My brother Mark and I are sugar makers. Last week, Mark headed out into our 10,000-tap sugarbush in Fairfield, to get ready for the upcoming season. And I headed out on a 4-day trip to Washington DC, to work for Vermonters.

Mark goes into the woods with snowshoes, taps and a drill. And I went to Washington loaded with a duffel bag full of Vermont maple syrup. It’s a great catalyst for starting a conversation about Vermont.

I was in Washington for the winter meeting of the National Lieutenant Governors Association, or NLGA. The opportunity to share ideas with other Lieutenant Governors has always made these meetings very productive for me. They also provide a chance to discuss Vermont’s needs with our congressional delegation, as well as with members of the President’s team who are in a unique position to help Vermont.

The Lieutenant Governors passed four important policy resolutions, supporting employers of Army and Air Guard members, space exploration, Medicaid flexibility and AIDS funding. Other NLGA sessions explored crisis management, health care cost containment, priorities in education and public health and safety, new developments in agriculture, and the outlook for energy resources. In addition to serving on NLGA’s executive committee, I also sit on the board of the Aerospace States Association (ASA) -- which met last week in Washington, too.

ASA’s mission is to promote aerospace jobs and workforce training. In Vermont, Rutland’s GE plant is a great example of the challenge and opportunity this industry presents. In 1990, GE Rutland employed 2,200 workers. In 2005, because of productivity gains, 1,300 workers at GE Rutland put out twice as much product. Over the next decade, 70% of those workers will retire. How will we train the next generation of employees?

In addition to attending NLGA and ASA meetings, I had my own schedule of special meetings to work on issues important to Vermonters right now.

US Senator John McCain is a ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. I met with him to talk about Vermonters who have given their lives in Iraq. My own family is happy to have my brother Mike back from Baghdad, but there are many Vermonters still deployed. I shared the very difficult impact felt by families, loved ones and businesses left behind by Guard soldiers – a landscaper in Rutland, a plumber in Enosburg.

Governor Douglas also gave me a special task. On February 4, he and I attended a funeral in Orleans, where we met the family of fallen Marine Sgt. Jesse Strong. His uncle, Russ Strong, has been working on a vehicle to better protect soldiers fighting in the urban environment. I shared the details with Senator McCain.

I also discussed the war, the loss of Marine Sgt. Jesse Strong, and Russ Strong’s military vehicle with Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz. He agreed that the war has been difficult. We also talked about the voters of Iraq, who are taking back their country. He gave me a book of photos and stories recounting Election Day in Iraq.

The next day, I went to the Pentagon to talk about Russ Strong’s project with a fellow-Vermonter -- US Army Vice Chief of Staff General Richard Cody, who is heading up a task force to address the same needs. He shared with me the difficulty of explaining to a family why their son has been killed. I challenged the 18-month tour for Army Guard soldiers, compared to the 3-month Air National Guard tour. He looked me in the eye and said he was responsible for that. He said it was necessary to include training time to prepare soldiers for the hazardous environment they would encounter. We are fortunate to have him.

I also talked about the impact of 18-month deployments on Vermont families with Dr. David Chu, Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, whose job is to help military families. At an NLGA event, he announced a Military Severely Injured Joint Support Operations Center, which is open around the clock to assist any soldier who’s been hurt and needs help. Their website is at www.usa4militaryfamilies.org, and the toll-free phone number is 1-877-774-1361.

I also went to Washington to discuss farm issues: water quality and manure management, biodigesters, and milk prices. I took up those topics and others with Senator Jeffords on Tuesday and Senator Leahy on Thursday. Both pledged to help in any way they can. I also met with USDA’s Bruce Knight. He told me about grant monies available for farmers in the Biomass Research and Development Initiative. Because the application deadline is coming fast, I shot the information quickly back to Vermont Deputy Secretary for Agricultural Development, Dave Lane.

I talked with Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, who said to me, “There are times in life when a problem is big enough that you can see it, but small enough that you can fix it.” The Medicaid problem, he said, is currently at that stage. I asked him to address Americans’ need for the lowest possible drug prices and safest possible drugs. He said the FDA works for him, and he’s committed to working toward these goals.

I met new US Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings -- a woman who is a very businesslike, very sharp, and very articulate about student-improvement results under NCLB. She has two daughters -- one in public school, and one in a parochial school. She expressed a genuine desire to hear from us about our concerns and suggestions for improving NCLB.

I also met Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta, who stressed the issue of highway safety. He and I talked about the state of the airline industry, and the impact of high fuel prices on trucking, air travel and motorists. He stated that Amtrak will undergo some major changes. He also talked at length about the next transportation bill.

Most Vermonters would say that the number one issue in our state right now is health care, and that was my motivation for setting up meetings with two administration officials who can help.
Dennis Smith is the Director of the Center for Medicaid and State Operations of the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS). Governor Jim Douglas has requested from CMS what’s called a Section 1115 Waiver for Vermont. This would give Vermont the flexibility to work with seniors who would rather remain living in their own homes, as their health allowed. We estimate this would save Vermont taxpayers $12 million a year, and provide better a quality of life for our seniors at the same time. I met with Dennis Smith to urge his approval of Vermont’s plan. He told me that CMS views the waiver request very favorably -- an encouraging signal in this year of fiscal challenge.

I also went to visit Paul Conway, who is Chief Staff at the US Office of Personnel Management. He helped designed the health care plans for 8 million federal employees. I wanted to know about the costs and the benefits of these plans, and whether they might suggest possible solutions for insuring 600,000 Vermonters. Under Paul’s system, federal employees have 17 choices of insurance options, including three Health Savings Account options. His office is compiling data for me, which I look forward to receiving. I hope to conduct some conference calls with Paul’s team and the chairs of Vermont’s House and Senate health committees to explore possible solutions here in Vermont.

Meanwhile, my brother Mark was out breathing the crisp winter air of Vermont, in the woods where maple sap will soon be running. I thought about Mark and our sugarwoods, while I worked to bring Vermont’s needs to the attention of Washington’s top decision-makers, and to build positive relationships that will help Vermonters.

The duffel bag of maple syrup sure helped. It’s nice to think that communications between Vermont and Washington can flow like a good sap run in the waning days of a Vermont winter.