Patrick Leahy

I think that research to addiction alternatives has lagged at the Federal level.

I hope your budget will address some of these issues.

I hope we can use that to train, recruit, retain addiction specialists to serve in rural areas.

I was glad to see a large increase in funding to support research and prevention treatment.

Our right to vote is under assault in dozens of States. You would think you are back in the old Jim Crow era to see some of the bills that come up.

I am a proud original cosponsor of the bipartisan VOCA (Victims of Crime Act) deposits fix legislation, which would help to sustain the Fund.

And it was the founding purpose of the Justice Department during Reconstruction to ensure the right to vote of newly freed African-Americans who were under militant attack to prevent them from voting.

I agree, Senator Moran that we want to have security for our courts and judicial personnel, just as I hope that we will finally get all the answers of what happened January 6.

We have seen this after other conflicts.

I reiterate the need for Congress to begin bipartisan and bicameral discussions with the White House to establish top lines for fiscal year 2022 so we can get on with our work in the committee.

If we keep excluding them, what is going to be our reaction when China and Russia say, 'Hey, we will just come in here, we will help you out'?

Why do we not have a similar relationship with Cuba?

While I strongly support any efforts to accelerate innovation, I am concerned that valuable collaborators could be left out or lose out on Federal funding.

COVID-19 has shown that a commitment to breakthrough innovation, directed allocation of resources, and collaborative approaches can accelerate how scientific breakthroughs can be transitioned to treatments and cures.

I strongly support the Administration's renewed approach to innovation in medical research through the establishment of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H).

I think that's the hallmark of the Appropriations Committee. We want to keep on doing that.

This is one example of things that we have to be concerned with that change all the time.

What happens if we and other countries don't get vaccines to countries that can't pay for them?

I think it's time that we start investing in our soft power.

None of us care a bit for Hamas, but we do, many, many of us, care greatly about Palestinian families.

People finally realized with Ebola, after many on this subcommittee kept saying we need to respond to Ebola...

I don't think the mission of USAID has ever been more important than it is today.

What steps is U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services taking to make the O and P artist visa process more reliable?

This is why I am so pleased to see the new $1 billion fund proposed by the administration to help schools hire more counselors, nurses, and mental health professionals.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted rural hospitals and healthcare providers that were already operating on shrinking margins.