You know, I think when you are unemployed, especially for a long time, it’s hard to be inspired or hopeful almost about anything. So it’s tough, especially when there has been such gridlock here in D.C. You know, when we are fighting and can’t get anything done, whether you are liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican, no one wins. Peter Welch Read Quote
BP has finally acknowledged what the American people have been saying for weeks: It must take responsibility for its reckless conduct, clean up the Gulf and compensate the countless victims of the disaster it caused. Peter Welch Read Quote
Homes and buildings, many of which are old and drafty, eat up 40 percent of the energy America uses. Such inefficiencies perpetuate our reliance on foreign oil, imperiling our national security and increasing our contribution to climate change. Peter Welch Read Quote
The potential for Home Star to create jobs is proven and real. In Vermont, our statewide energy efficiency utility, Efficiency Vermont, created more than 430 jobs in 2007 and 2008, generating more than $40 million in income. Peter Welch Read Quote
I represent a rural state and live in a small town. Small merchants make up the majority of Vermont’s small businesses and thread our state together. It is the mom-and-pop grocers, farm-supply stores, coffee shops, bookstores and barber shops where Vermonters connect, conduct business and check in on one another. Peter Welch Read Quote
Last year, Congress passed a law that directs the Federal Reserve to set limits on debit card swipe fees that are reasonable and proportional to the cost of processing those transactions. Like most Americans, I had no idea that swipe fees charged to American businesses are the highest in the world. Peter Welch Read Quote
Democrats can neither control nor predict whether our GOP counterparts are really ready to play chicken with the U.S. economy. But we can assure the American people that our party takes the nation’s faith and credit seriously. Peter Welch Read Quote
I favor the extension of the middle-class tax cuts because in a recession they’re stimulative and they help with demand. Peter Welch Read Quote
Last night, I had a telephone townhall for my constituents back in Vermont, and we had 11,500 people on it. And I had people on Social Security saying if getting fewer benefits will help us on the debt, they’re for it. And I had a farmer saying that he’s had subsidies for 35 years but we can’t afford them anymore. Peter Welch Read Quote
