VERGENNES/WASHINGTON, D.C. — This past Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy held his second online chat of the 113th Congress with 75 seventh-grade students from Vergennes Union Middle School.
Using the Internet to communicate with the students and their teachers, the Vermont Democrat answered the students’ questions on several issues, including what he hoped to accomplish for the Green Mountain State, how his role as a senator has evolved over time and who his role model was when he first joined the Senate. Leahy, the longest-serving member of the Senate, was first elected to the job in 1974.
Students also asked Leahy about his work in several Batman films and about his childhood growing up in Vermont.
Leahy has long been a leader in Congress in connecting to schoolrooms with Internet tools.
“I’m always glad to have a chance to chat with Vermont students, and the Vergennes middle school students asked some great questions,” Leahy said. “Civics education and exchanges like this offer greater understanding about how government works and how policies are made.”
Teachers interested in holding an online chat with Leahy are encouraged to contact his office in Burlington at (800) 642-3193 or to send an e-mail to him at [email protected].