Peter Welch
is on Facebook.
To connect with Peter Welch, sign up for Facebook today.
Sign UpLog In
Cover Photo
Peter Welch - Burlington

Peter Welch
4,322 likes · 436 talking about this

More
  1. Photo of the Day: Rep. Welch is interviewed about the fiscal cliff negotiations in his Capitol Hill office today by Alan Chartock of WAMC radio.
    Photo: Photo of the Day: Rep. Welch is interviewed about the fiscal cliff negotiations in his Capitol Hill office today by Alan Chartock of WAMC radio.
  2. Recent Posts by Others on Peter WelchSee All
    • Peter was on MSNBC this afternoon. A co worker who had never seen him before , was impressed by the clarity of his expression and the assurance when discussing the politics of this fiscal cliff dance macabre.
      9 hours ago
    •  http://www.nagr.org/HillaryUN2012.aspx?pid=FB17
      15 hours ago
    • Stephanie Potter
      I think you need some help with this page, Mr. Welch. It felt like an advertisement for a campaign rather than an issues and information page. I say this respectfully, I like you, and voted for you. What's happening with the farm bill, was my original question. Thanks, and Good Luck out there!
      18 hours ago
    • U.S. Air Force in Corrupt Practice AIR FORCE F-35 BOONDOGGLE: A BOON FOR OFFICIALS IN THE BOONIES? By William Boardman panthers007@comcast.net The Governor of Vermont and the Mayor of Burlington have decided to flaunt their corrupt behavior as they engage in a private, lobbyist-paid trip supported by a directly interested party in a charade of investigation designed to bring a nuclear weapons system to Vermont at the expense of the health, welfare, and homes of thousands of Vermonters. That’s not exactly the way Governor Peter Shumlin put it at his news conference December 6 when he announced that he would be taking a trip to Florida, in a private jet paid for by the Greater Burlington Industrial Corporation, to visit the Eglin Air Force Base, in order to listen personally to an F-35 nuclear-capable stealth fighter bomber that has created significant controversy in Vermont because of the Air Force’s potential plan to base the world’s most expensive weapons system in the midst of Vermont’s most populated area. Accompanying the governor on the December 12 Florida trip, he said, would be Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger and Winooski Mayor Michael O’Brien. All three elected officials are Democrats and the mayors endorsed the governor’s 2012 re-election. Shumlin and Weinberger endorsed the F-35 as Burlington’s own WMD last May. Although the F-35 would be based at the Burlington Airport in South Burlington if it comes to Vermont, the governor has excluded South Burlington officials from his Florida trip. The South Burlington City Council recently voted unanimously to reaffirm its opposition to an F-35 base that would devastate the city. City Council chair Rosanne Greco is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and former Pentagon planner, whose concise and wide-ranging critique of the Air Force plans have gone unrefuted. Air Force Stonewalls on Releasing Information Rather than rebut Col. Greco’s analysis, the Air Force has so far chosen to stonewall requests for data on which its plans are supposedly based. To date there has been almost no transparency to what is supposed to be a public review process. Misrepresenting the nature of his trip at his news conference, Governor Shumlim said: "I'm honored that it's possible for me and the mayors of the cities - the closest cities - that would be impacted and others to listen to them…. I do think when you're making a decision of this magnitude it's important that you know what you're talking about." Besides ignoring the absence of anyone from the closest city, South Burlington, when the governor talked about “making a decision of this magnitude,” he was talking about a decision that was out of his hands and would be made by the Air Force and others at the Pentagon. The Governor chose to rubber stamp the plan in an unofficial manner when the Air Force presented its environmental impact statement that, among other things, finds that the F-35 is twice as loud as the planes now based in South Burlington and that the impact of the base will render thousands of homes around the airport “unsuitable for residential use,” in the Air Force’s sanitized phrase. "I think I owe it to Vermonters to listen to an F-35 as compared to an F-16 and see what it sounds like," the governor said, without addressing his lack of training in sound engineering or any other relevant expertise. Have Any Officials Read the Air Force Report? At the “F-35 in South Burlington” blogspot, longtime F-35 opponent Juliet Beth Buck suggested that if the governor wanted to be “informed,” he might read the Air Force’s environmental impact statement. It is not clear whether the governor has read the report or not, but back in May he expressed “unconditional support” for the F-35 at the first hearing on the report, as reported in VTDigger blog, which has mostly stopped reporting on F-35 opposition. On Vermont Public Radio, where the early online comments mocked the governor’s jaunt, the main story quoted Juliet Beth Buck: "My first thought was, ‘Oh good. We have three people who know nothing about noise going somewhere to not measure noise and spend the taxpayers' money doing it….’ [Shumlin] is going to be standing up there with a large group of people who approve of this project. Nobody who's opposed to this project is invited. Nobody who can actually evaluate the quality of that noise has been invited." While the Industrial Corporation has said it would pay the travel costs of about $23,000, none of the officials have yet said they would return a pro-rated part of their salaries, and any involvement of the Vermont National Guard or the Air Force would mean further expenditures of tax dollars on a one-sided travelling show. Exploring the one-dimensional nature of the Florida contingent in Seven Days, Paul Heinz talked to the head of the Industrial Corporation, Frank Ciofffi, himself an ardent supporter of the F-35 who organized a misleading petition drive aimed at coercing the South Burlington City Council into backing down on facts he couldn’t disprove. Asked about the make-up of his air show audience, Cioffi explained the deliberate omissions this way: "Basically everyone on the South Burlington City Council has their mind made up one way or the other….I didn't invite them because their minds are made up already. They've already staked out their position and their position is their position." Contingent’s Pre-Trip Bias Goes Unexplained Cioffi had no explanation why the trip includes so many people on record in favor of the F-35 – not only Shumlin and Weinberger, but National Guard Brig. Gen. Ernie Cray and Burlington real estate multi-millionaire Ernie Pomerleau. The only member of the delegation who appears possibly outside the military-industrial complex is Winooski mayor O’Brien, whose city council passed a temporizing resolution several month ago, seeking “more information,” so it makes sense to head south with people who can offer both “information” and future campaign support. When Heinz asked Col. Greco about her exclusion from the info-gathering expedition, she responded: "I'd like to go only because I'd like to have the opportunity to sit down and talk with the governor and both mayors about the F-35…. Going to hear aircraft in another location that is still in testing to see if I personally find the noise too loud, too soft, just right, is, I think, a waste of time." Bad faith permeates this dog-and-pony exercise, leaving the governor and other elected officials apparently thinking the public is stupid enough to accept a pointless “investigation” that is structurally anti-democratic and without intellectual integrity. On the other hand, that’s not really new news.
      Wednesday at 3:08pm
    • Chuck Piotrowski
       Please help Vermont to set the national record for a single day blood drive. Give blood at the Gift-of-Life Marathon Blood Drive in Rutland on Tuesday, December 18. Register to donate here http://www.giftoflifemarathon.com/
      Tuesday at 6:56am
  3. Rep. Peter Welch will return to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce in the 113th Congress and has been appointed to the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. He will remain a member of the House Democratic leadership team as a Chief Deputy Whip.
  4. LikesSee All
  5. "I am proud of all the Vermonters who have served or are currently serving in the Peace Corps around the world, making our state one of the national leaders for Peace Corps volunteers."

