Press Release

ISLAND POND, VT – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) this morning hosted a ‘Common Grounds with Senator Welch’ listening session at the scenic outdoor pavilion at Lakeside Park in Essex County. Vermonters joined Senator Welch for a discussion about how Washington can work better for the Green Mountain State. “The world we’re in is completely different than the world we grew up in and that we inhabited only five or ten years ago. You know, we all have political points of view on health care, on the environment, on poverty, on education—and we debate those. But in the past, we also had common reference points—we believed in the rule of law, we believed in courtesy to our neighbors, we believed in free and fair elections and accepted the outcome of those elections. Those days are behind us. And it’s a jump ball as to what happens when we come out on the other side. And that’s the real contest of what’s going on in our country right now. The basic norms that all of us depended on to help us get through our differences have been shattered,” said Senator Welch . “The biggest challenges that we have here—like health care, housing, education, social media—are not unique to Vermont, and they’re not unique to blue states or red States,” the Senator continued . “They’re shared problems. And in Vermont we look at what the challenges are and we face them together. Sure, we’ll have a debate about how best to address them. But we always start from the proposition that the problems we have to solve are shared, and that we want to solve them for the well-being of our community and for the future of our kids.” Senator Welch has hosted Common Grounds events in Addison , Bennington , Caledonia , Franklin , Grand Isle , Lamoille , Orange , Orleans , and Windsor counties, and will host listening sessions in every county of Vermont in 2026. Sign up for the Senator’s newsletter here to learn more about his upcoming events in Vermont. ###