-the-board reductions, and includes many budget reductions and savings.\r\nUnlike the House bill, however, the Senate bill does not make draconian, reckless cuts that would weaken U.S. influence and cede U.S. leadership to our competitors.\r\nGiven the situations in Syria, North Africa, and other areas of conflict as well as the unpredictability of natural disasters, funding for international crisis response and humanitarian relief is a matter of life and death for millions of the world's most vulnerable people.\r\nThe current demand for these programs, which are strongly supported by the American people, is unprecedented and growing. Yet the House bill cuts these programs $1.6 billion below the Senate bill, and far below the fiscal year 2013 level.\r\nOne of the most troubling cuts in the House bill is for international organizations in which the U.S. plays a major role in addressing global threats like transnational crime, disease epidemics, and climate change that no country can solve alone.\r\nThe House would end our support entirely for many of these organizations, create large arrears that we are obligated by treaty to pay, and erode our influence with other major contributors and shareholders like the Europeans, China, India, and Brazil.\r\n\r\nThe House bill provides no funding  not one dollar for U.S. voluntary contributions to the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Development Program, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Montreal Protocol which protects the ozone layer. The Senate bill includes $355 million for these organizations and programs, which is about the same level as five years ago.\r\nSo while the House would end our participation in UNICEF and many other UN agencies, the Senate bill freezes spending for these organizations at the 2009 level.\r\n\r\nThe House bill provides $746 million, which is nearly 50 percent less than the Senate bill, for assessed contributions to international organizations like NATO, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the World Health Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and many others.\r\nTo put things in perspective, the Senate bill is $72 million below the fiscal year 2009 level, and the House bill is $783 million below the fiscal year 2009 level.\r\nDoes anyone actually believe that the needs of NATO, the IAEA, WHO, and these other critically important organizations are less today than five years ago? It defies logic. It is also dangerous.\r\n\r\nThe House bill provides no funding  not one dollar  for most of the international financial institutions like the Asian Development Bank, the African Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, or the International Fund for Agricultural Development. This would put us hundreds of millions of dollars in arrears, forfeiting our leadership in these institutions.\r\nLikewise, the House bill provides no funding  not one dollar  for the key multilateral environmental funds which support clean energy technology and protect forests and water resources, including the Global Environment Facility, the Clean Technology Fund, and the Strategic Climate Fund. The Senate bill freezes spending for these programs at last year's level.\r\nThe House bill provides no funding  not one dollar  for the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program. The Senate bill provides $135 million for this program which helps the poorest countries prevent chronic malnutrition and famine. That is the same level as last year's continuing resolution.\r\nWe all understand the need for federal departments and agencies to reduce costs, eliminate waste, and find efficiencies. The Senate bill does that, responsibly. And, again, the fiscal year 2014 Senate bill is $500 million below the fiscal year 2013 continuing resolution.\r\nWhile the House approach may make for a good press release if you believe the federal government doesn't matter, it will end up costing taxpayers more in the long run and cause lasting damage to the country.\r\n####\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://welch.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/leahy-sanders-welch-vermont-receives-166-million-home-heating-assistance", "Leahy, Sanders, Welch: Vermont Receives $16.6 Million In Home Heating Assistance", "2013-11-05", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "welch.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vt.), who have pressed for the release of federal home heating aid funds as winter weather has descended on Vermont, welcomed the federal release Monday of $16.6 million in heating assistance to the state.\nLeahy, Sanders and Welch have long championed the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The new funding, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is part of a nationwide release of $2.9 billion in LIHEAP funds to help struggling families heat their homes and represents 90 percent of the block grant funding approved for LIHEAP under the Continuing Appropriations Act of 2014.\nIn a joint statement, Leahy, Sanders and Welch said: With temperatures already dropping well below freezing, many Vermonters are struggling to heat their homes, and this is a timely infusion for this vital lifeline. But more is needed, much more must be done, and we will continue to press for additional support for LIHEAP to ensure that struggling Vermonters are able to heat their homes this winter.\nVermonters seeking home heating assistance may visit the website of the Department of Children and Families at https://dcf.vermont.gov/esd/fuel_assistance.\n\n# # # # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/senate-unanimously-passes-leahy-grassley-bill_to-protect-whistleblowers-in-criminal-antitrust-cases", "Senate Unanimously Passes Leahy-Grassley Bill  To Protect Whistleblowers In Criminal Antitrust Cases", "2013-11-05", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.05.13\n\t\t\t Senate Unanimously Passes Leahy-Grassley Bill  To Protect Whistleblowers In Criminal Antitrust Cases \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON  The Senate on Monday night unanimously passed legislation to extend whistleblower protection for employees who provide information to the Department of Justice related to criminal antitrust violations. U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and coauthors of the Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act, applauded the Senate's quick action on the bipartisan measure.