Press Releases

Washington, D.C. — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Rep. Becca Balint (Vt.-AL) today released the following statement after the Trump Administration ordered a pause in all federal grants and loans, a sweeping decision that could disrupt education and health care programs, housing assistance, disaster relief and a host of other initiatives that depend on billions of federal dollars:

President Trump’s decision to freeze all federal grants and loans will cause devastating harm to working families across Vermont.

This unconstitutional action will impact more than 1,200 Vermont kids in Head Start programs; more than 10,000 women, infants, and children in Vermont who use WIC to keep from going hungry; nearly 200,000 Vermont patients who use community health centers; nearly 24,000 Vermonters who use the LIHEAP program to stay warm through the winter; 9,000 Vermonters who rely on Section 8 vouchers to keep a roof over their head; more than 12,000 Vermont seniors who rely on nutritious food from Meals on Wheels and at senior centers; countless Vermont communities that are still recovering from devastating floods; and all of our Vermont firefighters and police officers who put their lives on the line to keep us safe.

This decision by the Trump Administration will cause immense pain for the most vulnerable people in Vermont and across our country. It represents a dangerous move toward authoritarianism. No president has the right to choose which laws to follow and which laws to ignore. Donald Trump is endangering the health and well-being of Vermonters. We will do everything in our power to see that it is reversed.