Clean Energy and Lower Bills
"America simply cannot afford an energy policy that leaves us dependent upon fossil fuels, beholden to hostile foreign governments, and responsible for degrading our environment. We must embrace a new energy future that invests in energy efficiency, promotes renewable energy and reduces carbon pollution."
Spotlight on Energy
Energy efficiency creates good manufacturing and installation jobs, cuts energy bills, and improves the environment. Rep. Welch is the leading proponent of energy efficiency in the House of Representatives. Building on Vermont’s national leadership in the field of energy efficiency, he has advanced legislation to cut energy bills for homeowners, farmers, businesses, schools, apartment buildings and government buildings. In 2015, President Obama signed into law bipartisan legislation authored by Rep. Welch to improve the efficiency of commercial buildings, water heaters, and federal buildings.
Rep. Welch has also been a forceful advocate for renewable energy resources. He is fighting for national standards for renewable energy and strongly supports incentives to develop clean energy resources and the good jobs that go with them.
More on Clean Energy and Lower Bills
WASHINGTON – Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) introduced a congressional resolution designating the week of June 11 through June 15, 2018 as “High Performance Building Week.” The resolution recognizes that high performance buildings promote water and energy efficiency, protecting natural resources and reducing costs for building occupants.
Lawmakers concerned with negative public health impacts, lack of scientific analysis
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representative Peter Welch (D-Vt.) called on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt to abide by all legal and regulatory requirements as the Trump administration reportedly considers the year-round sale of gasoline with 15 percent ethanol by volume (E15).
WASHINGTON – This afternoon, at a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) sharply questioned Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt on his misuse of taxpayer funds.
WASHINGTON – As Vermont emerges from a winter of extreme cold, Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) has rallied a bipartisan coalition to fight for full funding of the Low Income Heating Assistance Program. President Trump has proposed eliminating the program in his budget two years in a row.
Today, in a letter led by Welch to the House Appropriations Committee, 171 Members expressed the critical importance of this safety net program to struggling families.
WASHINGTON — Vermont’s sole member of the House of Representatives is leading an effort to curb the production and related environmental impacts of corn ethanol.
Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., introduced legislation Thursday with Sen. Tom Udall, D-NM, aiming to reform national policies that incentivize the production of corn ethanol. It would instead increase incentives for more environmentally friendly biofuels.
WASHINGTON - Today, Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) introduced companion bills in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate to reform the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) by mitigating harmful environmental impacts and advancing the next generation of biofuels.
The GREENER Fuels Act (Growing Renewable Energy through Existing and New Environmentally Responsible Fuels Act) is the first bill in Congress to reform the RFS.
WASHINGTON, February 7 – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and U.S. Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) on Wednesday reintroduced the Nuclear Plant Decommissioning Act of 2018, which gives states a meaningful role in the development and approval of reactor shutdown plans and post-shutdown license transfers.
Rep. Peter Welch is renewing his call to repeal a federal law that mandates that most gasoline contain 10 percent ethanol.
Welch says the ethanol mandate has been an environmental and economic disaster and is wreaking havoc on the small engines that Vermonters use for work and recreation.
Welch made his point by taking a 30-mile snowmobile ride around central Vermont with a half dozen members of the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers.
FRIDAY, Nov. 3, 2017 -- Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vt.), who advocated for the early release of federal home heating aid funds as Vermont’s winter approaches, today announced that the Department of Health and Human Services has released $16.9 million in heating assistance for Vermont.
Leahy, Sanders and Welch have long championed funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps struggling Vermonters heat their homes.
BURLINGTON, Vt., Sept. 19 – Vermont’s congressional delegation announced Tuesday that the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) will receive a $480,000 federal grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to purchase two electric buses that will be used by Green Mountain Transit in Burlington. In June, the Vermont delegation wrote to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao in support of the grant.