Bernie Buzz

I want to tell you today about a major piece of legislation for Vermont’s veterans that passed Congress this week. The PACT Act is the most comprehensive expansion of health care for our nation’s veterans in a generation. It adds 23 burn pit and toxic exposure-related health conditions to the VA’s list of presumptive conditions to include numerous cancers and respiratory illnesses.

Young people are, of course, the future of our state and country. It is wonderful, therefore, to see a group of young Vermonters come together, work hard, have fun and succeed. And that’s what the Central Vermont Cal Ripken Little League All-Star team has done.

Loren Wood is a dairy farmer in Shoreham, Vermont. Loren helped his dad and family start Woodnotch Farms with about 40 cows and 80 acres. Since then his farm has grown but Loren continues to run it with his family – his wife Gail, his four sons, his nephew, and the grandkids. My staff drove over to Woodnotch to learn about the farm and take some photos. It was a beautiful day and Loren was able to take some time to show us around himself.

In our state last year, nearly one in four adults reported having at least one disability and one in nine reported having multiple disabilities. Vermonters with disabilities are vital members of our communities and deserve equal and equitable rights and opportunities, including in sports and recreational activities. Which is why I am so glad to write to you today about the work being done at Vermont Adaptive Ski & Sports.

There is no better place to be in the summer than in Vermont. I was delighted to get around the state for July 4th and say hello to folks, and in the coming months I look forward to doing more of that.

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield may be the world’s most famous and iconic ice cream makers. For decades now the company they started in Vermont has been making high quality ice cream with all kinds of exotic tastes. Flavors like Cherry Garcia, Phish Food, Chunky Monkey, and Super Fudge Chunk are now household names known all over the world.