\r\nApproval of the bill comes just days after the Judiciary Committee unanimously reported it to the full Senate. Leahy and Grassley joined together last year to introduce the bill, and reintroduced the measure in January.\r\nI applaud the Senate for quickly passing bipartisan legislation that will improve the enforcement of the antitrust laws to protect consumers, Leahy said in a statement. The Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act makes whole employees who have been fired or discriminated against for blowing the whistle on criminal conduct. I urge the House to act quickly to pass this important bill.\r\nCurrent law encourages self-reporting of criminal antitrust activity, yet it doesn't provide any protections for innocent third-parties who blow the whistle on such activity. Our bill strengthens the enforcement of criminal antitrust laws by adding a civil remedy for antitrust whistleblowers who are retaliated against, Grassley said. I appreciate the Senate's quick action on this bipartisan bill.\r\nThe bill is based on recommendations from a Government Accountability Office report released July 2011. It allows employees who believe they are victims of retaliation to file complaints with the Secretary of Labor, and provides for those employees to be reinstated to their former status if the Secretary finds in their favor.Leahy and Grassley authored similar whistleblower statutes as part of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002. A copy of the measure approved by the Senate on Monday can be found online.\r\n# # # # #\r\nStatement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On Passage of The Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act November 5, 2013\r\nI am pleased that the Senate passed yesterday bipartisan legislation that will improve the enforcement of the antitrust laws. The bipartisan Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act extends whistleblower protections to employees who report criminal violations of the antitrust laws. These kinds of violations, which include price fixing, have a particularly pernicious impact on consumers.\r\nThis legislation represents a continuation of my partnership with Senator Grassley on whistleblower issues. Senator Grassley has long been an advocate for protecting those who blow the whistle on wasteful or criminal conduct. Our bill is modeled on whistleblower protections that he and I authored as part of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act does not provide employees with an economic incentive to report violations. The legislation simply makes whole employees who have been fired or discriminated against for blowing the whistle on criminal conduct.\r\nWhistleblower protection was recommended by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in a 2011 report to Congress. The GAO surveyed an array of stakeholders and found widespread support for the kind of basic protections contained in this legislation. The bill allows employees who have reported a criminal violation to file an action with the Department of Labor if they have been fired or otherwise discriminated against for disclosing the violation. While the remedies provided by the bill are limited, they are crucial in protecting employees from retaliation.\r\nThe antitrust laws exist to promote a free and open marketplace and serve to protect consumers. These laws can only be effective if they are vigorously enforced. The Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act will aid in enforcement efforts and ensure that consumers are protected from harmful activity. I urge the House to act quickly to pass this important bill.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-of-senator-patrick-leahy-d-vt-chairman-senate-judiciary-committee-on-the-nominations-of-debra-brown-and-gregory-woods", "Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee On the Nominations of Debra Brown and Gregory Woods", "2013-11-04", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.04.13\n\t\t\t Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee On the Nominations of Debra Brown and Gregory Woods \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tToday, we are voting on the nominations of Debra Brown and Gregory Woods to fill vacancies on the District Courts of Mississippi and New York.\u00a0 If confirmed, Ms. Brown would be the first African American woman to serve as a Federal judge in Mississippi.\u00a0 I am proud that together we will reach a landmark moment in diversity on the Federal bench, and I commend President Obama, Senator Wicker, and Senator Cochran for their important efforts.\r\nThese nominations come at a trying time for the Federal courts.\u00a0 We have more than 90 judicial vacancies, and 37 of these vacancies have been designated as emergency vacancies due to high caseloads by the non-partisan Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.\u00a0 While it is a sign of progress that we will vote to confirm two additional judges today, it is essential that the Senate move faster to confirm those judges that the Federal judiciary so urgently needs.\u00a0\r\nLast week, when debating whether we would be allowed to have an up or down vote on the nomination of Patricia Millett to the D.C. Circuit, there was a lot of talk by Senate Republicans that Senate Democrats should be concerned with filling judicial emergency vacancies, rather than the D.C. Circuit, which they claim does not need more judges.\u00a0 We all know that their arguments about the D.C. Circuit have nothing to do with caseload and everything to do with the political party of the president nominating.\u00a0 As one of only three members of my caucus who has served in the Senate since the 1970, and having served both in the majority and the minority, I have cautioned against changing the rules. However, if the filibuster rules continue to be abused by my Republican colleagues I will have no option but to reconsider my longstanding opposition to such a change.