WASHINGTON, March 20 -- Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, issued the following news release: Today, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate's only former Public Defender, urged appropriate funding for the Federal Public Defender program in the upcoming appropriations bills ahead of this Friday's funding deadline for certain agencies. "I was a public defender--I have enormous respect for the work that you do in the judicial system, and I have enor  more

WASHINGTON, March 22 -- Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vermont, issued the following news release: * * * "Federal spending is a reflection of our values. And Vermonters are sick of inflating an unchecked Pentagon budget - following nothing but failed audits. It's time we finally invest instead in the urgent needs of working families. "I'll always support a strong defense system for our country and a fully funded National Guard. But it's unconscionable to vote to give the military nearly a trillion dol  more

WASHINGTON, March 22 -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, issued the following news release on March 21, 2024: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) today reintroduced essential legislation that would take on the affordable housing crisis and the existential threat of climate change. The Green New Deal for Public Housing Act invests up to $234 billion over ten years to transition the entire public housing stock in the United States into zero-carbon, highly energy-  more

WASHINGTON, March 19 -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, issued the following statement on March 18, 2024: * * * Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, on Monday issued the following statement after AstraZeneca announced that it would cap out-of-pocket costs at $35 per month for its asthma and COPD inhalers, starting on June 1, 2024. The announcement comes on the heels of the January 8 HELP Committee investigation, led by C  more

WASHINGTON, March 21 -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, issued the following statement on March 20, 2024: * * * Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, on Wednesday issued the following statement after GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the largest manufacturer of inhaler products in the United States, announced that it would cap out-of-pocket costs at $35 per month for its asthma and COPD inhalers no later than January 1, 2025. These pr  more

WASHINGTON, March 23 -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, issued the following news release: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, Pensions (HELP) Committee, this week introduced legislation that would ensure that the United States finally joins virtually every other major country on Earth in guaranteeing workers the right to earn paid annual vacation leave. This legislation comes just a week after Sanders introduced legislation and held a HELP Committee he  more

BURLINGTON, Vermont, March 19 -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, issued the following news release on March 18, 2024: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced on Monday that he secured more than $42.5 million in federal funding on behalf of 36 Vermont projects that address critical needs across the state, including in affordable housing, child care, infrastructure, clean energy and water, and rural development. The funding for Sanders' Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) projects was included  more

WASHINGTON, March 20 -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, issued the following news release on March 19, 2024: As the United States participates this week in negotiations at the World Health Organization (WHO) to establish the Pandemic Accord, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee Subcommittee on Health, and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (  more

WASHINGTON, March 19 -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, issued the following op-ed: A sad fact about the politics of Washington is that some of the most important issues facing the United States and the world are rarely debated in a serious manner. Nowhere is that more true than in the area of foreign policy. For many decades, there has been a "bipartisan consensus" on foreign affairs. Tragically, that consensus has almost always been wrong. Whether it has been the wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan,  more

WASHINGTON, March 21 -- Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, issued the following news release: Today, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.-14) reintroduced the Green New Deal for Public Housing Act, legislation cosponsored by U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), that would take on the affordable housing crisis and the existential threat of climate change. The bill invests up to $234 billion over ten years to transition public housing stock in the Un  more

WASHINGTON, March 19 -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, issued the following statement on March 18, 2024: * * * Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, on Monday issued the following statement after AstraZeneca announced that it would cap out-of-pocket costs at $35 per month for its asthma and COPD inhalers, starting on June 1, 2024. The announcement comes   more

WASHINGTON, March 23 -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, issued the following news release on March 22, 2024: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, Pensions (HELP) Committee, this week introduced legislation that would ensure that the United States finally joins virtually every other major country on Earth in guaranteeing workers the right to earn paid annual vacation leave. This legislat  more

WASHINGTON, March 20 -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, issued the following news release on March 19, 2024: As the United States participates this week in negotiations at the World Health Organization (WHO) to establish the Pandemic Accord, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means  more

