I think the Democrats have to pay much more attention to rural America, to connect.Īnd the fact that I’m home every weekend.
It moves past the red state/blue state, “whose team are you on?” I get an opportunity to reach out and show my profound respect for our rural communities. Both Bernie and I spent a lot of time out in the farms and out in the rural counties, and you get to know folks. Why are Vermont dairy farmers voting for guys like you and Bernie Sanders but Wisconsin dairy farmers are voting for Ron Johnson?Ī: I guess the biggest thing is the size of Vermont - it’s really small and intimate. But you guys also have arguably the most progressive congressional delegation in the nation. But Vermont is a rural state - in fact, by some metrics, it’s the most rural state. The partisan divide is usually described geographically - the Democrats are in the cities and Republicans are out in the country. So, I met with Paul on the floor and said, “Paul, we got us a cheese problem.”Īnd we were able to convince the FDA that they ought to take another look at that regulation, and they did. I was in the minority at that point, so I thought “Who can help me on this?” Paul Ryan at that point was chair of the Budget Committee. They really went overboard and would have been devastating to the cheese industry in Vermont. That place was contaminated because of the practices, not because of the material they used. But then they came out with the regulation prohibiting the aging of cheese on wood boards - that made no sense. The place was contaminated and they shut it down - rightly so. There was an inspection of an upstate New York cheese-making facility. Y’know, this was an only-in-Washington kind of story. You got together with Paul Ryan and basically put the screws to the agency, telling the FDA that it’d be a real shame if something happened to their budget, right?Ī: Well, it’s true. Q: You’ve taken on the FDA like this before when it proposed a ban on aging cheese on wooden shelves. You know, we think the FDA is off the rails with this latest interpretation. So, the fairness argument here is the one we'll make, and it'll be about having the FDA enforce its own standards. And we don’t want the label to be appropriated by non-milk products. And of course, those of us from dairy states are very, very concerned about the well-being of our dairy farms. So, we’re wanting basically truth in labeling.
There’s a real basis to our bill - a plant-based product does not constitute milk. Obviously, dairy is a big deal in Vermont, but how do you convince the rest of the Senate? The people who represent fewer cows and don’t care if it’s called oat milk?Ī: Milk has a specific definition, and even the FDA’s definition comes from the mammary gland. Q: You’re a co-sponsor on a bill that would basically reverse the FDA’s recent moves toward allowing plant-based products to be marketed as milk.
And I found that it's a very welcoming place and I'm feeling very confident that we can get some bipartisan accomplishments. Secondly, the intimacy of the Senate is quite special - it’s much smaller and relationships really matter. First of all, the caucus is very welcoming. What’s the transition been like?Ī: It's really been wonderful. Q: You’ve gone from the House, where you were a party leader with seniority on some big committees, to a freshman in the Senate.
But he found some time to talk about lactose-free things, too, like how Democrats would do well to pay more attention to agrarian concerns to connect with rural voters. On a call with Heard on the Hill in early March, Welch chatted about cheese, moaned about milk and screamed for ice cream. Welch is already focused on prescription drug prices, rural housing costs and all things dairy. Welch’s 16 years in the House as Vermont’s lone representative means he won’t have to spend any time getting caught up on statewide issues while he learns his way around the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Welch became one of the oldest freshmen to ever roam the Senate’s hallways after winning the seat vacated by one of the longest-serving senators ever, Patrick Leahy. At the tender age of 75, Peter Welch is starting from scratch, in a way.
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