\r\nI also find the Senate Republicans\u2019 newfound concern about judicial emergency vacancies particularly rich with irony given their role in preventing this President from filling many of those vacancies.\u00a0 In fact, nearly half of the emergency vacancies are empty because of Republican obstruction. First, there are 15 judicial nominees pending before the full Senate including 7 nominees who would fill judicial emergency vacancies if the Republicans would allow us to vote on them today:\u00a0 Elizabeth A. Wolford, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of New York; Brian Morris, to be United States District Judge for the District of Montana; Susan P. Watters, to be United States District Judge for the District of Montana; Brian J. Davis, to be United States District Judge for the Middle District of Florida; James Donato, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of California; Beth Labson Freeman, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of California; and Pedro A. Delgado Hernandez, to be United States District Judge for the District of Puerto Rico.\u00a0 Instead, Republicans continue to force many of these nominees to wait needlessly on the Senate floor.\r\nMoreover, Republicans are obstructing nominees from filling these judicial emergency vacancies in other ways that the public is less aware.\u00a0 Much of these delay tactics occur earlier in the process, and include \u00a0the refusal to return blue slips and the refusal to provide recommendations to the President for district court nominees from their state that they would be willing to support.\u00a0 In fact, there are judicial emergency vacancies that have persisted for years because certain Republican Senators refuse to either return their blue slip or provide a recommendation to the President.\u00a0 So I take these hollow accusations about focusing on judicial emergency vacancies from Senate Republicans with a grain of salt.\u00a0 This is advice I will heed once Senate Republicans demonstrate through their actions that they care about filling vacancies.\r\nIt is good news for New York and Mississippi that the Senate will vote today to confirm two excellent nominees.\u00a0 Yet, I believe that the Senate should have acted sooner on these nominations.\u00a0 These nominees are uncontroversial, and have remained on the Senate Floor for far too long.\u00a0 The unnecessary and irresponsible government shutdown did serious harm to our Federal courts, which was already operating on fumes as a result of sequestration and the high levels of judicial vacancies.\u00a0\r\nGregory Woods is nominated to a vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.\u00a0 Since 2012, Mr. Woods has served as the General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Energy since 2012.\u00a0 He previously served for three years as Deputy General Counsel at the Department of Transportation, and in private practice for eleven years at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, first as an associate, and later as a partner.\u00a0 Following law school, he worked for four years as a trial attorney in the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Civil Division at the Department of Justice.\u00a0 Mr. Woods earned his B.A., with honors, from Williams College, and his J.D. from Yale Law School.\u00a0 He has the support of both of his home state Senators, Senator Schumer and Senator Gillibrand.\u00a0 The Judiciary Committee approved his nomination by voice vote more than three months ago.\r\nDebra Brown is nominated to a vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi.\u00a0 Since 2012, Debra Brown has been a shareholder in the law firm Wise Carter Child & Caraway.\u00a0 She previously worked at the law firm Phelps Dunbar LLP for over fifteen years, first as an associate, then as a partner, and finally as a counsel.\u00a0 While earning a reputation as an excellent litigator, she stayed involved in her community, providing pro bono legal services through the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project and serving on the Board of Directors for the Mississippi Center for Justice.\u00a0 Ms. Brown earned her B.A. from Mississippi State University, and her J.D. from University of Mississippi School of Law.\u00a0 Her nomination has the support of both her home state Senators, Senator Wicker and Senator Cochran.\u00a0 The Judiciary Committee approved her nomination by voice vote more than three months ago.\r\nTo me, the path forward is simple.\u00a0 Nominees such as the ones being voted on today and the other uncontroversial, qualified nominees currently pending before the full Senate should be confirmed immediately so that they can get to work for the American people.\u00a0 Now that this shutdown has ended, we must work together to make sure that our Federal judiciary, a co-equal and independent branch of government, has the resources it needs to be working at full strength and with a full complement of judges.\u00a0 Only then will we have a judicial system worthy of the American people.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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-sanders-welch-vermont-receives-166-million-in-home-heating-assistance", "Leahy, Sanders, Welch: Vermont Receives $16.6 Million In Home Heating Assistance", "2013-11-04", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.04.13\n\t\t\t Leahy, Sanders, Welch: Vermont Receives $16.6 Million In Home Heating Assistance \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tLeahy, Sanders, Welch: Vermont Receives $16.6 Million In Home Heating Assistance\r\n(MONDAY, Nov. 4, 2013)  Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vt.), who have pressed for the release of federal home heating aid funds as winter weather has descended on Vermont, welcomed the federal release Monday of $16.6 million in heating assistance to the state.