Current News

President Barack Obama today signed legislation to provide $350 million in emergency assistance for hard-pressed dairy farmers. US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) sponsored an amendment that added the dairy funds to the Department of Agriculture appropriations bill. He joined the president at the White House for the Oval Office bill-signing ceremony. The measure provides $290 million for direct support to dairy farmers. Another $60 million will be used to purchase cheese and other dairy products for food banks and nutrition programs.
Sanders and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) said additional measures are needed to bring price stability to the dairy industry and to help preserve family farms.
“Dairy farmers are in desperate need. We must help them as soon as possible,” said Sanders.

Even as the Vermont unemployment rate for September fell to 6.7 percent, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) called today for immediate action by Congress to extend unemployment insurance benefits. Sanders is a cosponsor of legislation that would help the almost 2 million Americans who are in danger of losing their benefits by the year's end by extending jobless benefits for a minimum of 14 weeks in all states and by 20 weeks in states with unemployment rates of 8.5 percent or higher.
An estimated 1,860 Vermonters will use up their unemployment benefits by the end of the year, according to a recent report by the National Employment Law Project.
“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,” Sanders said.

Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin today addressed several concerns that Speaker Shap Smith and other legislative leaders have with the Memorandum of Understanding reached between the Department of Public Service and Entergy Corporation regarding Entergy’s petition to spin off Vermont Yankee to a highly leveraged company named Enexus. Earlier this month the Department of Public Service cited this MOU in the reversal of their position on Entergy’s petition to transfer ownership of Vermont Yankee to Enexus and decided to support the proposal.

There were 1,034 new regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance last week, an increase of 134 from the week before as filings continue their upward trend. The September Vermont unemployment rate was also released today and actually went down one-tenth to 6.7 percent. However, economists believe that it will rise dramatically by the end of this year. The current US rate is 9.7 percent. Altogether 9,571 new and continuing claims were filed, an increase of 239 from a week ago and 3,029 more than a year earlier. The Department also processed 4,723 First Tier claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08), 62 more than a week ago. In addition, there were 1,075 Second Tier claims for benefits processed under the EUC08 program, which is an increase of 62 from the week before. The Unemployment Weekly Report can be found at: http://www.vtlmi.info/.

The most recent Dodge Report analysis of construction contracts shows that Vermont is ahead of where it was a year ago because of heavy investment in highway and bridge building, much of which is due to federal stimulus funding. While residential and commercial construction continue to show weakness, those components are showing some rebound from the depths of the recession over the last 12 months. In all, both the most recent month ($76.1 million) reviewed (September) and the year-to-date ($852.9 million) data show that total construction contracts are ahead of where they were in 2008. The McGraw-Hill Dodge Reports look at construction projects under contract to determine future construction spending.

Sovernet's recent 3rd Annual Harvest Walk raised $16,440 for the Vermont and New Hampshire Foodbanks. Surpassing their goal by more than 50 percent, Sovernet attributes this year's success to tremendous support for the event, as well as to an increased awareness of the foodbanks' mission in challenging times.

The current economic downturn is not sidetracking state-level efforts to make the most of energy efficiency as the cheapest, cleanest and quickest of all energy resources, according to a 50-state scorecard on energy efficiency policies, programs, and practices from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). Vermont was ranked number 6 in the nation.
The 2009 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard, which ranks states in six categories, concludes that the 10 states doing the most to implement energy efficiency are: California (1); Massachusetts (2); Connecticut (3); Oregon (4); New York (5); Vermont (6); Washington state (7); Minnesota (8); Rhode Island (9); and Maine (10).

US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has brought together Obama administration officials, Vermont state lawmakers and the state Department of Mental Health commissioner to discuss federal funding for the Vermont State Hospital. Restoring the hospital’s certification could yield $10 million or more a year in federal reimbursements for the facility that the state now spends more than $20 million annually to operate and maintain.
The state hospital in Waterbury first lost its federal certification in 2003, regained it in 2004, but lost it again in 2005. The lack of certification makes the facility ineligible to claim Medicare or Medicaid reimbursements that could cover more than half of the hospital’s costs.

The US Senate late Tuesday approved and sent to the President s desk a bill that includes Senator Patrick Leahy s extension of the investor visa program that has attracted millions of dollars in economic development to Vermont, creating hundreds of jobs. The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Center Program, which is operated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), has generated more than a billion dollars of investments, creating tens of thousands of jobs in states and communities across the country since it was established in 1993. Leahy has led in extending the Regional Center pilot program, and introduced legislation last year to permanently authorize the program. There now are 72 Regional Centers across the country, including Vermont s, which is run within Vermont s Department of Commerce and Community Development.

The sudden and immediate closing of the Champlain Bridge connecting Chimney Point, Vermont, to Crown Point, New York, has prompted Governor Douglas to direct Transportation Secretary David Dill to begin immediate planning and preparation for extended additional ferry service. Service will begin as soon as possible should the inspections now underway conclude that the bridge will need to remain closed indefinitely while repairs are being made. The bridge carries about 3,400 vehicles a day, which will now have to travel north or south to cross the lake.

Congressman Peter Welch on Tuesday called for legislation allowing young people to stay on their parents health insurance policies until the age of 27. At a press conference at the University of Vermont s Waterman Lounge in Burlington, Welch said that comprehensive health reform legislation should make coverage affordable and accessible for the nation s largest group of uninsured people. In 2007, 13.2 million young people 30 percent of that age group were uninsured.
Allowing young people to stay on the family health insurance plan will provide peace of mind to parents and affordable health care to young people, Welch said. As they leave high school or college, many young people find themselves unable or unwilling to buy health insurance leaving them at risk of serious illness or injury. This common sense legislation will save families money, reduce the risk of medical debt and keep people healthy.

On October 22, 2009 the Vermont Community Foundation will host a Kick-Off event for Middlebury Unplugged, an energy challenge for downtown Middlebury businesses. The Kick-Off, open to the public, will begin at 7:30 a.m. and will offer energy-saving tips to local business and residential home owners. At the end of the event, Middlebury Unplugged coordinators will hand out energy monitors and data-logging software to businesses, so that they can track their electrical usage in real time at no cost.