By Daniel Barlow Vermont Press Bureau
June 21, 2008

MONTPELIER – U.S. Rep. Peter Welch was among the 129 nay votes Friday on a bill legalizing a once-secret Bush administration wiretapping program that also grants immunity to telecommunication companies that participated in that effort.

But with 105 other House Democrats joining 188 Republicans in voting yes on the bill, the Vermont Democrat was left wondering who – if anyone – would be accountable for allegedly violating the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

"I think we abdicated our responsibility with this vote to hold people accountable for the program," Welch said Friday afternoon, shortly after returning to Vermont. "I'm not just speaking of the telecommunication companies, but the administration as well."

Friday's House vote is a revision to FISA, which set up a special court to approve spying on Americans in their communications with people outside of the country. Under the new bill – which is expected to pass the U.S. Senate next week – the federal government can spy on Americans for up to seven days before seeking a warrant.

It also provides legal immunity for the telecommunications companies that had been participating in the secret federal program authorized by President Bush, which he said was to monitor conversations with suspected terrorists.

Welch said Friday that this bill was "less bad" than a previous proposal that was approved by the Senate and rejected by the House last year. This bill puts into place more restrictions on the spying activities than the other bill, he said.

"But with this immunity provision we are essentially letting the president off the hook for violating our civil lib-erties," Welch said.

Promises of immunity are usually used as a prosecutorial tool to obtain testimony or new information, Welch said. But that is not the case here, he said, because it will shut down a myriad of lawsuits against the telephone companies that probably would have resulted in more information going public about the once-secret program.

"These lawsuits could have been our access to this information," he explained.

But what does this mean for Vermont's own investigation into allegations that its two telephone companies at the time – Verizon and AT&T – violated state and federal consumer protection laws by releasing customer data to the federal government?

The case, which is before the quasi-judicial Vermont Public Service Board, was delayed after the federal government countersued, resulting in a consolidated case pending in California. The Board reactivated the case late last year, but there appears to be little movement on the issue since.

Richard Smith, the deputy commissioner of the Vermont Department of Public Service, said late Friday that he will soon consult with the department's legal team to see how this new bill – if it becomes law – would impact the case here in Vermont.

The case is still open, he said, as is the legal challenge to the investigation launched by Vermont and several other states after the secret wiretapping program was revealed by the news media in 2005.

"We will continue the case as long as we can because we think it is important," Smith said.

Allen Gilbert, the executive director of the Vermont chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said his reading of the immunity provision in the federal bill suggests that it will kill any inquests into the issue – whether it is before a court or public utility board.

"We are going to try to see if our complaint will still go forward," he said.

The proposed FISA revisions allow the federal government to seek blanket warrants for groups of people or locations. Gilbert said this clearly violated the U.S. Constitution's Fourth Amendment, which requires that searches be court-approved first and based on specific suspicions.

"The federal government will soon have the authority to mount broad surveillance without individual suspicion," he said.

The FISA bill and its immunity provision are expected to pass in the U.S. Senate this week, where the Democrats have an even slimmer majority. Vermont's two senators – Democrat Patrick Leahy and independent Bernard Sanders – are expected to oppose the bill as well.

Welch said Friday that it was not clear to him if his fellow House Democrats who supported the bill did so because they agreed philosophically with it or because they were concerned that a nay vote could be spun politically as unpatriotic.

"You're going to have to ask them that," he said. "I can only account for my vote."

Contact Daniel Barlow at Daniel.Barlow@rutlandherald.com.

Tuesday June 17, 2008
Bob Kinzel, Vermont Public Radio
Click here to listen

Montpelier, VT
(Host) Dozens of Vermont schools may switch to new heating systems that save energy because of the high cost of fuel.

Fifteen million dollars could help pay for the conversions under a bill sponsored by Congressman Peter Welch.

VPR's Bob Kinzel reports.

(Kinzel) Over the past 20 years, roughly 30 Vermont schools have converted their heating systems from oil to wood. That number could increase dramatically if a bill adopted recently by the U.S. House wins approval this summer in the Senate.

By Christian Avard

June 12, 2008 

He’s almost through his first term and Peter Welch is not slowing down. The freshman congressman has been at the forefront on several issues ranging from veterans’ benefits to middle class tax relief, health care, and the environment. He also is responsible for securing funds for programs and services throughout the state. Right now, Welch’s top concern is fuel prices. With gasoline more than $4 a gallon, he is concerned that more Vermonters are struggling to make ends meet.

Last month, Welch co-sponsored a bill that escaped the headlines. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve Fill Suspension and Consumer Protection Act, , H.R. 6022, directs President George W. Bush to suspend shipments to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) through the end of the year or until prices drop below $75 per barrel. The bill would reduce gas prices by 5 cents to 24 cents per gallon, according to experts. The House version passed both chambers by wide bipartisan margins, 385 to 25 in the House and 97 to 1 in the Senate. Bush signed the bill into law and according to a May 16 CNN report, the Department of Energy temporarily suspended oil shipments to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for the remainder of 2008.

June 11, 2008

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP)—U.S. Rep. Peter Welch has introduced legislation to crack down on what he says are steep fees charged by credit card companies to small businesses that use the cards to make sales.

Vermont's lone representative to the U.S. House joined Washington-area retailers and a national consumer advocate in announcing the move, saying the issue was raised at a February meeting devoted mainly to the high costs credit card companies impose on consumers.

Welch says consumers and small businesses are being ripped off.