\r\nLeahy, Sanders and Welch have long championed the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The new funding, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is part of a nationwide release of $2.9 billion in LIHEAP funds to help struggling families heat their homes and represents 90 percent of the block grant funding approved for LIHEAP under the Continuing Appropriations Act of 2014.\r\nIn a joint statement, Leahy, Sanders and Welch said: With temperatures already dropping well below freezing, many Vermonters are struggling to heat their homes, and this is a timely infusion for this vital lifeline. But more is needed, much more must be done, and we will continue to press for additional support for LIHEAP to ensure that struggling Vermonters are able to heat their homes this winter.\r\nVermonters seeking home heating assistance may visit the website of the Department of Children and Families at http://dcf.vermont.gov/esd/fuel_assistance.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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-d-vt-chairman-senate-judiciary-committee-on-the-employment-non-discrimination-act", "Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee On The Employment Non-Discrimination Act", "2013-11-04", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.04.13\n\t\t\t Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee On The Employment Non-Discrimination Act \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tLeahy: Until we pass legislation banning all discrimination in the workplace, we will fail to achieve the motto engraved in Vermont marble above the Supreme Court building that declares Equal justice under law.'\r\nToday, Senators will finally have a chance to cast a vote that will put, on the Record, where every Senator stands on a fundamental issue of fairness. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act will help bring this great Nation one step closer to the goal of equal rights for all Americans.\r\nI have long believed that American workers should be evaluated based on how they perform, not on irrelevant considerations such as race, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation. And in these difficult economic times, ensuring equal protection in the workplace is even more critical. We must do better. Maintaining the status quo would keep in place a system that supports a second-class of workers in a majority of states. This runs counter to the values upon which America was founded and it must end.\r\nThe Employment Non-Discrimination Act would prohibit workplace discrimination by making it illegal to fire, refuse to hire, or refuse to promote employees simply based on an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity. Currently, Federal law protects against employment discrimination on the basis of race, gender, religion, national origin or disability, but not sexual orientation or gender identity. It is long overdue for Congress to extend these protections to all American workers.\r\nI am proud to represent Vermont, which has led the country on many civil rights issues. Vermonters believe in individual rights, in fairness, and in equality. More than two decades ago, the State of Vermont added sexual orientation to the list of protected categories in its anti-discrimination employment law, and Vermont expanded its protections to include gender identity protection six years ago. Yet in 29 states, an employer can fire employees based on their sexual orientation, and in 33 states employees can be fired based on their gender identity. This is not right.\r\nMany employers have taken this issue into their own hands, making up for Congress' inaction by implementing important anti-discrimination policies. As of April of this year, 88 percent of the Fortune 500 companies had non-discrimination policies that included sexual orientation, and 57 percent had policies including gender identity. I am proud of two Vermont companies in particular, Fletcher Allen Health Care and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, for showing real leadership on this issue by banning discrimination in the workplace based on gender identity and sexual orientation. I also applaud companies such as IBM, Microsoft, General Electric, and Time Warner for doing the right thing. These corporations know that treating all of their employees is not only fair but makes good business sense. Workplace discrimination hurts families and the hatred that drives discrimination has no place in a Nation continually striving to form a more perfect union.\r\nI thank Chairman Harkin for making this bipartisan legislation a priority in his committee, and for conducting the ground work and creating the record we need to ensure this important bill's passage. The bipartisan team of Senator Merkley and Senator Collins has brought members together by their thoughtfulness and tenacity. I know the late Senator Ted Kennedy is looking down on this chamber tonight as we try to pass legislation that he worked so hard to craft in his final years in the Senate. I was happy to work on this civil rights legislation with him then and with his partner on this effort, a former Vermont Senator, Jim Jeffords. We honor their leadership tonight with this vote.\r\nI am encouraged that States and employers are moving forward where we have not, but I believe that ending discrimination must also be a priority for Congress. Until we pass legislation banning all discrimination in the workplace, we will fail to achieve the motto engraved in Vermont marble above the Supreme Court building that declares Equal justice under law. Let us make sure that all Americans have the equal rights that they deserve. I urge my fellow Senators to come together to support this important, bipartisan bill without further delay.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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://welch.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/welch-introduces-bill-blocking-jp-morgan-writing-wall-street-meltdown", "Welch introduces bill blocking J.P. Morgan from writing off Wall Street meltdown penalty", "2013-11-01", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "welch.