AP Interview: Retiring Vermont Sen. Leahy ponders his legacy

By WILSON RING
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Patrick Leahy is wrapping up a 48-year career representing Vermont. The longest-serving Senate Democrat tells The Associated Press that he’s leaving with a mixture of resignation and resolve. Leahy laments the hyperpartisanship gripping Congress, but he’s also hopeful that the institution can return to the one he got to know when he arrived in 1975. Back then, Leahy says, most senators could hold starkly different views but still find ways “to get things done.” Without that, he warns, the country will be “severely damaged.” Leahy counts among his achievements helping to establish what is now the nearly $60 billion organic food industry. Closer to home, he’s helped put millions of dollars toward cleaning up Lake Champlain.