Peter Welch for U.S. Congress

National Journal highlight's Peter's work in Washington [0]

In his article "Savvy, Minus the Seniority," National Journal Magazine Writer Richard E. Cohen notes Peter "isn't the typical House Democrat."

"Thanks to lengthy state legislative experience and two prime committee perches, he behaves more like a veteran on the Hill. "

Click here [0] to read the entire article.

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Welch bill to crack down on credit industry [0]

May 13, 2008
Burlington Free Press Staff Report

MONTPELIER -- Rep. Peter Welch announced Monday he will introduce legislation this week to crack down on credit card fees imposed on Vermont's small businesses and consumers.

Welch made the announcement at a convenience store in the state capital. The first-term Democrat wrote the legislation after a roundtable discussion in February on the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights, which reins in predatory practices by credit card companies.

"It's time to put a stop to the abusive practices of credit card companies," Welch said in a statement released by his office. "Consumers are being ripped off. Small businesses are being ripped off. Congress needs to step in and level this playing field.

Welch: Vermont lessons work well in Congress [0]

May 8, 2008
By Jesse Roman, Stowe Reporter

Peter Welch’s biggest surprise as Vermont’s lone congressman? How smooth the transition was from Vermont Senate leader to rookie congressman.

The stage is bigger and the stakes are higher, but Welch, 61, says the game is the same.

Eighteen months into his first term, Welch has helped close financial loopholes for big oil companies, was appointed to the influential Rules Committee and the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and is earning a solid reputation. An article in this week’s National Journal calls Welch a savvy congressmen who is well ahead of the learning curve of most freshman representatives.

Vt. delegation calls for gas price relief [0]

April 30, 2008
By DANIEL BARLOW Vermont Press Bureau

MONTPELIER — U.S. Rep. Peter Welch had one thought as he watched President Bush's morning press conference deriding Congressional Democrats for alleged inaction on economic issues.

"It was really baffling to me," Welch said by phone from Washington, D.C., on Tuesday afternoon. "If he really intends to do something for working people, he would first start by suspending shipments to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve."

With the cost of gasoline topping $4 a gallon in many parts of the country — prices here in Vermont have floated around the $3.50 mark this week — Welch and other Democrats in the U.S. House are proposing to temporarily cease putting oil in the emergency reserve, a move they say will drop prices by about 25 cents.

Welch has proposed a bill that would order officials within the U.S. Department of Energy to stop adding oil to that reserve — as the federal government voluntarily did after 2005's Hurricane Katrina — for the rest of the year or until the price per barrel of oil drops to $50.

An inside look at Peter's work in Congress [0]

Seven Days Feature writer Ken Picard gives us an inside look at Peter's work in Washington:

At about 9:30 a.m., in Room 1404 of the Longworth House Office Building, Vermont Rep. Peter Welch and his staff are preparing for a seminal day. In a half-hour, Welch plans to join fellow House Democrats at a Tax Day press conference to detail the true cost of America’s mission in the Middle East. Then, at 2 p.m., he’s scheduled to be at a subcommittee hearing on an issue that has garnered international media attention: a legal loophole that makes it easier for some overseas private contractors to defraud the federal government.

Click here [1]to read the entire cover story.

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