Articles

By Sam Hemmingway
Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said Tuesday he will head to Afghanistan later this week to meet with military and government officials there and to visit with some of the 1,500 Vermont National Guard soldiers deployed in the country.

By John Flowers

MIDDLEBURY — U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., wants to harness the power of Vermont's growing renewable energy industry to fuel more "green" initiatives at the national level.

By Jared Allen and Russell Berman  -  07/20/10 07:43 PM ET

In what may be a preview of the fiscal battle to come, a group of House Democrats criticized their party on Tuesday for failing to back specific deficit-reduction proposals.

“We have been frustrated, quite frankly, with both parties,” said Rep. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), who formed a working group with four other Democrats that is devoted to advancing spending cuts. “We can’t just be talking about generalities.”

Peters and Reps. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Jim Himes (D-Conn.) and John Adler (D-N.J.) challenged the Democratic leadership to embrace proposals that have specific dollar figures and programs attached to them.

A Vermont lawmaker trying to get Congress to approve a new job training program for unemployed and under-employed veterans says he is worried about what happens when troops return from combat deployments to find their jobs have disappeared.

Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said he has been warned that up to 20 percent of Vermont National Guard troops now deployed to Afghanistan could be unemployed when they return. That’s one reason why he is pushing for help in teaching them new and marketable skills.

Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., toured green energy businesses in Burlington and Richford on Friday and called for the passage of legislation he has sponsored to bolster Vermont's growing renewable energy and energy efficiency industries.

Speaking at Draker Labs on Burlington's North Street, Welch outlined his support for three bills, which together would eliminate subsidies for big oil companies, expand tax incentives for renewable energy businesses and launch an energy efficiency revolution.

"The environmental and economic tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico is just the latest reminder that our nation's energy policy is broken," Welch said in a news release. "At the same time that oil spews into the Gulf, China and India are taking the lead in creating green jobs, American families are spending too much on their energy bills, and our national security is being compromised.

By BRUCE EDWARDS Rutland Herald

Small business owner Sheryl Trainor said it's the difference between "just barely scraping by" and making "a comfortable living and paying her employees a living wage."

The "difference," said Trainor, who owns Quechee Mobil, is what she regards as exorbitant "swipe fees" imposed for credit and debit card transactions.

With up to 80 percent of her business dependent on credit and debit card transactions, Trainor said it's why she supports legislation now before Congress that would break the stranglehold that banks and credit card companies have on transaction fees.

The "swipe fee" amendment to the comprehensive financial overhaul bill has the support of retailers around the state as well as Vermont's congressional delegation. The measure is opposed by Vermont's community banks and credit unions, who say it will raise costs that will be passed on to their customers.

NEAL P. GOSWAMI

Tuesday June 15, 2010

BENNINGTON -- Vermont Democratic Congressman Peter Welch continues to pressure BP to hold itself accountable for the Gulf coast oil spill, calling Tuesday for the company to fund an escrow account with funds the company would otherwise distribute to shareholders.

BP, the company whose off-shore well is spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico, should halt dividend payments to shareholders and millions of dollars in television advertising and put the money toward cleanup of the worst oil spill in U.S. history, Rep. Peter Welch said Tuesday in a letter to the company’s chief executive officer.

“BP is showing more regard for its shareholders than for the people of the Gulf Coast,” Welch, D-Vt., said. “Their first obligation is to clean up the Gulf.”

Welch’s comments mirror those made last week by President Barack Obama on dividends and the advertising. Welch said he expected to collect the signatures of 30 congressional colleagues on his letter.

By Nicole Gaudiano

WASHINGTON -- Democratic Rep. Peter Welch of Vermont and two other House members are urging their colleagues to back legislation that would limit the fees banks charge merchants each time consumers swipe a debit card.

By JIM ABRAMS (AP)

WASHINGTON — Democrats say homeowners could foster jobs, clean up the earth and save themselves some serious money — just by making their homes more energy efficient under a bill expected to pass the House Thursday.