WASHINGTON, March 21 -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, issued the following statement on March 20, 2024: * * * Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, on Wednesday issued the following statement after GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the largest manufacturer of inhaler products in the United States, announced that it would cap out-of-pocket costs at $35 per month for  more

WASHINGTON, March 21 -- Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vermont, issued the following news release: * * * WATCH: Rep. Becca Balint Slams Republicans for Craven, Hateful Anti Trans Bills Today, Rep. Becca Balint (VT-AL) called out hateful anti-trans bills in the House Judiciary Committee. Her remarks below: "So here we are, spending time, once again, using our valuable time to pick on a class of people in this country. I believe I'm the only person on this committee who represents the LGBTQ community.  more

WASHINGTON, March 21 -- Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, issued the following news release: In a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this week, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), slammed the Supreme Court and Republican-led state legislatures for their continued assault on reproductive freedoms, including their unwillingness to protect the rights of families who need in vitro fertilization (IVF). The Senator directly addressed remarks made by Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) pertaining to individual privac  more

WASHINGTON, March 22 -- Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, issued the following news release: In a Senate Commerce Committee hearing this week, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), member of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband, discussed the importance of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which provides affordable high-speed internet options to households across the United States. Senator Welch highlighted how critical the ACP is to Vermont, and called on Co  more

WASHINGTON, March 19 -- Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, issued the following news release: Last week, U.S. Senator Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.)--the first Black and openly LGBTQ+ senator to serve in the Senate--and U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.), led Senate colleagues in introducing the Pride in Mental Health Act, cosponsored by U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), which would strengthen mental health and crisis intervention resources for at-risk LGBTQ+ youth. "Accessing mental health care and sup  more

WASHINGTON, March 20 -- Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, issued the following news release: Following disastrous Dobbs decision, ACCESS Act would support providers in states where abortion remains legal Today, U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) introduced the Abortion Care Capacity Enhancement and Support Services (ACCESS) Act, legislation cosponsored by U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), which would establish a federal grant program for health care organization  more

WASHINGTON, March 19 -- Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, issued the following news release: Research has shown that many eligible voters still fail to exercise their right to vote because they are unable to get time off from work U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) recently introduced the Time Off to Vote Act, legislation cosponsored by U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), that would require employers--upon the request of the employee--to provide at least two consecutive hours of paid leave in   more

WASHINGTON, March 19 -- Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, issued the following news release on March 18, 2024: Additional federal funding for Vermont to come in the next budget vote BURLINGTON, VT - U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) announced today he has secured nearly $30 million in federal funds in the recently-passed budget to support 19 Vermont projects. The projects will improve local infrastructure and accessibility, bolster economic revitalization, preserve community landmarks, and build mor  more

WASHINGTON, March 18 -- Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, issued the following news release: Additional federal funding for Vermont to come in the next budget vote BURLINGTON, VT - U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) announced today he has secured nearly $30 million in federal funds in the recently-passed budget to support 19 Vermont projects. The projects will improve local infrastructure and accessibility, bolster economic revitalization, preserve community landmarks, and build more affordable housi  more

WASHINGTON, March 21 -- Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, issued the following news release: Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) released the following statement ahead of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources' hearing to consider the nominations of David Roser, Lindsay See, and Judy Chang to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for terms ending in 2027, 2028 and 2029, respectively: "Updating America's aging transmission infrastructure is key to unlocking the climate benefits of the   more

WASHINGTON, March 20 -- Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, issued the following news release: After 2017 GOP bill gutted it, Welch and Baldwin bill would bring back law to ensure victims of frauds and scams aren't hit with additional tax bill Bill Comes in Response to Constituent Outreach on Scammer Targeting Retirement Account in Vermont Today, U.S. Senators Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) introduced the Tax Relief for Victims of Crimes, Scams, and Disasters Act, legislation to give  more

WASHINGTON, March 19 -- Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, issued the following news release: Today, U.S. Senators Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.) introduced the Artificial Intelligence Consumer Opt-In, Notification Standards, and Ethical Norms for Training (AI CONSENT) Act, legislation that would require online platforms to obtain consumers' express informed consent before using their personal data to train artificial intelligence (AI) models. Failure to do so would be considered a de  more