WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Representatives Becca Balint (VT-AL) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) joined U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), co-founder of the bipartisan Senate Mental Health Caucus, to introduce the Mental Health Career Promotion Act to bolster the behavioral and mental health care workforce pipeline by providing students with educational opportunities to learn about and pursue c... Read More »
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Vermont Congressional Delegation, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and U.S. Representative Becca Balint (VT-At-Large), today released the following statement: “We are horrified to learn of the detention of Vermont pastor and nursing assistant Steven Tendo by ICE outside of his workplace today — just days ahead of a regular check-in with im... Read More »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Representative Becca Balint (VT-AL), Vice Ranking Member on the House Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after voting against the Continuing Resolution that would fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for another two weeks: "DHS needs to be reined in now. I refuse to give them another dime whi... Read More »
BURLINGTON, VT – U.S. Representative Becca Balint (VT-AL), and U.S. Senators Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today reintroduced the Emergency Medical Services Reimbursement for On-scene Care and Support (EMS ROCS) Act, bicameral legislation that would require the government to pay for vital EMS services provided to individuals on Medicare. Currently, Medicare does not reimburse EMS ... Read More »
BRATTLEBORO, VT — Representative Becca Balint (VT-AL) today welcomed the news that Vermont-based USCIS employees will no longer be sent to Minnesota to conduct immigration enforcement, after raising concerns about the change in mission: “Given the aggressive ICE operations underway in Minnesota which have already led to deadly force and widespread fear, I raised serious concerns about sending Verm... Read More »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representatives Becca Balint (VT-AL), Vice Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee and Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, have sent letters demanding answers from Meta and Google after reports that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is using their platforms to run immigration enforc... Read More »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Becca Balint (VT-AL), Vice Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement after former Special Counsel Jack Smith testified publicly before the Committee, detailing his investigations into President Donald Trump’s criminal attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election: “Today’s testimony confirmed that President Trump... Read More »
“Today’s testimony confirmed that President Trump was the principal architect of the January 6th insurrection. Mr. Smith laid bare the pattern of threats, intimidation, and retaliation he and his team have faced from Trump and his loyalists for simply following the facts and the law. The President has repeatedly attacked him by name, fired career prosecutors and FBI agents who worked on the inves... Read More »
“At a time when aggressive ICE operations in Minnesota have already led to deadly force and widespread fear in our communities, I am outraged to hear that Vermont USCIS employees are being sent to Minneapolis to play ICE enforcement roles that fall far outside of their mission or their training. These are highly skilled public servants who came to this work to help people navigate the immigration... Read More »
MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Today, Rep. Becca Balint released the following statement after arriving in Minnesota to conduct oversight regarding ICE's killing of Renee Nicole Good: “I am a hell no on any more funding for ICE. Right now, I am in Minnesota demanding answers and accountability for the deadly force used by ICE agents, including the brutal killing of Renee Nicole Good last week and the ongoing i... Read More »
“Kristi Noem has proven to be an unqualified leader in charge of what has become a rogue army of ICE agents. Americans have been stunned by the cruelty and callousness of agents under her leadership, and she has been unaccountable to members of Congress who have rightly demanded answers on behalf of our constituents. Over the past year, Secretary Noem has endangered our communities, disregarded d... Read More »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Becca Balint (VT-AL) released the following statement following passage of Democrats’ three-year extension of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits: “During what has been a really hard week for Americans, I am grateful to share the good news that we were able to secure House passage of a three-year extension of the ACA premium tax credits –... Read More »
“Nicolás Maduro is a brutal, illegitimate dictator, and Venezuelans have suffered greatly under his regime. That does not diminish the fact that President Trump has zero authority to use military force to remove the leader of another sovereign country. This unilateral military action was reckless, illegal and taken without any congressional briefing, approval or oversight. It brings us further do... Read More »
"I am filled with sorrow and rage this morning after learning that two students were killed at Brown University and many others are fighting for their lives. Last night was yet another reminder that gun violence touches everyone." "This is NOT the price we must pay for our freedom. I will continue to fight for sensible gun laws." "We all deserve that." Read More »
Brattleboro, VT — All 25 Jewish Members of the US House of Representatives released the following statement in response to an attack on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia that targeted Jewish people celebrating the first night of Hanukkah: “On a night meant for celebration, Jewish families in Australia, gathering in joy and peace on the first night of Hanukkah, were grotesquely targeted with hate an... Read More »
