Patrick Leahy

WASHINGTON -- October 7, 2009 – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Tuesday chaired a hearing in which the Committee examined two Supreme Court decisions that have made it more difficult for workers to take employers to court for civil rights violations and, once there, more difficult for victims to prove workplace discrimination.

The hearing focused on Circuit City v. Adams, which extended the scope of the Federal Arbitration Act to cover employment contracts, and Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc., a recent decision that made it more difficult to prove age discrimination in the workplace. A narrowly divided Supreme Court issued 5-4 decisions in both cases.    » read more »

October 6, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, three Chairmen – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Congressman George Miller (D-CA), Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, introduced landmark legislation that restores vital civil rights protections for older workers in the face of the Supreme Court’s decision in Gross v. FBL Financial.    » read more »

WASHINGTON -- October 2, 2009 – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Friday announced that the Committee will hold a hearing on October 14 on legislation to repeal a federal antitrust exemption for health insurance and medical malpractice insurance companies.    » read more »

WASHINGTON, September 30 – Senate and House negotiators have agreed to provide $350 million for hard-pressed dairy farmers, Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced today. The funding was first included in a Sanders amendment to the Department of Agriculture appropriations bill.    » read more »

WASHINGTON -- September 29, 2009 – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Tuesday announced that the Committee will hold a hearing to examine two Supreme Court decisions that have made it more difficult for workers to take employers to court for civil rights violations and, once there, more difficult for victims to prove workplace discrimination.

The hearing will focus on Circuit City v. Adams, which extended the scope of the Federal Arbitration Act to cover employment contracts, and Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc., a recent decision that made it more difficult to prove age discrimination in the workplace. A narrowly divided Supreme Court issued 5-4 decisions in both cases.    » read more »

WASHINGTON -- September 30, 2009 – On Wednesday, open government advocates from more than 40 organizations, including the Vermont Press Association and the Vermont Coalition for Open Government, presented Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy with a certificate of appreciation for his work to advance open and transparent government.

The certificate, which was presented before the start of an oversight hearing on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), recognized Leahy “for his work on behalf of open and transparent government through his modernization, defense, and oversight of the Freedom of Information Act.” (See below for photo information.)    » read more »

WASHINGTON -- September 17, 2009 – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Thursday introduced legislation to eliminate a federal antitrust exemption for health insurance and medical malpractice insurance companies.

As the Senate prepares to consider comprehensive health care reform legislation, Leahy introduced the Health Insurance Industry Antitrust Enforcement Act to repeal the antitrust exemption that was established in the 1945 McCarran-Ferguson Act.    » read more »

September 17, 2009 -- "These videotapes that are the excuse for this amendment understandably have offended most who have heard about them, including me. I detest the stupidity and crassness that they depict. If people have acted improperly, they should be fired, and if they have acted illegally, they should be prosecuted, period. The Obama Administration has been equally critical.

ACORN is not the reason for my vote. There is not even an ACORN office in my entire state. Nor, for that matter, is there any reason to believe that this group ever has or ever would have any interest or expertise in applying for competitive grants under the programs funded in this Interior Appropriations Bill.    » read more »

As Prepared

June 23, 2009 -- "I thank Senator Menendez and Senator Schumer for their outstanding statements to the Senate today. As I review Judge Sotomayor’s record in preparation for her confirmation hearing on July 13, I am struck by her extraordinary career and how she has excelled at everything she has done. I know how proud her mother Celina is of her accomplishments.    » read more »

Vehicles Engineered For The Tough Terrain Of Afghanistan

WASHINGTON -- June 18 – The U.S. Senate late Thursday passed and now will send to the President a funding bill that reflects a push by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to boost development of tougher and more agile armored vehicles and other equipment needed by U.S. troops in the rugged terrain of Afghanistan.    » read more »

WASHINGTON - June 16 – Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) is again part of an effort to fix problems in the REAL ID Act of 2005 that have led many states to balk at participating in what critics say is a thinly disguised national ID program built around a national database that would be vulnerable to identity theft.

Leahy is a leading cosponsor of a new bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate on June 15 by Senator Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii). Senator George Voinovich (R-Ohio) is the chief Republican cosponsor. The new bill would implement the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations to enhance the security of driver’s licenses while fixing many of the most troubling aspects of the REAL ID Act of 2005.    » read more »

June 17, 2009 -- "I welcome Attorney General Holder back to the Senate Judiciary Committee, as we continue our oversight of the Justice Department. I commend the Attorney General and his team for their hard work and commitment to the difficult task of once again making the Department of Justice an agency worthy of its name.    » read more »

June 17, 2009 -- "I am pleased that today President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum on Federal Benefits and Non-Discrimination that will extend a number of benefits to same-sex partners that are afforded to spouses of Federal employees. I applaud the President for this effort to promote fairness in the workplace. It is a step in the right direction towards equalizing benefit coverage for all Federal employees.    » read more »

WASHINGTON -- June 9, 2009 – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Tuesday announced that hearings to consider the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to be an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court will begin on July 13.    » read more »

Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee Holds Hearing To Examine ‘Prolonged Detention’

WASHINGTON -- June 9, 2009 – A Senate Judiciary Committee panel Tuesday morning will consider the consequences of ‘prolonged detention’ of detainees held in U.S. custody. The Subcommittee on the Constitution, chaired by Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), will hear testimony from a panel of six witnesses. Member statements, witness testimony, and a live webcast of the hearing are available online.

Full Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) issued the following statement at the hearing.

Statement Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),

Chairman, Committee On The Judiciary,

Hearing On “The Legal, Moral, and National Security    » read more »