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Rep. Peter Welch introduced legislation this week that would prevent J.P. Morgan from writing off as a business expense any portion of a penalty imposed by an emerging settlement with the Justice Department.News reports indicate that the Department is close to settling with J.P. Morgan over its actions that contributed to the near collapse of the American economy in 2008. According to these reports, the company would be able to write off a significant portion of a multi-billion dollar fine under the terms of the settlement.\nThe Stop Deducting Damages Act(HR 3445) would put a stop to corporations reaching into the taxpayer's pocket to pay their fines for breaking the law.Rep. Welch circulated a letter yesterday to House colleagues seeking support for the bill.\nRep. Welch also sent a letter earlier this week to J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon demanding that the company accept full responsibility for full payment of any fine related to any settlement. His letter to Dimon posed the question, Should a wrongdoer whose conduct caused harm to the taxpayer ask the taxpayer to help pay the fine for the wrong done? We think not. .... It was the taxpayer who initially funded the bailout of Wall Street. It was the taxpayer who continues to endure the consequences of the worst recession since the Great Depression. The taxpayer should not, therefore, be required to contribute a nickel towards the fines imposed.\nRep. Luis Gutierrez(D-IL) is an original cosponsor of H.R. 3445 and also signed Rep. Welch's letter to Mr. Dimon.\n\nYou can read the full text of the letter below: \n\nMr. James Dimon\nChairman, President and CEO\nJ.P. Morgan Chase & Co.  \n\t270 Park Avenue  \n\tNew York, NY 10017\n\nDear Mr. Dimon,\n\nShould a wrongdoer whose conduct caused harm to the taxpayer ask the taxpayer to help pay the fine for the wrong done?\nWe think not.\nYet news reports indicate that J.P. Morgan, in its negotiations with the Justice Department over a $13 billion fine related to its mortgage activities, is seeking to do just that  shift a significant portion of its penalty to the American taxpayer.\nIt was the taxpayer who initially funded the bailout of Wall Street. It was the taxpayer who continues to endure the consequences of the worst recession since the Great Depression. The taxpayer should not, therefore, be required to contribute a nickel towards the fines imposed for conduct that got America into this mess in the first place.\nWe strongly urge J.P. Morgan to accept full responsibility for the full payment of any fine related to its conduct in this matter.\n\nSincerely,\n\nPETER WELCH\nMember of Congress\n\nLUIS GUTIERREZ\nMember of Congress", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/usa-freedom-act-draws-bipartisan-praise", "USA FREEDOM Act Draws Bipartisan Praise", "2013-11-01", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.01.13\n\t\t\t USA FREEDOM Act Draws Bipartisan Praise \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 Legislation To End Dragnet Collection Of Phone Data Earns Early Praise\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t WASHINGTON -- Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.), chairman of the Crime and Terrorism Subcommittee in the House, welcomed the broad support among stakeholders for legislation they introduced this week that would end the government's dragnet collection of phone records and require greater oversight, transparency and accountability with respect to domestic surveillance authorities.\r\nThe breadth of support for our bipartisan, bicameral legislation demonstrates that protecting Americans' privacy not only cuts across the party divide, but also addresses concerns raised by the technology industry and other advocates, Leahy and Sensenbrenner said in a joint statement. The time is now for serious and meaningful reform. We are committed to working with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to get this done so we can restore confidence in our intelligence community and protect the privacy rights of our citizens.\r\nThe USA FREEDOM Act has over 100 cosponsors in the House and Senate and dozens of supporters including the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Rifle Association, the Project on Government Oversight and several technology companies including Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo, Facebook, AOL, Google, LinkedIn and Mozilla. A full list of supporters can be found online.\r\nEarly Support For The USA FREEDOM Act\r\nWe are two veteran lawmakers who believe now is the time for that reform and for a meaningful discussion about protecting privacy and national security in the 21st century. We are not alone, Leahy & Sensenbrenner op-ed (Politico, Oct. 29)\r\n\r\n \r\nThe Freedom Act takes an important step toward rebuilding user trust by adding limitations on government collection of data in the name of national security. The idea is simple. The NSA should not have a blank check to access user data from technology companies. Mozilla (release)\r\n \r\n \r\nTransparency is a critical first step to an informed public debate, but it is clear that more needs to be done. Our companies believe that government surveillance practices should also be reformed to include substantial enhancements for privacy protections and appropriate oversight and accountability mechanisms for those programs.  Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo, Facebook, AOL, Google, and LinkedIn (letter)\r\n \r\n \r\nBSA commends Chairman Leahy and Chairman Sensenbrenner for introducing this important legislation It is critical that we restore the public's trust by improving transparency and showing the world that the United States is striking the right balance between national security needs and individual privacy, BSA | The Software Alliance (release)\r\n \r\n \r\nThe introduction of the USA Freedom Act is a vital and positive step forward in establishing a net set of policies to govern how the federal government collects data and the tech industry's role in complying with government information requests, Information Technology Industry Council (release)\r\n \r\n \r\nWe hope the upcoming legislative process will fill this void and provide the insights to undertake the major reforms that are now clearly necessary. I commend the Leahy/Sensenbrenner legislation for this beginning. It is vital to reform and properly focus our current surveillance system, Ed Black, the chief executive officer of the Computer & Communications Industry Association (release)\r\n \r\n \r\nIs it really better for us to think that things have gone so far with the post-9/11 idea that any spying that can be done should be done and that nobody thought to inform President Obama about tapping the phone of one of the most important American allies? New York Times editorial (Oct. 29) \r\n \r\n \r\nPublic outrage has only grown [as] Americans learned more about the shocking, unprecedented invasions of their privacy by their government. The Freedom Act is a critical first step to reign in the unchecked, unconstitutional excesses of our government, Caledonian-Record editorial (Oct. 31) \r\n \r\n \r\nIt is noteworthy that protection of our privacy rights is a cause shared by liberals and conservatives. The supporters of Leahy's bill include a spectrum of senators that stretches from Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, to Mike Lee, Republican of Utah, Rutland Herald editorial (Nov. 1) \r\n \r\n\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\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"], ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/photos/october-2013", "October 2013", "2013-10-31", "2013", "2013-10", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "10.31.13\n\t\t\t\t October 2013 \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tView photos of various events from October of 2013.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://welch.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/welch-urges-reevaluation-federal-ethanol-mandate-joins-169-members", "Welch urges reevaluation of Federal Ethanol Mandate:  Joins 169 Members in sending bipartisan letter to EPA", "2013-10-31", "2013", "2013-10", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "welch.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Rep. Peter Welch joined 169 Members of Congress in sending a bipartisan letter to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency calling on her to reevaluate the federal ethanol mandate that is wreaking havoc on farmers, sportsmen, and family food budgets. Welch made the following comments after signing the letter:\nWhile well-intentioned, the federal ethanol mandate is inflicting significant economic harm on families by driving up food prices, on dairy farmers by driving upfeed prices, and on homeowners and outdoorsmen by ruining small engines, Welch said.Administrator McCarthy has at her fingertips the authority to push the pause button so that Congress can reevaluate this misguided policy before more harm is done.She should do so immediately.\nRead the full letter here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/in-the-news/for-freedoms-sake", "For Freedom's Sake", "2013-10-31", "2013", "2013-10", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "For Freedom's Sake \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\nThursday, October 31, 2013\n\t\n\n    \n    The Caledonian-Record\n    \n    \nOn Tuesday Senator Pat Leahy introduced the USA Freedom Act. It would dramatically curtail the National Security Agency's dragnet domestic surveillance programs by creating privacy advocates in the FISA Courts, requiring transparency of the secret court's decisions, and obligating the government to justify the collection of Americans' communications before doing so.  A companion bill was introduced in the House by Wisconsin Representative Jim Sensenbrenner (R). The House bill is particularly notable in that Sensenbrenner is credited with authoring the Patriot Act which, in the wake of September 11, expanded government's surveillance power in the first place.  Together on Tuesdays, Leahy and Sensenbrenner said, \"The dragnet collection of millions of Americans' phone records every day - whether they have any connection at all to terrorism - goes far beyond what Congress envisioned or intended to authorize it must stop.  \"Over the past five months, we have seen a slow trickle of additional disclosures that have only added to our concerns. Since the revelation that the National Security Agency is collecting the details of Americans' phone calls on an unprecedented scale, it has come out that the government searches the content of huge troves of emails, collects in bulk the address books from email accounts and social networking sites, at least temporarily collected geolocation data from our cellphones, committed thousands of privacy violations and made substantial misrepresentations to courts and Congress.  \"Not only do many of these programs raise serious legal questions, they have come at a high cost to Americans' privacy rights, business interests and standing in the international community. It is time for a new approach.\"  By Wednesday the legislation had 16 Senate co-sponsors and 70 in the House - many of whom voted against an effort this spring to defund parts of the NSA (brought by Justin Amash, R-Mich., and John Conyers, D-Mich.). That amendment was narrowly defeated, 217-205, after furious last-minute lobbying from President Obama and the intelligence community.  Public outrage has only grown since then, as Americans learned more about the shocking, unprecedented invasions of their privacy by their government. The Freedom Act is a critical first step to reign in the unchecked, unconstitutional excesses of our government. It would also become the most meaningful and impressive legacy of Leahy's political career", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-more-than-42-m-in-grants-awarded-to-tackle-domestic-violence-in-vermont", "Leahy: More Than $4.2 M. In Grants Awarded To Tackle Domestic Violence in Vermont", "2013-10-31", "2013", "2013-10", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "10.31.13\n\t\t\t Leahy: More Than $4.2 M. In Grants Awarded To Tackle Domestic Violence in Vermont \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tSenator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Thursday announced that Vermont organizations have received more than $4.2 million in federal grants to support programs that are vital in preventing and prosecuting crimes related to domestic violence.