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Senator Patrick Leahy Senate Trumpcare 2.0 is just as bad as earlier versions and in some ways is worse. This remains a stumbling, shameful and craven exercise to pass a tax bill in the guise of a health care bill. The ‘mean’ House bill the President described keeps getting meaner. Lost to many in the White House and on Capitol Hill is the fact that these are decisions that literally mean health or illness and life or death to countless people.

Vermont Business Magazine The Kinney Drugs Foundation is donating $250,000 to provide supportive spaces for families in the Robert E and Holly D Miller Building at the University of Vermont Medical Center, which will contain 128 new single-patient rooms. Completion of the building is expected in the Fall of 2019. Patients in the Miller Building will experience enhanced quality of care due to the privacy, space for families, and healing environment single-bed rooms provide. Studies show that facilities designed with the needs of patients and families in mind result in better outcomes and a better experience overall. Currently, only thirty percent of patient rooms at the UVM Medical Center have one bed.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) issued the following statement Thursday after Senate Republicans released the revised version of their plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act: "The revised Republican 'health care' plan is an absolute disaster that will inflict severe economic pain on millions of Americans. That is why it is opposed by virtually every major health care organization in this country – by doctors, nurses and hospital administrators. Make no mistake about it, thousands of Americans every year will die unnecessarily if this legislation is passed.

Vermont Business Magazine Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Committee Thursday offered a $1.6 billion amendment that would have supported the health care of thousands of veterans across the country and bolstered the Department of Veterans Affairs. The amendment, which was offered by Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), was rejected in Committee by a vote of 15 to 16.

Democrats said in a press release that the amendment was the first of a series to be offered by the Appropriations Committee Democrats to demand parity in budget priorities and show what Congress can and should be doing to invest in the American people and create jobs.

Vermont Business Magazine An increase in power outage information along with higher price satisfaction are the top drivers of the sixth consecutive year of improved customer satisfaction with residential electric utility companies, according to the JDPower 2017 Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study,released today. Green Mountain power scored second highest in the East region for utilities its size.

"Green Mountain Power is excited to announce it has achieved the second highest score for mid-sized utilities in the East Region in JDPower’s 2017 electric utility residential customer satisfaction study. Companies in the midsize utility segment serve between 100,000 and 499,999 residential customers. Last year GMP achieved the top score in the study, demonstrating continued excellence,"said Kristin Carlson, GMPVice President Strategic & External Affairs.

Vermont Business MagazineYou can tell a lot about a farm by looking closely at the soil. That's why the new, statewide program to recognize Vermont's most environmentally friendly farmers will be based on soil-sampling and monitoring. Today, Governor Phil Scott announced the pilot launch of the new Vermont Environmental Stewardship Program (VESP), which will use soil-based analysis to identify farmers who are going above and beyond to protect our natural resources.

Vermont Business Magazine The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized the efforts of federal facilities that took steps to improve efficiency, save resources and reduce costs as part of the Federal Green Challenge (FGC). Included in the honor is the Vermont Army National Guard. “Federal agencies across the country are doing their part to minimize their environmental impact, in doing so saving American taxpayers millions of dollars,” EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said. “Their efforts resulted in an estimated cost savings of $17 million across the federal government.”

Through their involvement, FGC participants reduced the federal government’s environmental impact by reducing fuel oil consumption by more than 500,000 gallons, sending 310 tons of end-of-life electronics to third-party certified recyclers, saving 9.2 million gallons of industrial water, and diverting over 336,000 tons of waste from landfills.

Vermont Business Magazine Wheel Pad, a leader in developing eco-friendly bedroom suites that can be temporarily attached to an existing home to meet the needs of individuals with limited mobility, is pleased to announce the installation of its first module in Vermont, and invites the public to a free tour. Explore the installed Norwich Model prototype on-site at an existing home, learn about the design features, see how it attaches to the home, and experience this suite for yourself.

Vermont Business MagazineOver 70 rowers and paddlers dug deep in the waters of Lake Champlain on Sunday in the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum's 21st Annual Challenge Race. The race, an annual event for 21 years, has a distinctly communal spirit – with a delicious and bountiful potluck picnic afterwards – while also fueling participants’ desire to fiercely compete.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Attorney General TJDonovan issued a letter last week to the United States Department of the Interior, opposing the potential rollback of national monument protections. By executive order in April, President Trump directed the United States Department on the Interior to review all designations of national monuments greater than 100,000 acres created since 1996.

Vermont Business Magazine The Northern New England population will be the beneficiary of a new partnership between academic medical centers and primary care practices in rural communities, which will focus on health problems endemic to the region, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, substance abuse, as well as the unique challenges of effective rural health care delivery. A five-year, $20 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical and Translational Research (CTR) Network grant will fund a joint program between the University of Vermont (UVM) and Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine to develop and sustain a clinical and translational research infrastructure improving rural and community health for residents of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Labor today announced two changes to the Unemployment Insurance (UI) program starting July 1, which will reduce tax rates for employers and allow claimants to receive benefits sooner. Nearly 22,600 employers remit state unemployment taxes to the Department that are deposited into a trust fund used for the payment of unemployment insurance benefits to eligible claimants. The unemployment trust fund is “forward funded,” meaning tax schedules are designed to raise more funds during periods of economic growth to ensure that there is adequate funding during recessions. The department is now under tax rate schedule 4, which triggered the reduction in unemployment insurance tax rates for employers.