Democracy is about getting out the vote, not suppressing it. I support the #ForThePeople Act to protect voting access for all Americans, regardless of party or where they’re from.
President Biden campaigned on the idea of uniting the country. If our voices cannot be heard, then how can anyone listen? That’s why I’m supporting the #ForThePeople Act, to ensure that everyone’s voice is heard.
Voters are supposed to choose their politicians, not the other way around. Let’s end partisan gerrymandering by passing the #ForThePeople Act and protecting the freedom of every American to vote.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
Yesterday I spoke with EPA Administrator @EPAMichaelRegan about the EPA’s important Geographic Programs, and how programs for Lake Champlain and the Great Lakes programs can benefit one another.
The Lake Champlain program, which the Trump administration repeatedly sought to ELIMINATE, is fundamental to EPA’s mission. #Appropriations
I also asked Administrator Regan about the PCB contamination at #BurlingtonHighSchool, which is so pervasive that the school has to be demolished.
Domestic violent extremism is hardly a new problem in America, but we're facing a class of criminals who are more emboldened than ever. Why? Never before had these extremists received political cover from an American President. That's what we saw during the last four years.
As Appropriations Committee Chairman, I'm committed to combatting violent extremism in ALL its forms. But let's not draw false equivalence between white supremacist extremists--who represent the MOST LETHAL threat we face--& other types of extremism. Let's follow the facts.
We must combat the threat of domestic extremism the American way. Let’s not repeat the mistakes of our past & sacrifice rights & liberties in the name of security. I've always defended Americans' civil liberties regardless of who's in charge. I won't hesitate to do so again now.
There’s much to love about @Amtrak’s proposed new service map. Over the past decade I worked in the #Appropriations Committee to secure millions of dollars to extend the Ethan Allen from Rutland to #BTV. The construction work making that expansion will be completed this year.
On the #Appropriations Committee I’ve always made #Amtrak a funding priority. We also secured Obama-era ARRA funds to make major investments in the #Vermonter route to increase its speeds. These prior federal investments make the #VT expansions Amtrak has laid out possible.
My 2016 #preclearance legislation set the table for extending the Vermonter to #MTL & I look forward to working with Pres. Biden, @Amtrak & Canadian officials to finally restore that service. Connecting #VT & Montreal by rail will offer an important boost to Vermont’s economy.
I was proud this afternoon to meet up with Vermonters from the Vermont National Guard who’ve been in Washington to protect the Capitol and our nation during this historic week. We are grateful for their service.
If our democracy is to endure, and I believe it will, today must mark the beginning of the end of the dark undercurrent of insurrection fueled and exploited by President Trump. Read my comment on the President’s second impeachment here: leahy.senate.gov/press/comment-…
Pres. Trump has not simply failed to uphold his oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution, which itself would be sufficient to warrant impeachment and removal. He has emerged as the *greatest threat* to the Constitution and to American democracy in a generation.
I hope that Leader McConnell and Senate Republicans will stand with our constitutional republic, as did 10 Republicans in the House today. For the good of the country, he must lead his party in voting to convict Pres. Trump and to prevent him from holding future office.
Today marks the eighth year anniversary since the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary. I am thinking of all the families that had someone taken from them on that terrible day.
I’ve always been inspired by how so many Sandy Hook parents channeled their grief and hardship to push for commonsense changes to our nation’s gun laws, to hopefully prevent such tragedies from occurring again.
With their support, as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2013, I advanced 4 bills to reduce gun violence, including universal background check legislation. All were defeated on the Senate floor due to Republican opposition.