The Public Record
Patrick Leahy is a former United States Senator from Vermont, serving from 1975 until 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the longest-serving senator in Vermont's history and held significant leadership roles, including President pro tempore of the Senate. Throughout his tenure, Leahy was known for his work on issues such as civil liberties, health care, and environmental protection. He played a key role in various legislative efforts, including the Violence Against Women Act and initiatives to reform the criminal justice system.
I know the distinguished Senator from Louisiana has the majority of votes in this body for the Keystone Pipeline, and that is a compliment to her hard work in getting from a minority of votes to a majority of votes. I will not be one of…
reserving the right to object, I will not object. I was going to yield the remainder of my time to the Senator from Texas, Mr. Cruz, and I ask unanimous consent that he be allowed up to 4 minutes.
this program does not gut it; it actually enhances it. Secondly, if this was important to stop ISIL, ISIL never would have started. The fact is that we had this program way beyond anything anybody is talking about today, and it didn't slow…
I would ask for order. We still don't have order in the Chamber. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Order in the Senate, please. Senators, please take your conversations outside the Chamber. The Senator from Vermont.
I yield my time to the two Senators from Georgia. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Georgia.
as long as I have served in the Senate--and I have served the longest in this body--I have never seen a time when noncontroversial nominations were being held up, whether we have had a Republican or Democratic President. I would note for…
I suggest the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll. The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll. Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be…
I ask unanimous consent to yield back all time. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, all time is yielded back. Pursuant to rule XXII, the Chair lays before the Senate the pending cloture motion, which the clerk will state. The…
today we will vote to end Republican filibusters on three district court nominations for Georgia, two of which are judicial emergency vacancies. The Senate should not need to waste our time jumping through these procedural hurdles to…
Will the distinguished majority leader yield for an observation? The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Kaine). Will the majority leader yield to the Senator from Vermont for a question?
as another polar vortex bears down on States across the country this week, we must consider how the dropping temperatures across the Nation will impact those who do not have refuge from the cold. The issue of homelessness is especially…
as we return from recess for the remaining days of the 113th Congress, I begin by congratulating my friend Senator Chuck Grassley who will become chairman of the Judiciary Committee beginning in the 114th Congress. We have a very good…
more than 30 years ago, in the midst of Guatemala's civil war, the construction of a large hydroelectric dam on the Chixoy River resulted in destruction of 33 indigenous Mayan communities and the massacres of more than 400 villagers and…
a common reality that permeates the complex and colorful history of Latin America is large numbers of landless, impoverished people and small elites who control the majority of the land and the country's wealth, often exploiting its…
over the past few years we have seen remarkable progress in one of the defining civil rights issues of our era--ensuring that all lawfully married couples are treated equally under the law. In 2011, when I chaired the first Congressional…
I ask unanimous consent that the time be yielded back. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, all time is yielded back.
I withhold that request. I yield back my time. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair recognizes the Senator from Georgia, Mr. Isakson.
I have supported domestic violence legislation since first taking elected office more than 30 years ago and am proud that one of the first major bills that I co-sponsored and worked on as a Senator was the 2013 VAWA reauthorization.
I will continue to work with the distinguished senior Senator from Texas on the Justice for All Act. Ninety-nine Senators agree to pass it and only 1 is objecting. It requires a rollcall vote when we come back in November. I hope we can…
as the Senate prepares to go into recess, Senate Republicans are refusing to allow confirmation votes on the more than 20 judicial nominees who will now be stuck in limbo for months. There is no good reason why the Senate cannot confirm…
I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements related to the bill be printed in the Record. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Mr…
the Senate is about to vote on a continuing resolution to fund the Federal Government from October 1 to December 11. This vote should not be necessary. There is no good reason why we are not voting on fiscal year 2015 appropriations bills…
as Members of Congress prepare to head back to their home States, it is important to note that the 113th Congress does not end this week, or for that matter, on November 4. We still have a significant amount of unfinished business that…
I see my good friend, the senior Senator from Texas, on the floor, and I am about to ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 4323. Before I do, Senator Cornyn has been very interested in this…
Next year, the Nation will celebrate the 95th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave women, at long last, the right to vote. The result of more than four decades of advocacy from such giants of the women's…
Politicians like Patrick Leahy
