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With leaders from the Northeast Kingdom, Welch discusses Northern Border Regional Commission fundingRep. Peter Welch and leaders from throughout the Northeast Kingdom outlined economic development opportunities presented by the Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) during a press conference Thursday morning in Newport.At Newport's Gateway Center, on the shores of Lake Memphremagog, Welch announced the first-ever round of funding appropriated to the NBRC by the U.S. House in July. The $3 million federal investment will help launch the four state regional commission, opening the door for increased funding opportunities for projects in Northern Vermont and its neighboring regions.

Delegation Nets Quick Results In All-Out Push For Boost In Dairy Price SupportsU.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vt.) Friday welcomed a U.S. Department of Agriculture decision to lift the floor price for dairy products.The decision was announced two days after the Vermont senators and a coalition of more than two dozen senators from other dairy states met with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. The meeting and the multi-region coalition of senators were organized by Leahy, the senior-most member of the Agriculture Committee, to seek a short-term hike in the price the federal government pays for milk and dairy products in the marketplace. Leahy and the coalition also followed through with an appeal to White House Budget Director Peter Orszag.

Rep. Peter Welch supported and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce passed historic health care reform legislation Friday night by a vote of 31 to 28.America's Affordable Health Choices Act (H.R. 3200) will expand health insurance access to 37 million Americans, rein in unsustainably escalating health care costs and ensure long-overdue insurance reforms. The bill increases patient choice by creating a public health insurance option, which will reduce costs through competition with private insurers.

More than 50 Members of Congress join together to fight for family farmersRep. Peter Welch and a bipartisan group of more than 50 members of the House launched the Congressional Dairy Farmers Caucus at a Wednesday morning press conference in the Capitol. Representatives from California to Florida to Pennsylvania and Vermont joined together to declare that the critical issues confronting the American dairy farmer will not go unheard in Congress."Congress bailed out the Wall Street banks because they were too big to fail.' If we don't act now to support our dairy farmers, aren't we saying they are too small to matter'?" Welch asked. "Only by working together across regional lines and party lines will we be able to help dairy farmers survive in the short-term and help the dairy industry thrive in the long-term."