Patrick Leahy

I have a simple unanimous consent request, but before I do, I congratulate the new Senator from Alabama. It is unusual that I have someone here taller than I am. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be permitted to yield the…

Has the distinguished majority leader finished? Mr. McCONNELL. Yes.

The complete text of the Secretary's speech, which, again, I urge all Senators to read in its entirety, can be found at the following Web site: https://www.state.gov/secretary/ remarks/2016/12/266119.htm. ____________________

I commend Senator Booker and Representative Lewis and Representative Richmond for their courage.

The basic rights enshrined in the Constitution that we try to form a more perfect union

The Attorney General is responsible for protecting the civil and human rights of Americans

And frankly, those who trivialize it and say it is not a crime are ignoring too many people in this country.

It is important to go back to the point I made in my testimony that the majority of victims of violent crime are assailed by people who they know intimately.

What kind of a message does it send when somebody, especially somebody in power, trivializes sexual assault, even jokes about it?

You must know an awful lot of people who are here under DACA. Is there a sense of concern about the rhetoric that we are hearing with the new administration?

Thank you. I was not going to interrupt Senator Cornyn as long as you are praising the legislation you and I wrote together.

I believe that all victims of domestic and sexual violence deserve protection.

We need the Justice Department to be at its best.

We Americans can be proud that she is here, and I applaud you for this.

I cannot think of anybody better.

The first time in American history when a woman has served in this capacity.

I would like to briefly recognize the service of retiring Senator David Vitter. Senator Vitter has served the people of Louisiana in Congress since 1999, through the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, across three different administrations…

I appreciate the work of my colleague, and I am glad to work with him on this. ____________________

Yes, like the Senator from Maryland, I am deeply concerned with these events, and I believe that, if the extrajudicial killings and state-sanctioned violence continue and there is no accountability for the abuses that have been committed…

He wanted me to speak, and then he was going to speak. If I might continue, this will be fairly brief. ____________________

I believe we had arranged for Senator Grassley and me to speak at this point. I see my distinguished colleague on the floor.

I applaud you, what you have done with what you have, and I will also try to carry your message to the Appropriations Committee.

The hammer hit in January this past year. My income from farming was cut right in half. We are losing 10,000 a month. How much longer can we do this?

Quite frankly, I do not know what to tell my wife when I go home at night. She asked me about the unpaid bills that are piling up.

Dear Senator Leahy, we need help. We cannot pay our grain bill. Many area farmers have been shut off from the grain companies. This is serious and needs immediate attention.