USDA

RICHMOND, VT – Today, Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and Chair of the Rural Development and Energy Subcommittee, joined Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in welcoming Robert Bonnie, the Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation with the U.S. Department of…

WASHINGTON—Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today introduced the Farmland Access Act, legislation that will help protect American farmland for its intended use and expand access to farming for the next generation. The bill updates an existing, but underutilized, program within the…

BURLINGTON, VT — Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Congresswoman Becca Balint (D-Vt.-AL) sent a letter today, urging United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack to approve Governor Phil Scott’s request for a Secretarial Disaster Designation for the State of…

WATERBURY, VT—This afternoon Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) joined Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Congresswoman Becca Balint (D-Vt.-AL) on a call with United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to discuss the extreme damage to farms caused by recent storms and flooding in Vermont.   “Vermont’s…

WASHINGTON—Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Ark.) will today introduce legislation to reauthorize the Rural Energy Savings Program (RESP), a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) initiative providing no-interest loans to rural utilities to help communities access cost-effective energy upgrades for homes and businesses.…