VAAP featured on NE public Radio
WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Pat Bradley
Published January 31, 2025 at 1:30 PM EST
“Congresswoman Becca Balint held a series of press conferences in Montpelier Thursday to discuss Trump Administration executive orders and the impact on Vermonters.
“The state’s at-large Democratic representative gathered advocates and state officials to talk about Trump administration’s orders to freeze federal funding and the resulting confusion. Balint, early in her second term, says the freeze was devastating to organizations, businesses, and agencies that serve Vermonters.
““This chaos, which did not need to happen, directly causes panic, confusion. Already some people have lost their jobs. This is not what Vermonters want,” asserted Balint. “And I will also add, what the President has done is illegal. He knows that. His team knows that and members of Congress on the Republican side know that. They say nothing.”
“Balint says the White House is intentionally causing chaos.
““It is a strategy, not just to flood the zone so we don’t know where to focus, but to push the boundaries of what is legal. They are testing the waters to see where the pushback will come,” Balint remarked.
“State Treasurer Michael Pieciak, a Democrat, has formed a federal transition task force to understand the impacts of executive orders and Trump administrative actions on Vermont.
““Approximately 37% of our state budget is made up of federal funds, and in most cases, these federal funds are powering programs that the federal government itself has directed states to run, all of which has been thrown into chaos this week,” Pieciak explained. “And the funding freeze is just one example. Saturday, the Trump administration has threatened to impose significant tariffs on Canadian goods, which, when coupled with retaliatory tariffs would significantly damage the Vermont economy.”
“U.S. Senator Peter Welch, a Democrat, held a virtual meeting Friday morning with Vermont residents on the same subject. He calls the moves shocking and appalling.
““It also happens to be illegal. A president does not have the right to pick and choose what he will honor with respect to Congressional appropriations. The difficulty we have is that this president doesn’t really care whether it’s legal or not, whether he has the authority or not,” Welch said. “And what I find, and I’m just talking personally about this now, I think this administration, this president seems to think that there’s some benefit in creating chaos. You know, just being very blunt, I think it’s cruel.”
“Balint also gathered stakeholders to discuss the importance of migrant labor in the state and the economic implications of federal deportation efforts. Balint said the country cannot ignore or normalize rhetoric demonizing immigrants and migrants.
““The rhetoric is so dangerous. I do not believe that Vermonters want us to be a nation that categorizes, demonizes and locks people up because of how thy look,” Balint said.
“Vermont Asylum Assistance Project Executive Director Jill Martin Diaz says they have seen a greater presence of ICE agents in Burlington and received reports of ICE patrols across the state.
““We’ve put up an ICE raids activities tracker on our website. We encourage people to anonymously report what they see,” Diaz said. “And this way, we can at least continue to be a resource to the community in sharing with you folks what people are seeing and hearing around the state, including as far down south as Brattleboro, where ICE agents were spotted in the Hannaford parking lot.”
“The Vermont treasurer’s federal transition task force, in conjunction with the Vermont Chamber of Commerce and Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility, will hold a webinar Thursday for employers to discuss their rights and how to prepare for potential visits from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”
