Veterans
"Vermonters have a long and proud tradition of military service, and our state has a history of contributing far in excess of its size to the defense of our nation. When a war is over and our brave veterans return home, it is our most solemn obligation to keep our promise and ensure they have the services and resources they require to succeed. I have long believed that the cost of the war must include the cost of caring for the warrior. That is why I have promoted policies that support veterans by modernizing and streamlining health care systems within the Veterans Administration, improving and expanding educational and workforce training programs for veterans, and supporting veteran-owned businesses."
Spotlight on Veterans
Rep. Welch has supported a number of bills in Congress to provide expanded benefits and services to our veterans and their family members. He was a proud cosponsor of the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans (SAV) Act, which President Obama signed into law in February 2015. He has also cosponsored legislation to help put our veterans back to work, expand health care access for female veterans, provide child care assistance to eligible veterans, and expand eligibility for the Department of Veterans Affairs family caregiver program.
After learning of the success of the Vermont National Guard Outreach Program, Congressman Welch wrote to the President Obama and House appropriators requesting that they include funding for the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Programs of Outreach. The Vermont program goes beyond the federally funded Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program to train veterans as outreach officers to visit with returning Vermont Guard members and their families. The trained outreach staff members connect veterans, Guard members, and families with counseling for financial, marital, physical and mental health issues. The program also staffs a toll-free phone number (888-607-8773) that is answered by a live person 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Congressman Welch ensured there was language supportive of the program included in the fiscal year 2014 National Defense Authorization Act for the outreach program.
More on Veterans
WASHINGTON (THURSDAY, April 19, 2018) – Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), joined by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Representative Peter Welch (D-Vt.), announced a $792,000 grant to bring the medical records system at the Vermont Veterans’ Home in Bennington into the 21st century. The grant meets a longstanding priority of the Bennington facility and was made possible by new funding for veterans in the bipartisan budget agreement reached by Congress in February. Leahy, Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, played a leading role in those negotiations.
Jon Skates, former Rutland alderman, is retired from the U.S. Navy, where he served in the submarine service. Now, he’s in a managerial role at Casella Waste Management.
Skates said he was worried his military training wouldn’t transfer into the civilian workforce and he would have difficulty landing a job.
Now, a proposed bill in Congress would give tax incentives to hire veterans like Skates.
Today, Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT), Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), and Rep. David Price (D-NC) announced bipartisan legislation that would require disclosure of intelligence spending levels at each of the 16 federal agencies responsible for intelligence activities.
U.S. Rep. Peter Welch said on Sunday that he was “outraged” by last week’s revelation that the National Security Agency had secretly collected information from data centers operated by Google and Yahoo.
“This is a rogue organization,” Welch, D-Vt., said of the NSA while standing in the lobby of the White River Junction VA. “It’s long overdue for review.”
U.S. Rep. Peter Welch said on Sunday that he was “outraged” by last week’s revelation that the National Security Agency had secretly collected information from data centers operated by Google and Yahoo.
“This is a rogue organization,” Welch, D-Vt., said of the NSA while standing in the lobby of the White River Junction VA. “It’s long overdue for review.”
As week number two of the federal government shutdown begins, the websites for Vermont's congressional delegation all reflect this new reality.