'If We Don't Stand Up For Due Process We Are Not The United States Of America Anymore': Becca Balint

Forbes Breaking News

During a House Judiciary Committee hearing, Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) spoke in opposition to the Republicans' reconciliation process and President Trump's agenda.

Transcript

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.

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