Patrick Leahy

For the hockey player with a similar name, see Pat Leahy (hockey player). For the American football player with a similar name, see Pat Leahy (football)

Patrick Joseph Leahy (born March 31 1940) is the senior United States Senator from Vermont. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Early life

Born in Montpelier, Vermont to an Irish-American father and an Italian mother, Leahy graduated from Saint Michael's College in 1961 and received his J.D. degree from Georgetown University in 1964. He practiced as a lawyer until he was elected to the United States Senate for the first time in 1974. Leahy was only the second Democrat ever elected to Congress from Vermont and was the first and only Democrat ever elected to the US Senate from Vermont. He had served four terms as State's Attorney of Chittenden County from 1966 to 1974 prior to being elected to the Senate.

U.S. Senator

He was reelected in 1980, 1986, 1992, 1998 and 2004. He was chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry from 1987 until the Democrats lost control of the Senate in 1995 and was then Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee from 2001 until the Democrats lost control again in 2003. He was a primary author of the controversial USA PATRIOT Act, and is a leading proponent of enforcing sunset provisions for the sections of the Act that infringe the most on Americans' civil liberties. He is now the ranking member of that committee, and is one of the key Democratic leaders in the partisan Senate fight over the complicated and ever-changing rules for filling federal judgeships via the Senate's constitutional duty of advise and consent. Leahy also serves as third-highest Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee and as the Ranking Democrat on the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs. In his position as the second-highest Democrat on the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee Leahy serves as the Ranking Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Research, Nutrition and General Legislation.

In 1987, Leahy resigned from his position as Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee after an investigation into an alleged leak to a reporter regarding classified information. Other allegations have been made about other leaks, but the investigation was never made public. In 2005, Leahy was critical of the George W. Bush administration's unprecedented use of the National Security Agency to spy on US citizens without obtaining a warrant. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) allows for up to 3 days to obtain a warrant, after the fact.

The 1998 election was noteworthy in that Leahy had the rare endorsement of his Republican opponent, Fred Tuttle. Fred was the lead actor in the Vermont movie Man With A Plan, in which a farmer decides to run for the House. Fred was persuaded to run in real life for the Senate; after a surprise defeat of the other Republican candidate Jack McMullen, Fred told voters to vote for Leahy because he didn't want to move to Washington D.C. Leahy was touched by this gesture; he once said that Fred was the "distilled essence of Vermonthood".

Leahy resides in a farmhouse in Middlesex, Vermont that he recently moved to from Burlington.

Leahy was one of two Senators targeted in the 2001 anthrax attacks. The anthrax letter meant for him was intercepted before it reached his office.

In 2004 Senator Leahy was awarded the Electronic Privacy Information Center's Champion of Freedom Award for efforts in information privacy and open government. Leahy is regarded as one of the leading privacy advocates in Congress. Leahy is also passionate about the issue of land mines.

On June 22, 2004 Leahy and Vice President Dick Cheney participated in the US Senate class photo. During this time, Cheney upbraided Leahy for Leahy's recent excoriations of Cheney over Halliburton's alleged war profiteering. The discussion ended with Cheney telling Leahy to "... go fuck yourself".^* Some have pointed to this incident as further evidence of increased partisanship in American politics.

In July, 2004, Leahy and Orrin Hatch introduced the INDUCE Act aimed at combating piracy. ^*

On November 2, 2004, Leahy easily defeated his opponent, businessman Jack McMullen, with 70.6% of the vote. On January 5th, 2005, Leahy was sworn in for his sixth term in the Senate by Vice President Cheney.

Leahy surprised many when on September 21, 2005 he announced his support for John Roberts to be Chief Justice. Despite often being labeled a liberal Democrat, he has broken with his party on other occasions. However, on January 19, 2006, Leahy announced that he would vote against Judge Samuel Alito to be a justice on the Supreme Court. He has a mixed record on gun control, being one of the few Senate Democrats to vote against the Brady Bill. He voted for NAFTA and in favor of phasing out farm subsidies supported by the populist wing of the Democratic Party. Leahy voted for the Defense of Marriage Act and was one of the few liberal Democrats to support the ban on partial-birth abortions.

On March 2, 2006, Leahy was one of ten senators that voted against the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act, a bill to extend the USA PATRIOT Act.

Trivia

A big fan of the Batman comics, he lent his voice in The Animated Series) of The Animated Series as a Governor in a western tale involving Ra's al Ghul and Jonah Hex. He also appeared as a cameo in Batman and Robin during the Jungle Party Sequence.

Senator Leahy is a fan of the Grateful Dead. He has not only attended concerts, but has taped them, and has a collection of Dead tapes in his Senate Offices. The late Jerry Garcia visited him at his Senate offices, and the Senator gave a tie designed by the late band leader Jerry Garcia to Sen. Orrin Hatch (who responded by giving Leahy a Rush Limbaugh tie). Surviving band members Bob Weir and Mickey Hart have participated in fundraisers for Leahy and his Political Action Committee, the Green Mountain Victory Fund. Leahy also appeared offered a videotaped tribute to the Dead when they received a lifetime achievement award at the 2002 Jammys. His Senate web site notes this response to a question from 7th Grade Students from Vermont's Thetford Academy who asked Leahy which Dead song was his favorite, he replied: "...my favorite is Black Muddy River but we always play Trucking on election night at my headquarters."

Despite Vermont's current status as solid Democratic state, Leahy is the only Democrat to be elected to the US Senate from Vermont since the Civil War. Jim Jeffords was elected as a Republican before he switched to become an independent.

He is quoted on Loung Ung's website: "In this gripping narrative Loung Ung describes the unfathomable evil that engulfed Cambodia during her childhood, the courage that enabled her family to survive, and the determination that has made her an eloquent voice for peace and justice in Cambodia. It is a tour de force that strengthens our resolve to prevent and punish crimes against humanities." The book he is referring to is Lucky Child.

External links

Patrick Leahy

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Early life

U.S. Senator

Trivia

External links