When Sen. Patrick Leahy made the surprise announcement last December that he’d turned down a promotion to chair the Senate Appropriations Committee, his explanation went something like this: With immigration reform and gun legislation on the Judiciary Committee’s agenda — not to mention a possible Supreme Court nominee or two — that’s where the action would be.
Turns out he was right.
Just minutes before the Senate passed sweeping immigration reform legislation Thursday afternoon by a vote of 68 to 32, Leahy paused to reflect on the role his committee played in the bill’s passage.
Over the course of three weeks, he said during a speech on the Senate floor, the Judiciary Committee spent 37 hours debating and amending the bill.
“We considered 212 amendments from Democrats and Republicans and approved 136 amendments in a room filled with spectators on both sides of the issue,” Leahy said. “Of the amendments approved in committee, 47 were Republican amendments and all but three were adopted with bipartisan support. Even the staunchest opponents of this legislation have praised the Judiciary Committee’s process for consideration of this bill.”
Well, if I don’t say so myself!
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When will Leahy take the same interest in protecting the people who live in the “not suitable for residential use” zone around the Burlington International Airport caused by the deployment of the F-35? There must be a reason for his selective choice of who to protect from the government.