Department of Defense

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, led their colleagues in pressing for answers about the sharp discrepancy between the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and Ecuadorian military regarding a violent joint counternarcotics operation carried out in March 2026.  Between March 1…

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) led 15 of his colleagues in calling for new language in the Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) appropriations bill to tighten control and oversight of the Department of Defense’s (DOD) use of fast-tracked contract vehicles for domestic immigration enforcement. In the absence of this oversight, DOD has helped the…

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today voted against the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026, and released the following statement:   “This defense funding bill perpetuates the status quo. Congress is, once again, sinking taxpayer dollars into the Pentagon’s bloated…

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) released the following statement on the Senate’s passage of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA):  “The use of our brave troops by President Trump and Secretary Hegseth for political theater—militarizing American cities against the wishes of…

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) released the following statement on last night’s tragic crash involving a plane and military helicopter at Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA):  “The collision at DCA of an American Airlines flight and a military helicopter is a shocking tragedy, and…