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Sen. Patrick Leahy

Senator from Vermont, Democrat

Leahy, a Democrat, is a senator from Vermont and has served since Jan 14, 1975 (next election in 2022).

What you can do

Photo of Sen. Patrick Leahy [D-VT]

Analysis

Legislative Metrics

Read our 2016 Report Card for Leahy.

Sponsorship Analysis

Our unique analysis of the bills Leahy has sponsored and cosponsored provides insight into his position in the Senate.

Each dot in the chart below is a member of the Senate. The dots are positioned horizontally according to our progressive—conservative ideology score and vertically according to our leadership score (leaders toward the top). Leahy is shown as a purple triangle. (analysis methodology)

Committee Membership

Patrick Leahy sits on the following committees:

Enacted Legislation

Leahy was the primary sponsor of 107 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:

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We consider a bill enacted if one of the following is true: a) it is enacted itself, b) it has a companion bill in the other chamber (as identified by Congress) which was enacted, or c) if about one third or more of its provisions were incorporated into bills that were enacted (as determined by an automated text analysis, applicable beginning with bills in the 110th Congress).

Bills Sponsored

Issue Areas

Leahy sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:

Crime and Law Enforcement (31%) Government Operations and Politics (19%) Commerce (14%) Taxation (10%) International Affairs (10%) Immigration (6%) Science, Technology, Communications (4%) Armed Forces and National Security (4%)

Recent Bills

Some of Leahy’s most recently sponsored bills include...

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Voting Record

Key Votes

Leahy’s Vote Vote Description
Nay H.R. 5325: Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2017
Sep 28, 2016. Bill Passed 72/26.
Nay S. 2943: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017
Jun 14, 2016. Bill Passed 85/13.
Yea H.R. 22: Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy Act
Dec 3, 2015. Conference Report Agreed to 83/16.
H.R 22, formerly the Hire More Heroes Act, has become the Senate’s vehicle for passage of the Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy Act or DRIVE Act (S. 1647). The DRIVE Act is a major bipartisan transportation bill that would authorize funding ...
Yea H.R. 22: Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy Act
Jul 30, 2015. Bill Passed 65/34.
This vote turned H.R 22, originally the Hire More Heroes Act, into the Senate’s vehicle for passage of the Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy Act or DRIVE Act (S. 1647), a major bipartisan transportation bill, and the Export-Import Bank Reform and ...
Nay H.R. 5771 (113th): Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014
Dec 16, 2014. Bill Passed 76/16.
Nay H.J.Res. 124 (113th): Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2015
Sep 18, 2014. Joint Resolution Passed 78/22.
Nay H.R. 4853 (111th): Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010
Dec 15, 2010. Motion Agreed to 81/19.
The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (Pub.L. 111–312, H.R. 4853, 124 Stat. 3296, enacted December 17, 2010), also known as the 2010 Tax Relief Act, was passed by the United States Congress on December 16, 2010, and signed into ...
Yea On the Nomination PN64-6: Timothy F. Geithner, of New York, to be Secretary of the Treasury
Jan 26, 2009. Nomination Confirmed 60/34.
Yea On the Nomination PN177: Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., in the Army, to be General
Feb 8, 2007. Nomination Confirmed 83/14.

Missed Votes

From Jan 1975 to Jul 2017, Leahy missed 585 of 15,919 roll call votes, which is 3.7%. This is much worse than the median of 1.3% among the lifetime records of senators currently serving. The chart below reports missed votes over time.

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Primary Sources

The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including: