BRATTLEBORO — During a visit to downtown Brattleboro Tuesday morning, Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., visited local businesses, including the Brattleboro Food Co-op, Burrows Specialized Sports, and Hatchspace, a woodworking cooperative on High Street.

Welch said he was in town advocating for small businesses and encouraging folks to shop on Small Business Saturday.

He said small businesses are “the core of Vermont” and are being hurt by tariffs and the affordability crisis.

“The majority of Vermont businesses are small businesses,” he said. “These tariffs are brutal. And the Trump administration’s attack on health care is really bad, and it’s going to have an impact on our community hospitals.”

Nonetheless, he said, he found everyone in Brattleboro to be very upbeat, working hard to make the town a better place.

“It’s beautiful to be here with hardworking Vermonters facing the challenges of the day and also to get some concrete feedback on some of the things I should focus on in Washington to help folks back here at home,” he said.

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