{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.welch.senate.gov/welch-urges-republicans-to-work-with-democrats-to-protect-health-care-access/", "Welch Urges Republicans to Work with Democrats to Protect Health Care Access", "2025-10-09", "2025", "2025-10", "Democrat", "Senate", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "www.welch.senate.gov", "welch", "https://www.welch.senate.gov/category/press-release/page/", "scraper", "Vermont Congressional Delegation hosted a virtual conversation about the shutdown with Vermonters\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) joined U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) for a discussion about the Republican shutdown and challenges facing working-class families. Senator Welch urged Republicans to end the government shutdown and join Senate Democrats in protecting the rule of law and Americans\u2019 right to affordable, accessible health care.\n\n\u201cThere has been an abdication of accepting a responsibility here\u2014Senate Republican colleagues have to act like an independent branch of government. You know, these cuts, they\u2019re going to hurt folks who voted for Trump. They\u2019re going to hurt folks who didn\u2019t vote for him. This is all about suffering that\u2019s going to be inflicted on families, regardless of what their political orientation is,\u201d said Senator Welch. \u201cAnd I talk to my Republican colleagues\u2026They get it. All these premiums that you\u2019re talking about\u2014they\u2019re going to inflict the families they represent.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut they need a permission slip from the President. And that\u2019s the lament I have, because we\u2019re talking about trying to protect families, not trying to get some political edge. It\u2019s really astonishing.\u201d\n\nWatch Senator Sanders\u2019 livestream below:\n\nSenator Welch also joined fellow Vermont Congressional Delegation members Sen. Sanders and Rep. Becca Balint (VT-At Large) in hosting a statewide virtual conversation to discuss the challenges facing Vermonters and the government shutdown.\n\n\u201cThis is about us trying to recognize that everyday families need health care, and they\u2019re going to lose it. There\u2019s an urgency to doing it now, because\u2026if we don\u2019t act\u2014and we\u2019re the only ones who can right now\u2014then Vermonters are going to lose health care. And again, whether they voted for Trump or they voted for Harris, their family is entitled to have affordable access to health care,\u201d said Senator Welch. \u201cWe want to fight for health care for everybody, and that\u2019s what\u2019s in jeopardy here.\u201d\n\nWatch a livestream of the Delegation\u2019s virtual event.\n\nSenator Welch\u2019s office will remain open throughout the shutdown to help Vermonters. Resources can be found on the Senator\u2019s website or by calling 802-863-2525.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:32:54Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.welch.senate.gov/welch-urges-republicans-to-work-with-democrats-to-protect-health-care-access/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.5165118277072906, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}