Terminating Restrictive Enforcement of Youth Settlements Law

Floor Speech

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Mr. WELCH. Mr. President, like citizens in Ohio, Vermonters like to work hard. They get up each day and face the day, and they don't fear hard work. They are glad to do that to protect their families and to improve their communities. But, you know, they work hard, but they don't like paying for wasteful things, and right now, President Trump is demanding--demanding--$1 billion to build an East Wing, which, by the way, is an East Wing that he destroyed. He tore it down. Now he has promised Americans that he will rebuild it and that it will be through private contributions, but he is asking--demanding, really--the U.S. Congress to spend $1 billion to rebuild what he destroyed. Vermonters don't like that at all.

It has been said that a budget does reflect our shared values, not the personal preferences of any one individual, including the President of the United States.

So let's just talk about some of the other ways $1 billion could be spent that would have a significant benefit to Vermonters who are working hard, who are paying their bills, and who care about their community.

With $1 billion, we could extend the ACA premium tax credits--that you and I worked on, by the way--to make healthcare more affordable for 30,000 Vermonters.

With $1 billion, we could provide really important title I funding, which helps rural and underserved schools in Vermont, for 23 years.

With $1 billion, we could provide $153,000 in relief for every single one of our 6,537 farms, which are all struggling.

With $1 billion, we could provide a $12,000 small business loan-- small businesses being really essential to Vermont--to all 82,000 Vermont small businesses.

With $1 billion, we could restore the SNAP Program for every Vermonter who has been kicked off nutrition assistance because of the Trump tax bill. Mr. President, 4,547 Vermonters have lost what we call 3Squares. Terrible.

With $1 billion, we could fund the Women, Infants, and Children benefits for Vermonters for 147 years.

With $1 billion, we could provide childcare for every child under 5 in Vermont for a year and a half.

With $1 billion, we could fund the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, LIHEAP, in Vermont for 50 years. This vital program provides home heating and cooling aid for more than 26,000 Vermonters.

With $1 billion, we could help provide $50,000 loans to 20,000 Vermonters who have been impacted by flooding or other natural disasters in the past 3 years.

With $1 billion, we could support FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund, which is operating in immediate-needs-funding status, meaning everything is precarious.

As I mentioned, if you want to show me your values, show me your budget. This reconciliation budget bill, which adds billions of dollars to an already bloated ICE budget and CBP budget with absolutely no reforms and no oversight and gives hundreds of millions of dollars-- potentially $1 billion--to President Trump's ballroom, is a statement of values. This $1 billion won't help communities or families from Barre, VT, to Biloxi, MS.

You know, I want to give just a straightforward, rhetoric-free reading of just a few headlines we saw this week alone. This is the world we are in, and it reflects how the administration is spending its time and resources.

The Washington Post: ``Millions expected to lose Affordable Care Act coverage as costs spike.''

Associated Press: ``Under Congressional Scrutiny, Blanche Defends Nearly $1.8 [Billion] Fund to Pay Trump Allies.''

The Washington Post: ``EPA wants to repeal limits on `forever chemicals' in drinking water.''

The Associated Press: ``Trump distorts recent revisions of scientific projections of global warming.''

The Washington Post: ``Health worker shortage will worsen with federal loan limit.''

NOTUS: ``Trump's Latest White House Makeover Includes a Helipad.''

The New York Times: ``Deported Despite DACA: Dreamers Face Uncertainty Under Trump.''

The President of the United States has been clear: He is choosing a go-it-alone approach on his ballroom, he wants to fund ICE and CBP on a partisan basis with none of the reforms so many Americans are demanding, and he is going to totally bypass regular order and any hope of a bipartisan budget.

It is really a waste of taxpayer dollars. The folks that you represent and I represent, who are willing to work hard, who are willing to pay their fair share, really wonder: Why are we spending $1 billion on a ballroom?

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