Leadership: As an avid scuba diver, Senator Leahy has a great love for our oceans and the sea life that inhabits them.  Once considered a limitless and inexhaustible resource, our oceans are now in jeopardy from the demands of a growing population that has depleted ocean and coastal resources.  As Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Senator Leahy has led funding efforts to support the Coral Triangle Initiative, which is focused on preserving coastal, littoral, and reef resources in the world’s richest marine habitats with over 500 species of coral and 3,000 species of fish. Senator Leahy has also supported efforts in the Senate to address the issue of marine invasive species that hitch a ride to new habitats either through the discharge of ballast water that ships carry for stability or by attaching to a ship’s hull.

Senator Leahy has been a true champion for Lake Champlain, directing $80 million to clean up and protect the “sixth Great Lake.” Senator Leahy also took a leadership role in responding to the BP Gulf Oil Spill, urging the Obama administration to greatly expand the amount of information released about the spill and pressing for a comprehensive energy strategy driven by renewable energy.

Senator Leahy sponsored:

• S. 1586 (Upper Connecticut River Partnership Act of 2007)
• S. 2093 (Missisquoi and Trout Rivers Wild and Scenic River Study Act of 2008)

Senator Leahy cosponsored:

• S. 1375 (America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act of 2015)
• S. 2165 (A bill to amend title 54, United States Code, to permanently authorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund)
• S. 2238 (Keep It in the Ground Act of 2015)
• S. 2341 (A bill to designate a portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as wilderness)
• S. 2466 (A bill to amend the Safe Water Drinking Act to authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to notify the public if a State agency and public water system are not taking action to address a public health risk associated with drinking water requirements)
• S. 307 (Close Big Oil Tax Loopholes Act of 2013)
• S. 679 (Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013)
• S. 357 (Wildlife Disease Emergecy Act of 2011)
• S. 345 (Tropical Forest and Coral Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2009)
• S. 787 (Clean Water Restoration Act of 2009)
• S. 85 (Shark Conservation Act of 2009)
• S. 1252 (Upper Missisquoi and Trout Wild and Scenic Rivers Act)