\r\nThe funding was recently awarded in a total of 10 grants from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women. Leahy chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees the Justice Department. Leahy authored and, this year, steered to enactment his landmark Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 that won overwhelming bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. Leahy also is the most senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which oversees funding these programs.\r\nLeahy said, As a husband, father and grandfather, and as a former prosecutor who saw the aftermath of this type of violence firsthand, I know we can and must do better. Funding these essential programs in Vermont will help us to better address the needs of victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking, and to help keep these crimes from claiming more victims.\r\nThe grants awarded to Vermont will bolster programs aimed at preventing intimate partner homicides, counseling children and younger victims of domestic and sexual violence, and providing legal assistance for victims.\r\nSince May, five people have been killed and at least one victim remains seriously injured in reported domestic violence-related crimes in Vermont. With October designated as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Leahy credited Vermont's network of service providers for their efforts to reduce domestic violence, support victims and help prosecute abusers.\r\nWe have a great model in Vermont for addressing these crimes, but the sad truth remains that half of all homicides in our state continue to result from domestic violence, Leahy said. There is a clear and present need for these services in our state.\r\nDuring the recent government shutdown, Leahy spoke of the importance of continued funding for these programs, which are already challenged by sequestration cuts.\r\nDespite what an extremist faction in Congress might think, closing the spigot on funding does not mean the victims go away, he said from the Senate Floor.\r\nGrants to support Vermont programs include:\r\n An $866,350 award for HOPE Works, based in Burlington, to support comprehensive child and youth-centered prevention, intervention and treatment to address sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking.\r\n For Vermont Legal Aid, a $300,000 grant for civil and criminal legal assistance for adult and youth victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking in Chittenden, Franklin and Grand Isle Counties in Vermont.\r\n The Vermont Judiciary will receive $300,000 to implement the Windham County Integrated Domestic Violence Court to address families in crisis which have criminal cases with overlapping Family Court matters.\r\n A campus safety grant for Middlebury College, totaling $272,258, to promote the implementation of a community-based response system to instances of violence and stalking on campuses.\r\n WomenSafe Inc. in Middlebury will receive $295,011 for a range of programs, including short-term housing and transitional housing for victims and their children, counseling and job training.\r\n More than $1.3 million for the Vermont Center for Crime Victim Services, including $784,312 for multi-disciplinary teams of prosecutors, law enforcement and advocates to investigate and prosecute crimes of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking; and $264,104 for training law enforcement and advocates on how to best respond to violence crimes of domestic violence and sexual assault. An additional $253,416 is intended to provide intervention, advocacy, accompaniment and support services for adult, youth and child victims of sexual assault.\r\n The Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence will receive $190,301 to provide intervention, advocacy and support services for those affected by sexual assault.\r\n The Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity will receive $560,486 from the Rural Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault and Stalking Assistance Program to increase investigation of domestic and sexual assault cases through the Northwest Unit for Special Investigations, support advocacy with Voices Against Violence, and strengthen the coordinated community response in northwestern Vermont.\r\nEarlier this year Leahy announced that Rutland City had received a $200,000 Domestic Violence Homicide Prevention Demonstration Grant to develop tools to assess and identify victims who are at high risk of being killed as a result of intimate partner violence.\r\nLeahy has long championed the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which was first enacted in 1994 to provide a comprehensive approach to reducing domestic and sexual violence against women. The Leahy-Crapo Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, which President Obama signed into law in March, renews VAWA's charter for another five years and includes new and vital protections for all victims of domestic violence, adding protections for tribal victims, immigrant victims and LGBT victims.\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/senate-panel-approves-nomination-to-dc-circuit", "Senate Panel Approves Nomination To D.C. Circuit", "2013-10-31", "2013", "2013-10", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "10.31.13\n\t\t\t Senate Panel Approves Nomination To D.C. Circuit \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 . . . Wilkins Would Fill Third Vacancy On Court; Two Leahy-Authored Bills Also Approved\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t WASHINGTON (Thursday, October 31, 2013) -- The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday continued its work of processing judicial vacancies by approving the nomination of Robert Wilkins to serve on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Wilkins would fill one of three vacancies on the 11-seat court.\r\nThe Committee's approval of Judge Wilkins's nomination comes as the full Senate is poised to consider another nominee to the D.C. Circuit, Patricia Millett. Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said the Senate must confirm these highly-qualified nominees to the court.\r\nLater today the Senate will vote on whether to end a filibuster against another nominee to the D.C. Circuit, Patricia Millett. In the course of that debate, I have heard Republicans argue that the D.C. Circuit does not need any more judges, Leahy said. History shows that these Republican arguments have nothing to do with caseload and everything to do with the party of the president.\r\nJudge Wilkins currently serves on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, a position to which he was confirmed in 2010 on a voice vote. He appeared before the Judiciary Committee in September for his confirmation hearing. Five district court nominees were also approved on Thursday, including four who would fill vacancies deemed judicial emergencies.\r\nThe Judiciary Committee also approved two Leahy-authored bills with bipartisan support. The Justice For All Act, which is cosponsored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), takes important steps to improve public confidence in the criminal justice system, by protecting victims' rights, reducing the backlog of untested rape kits, encouraging DNA testing to exonerate the wrongfully convicted, and improving representation for indigent defendants. The Judiciary Committee approved a similar measure last year, and the measure considered Thursday was approved on a voice vote after the Committee unanimously adopted two bipartisan amendments.\r\nThe Committee also approved the Leahy-Grassley Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act, a bill that ensures that employees who report criminal antitrust violations to the Department of Justice are not fired or otherwise retaliated against by their employers. Whistleblower protection for these employees was recommended by the Government Accountability Office in a July 2011 report, and the protections in this bill are modeled after existing whistleblower protections contained in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Leahy's full statement on the Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act can be found online.\r\nResults and a webcast of Thursday's executive business meeting can be found online.\r\n# # # # #\r\n\r\nStatement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Chairman, Committee On The Judiciary Executive Business Meeting October 31, 2013\r\nWe have a full agenda this morning. There are ten judicial nominees on our agenda. I expect we will be able to report out most of them and then turn to two bills that I have introduced with Senator Grassley and with Senator Cornyn.\r\nThe first nominee on our agenda is Judge Robert Wilkins. He is nominated to one of three vacancies on the District of Columbia Circuit and is currently serving on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Less than three years ago, the Senate confirmed him by voice vote. He has the experience, temperament, and judgment to be an extraordinary judge on the D.C. Circuit. As a district court judge he has presided over hundreds of cases and issued significant decisions in many areas of the law, including in the fields of administrative and constitutional law.\r\nPrior to serving on the bench, he was a partner for nearly 10 years at Venable, in Washington, D.C. Judge Wilkins also spent more than 10 years at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia.\r\nLater today the Senate will vote on whether to end a filibuster against another nominee to the D.C. Circuit, Patricia Millett. In the course of that debate, I have heard Republicans argue that the D.C. Circuit does not need any more judges. History shows that these Republican arguments have nothing to do with caseload and everything to do with the party of the president.\r\nWhen President Bush held office, there were no objections to confirming John Roberts to the D.C. Circuit, when the court's caseload, measured by pending appeals per active judge, was reduced to its lowest level in the past 20 years. The Senate then confirmed three more of President Bush's nominees to the D.C. Circuit: Janice Rogers Brown, Thomas Griffith and Brett Kavanaugh. These nominees filled the tenth, eleventh, and again the tenth seats, and not a single Senate Republican raised any concern about whether those judges were truly needed. Patricia Millett is nominated to the seat that John Roberts vacated, the ninth seat. Judge Wilkins is nominated to be the eleventh judge on the court, just as Thomas Griffith was nominated during the Bush administration.\r\nNow that it is a Democratic president making nominations to those same seats, Senate Republicans have dusted off their old arguments against filling vacancies on the D.C. Circuit.\r\nLet us give Judge Wilkins the proper respect and consideration that he deserves, based on his outstanding credentials.\r\nThis past July, the Senate voted unanimously to confirm Wyoming Attorney General Gregory Phillips to the Tenth Circuit. With his confirmation, the number of pending appeals per active judge on that court dropped from 150 to 135. The D.C. Circuit currently has 185 pending appeals per active judge. Despite that higher caseload, some Senate Republicans argue that the D.C. Circuit's caseload is too low, and that three of its judgeships should be eliminated. Most of these Senators voted to confirm Attorney General Phillips, even though his confirmation means that the Tenth Circuit now has the lowest caseload in the country. Earlier this year Senate Republicans supported the confirmation of Jane Kelly to the Eighth Circuit, which gave that court the lowest caseload in the country at the time. I hope those Senators will reconsider their double-standard and not play politics with an independent branch of government.\r\nAfter voting to report the judicial nominees on our agenda, we will turn to the bipartisan Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act. I thank the Ranking Member for working with me on this legislation. And if we can keep a quorum, I hope we can report the Justice for All Reauthorization Act. 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