WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, issued the following news release on Dec. 5, 2023: Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Ranking Member Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.) announced today that they have reached an agreement to markup legislation reauthorizing the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPOR  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 -- Rep. Ann Kuster, D-New Hampshire, issued the following news release: The Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) announces the launch of its J-1 Visa Waiver Program in collaboration with Maine, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont in an ongoing effort to provide rural and underserved areas with adequate access to quality, affordable healthcare. The new program will help address the national healthcare provider shortage by easing the visa requirements for physicians who   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 -- Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vermont, issued the following statement on Dec. 5, 2023: * * * Today, Rep. Becca Balint (VT-AL) released the following statement on today's vote on H.Res 894. "I'm deeply concerned by the rise in antisemitism in recent months - it poses a clear and present threat to Jewish communities in Vermont and around the world. My voting record stands clearly against antisemitism and any form of hate and will continue to. But today's resolution makes a dangerou  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, issued the following remarks on Dec. 4, 2023: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Monday evening spoke on the floor of the U.S. Senate about some of his concerns regarding the $106 billion emergency foreign aid supplemental bill that may soon be considered in the Senate. Sanders' remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below and can be watched here: https://twitter.com/SenSanders/status/1731798894319702199 M. President, Let me say a few words t  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, issued the following statement on Dec. 6, 2023: * * * After voting against the $110.5 billion emergency foreign aid supplemental bill that came before the Senate on Wednesday evening, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) released the following statement. I voted NO on the foreign aid supplemental bill today for one reason. I do not believe that we should give the right-wing extremist Netanyahu government an additional $10.1 billion dollars with no   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, issued the following statement on Dec. 7, 2023: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, on Thursday issued the following statement after the White House announced a new framework to help guide the use of march-in rights to break the patent monopoly on some taxpayer-funded prescription drugs. The Administration's proposal to, for the first time, consider high prices as a fa  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 -- Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, issued the following news release: WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and representatives from Congresswoman Becca Balint's office met yesterday with JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes to call for the reinstatement of flight service between Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport (BTV) and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). The delegation emphasized the importance of bringing the flight service bac  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, issued the following news release on Dec. 7, 2023: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and representatives from Congresswoman Becca Balint's (Vt.-AL) office met yesterday with JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes to call for the reinstatement of flight service between Burlington International Airport (BTV) and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). The delegation emphasized the importance of bringing the flight service back to B  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 -- Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vermont, issued the following news release on Dec. 7, 2023: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and representatives from Congresswoman Becca Balint's (Vt.-AL) office met yesterday with JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes to call for the reinstatement of flight service between Burlington International Airport (BTV) and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). The delegation emphasized the importance of bringing the flight service back to Bur  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, issued the following news release: A discussion draft containing technical corrections and other clarifications with respect to the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, has been released by Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chair Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont) and Ranking Member Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-Louisiana) along with Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-O  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, issued the following statement on Dec. 7, 2023: * * * Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, on Thursday issued the following statement after the White House announced a new framework to help guide the use of march-in rights to break the patent monopoly on some taxpayer-funded prescription drugs: The Ad  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 -- Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-New York, issued the following news release: Congresswoman Elise Stefanik announced that following her advocacy the Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) launched its J-1 Visa Program in collaboration with New York, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont to make quality healthcare accessible to rural America by easing the visa requirements for nondomestic physicians who trained in the U.S. if they agree to practice in underserved areas. NBRC will rec  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 -- Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, issued the following news release: Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today applauded the announcement of $635,465 in federal grant funding to Vermont State University (VTSU) to expand educational opportunities and workforce development in rural communities. The grant is authorized through the USDA's Distance Learning & Telemedicine (DLT) grant program, which provides rural communities with key resources to access advanced telecommunications technolog  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 -- Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, issued the following news release: On December 5, Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) led Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in introducing the Withstanding Extreme Agricultural Threats by Harvesting Economic Resilience (WEATHER) Act, legislation that calls for the development of an index-based insurance policy that is more responsive to crop and income losses faced by farmers as a result of extreme wea  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 -- Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, issued the following news release: Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) joined Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) in introducing bicameral legislation to phase out single-use plastic foam food service products, "loose fill" such as packing peanuts, and non-medical disposable coolers - materials known to cause adverse health effects and pollute waterways. The Farewell to Foam Act will prohibit the sale and distrib  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 -- Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, issued the following news release: Legislation Will Improve Ticket Purchasing & Price Transparency Issues for Consumers WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), member of the Senate Commerce Committee, joined Senators John Cornyn (R-Texas), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) yesterday in introducing the Fans First Act, which would help address flaws in the current live  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 -- Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, issued the following news release: Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) yesterday joined the United States Institute of Peace's (USIP) Congressional Newsmaker Series for a conversation exploring his views on critical foreign policy issues and the importance of supporting democracy to secure enduring global peace, which includes addressing stability in the Western Balkans, rising authoritarianism in Central and South America, Russia's war in Ukraine, and  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 -- Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, issued the following news release: WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) led Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) insending a letter to President Biden urging the nomination of individuals to the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Board of Governors who understand mail delivery challenges facing rural areas. The Senators asked the presi  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 -- Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, issued the following news release: Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today voted to advance debate on President Biden's national security supplemental package and released the following statement: "Tonight, I voted to advance debate on a national security supplemental funding package. If the United States Senate is indeed the 'world's greatest deliberative body,' we owe it to the people to have constructive debate around how their dollars are spent.  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 -- Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, issued the following news release: Bill Passed with Bipartisan Support, Will be Signed Into Law by President Biden Soon WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Senator Peter Welch's (D-Vt.) bipartisan bill, the Testing, Rapid Analysis, and Narcotic Quality (TRANQ) Research Act, passed the United States House of Representatives this week with unanimous support. The bill was passed by the Senate in June and will soon be signed into law by President Biden. The bip  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 -- Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, issued the following news release: Approximately 4.6 million citizens are denied voting rights in Federal elections due to criminal convictions WASHINGTON, D.C. - On December 6, Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) unveiled the Inclusive Democracy Act, brand new, first-of-its-kind legislation that would end felony disenfranchisement in Federal elections, including for the nearly 2 million individuals current  more