    -Peter Welch
  6. Photo of the Day: Rep. Welch speaks with a constituent at a recent Congress in Your Community event in Newbury. Rep. Welch holds these events to hear from you and your family. To check out where Rep. Welch has been recently and upcoming Congress in Your Community events, visit Rep. Welch’s Events page: http://www.facebook.com/PeterWelch/events.
    Photo: Photo of the Day: Rep. Welch speaks with a constituent at a recent Congress in Your Community event in Newbury. Rep. Welch holds these events to hear from you and your family. To check out where Rep. Welch has been recently and upcoming Congress in Your Community events, visit Rep. Welch’s Events page: http://www.facebook.com/PeterWelch/events.
  7. Rep. Welch is working to bring Vermont's way of governing to Washington by finding areas of common ground where Republicans and Democrats can make progress. http://www.rollcall.com/news/tea_party_conservative_liberal_team_up_in_new_efficiency_caucus-219860-1.html?pos=oplyh
    Photo: Rep. Welch is working to bring Vermont's way of governing to Washington by finding areas of common ground where Republicans and Democrats can make progress. http://www.rollcall.com/news/tea_party_conservative_liberal_team_up_in_new_efficiency_caucus-219860-1.html?pos=oplyh
  8. Rep. Welch, along with Senator Patrick Leahy and Senator Bernie Sanders, announced today that Southern Vermont has received $470,000 to boost long term Irene recovery efforts. Welch, Leahy and Sanders said: “This infusion of funding will sp...
    eed the recovery of many southern Vermont communities still working hard to recover from Irene. Vermonters continue to pull together as neighbors and friends to support one another, but there are still many unmet needs. This investment will boost recovery efforts and strengthen the region’s long-term economic recovery as we rebound from the damage.”
    See More
  9. Photo of the Day: Rep. Welch checks out solar panels on the roof of Black River Produce in Springfield. Black River Produce is a wholesale food company that purchases goods from 120 Vermont farmers throughout the state. The solar panel project is expected to reduce their energy use by 50 percent.
    Photo: Photo of the Day: Rep. Welch checks out solar panels on the roof of Black River Produce in Springfield. Black River Produce is a wholesale food company that purchases goods from 120 Vermont farmers throughout the state. The solar panel project is expected to reduce their energy use by 50 percent.
  10. Rep. Welch talking with Vermonters at a Congress in Your Community event at the Windsor Diner this morning.
    Photo: Rep. Welch talking with Vermonters at a Congress in Your Community event at the Windsor Diner this morning.
  11. Rep. Peter Welch issued the below statement following the announcement that the Supreme Court will hear arguments on the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California’s Proposition 8.

