During a House Judiciary Committee hearing, Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) spoke in opposition to the Republicans' reconciliation process and President Trump's agenda.
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00:00Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move to strike the last word.
00:03House Republicans have spent the last three months insisting that they are the party of working people,
00:10that they care about the struggles of working people.
00:14And now they have control of the House, they have control of the Senate,
00:17they have control of the White House, and they actually could be doing something about it.
00:22And yet, instead of passing legislation to make life easier and more affordable,
00:27they are doing the opposite.
00:28This bill is a betrayal of working people, it's a betrayal of the middle class.
00:34So let's start with the overall plan here.
00:37Republicans are proposing a massive cut to social services in this country.
00:43Services that my constituents in Vermont rely on.
00:46I'm thinking about the nearly 600, excuse me, 164,000 Vermonters on Medicaid
00:52who are at risk of losing their health care.
00:54The Republican legislation means parents and grandparents who rely on Medicaid for long-term care
01:00and nursing homes for their family members.
01:03They're going to have that rug pulled out from under them.
01:05It means that rural hospitals, not just in Vermont, but in all of your rural districts, are going to close too.
01:12It's just a math problem.
01:14Medicaid goes away, rural hospitals close.
01:17The Republican majority and Donald Trump want to kick working families to the curb
01:22and give people who don't need another massive tax break another leg up.
01:28The wealthiest 1% in this country do not need more advantages.
01:33They have plenty.
01:33These cuts are a crystal clear indication of where your priorities lie.
01:40Now let's talk about what is on the agenda for this committee specifically.
01:44With this slice of the reconciliation plan, judiciary Republicans will be doubling down
01:50on Trump's lawlessness and cruel immigration policies,
01:55fueling Trump's attacks on our independent judiciary
01:59and making it easier for big businesses to get away with price gouging
02:04and making it more expensive for regular people to survive.
02:09Today, my Republican colleagues are voting for sky-high fees
02:12for folks who are just trying to comply with immigration laws.
02:16Does anyone really think that somebody who is fleeing to our country for relief as a refugee
02:23can afford hundreds or thousands of dollars to seek asylum or their day in court?
02:28It's nonsense, and you know it.
02:31And with these fees leveraged on those who can least afford it,
02:35Republicans are dedicating billions of dollars to hire and empower
02:39an immigration enforcement reign of terror.
02:45They want to greenlight more masked agents, more hooded people,
02:49more unmarked cars, yanking people off the streets,
02:53deporting them without any due process.
02:55This is America.
02:56This is what actually sets us apart from people in the rest of the world,
03:01is due process.
03:02You can laugh all you want,
03:05but if we don't stand up for due process,
03:07we are not the United States of America anymore.
03:10The bill in front of us will allow Republicans to further insulate this administration
03:16when it flagrantly violates the law and the Constitution,
03:21making it harder for courts to stop illegal actions.
03:24My Republican colleagues are once again using their position,
03:29instead of helping working people,
03:31they're using their position to attack judges,
03:34to attack the very foundations of what makes us Americans.
03:37And you're trying to shutter the FTC,
03:40the Federal Trade Commission,
03:41making it harder for us to enforce our antitrust laws.
03:45Let's talk about fairness.
03:46Let's talk about competition.
03:48Let's talk about all my small businesses who just want a fair shot.
03:51Why would you go after the FTC
03:53and make it harder for small businesses to survive in this landscape?
03:57You all talk about competition.
03:59You all talk about a healthy process in this country,
04:03to have competition,
04:04to have a healthy economy,
04:05and then you go after the FTC.
04:07It doesn't make any sense,
04:09and it doesn't pass the straight face test.
04:12It's all more of the same in here.
04:15You are not looking out for working people.
04:17You are not standing up for small businesses.
04:19You're not standing up for rural America.
04:21You're not standing up for our rural hospitals.
04:23You're not standing up for the people
04:25who desperately need Medicaid
04:27in order to get basic health care.
04:30When I vote no on this Republican budget,
04:33I'm going to be thinking of all the working people in Vermont
04:36who sent me here to work on behalf of them,
04:39not big corporations,
04:41not authoritarians who are would-be dictators,
04:45to work on behalf of them.
04:47And I will be thinking of all of the immigrants,
04:49those who have become part of the fabric of Vermont,
04:52Vermont's economy, and our communities
04:54who are heartlessly being attacked
04:57by my Republican colleagues today.
04:59I yield back.
05:01Gentleman yields back.
05:02Gentleman yields back.