Vermont

Morrisville Microbrewery Prompts Provision To Study Trademark Misuse By Big Businesses

WASHINGTON (Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010) – Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) will introduce legislation later today to help assist trademark owners in maintaining the protection of their brands. The legislation makes technical and confirming amendments to the nation’s trademark laws, and is supported by the Obama administration.

Members in the House of Representatives are expected to introduce similar legislation today. Many small Vermont businesses that hold trademarks will benefit from improving the efficiency of the system.    » read more »

WASHINGTON, January 22 – Vermont’s congressional delegation today wrote Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory B. Jaczko to ask him to move forward on a thorough investigation of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant regarding recent alarming reports about the plant.

Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) wrote the following letter:

January 22, 2010

The Honorable Gregory B. Jaczko

Chairman

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Washington, D.C. 20555-0001

Dear Chairman Jaczko:

We write to follow up on our letter of January 15, in light of further alarming news regarding contamination on the grounds of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant.    » read more »

January 18, 2010 -- BURLINGTON – Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today announced a $100,000 grant to recruit, train and retain firefighters and emergency medical services personnel throughout Vermont.

“Vermont is deeply indebted to our volunteer first-responder community, and we’ve got to do everything we can to maintain their ranks,” Sanders said in announcing the funding for the Vermont Fire Academy to support vocational training and to increase recruitment and retention efforts.    » read more »

Ten Vermont Schools in Line for $500,000 from Sanders’ Solar in Schools Grants

January 15, 2010 -- BURLINGTON – Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced today that 10 Vermont public schools submitted winning proposals for solar energy projects and are in line for federal grants of $50,000 each.    » read more »

Vermont Congressional Delegation Requests NRC Investigation Into Radioactive Leak Risks At Vermont Yankee

WASHINGTON, January 15 – Vermont’s Congressional Delegation – Sen. Patrick Leahy (D), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I), and Rep. Peter Welch (D) – Friday asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to conduct a thorough investigation into whether there was any attempt by Vermont Yankee officials to mislead state officials regarding the plant’s safety and underground piping.    » read more »

Agency Responds To Leahy-Sanders-Welch Request To Update Vermont Wage Determinations

WASHINGTON -- December 4, 2009 – U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and U.S. Representative Peter Welch (D-Vt.) announced Friday that the U.S. Labor Department will conduct a building and heavy construction wage survey in Vermont to determine the prevailing wages that should be paid for future federal construction projects. Leahy, Sanders, and Welch requested the updated survey in a September 2008 letter to the Labor Department.    » read more »

Governor seeks Legislative agreement on Economic Plan to support nearly 1500 existing jobs and create more than 350 new jobs

December 1, 2009 -- Montpelier, Vt. – Vermont Governor Jim Douglas today announced a comprehensive economic development plan to maximize the use of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) dollars allocated to Vermont through the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF).    » read more »

WASHINGTON, November 18 – Vermont and seven other states will share nearly $4 million in economic stimulus funding announced today under a green jobs program that was authored by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

“If we get our act together as a nation and start addressing the major environmental problems of our time – global warming and our dependence on fossil fuels – we can create millions of good paying jobs,” said Sanders, chairman of the Senate’s Green Jobs and the New Economy Subcommittee. “In other words,” he added, “good environmental policy is good economic policy.”    » read more »

Ranks 1 for Third Year in a Row in 20th Anniversary Edition of America’s Health Rankings

November 17, 2009 -- Montpelier, Vt. — United Health Foundation, the American Public Health Association and Partnership for Prevention today released the 20th Anniversary Edition of America’s Health Rankings™ showing that Vermont ranks 1st when compared to the health of other states. This is the 3rd year in a row that Vermont has been at the top of the rankings.    » read more »

November 16, 2009 -- Montpelier, Vt. – Vermont Governor Jim Douglas announced today that the Vermont Department of Health was awarded a two-year $860,000 grant by the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention (CDC) that will enable the state to strengthen its healthcare-acquired infection (HAI) prevention activities.

“In 2007, Vermont was the first state in the nation to publicly report hospital-specific healthcare-acquired infection rates using the CDC’s reporting system, and this grant will help keep Vermont at the forefront of patient safety and quality improvement,” said Governor Douglas. “Continuing to improve our overall healthcare system is a key element of Vermont’s health care reform efforts.”    » read more »

Pier Analysis Completed, Rehabilitation Ruled Out As Viable Option

November 9, 2009 -- Montpelier, Vt. – New York Governor David A. Paterson and Vermont Governor Jim Douglas have received a report from their states’ respective transportation agencies which finds that it is not feasible to rehabilitate the Lake Champlain Bridge. Engineers have declared that the 80-year-old span is too unstable to be renovated, and recommend demolishing the bridge for the safety of motorists and boaters.    » read more »

WASHINGTON -- October 29 - Senator Patrick Leahy and the Vermont Congressional Delegation – Leahy (D), Senator Bernie Sanders (I) and Representative Peter Welch (D) -- announced Thursday that the Secretary of the Air Force has selected the Vermont National Guard in Burlington as one of 10 final candidates to base the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

The Air Force conducted a system-wide review of more than 200 locations before selecting Burlington and nine other bases as finalists for either the training or primary operations of the F-35.    » read more »

Meeting With Energy Secretary Helped Make Vermont’s Case

October 27, 2009 -- WASHINGTON -- The Vermont Congressional Delegation – Senator Patrick Leahy (D), Senator Bernie Sanders (I) and Representative Peter Welch (D) – announced Tuesday morning that Vermont Transco, LLC, will receive $68,928,650 in federal support to launch Vermont’s Smart Grid technology. The funds are part of $3.4 billion in Smart Grid grants across the nation that President Obama announced today – the largest awards made in a single day from this year’s American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.    » read more »

Meeting With Energy Secretary Helped Make Vermont’s Case

WASHINGTON -- Oct. 27 -- The Vermont Congressional Delegation – Senator Patrick Leahy (D), Senator Bernie Sanders (I) and Representative Peter Welch (D) – announced Tuesday morning that Vermont Transco, LLC, will receive $68,928,650 in federal support to launch Vermont’s Smart Grid technology.

The funds are part of $3.4 billion in Smart Grid grants across the nation that President Obama announced today – the largest awards made in a single day from this year’s American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.    » read more »

October 19, 2009 -- With nationwide unemployment at 9.8 percent, benefits will expire by the end of the year for nearly 2 million out-of-work Americans, including some 1,800 Vermonters. “In the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and at a time when long-term unemployment is extremely high, we cannot turn our backs on jobless Americans by letting their unemployment insurance expire,” Senator Bernie Sanders said.

He backs legislation to extend unemployment insurance for up to 14 additional weeks. Some job hunters exhausted their benefits at the end of September.    » read more »