This Thursday, November 9th, 7:00 - 8:00 pm
The Patrick J. Leahy Public Policy Forum
THE LEGACY OF U.S. SENATOR PATRICK LEAHY
Senator Leahy And The Courts
With Ed Pagano, Deputy Assistant to President Barack Obama for Legislative Affairs and Bruce Cohen, Senator Leahy's Chief Counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Our newly titled The Patrick J. Leahy Public Policy Forum is dedicated this term to the legacy of Senator Leahy and what effects this had on our democracy. Patrick J. Leahy was United States Senator from Vermont from 1975 to 2023, a career that put him front and center in American history for almost fifty years. This Fall's series invites historians, politicians, and those who know Leahy best to discuss and analyze the key policies that have impacted history, our democracy and the future of the United States.
Ed Pagano served in the Obama administration as Senate Liaison and Deputy Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs. In this role, Ed was responsible for managing the Senate Legislative Affairs Office and charged with advancing the president’s legislative agenda and promoting his priorities on Capitol Hill. He coordinated the administration’s legislative strategy on Senate action concerning issues that included patent reform, immigration reform, the Affordable Care Act, the Violence Against Women Act, reforms to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), gun violence prevention and judicial nominations. Before joining the White House in 2012, Ed worked for nearly two decades with Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), both for the senator’s office and the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Sen. Leahy. This included serving as Sen. Leahy’s chief of staff, managing the senator’s offices in Washington and Vermont and overseeing the senator’s work on the Judiciary, Agriculture and Appropriations committees. During that time, he advised Sen. Leahy on legislation—such as the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, the first major reform of the patent system in 60 years—and Supreme Court hearings and confirmations, including those of Justice Sotomayor and Justice Kagan.
Bruce Cohen served as a top lawyer in the Senate for almost two decades working for Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont and was recognized by Roll Call as among the most outstanding staff on Capitol Hill during his time there. Described by The Legal Times as “one of the most influential lawyers on Capitol Hill”, he coordinated the Democratic staff of the Senate Judiciary Committee and worked with his Republican counterparts, the Senate leadership, the House, and the administrations of Presidents Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama. He had been the Chief Counsel and Staff Director of the Senate Judiciary Committee for several years when he left the Hill in the summer of 2013, after Senate passage of comprehensive immigration reform legislation. Bruce and his wife Mary Louise were 2014 Fellows with the Advanced Leadership Initiative at Harvard University. They then founded Talent Beyond Boundaries to develop private sector solutions to improve economic opportunities for refugee and other displaced persons. Their initiative is to open skill pathways for refugee to relocate safely and legally to countries in which they can utilize their education and work experience to support themselves and their families. It has proven successful in Canada, Australia, and the UK. It is gaining traction as a complementary soluion with the UN Refugee Agency and other refugee-serving organizations.
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
held in the CAPA SYMPOSIUM
