Majority News Releases
Chairman Leahy Statement on the Introduction of the Senate Security Supplemental
I rise on the Senate Floor yet again to urge that the Senate take up and pass an emergency supplemental to deal with the fallout from the violent insurrection that took place at the seat of our Democracy on January 6th. I have been making this call for two months now and am sad to say that I am beginning to feel like a broken record. Just days before this chamber left for the July 4th recess I sounded the alarm that time was running out. This remains true today. The Senate only has a few wee… Continue Reading
07.09.21
Statement of Senate Appropriations Chairman Leahy On The Security Supplemental
It is urgent that Congress pass a security supplemental to address the needs of the National Guard and the Capitol Police resulting from the fallout of the January 6 insurrection. As I have warned, if we do not act, Capitol Police projects they will deplete salaries funds sometime in August, and they already exceeded their projected overtime because of activities resulting from January 6th in late June. The National Guard will also be forced to cut training sometime in August as well. It has… Continue Reading
06.24.21
Chairman Leahy Statement On The Increasing Urgency Of Bipartisan Negotiations On The Security Supplemental Appropriations Bill
It was 169 days ago that the world witnessed a violent insurrection take place in the seat of American democracy. The memory of rioters in combat gear, armed with zip ties, smashing in the windows of the Capitol Building is seared into the American consciousness. The images of the National Guard patrolling the Capitol grounds behind fences topped with barbed wire will fill the pages of text books on American history for generations. We did not budget for an insurrection, and the path of dest… Continue Reading
06.21.21
Leahy Calls For Bipartisan Negotiations On Security Supplemental
WASHINGTON (Monday, June 21, 2021) - Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Monday called on Senate Republicans to join bipartisan negotiations on the Security Supplemental to address the fallout from the January 6 insurrection. It has been 166 days since the January 6 attack, and 32 days since the House passed an emergency supplemental. Without Senate action, the Capitol Police will run out of funding sometime in August. And without Senate action, the National Guard, w… Continue Reading
06.17.21
Statement of Chairman Leahy at the hearing to review of the FY22 Department of Defense Budget Request
Today, we welcome testimony from Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley in support of the President's budget request for the Department of Defense. The budget request totals $715 billion for the Department of Defense, which is a 1.6 percent increase over fiscal year 2021. The budget includes important investments to deter our adversaries; support for our military and civilian personnel and their families; funds to combat the ongoing pand… Continue Reading
06.15.21
Statement of Chairman Leahy On the GAO Decision on the Pause of Border Barrier Construction Obligations
Today's announcement by the GAO is a welcome one. As the ruling made clear, a review of the environmental havoc wrought by former President Trump's vanity wall, and taking the time to actually consult with the various stake holders, including landowners whose land was being seized, is legal and permitted by law. President Trump's approach to the wall at the Southern Border was at best a bumper sticker approach to a serious policy issue, and it should be reviewed to ensure that American taxpaye… Continue Reading
06.08.21
Opening Remarks of Chairman Leahy on the Appropriations Hearing on the FY 2022 State Department Budget Request
Welcome Secretary Blinken. I will begin by making my opening statement. I understand Vice Chairman Shelby will defer to Senator Graham, Ranking Member on the State, Foreign Operations Subcommittee for his opening statement. Then I will turn to Senator Coons, our new Chairman of the State, Foreign Operations Subcommittee, for his opening statement. Mr. Secretary, this Committee funds every aspect of the State Department's operations and programs. You cannot turn the lights on, or power your … Continue Reading
05.28.21
Statement of Chairman Leahy On The Introduction Of The Biden Budget
Today, President Biden introduced a bold vision for an American future, and I share his priorities to build back better. In the decade following the Budget Control Act, we lost ground in education, child care, environmental protections, infrastructure, and affordable housing. The Budget Control Act did not constrain our national debt; it left us a nation in disrepair. The investments outlined in the Biden budget reflect this reality. The Senate Appropriations Committee has already held sev… Continue Reading
05.27.21
Statement of Chairman Leahy on the Introduction of the Biden Budget and the End of the Budget Control Act
The Budget Control Act of 2011 expires this year, and that is a good thing. This law led to a decade of underfunding our domestic priorities, from which it will take years to recover. Right now, in communities across the country, our infrastructure is crumbling, millions of Americans cannot access federal programs for which they qualify, and we are falling behind in investing in science, research, and development on the global economic stage. All of this because the Budget Control Act set ar… Continue Reading
05.19.21
Statement of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) On the Shelby, Inhofe Amendment
Providing a dollar to the Defense department for every dollar of non-defense spending is simply arbitrary, and would lead to absurd results. Under this amendment, if we pass an infrastructure bill through reconciliation providing a $2 trillion dollars to fix our roads and bridges and build out broadband, we would then have to provide $2 trillion dollars for defense, nearly tripling that budget. I welcome a debate about the appropriate levels for defense and non-defense spending in Fiscal Year… Continue Reading
05.14.21
Statement of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) On The House Introduced Emergency Security Supplemental
