i became the first leahy to get a college degree, but because i stayed in vermont, i traveled only 45 minutes up the road to st. michael's college. i received an excellent education. but then i left vermont to come to washington, d.c., and was very proud to receive a law degree from georgetown university. and then i returned home to vermont. i served is as state's attorney for chitlin county. since then, of course, i became a u.s. senator. as vermont's senior senator serving the last 46 years, i speak with community leaders, dairy farmers, small business owners, educators, vermonters across the state every single day. now, as a lifelong vermonter, i believe i know my state very well. i have a deep understanding of vermont's communities, vermonters, and their needs. but for the past decade, i've had to fight for them here in washington with my hands tied behind my back. but that can be said of every single member of this chamber. they've had their hands tied. why? because we ceded the power of the purse to unelected bureaucrats here in washington when we reinstituted a ban on congressionally directed spending. so, as a re