WASHINGTON, April 22 -- Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement on the Senate passage of the coronavirus aid package: I am glad Congress was able to reach bipartisan agreement on an interim bill to help small businesses that have been devastated by this crisis, and to provide aid to hospitals and improve testing capability for COVID-19. Now is not the time to let up. We cannot be led to believe that our work here is d  more

WASHINGTON, April 22 -- Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vermont, issued the following news release: Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Tuesday wrote to Attorney General Barr and White House Counsel Cippolone asking them to release to Congress copies of any documents produced by the Department of Justice and the White House Counsel's Office articulating the legal basis, if any exists, for President Trump and Vice President Pence's sweeping claims of "total" authority to override states' independent response  more

WASHINGTON, April 21 -- Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vermont, issued the following news release: Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) is among 36 Democratic senators, led by Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, urging Vice President Mike Pence and other members of the Trump Administration to take action to help ensure the safety of the nation's food supply and protect essential workers in the food supply chain. Leahy, a le  more

WASHINGTON, April 22 -- Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vermont, issued the text of the following statement: I am glad Congress was able to reach bipartisan agreement on an interim bill to help small businesses that have been devastated by this crisis, and to provide aid to hospitals and improve testing capability for COVID-19. Now is not the time to let up. We cannot be led to believe that our work here is done. There are important changes that still need to be made to ensure the SBA programs work   more

WASHINGTON, April 21 -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, issued the following statement regarding the proposal to close three Vermont State College campuses: "I appreciate the Board of Trustees' decision to delay a vote on the proposal to close three Vermont State College campuses. Clearly, there is no easy answer to the challenges facing our state college system, but delaying the decision is an important step forward. We need the time to have a statewide discussion which includes all of the sta  more

WASHINGTON, April 20 -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, issued the following news release: Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), Doug Jones (D-Ala.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) unveiled a proposal to establish the Paycheck Security Act, a program to cover the wages and benefits of employees of affected businesses and nonprofits until the economic and public health crisis is resolved. "With 22 million Americans filing for unemployment and up to 35 million expected to bec  more

WASHINGTON, April 22 -- Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vermont, issued the text of the following joint statement: Vermont's state colleges have provided Vermonters with access to higher education and helped to build the Vermont workforce for the past 60 years. They are an essential part of our post-secondary system and the economic drivers of rural regions around the state. Community members, students and faculty have reached out to us over the last several days worried about the future of their educ  more

WASHINGTON, April 22 -- Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, issued the following joint statement on April 21 with Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont: Vermont's state colleges have provided Vermonters with access to higher education and helped to build the Vermont workforce for the past 60 years. They are an essential part of our post-secondary system and the economic drivers of rural regions around the state. Community members, students and faculty have reached out to us over the last several days worried   more