WASHINGTON, Feb. 13 -- Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Arizona, issued the following news release: Congressman Andy Biggs sent a letter to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie to express displeasure with the VA's recent decision to eliminate the End of Year Hospital Rating. Read the text of the letter below: The Honorable Robert Wilkie Secretary U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 810 Vermont Avenue, NW Washington, D.C., 20420 Dear Secretary Wilkie, Thank you for your service   more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 -- Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vermont, issued the following news release: All 10 Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee wrote Chairman Graham asking that the committee immediately initiate an investigation into political interference at the Justice Department, to include this week's reduction in the sentencing recommendation for Roger Stone. "The Justice Department's mission 'to ensure fair and impartial justice for all Americans' requires that its prosecutorial decision  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 -- Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vermont, issued the text of the following statement on Feb. 12: Since first emerging in Wuhan, China on December 31st, the outbreak of a new coronavirus, COVID-19 ("novel coronavirus"), has spread to 25 countries, infected more than 44,000 people, caused at least 1,100 deaths, forced entire cities into lockdown, triggered hundreds of international flight cancelations, restricted hundreds of Americans to U.S. military bases in a federal government   more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 -- Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement on Feb. 13 on the novel coronavirus: Since first emerging in Wuhan, China on December 31st, the outbreak of a new coronavirus, COVID-19 ("novel coronavirus"), has spread to 25 countries, infected more than 44,000 people, caused at least 1,100 deaths, forced entire cities into lockdown, triggered hundreds of international flight cancelations, restricted hundr  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 -- Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vermont, issued the text of the following statement: The political crisis in El Salvador, in which the security forces have been deployed to intimidate the National Assembly, is reminiscent of the days when political disputes were settled with threats and violence. That cannot be condoned, especially by a government that wants to be a partner of the United States.  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 -- Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vermont, issued the text of the following statement: For the fourth year in a row, President Trump has sent Congress a reckless and cynical budget proposal that is divorced from reality and, if implemented, would do more harm than good. The President continues his attack on affordable health care, proposing cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, which millions of American's rely on to ensure they can see a doctor when they need one. He proposes to elimi  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 -- Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement on Feb. 13 on President Trump diverting military funds for the border wall: "It is Congress - the representatives of the American people - who hold the power of the purse under the Constitution. Time and again, this President has subverted that constitutional authority and bipartisan majorities of Congress to pay for his vanity wall. "Let us see whether co  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 -- Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vermont, issued the text of the following statement on Feb. 13: It is Congress - the representatives of the American people - who hold the power of the purse under the Constitution. Time and again, this President has subverted that constitutional authority and bipartisan majorities of Congress to pay for his vanity wall. Let us see whether congressional Republicans will brush off this diversion of funds from military programs that they support,   more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, issued the following news release on Feb. 10: In response to the release of the Trump Administration's federal budget proposal, Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said: "The Trump Budget for 2021 is a budget of, by, and for the 1 percent. It reflects profoundly unethical priorities and shows that the president is--and it gives me no great pleasure to say this--a liar. Just last week, President Trump told the Amer  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 -- Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vermont, issued the following news release: Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on Tuesday joined Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.) and other senators in introducing the Clean Economy Act of 2020, to empower the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set a national goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by no later than 2050. The bill would also promote American competitiveness and healthier communities, while fostering a fair and growing economy. The C  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, issued the following news release: U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) are demanding answers from Amazon as work-related injuries at the company's facilities continued to rise over the holidays, and recent reports indicate poor and unsafe working conditions. In a letter sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, the Senators urged the company to put worker safety ahead of profits, and to do more to prevent an  more