    “At long last, the Supreme Cou...
    rt will give marriage equality its day in court. As Vermont affirmed before any other state, the quality of love two people share is more important than their gender. Discriminatory laws like DOMA and Proposition 8 are unconstitutional. The Supreme Court should follow Vermont’s lead and settle this issue once and for all.”
    See More
    Photo: Rep. Peter Welch issued the below statement following the announcement that the Supreme Court will hear arguments on the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California’s Proposition 8.

“At long last, the Supreme Court will give marriage equality its day in court. As Vermont affirmed before any other state, the quality of love two people share is more important than their gender. Discriminatory laws like DOMA and Proposition 8 are unconstitutional. The Supreme Court should follow Vermont’s lead and settle this issue once and for all.”
  12. Rep. Welch has launched a bipartisan effort with Rep. Cory Gardner (R-CO) to find ways to advance energy efficiency legislation in the next Congress. Although Welch and Gardner may not agree on what energy source is best, they agree that using less energy is a good thing. They’re working to find common ground where it exists and make progress.
  13. With Medicare Open Enrollment, the once-a-year opportunity for seniors to make changes to their Medicare coverage plans, ending Friday, Rep. Welch visited Cathedral Square Senior Living this morning in Burlington to encourage seniors to take advantage of the remaining time. For more information visit http://www.medicare.gov/
    Photo: With Medicare Open Enrollment, the once-a-year opportunity for seniors to make changes to their Medicare coverage plans, ending Friday, Rep. Welch visited Cathedral Square Senior Living this morning in Burlington to encourage seniors to take advantage of the remaining time. For more information visit http://www.medicare.gov/
  14. Rep. Welch at the White Market in St. Johnsbury hearing from constituents at a Congress in Your Community event.
    Photo: Rep. Welch at the White Market in St. Johnsbury hearing from constituents at a Congress in Your Community event.
  15. Rep. Welch speaking with a constituent at a Congress in Your Community event in Newbury this morning.
    Photo: Rep. Welch speaking with a constituent at a Congress in Your Community event in Newbury this morning.
  16. Rep. Welch will be speaking on the House floor at 9 a.m. to urge Congress to pass the Farm Bill and provide certainty for Vermont dairy farmers. It's been 141 days since the House Agriculture Committee passed a bipartisan bill, but House leaders have been so far unwilling to bring the bill to the floor for a full vote. Watch Rep. Welch at 9 a.m. on http://www.c-span.org/Live-Video/C-SPAN/
  17. With negotiations continuing over the fiscal cliff, Rep. Welch went on Current TV to argue that any debt reduction plan has to be balanced with the revenues and the Pentagon playing substantial roles in reducing the nation’s debt. He also argued that while we look to reduce the debt, we must keep an eye to the future and ensure we make the necessary investments in infrastructure to keep the economy strong.
  18. With online shopping increasing as the holiday season approaches, Rep. Welch spoke with WCAX yesterday about the need to level the playing field between Main Street retailers and out-of-state internet sellers. Local retailers are at a compe...
    titive disadvantage because they must collect sales taxes at the point of sale while out-of-state retailers, including many large online and catalog retailers, in effect give their customers a discount by collecting no state or local sales taxes.
    See More
  19. With online purchases expected to top $2 billion this Cyber Monday, Rep. Welch is urging Congress to level the playing field for small businesses and pass the Main Street Fairness Act. "With a record amount to be spent online today, it’s si...
    mply not fair that a potential customer can walk into a downtown store, try out a product, but then buy it online without having to pay a sales tax," said Rep. Welch. "This legislation will be a shot in the arm to Main Street businesses and downtowns, especially in rural areas like Vermont."
    See More

Earlier in December

Earlier in November

Earlier in 2012