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| Birth Name(s) : Peter Welch |
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Full Peter Welch Biography
Peter F. Welch (born May 2, 1947) is the United States Representative for the U.S. state of Vermont's at-large congressional seat. He also served as a Vermont State Senator (D-Windsor). Welch was the president pro tempore of the Vermont Senate.
Welch was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1947. He attended local Catholic schools there (Holy Name Grammar School and Cathedral High School). Welch attended College of the Holy Cross, graduating magna cum laude in 1969. He later received a law degree from Boalt Hall, the law school of the University of California, Berkeley. Welch married Joan Smith in 1976. Together they had five children. Smith died of cancer in 2004.
In 1988, Welch left the Vermont Senate to make an unsuccessful run for the Democratic nomination for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Vermont's at-large congressional district. In 1990, Welch won the Democratic nomination for governor of Vermont, but lost in the general election to the former Vermont Governor Richard Snelling, the Republican nominee. Welch did not run for another office for more than a decade, but in 2001 was appointed by then-Governor Howard Dean to fill a vacant Vermont Senate seat in Windsor County. He was elected to the seat in 2002 and reelected in 2004, again serving as president pro tempore.
When Vermont's lone U.S. House member Bernie Sanders decided to run for the U.S. Senate in 2006, Welch chose to run for Sanders' seat. He defeated Republican Martha Rainville in the November 7, 2006 general election 53% to 45%.
As of September 2007, Welch’s congressional website depicted his stand on issues and legislation, as follows:
- Developing a “pro-Vermont family farm 2007 farm bill and advocating for other federal policies that strengthen Vermont agriculture.”
- Ending the War in Iraq. Welch opposed the war before it began.
- Caring for veterans by including the support of their recovery from the effects of war in the military budget.
- Combating global warming and increasing energy independence.
- Providing universal health care and affordable prescription drugs to Americans.
Welch is a member of two committees in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Committee on Rules and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
In the Committee on Rules Welch serves on the Subcommittee on the Legislative and Budget Process, which is responsible for relations between the Congress and the Executive Branch.
In the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Welch is a member of two subcommittees, the Subcommittee on Government Management, Oversight and Procurement and the Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs.
A September, 2007 search of the Library of Congress Thomas congressional bill search engine revealed Welch’s sponsorship of amendments on the following topics (among others):
- To improve and strengthen the safety inspection process of nuclear facilities with an amendment of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954.
- To facilitate the development of markets for alternative fuels and Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel fuel through research, development, and demonstration and data collection.
- To assist in the provision of affordable housing to low-income families affected by Hurricane Katrina.
- To authorize science scholarships for educating mathematics and science teachers, and for other purposes.
- To provide tax incentives for the production of renewable energy and energy conservation.
- To authorize Federal agencies and legislative branch offices to purchase greenhouse gas offsets and renewable energy credits, and for other purposes.
- To establish an Ombudsman in the Department of Defense to assist members of the Armed Forces seeking medical care at military medical treatment facilities.
- To carry out a pilot program to provide readjustment counseling and related mental health services to veterans through the use of mobile centers.
- To increase the number of benefits claims representatives employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
- To ensure that members of the National Guard and Reserves are able to fully participate in the benefits delivery at discharge program administered.
- To provide resources to medical care managers and service member advocates.
- To set a 5-percent procurement goal for Federal contracting with "green" small businesses.
- To encourage schools to submit plans for implementation to the Secretary that include locally grown foods, in areas where geographically available.
- To establish a grant program for Colleges and Universities to invest in sustainable and efficient energy projects, up to $1 million for efficiency and $500,000 for sustainability.
On impeachment, the Vermont Guardian quoted Welch as saying, "My hat is off to the citizen activists in Vermont for bringing their case to the Legislature; they are representative of the proud tradition we have in Vermont to speaking out. .... People are expressing broad outrage about this president’s handling of the war, his treatment of civil liberties, and the use of bogus intelligence, and there is a lot of common ground here on holding the president and vice president accountable. The major question is the best way to make that happen.... My fundamental concern is ending this war." |
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