Patrick Leahy

We also find that they are used to help victims of crime.

I think these changes have to be done carefully.

But despite these reforms, it is clear that some abuses persist.

When used appropriately, the tool deprives criminals of their profits.

Asset forfeiture is a powerful tool for law enforcement.

We know that there are limits to what our military can do.

A country of 320 million Americans ought to be able to at least match what Bill and Melinda Gates were doing.

I do not want to put words in your mouth.

I think what is probably the most important is that we hear from the people who are here.

I think we have to look at what actually makes life better for the people we are dealing with, but also for our own country.

Senator Lee and I are cosponsoring a bill called the Smarter Sentencing Act.

The net result of it has been a dramatic, dramatic increase in the number of individuals incarcerated.

I say to the Senator from Illinois, that the Republican House of Representatives passed this Act without this provision, and Democrats and Republicans here in the Senate should do the same.

I have many concerns about the constitutional, safety, and privacy implications regarding the use of drones by law enforcement agencies.

I remember when I first raised it, people thought I was referring to a character I heard about in a comic book named Batman.

I am concerned we are losing private forestland at a very alarming rate.

It is wreaking havoc across the country.

I have introduced the STRONG Patents Act of 2015, along with my colleagues, Senators Durbin and Hirono.

I am hopeful that this year we will succeed in uniting these reforms and that we will finally pass legislation so desperately needed by American businesses, both big and small.

I believe that the compromise Senator Cornyn and I came up with remains a positive framework for bipartisan cooperation.

I think some of the people making these demands do not realize you are dealing with individuals--not huge corporations.

We have also authored a customer stay provision. It helps customers who are targeted simply for using a product they purchased off the shelf.

There is one bipartisan solution that Senator Lee and I worked on and that made clear that it is a deceptive trade practice to send misleading demand letters.

Nobody is going to get everything they want, but we can get a better situation than what we have today.

Abusive practices by bad actors are a discredit to our strong patent system.