Welch says many card companies charge U.S. businesses 2 percent of the transaction amount while in the United Kingdom it's 0.5 percent.

By JOSH O'GORMAN, Rutland Herald Staff
June 11, 2008

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., fielded questions on everything from hybrid cars to fuel oil pre-buys during a telephone town hall meeting Tuesday night.

During the meeting, Welch listened to callers' stories and fielded questions on energy — specifically the rising costs of gas and heating oil — from his office in Washington.

The telephone town meeting was an extension of Welch's Congress in Your Community events around the state, during which he will set up a card table in front of a local business and speak with residents, said Welch spokesman Andrew Savage.

NEAL P. GOSWAMI, Bennington Banner Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 11, 2008

BENNINGTON — Vermonters had a chance to voice opinions and ask questions about energy and fuel prices Tuesday in a statewide conference call with U.S. Rep. Peter Welch.

First-ever event

Welch, D-Vt., a freshman congressman, held his first-ever "telephone town hall meeting" to help Vermonters understand why fuel prices are rising dramatically and what Congress is doing in Washington to help mitigate the impact on Americans.

"I go home every weekend and we've got an energy crisis. What I'm hearing from Vermonters is that it's really consuming them," Welch said.

He said Congress is working on several "short-term goals" to help ease prices at the gas pump for consumers who are also worrying about paying heating bills in the winter. Congress has stopped shipments to the nation's strategic reserve for the time being, he said, and are working to pass legislation that would tax the windfall profits of oil companies.

"I, for the life of me, can't understand why taxpayers should give them an additional $17 billion," Welch said.

Congress also recently increased fuel efficiency standards in automobiles for the first time in 25 years, Welch said.

"They're not long-term solutions and they're not going to solve the problems, but at least it's a step in the right direction," he said.

Welch said he is also working to "close the Enron loophole," which allows the price of oil to be affected by speculation.

"I'm sponsoring legislation ... to restore regulations so that the price that you pay reflects supply and demand, not the speculators, who, quite frankly, are ripping us off," Welch said.

Sean Cota, president of Cota and Cota Inc., which sells heating fuel in Bellows Falls, has testified in front of Congress earlier this year about fuel prices. He said about $2 of every gallon of gasoline is "going right to Wall Street."

"This is a bubble and it's going to burst," Cota said.

Welch fielded some questions counter to his political views, telling one caller that drilling domestically for oil was not in the country's best interest.

"We've got to come to terms with the fact that oil is a diminishing resource," Welch said. "As a long-run matter, are we going to be able to drill our way out? Very unlikely."

Americans should also be getting relief from Iraq, which is seeing large increases in revenue from oil.

"Iraq is going to have at least $70 billion in oil revenue this year, and there's no reason that the American taxpayers should be spending as much as they are and getting nothing back," he said.

Meanwhile, another member of Vermont's congressional delegation had sharp words for Senate Republicans Tuesday.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., blasted his colleagues for blocking a proposal that would allow the government to tax the windfall profits of the largest oil companies.

"The American people are sick and tired of paying $4 dollars a gallon for gas. In the Northeast, people are worried about how they're going to stay warm next winter, while at the same time Exxon-Mobil has made more profits than any company in the history of the world," Sanders said.

The Senate vote Tuesday was 51 to 43, nine votes short of the 60 required to overcome a filibuster and bring legislation up for consideration.

By Dan McLean, Burlington Free Press Staff Writer
June 11, 2008

With gas prices above $4 a gallon and fuel price records being set routinely, Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., held a "Telephone Town Hall" meeting Tuesday night -- inviting Vermonters to speak with him for an hour about fuel prices and national energy policy.
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Welch billed the format as a first for reaching constituents.

Callers asked Welch, who was speaking from his Washington office, about a wide range of issues including:

Whether weight limits should be increased to reduce truck trips.

Human Rights Campaign News Release
via the Miami Herald
June 4, 2008

Human Rights Campaign Applauds Formation of Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus

WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, today applauded the formation of the House of Representatives’ LGBT Equality Caucus.  The bipartisan Caucus was announced this morning by its founding members, including Caucus co-chairs, Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA).

"We are at a critical moment in the fight for equality and the formation of this Caucus shows the amazing progress being made in Congress for our community," said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese.  "With a fair-minded Congress and by working with the Caucus, we’ll move even closer to passage of a fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act; the expansion of hate crimes legislation to include sexual orientation and gender identity, and support for the repeal of the military’s discriminatory ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy."

Andrew McKeever — Managing Editor
Friday, May 30, 2008

MANCHESTER — Peter Welch, Vermont's sole representative in Congress, is finishing up his first two-year term and preparing for a re-election bid. Recently he discussed some of the issues he has been grappling with in Washington, D.C. The following are excerpts from his interview with The Journal.

JOURNAL: What were some of the concerns that you and state representative Rick Hube encountered down here in southwestern Vermont about two weeks ago that were in the voters minds?

WELCH: Actually it was a really nice meeting. Rick Hube and I met with, I'd say there were 35, 40 people over the course of the hour and a half we were there. I tell you the big thing on people's minds are gas prices. The home heating fuel has been brutal in Vermont, it's over four bucks a gallon now. And the only relief people had about that is that the weather's getting warmer, but the gas prices is what I'm hearing about. And family budgets, you know, folks where you got two people working, and they're taking their cars to get the kids to day care. They're going to and from work, they're spending $80-100 a week on gas and there's not a lot of room in the family budget. It's interesting