There can be no question that the needs in the wake of the tragic events of January 6th are great. The insurrectionists left in their wake broken doors and broken windows, our Capitol Police force is overburdened and under resourced, and members and staff have suffered significant emotional trauma. It also exposed vulnerabilities in our security that must be addressed. On top of that the pandemic has caused the House and the Senate and their supporting agencies to incur unexpected costs to ke… Continue Reading
05.12.21
Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy Holds Hearing On Domestic Violent Extremism In America
WASHINGTON (Wednesday, May 12, 2021) - Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Wednesday held a hearing of the full Committee to examine the increasing prevalence of domestic violent extremism in the United States. Viewed by many experts as the most persistent and lethal threat facing our country, attacks and plots by domestic violent extremists are on the rise. In 2020 alone, white nationalists and like-minded extremists conducted 66 percent of terrori… Continue Reading
05.12.21
Opening Statement of Chairman Patrick Leahy on Domestic Violent Extremism in America
The January 6th images of insurrectionists flying confederate flags as they stormed the U.S. Capitol are stark reminders that domestic violent extremism in America is hardly a new threat. Our nation's history has been marred by the violent, deadly acts of extremists pushing a range of hateful white supremacist ideologies. From the Ku Klux Klan to Timothy McVeigh, we have witnessed - and suffered through - extremists killing innocent people in the name of their morally bankrupt causes. The violen… Continue Reading
04.30.21
Chairman Leahy Statement On President Biden’s Announcement On Funds Stolen By The Trump Administration
For years, President Trump raided taxpayer dollars from our military and military families to build a wall he promised the American people Mexico would pay for. He let schools for military children deteriorate, and he stripped our National Guard of the resources and equipment they needed to effectively carry out their mission. This smash-and-grab funding of bumper sticker policies left a backlog of unfunded projects vital to our national security that will take years to restore. The construct… Continue Reading
04.29.21
Statement of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy On Congressionally Directed Spending.
I rise today to address the need for Congress to restore one of its constitutional powers, the power of the purse. My family arrived in Vermont in the 19th Century to work in the granite quarries in Barre. Later, my parents ran a printing business right across from the Vermont State House in Montpelier where I grew up. I stayed in Vermont for college, only traveling 45 minutes up the road to Saint Michael's College where I received an excellent education. After earning my law degree at … Continue Reading
04.26.21
Leahy Announces Restoration of the Power of the Purse: Reforms for a Return to Congressionally Directed Spending in Fiscal Year 2022
WASHINGTON (MONDAY, April 26, 2021) - Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced Monday his intent to restore one of Congress' constitutional powers, the power to approve congressionally-directed spending items, and to do so with enhanced transparency and accountability. The Senate Appropriations Committee will, on a bipartisan basis, accept requests for congressionally directed spending items for appropriations bills for the fiscal year that begins October 1, 2021… Continue Reading
04.20.21
Closing Remarks of Chairman Leahy on “The American Jobs Plan: Infrastructure Climate Change, and Investing in Our Nation’s Future” Hearing
Thank you to everyone - from the witnesses here today to our Committee members to the staff that helped prepare - for this meaningful hearing. I will close with this. The American Society of Civil Engineers gives our roads a grade of D. Our bridges are graded at a C. Storm water and waste water systems are graded at D and D plus, respectively. Drinking water systems do slightly better - a C minus. Same with our energy grids. Our student populations have outgrown our schools. There is near … Continue Reading
04.20.21
Leahy Holds First Appropriations Committee Hearing On Infrastructure Climate Change, and Investing In America’s Future
WASHINGTON (Tuesday, April 20, 2021) - Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Tuesday convened the first full committee hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee. The hearing focused on The American Jobs Plan, the nation's crumbling infrastructure, and how to prepare for and mitigate the climate crisis. The hearing was the first of several thematic hearings Leahy will hold with the full committee. Leahy said: "The American Jobs Plan is a sweeping proposal that wil… Continue Reading
04.20.21
Opening Statement of Chairman Leahy for Hearing on “The American Jobs Plan: Infrastructure Climate Change, and Investing in Our Nation’s Future”
Today, we convene the first hearing of the full Senate Appropriations Committee for the 117th Congress. And what more appropriate topic than that of infrastructure. There is no other Committee within the Senate whose jurisdiction touches every aspect of our government and of Americans' lives. The same, of course, can be said for infrastructure. Gone are the days when "infrastructure" has meant only bridges, highways, roads, and rail. To narrow our view of infrastructure to just this is not … Continue Reading
04.09.21
Statement of Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) On President Biden’s Budget Blueprint
A budget is where an administration can set its priorities, and it is clear from President Biden's initial proposal that his administration's priorities reflect the real needs of the American people. This blueprint makes strong investments in Americans and communities who have not benefited from the economic expansion prior to the pandemic and who fell further behind because of COVID. The budget proposes long overdue and historic investments in jobs, worker training, schools, food security, in… Continue Reading