Patrick Leahy

I am proud to have my name on that, but I am more proud about what has been done with it.

Opening Statement of Senator Patrick J. Leahy

Thank you. Thank you very much.

We have got to help Mexico get this under control.

We would be absolutely opposed to relocating Guantanamo prisoners to Alexandria. We would do everything in our power to lobby the President, the Governor, the Congress, and everything else to stop it.

I can assure the Senator we will, because the sunset provisions were put in there basically to force not only the Congress but the administration to look at the parts that are expiring and make sure, if we renew them, that we do it in a…

I would hope that their cooperation with law enforcement would be even more swift and certain.

The last thing that we need is slow-walking this kind of investigation.

I think everybody here wants to work with them, wants to help. How do we do this? I seems like an almost Herculean task.

There was the prosecution of a Senator, Ted Stevens, which has drawn severe criticism from the presiding Federal judge.

I see too many major prosecutions ending in fines which turn out to be licenses to do business, licenses to violate the law.

If there is a decision made in this country that we ought to change the rules and not have the death penalty, that is one thing.

Security is number one. National security is at the top of the security list, and terrorism is at the top there.

I applaud the Director's efforts to recommit the FBI to its best traditions.

I have been concerned--and I have discussed this with the Director--about the FBI's responsiveness to requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act.

Open Government is key to a strong democracy.

The Public Corruption Prosecution Improvements Act--that is a bill I introduced with Senator Cornyn of Texas...

In my view, we have to do still more. More is needed to give investigators and prosecutors the resources they need...

I see Senator Grassley here. He and I introduced and passed out of this Committee legislation...

The rule of law, civil liberties, and civil rights--these are not our burdens. They are what make us better.

We decided as a matter of national policy and national security that we had had it with the people who were gouging the members of the U.S. military.

I think we learned in the AIG boardroom what the market would do if it could do its thing.

I am 100-percent certain that this fingerprint is the one except, Oops, no, found out it was not.

If a little tiny State like ours could do it, why don't other States do that?

The National Academy of Sciences called for the coroner system in this country to be abolished.