Becca Balint

Ms. BALINT

Ms. BALINT. Mr. Speaker, in light of the President's offensive and cruel post about the tragic murders of director Rob Reiner and his wife, producer and actress, Michele Reiner, I think it is important to speak out. Mr. Speaker, may this be the last time America elects a President devoid of sympathy and compassion. May this be the last time that we choose someone so heartless and cruel, who denies the basic dignity of honoring someone's life when they have been murdered. May this be the last time we choose someone who divides us instead of unites us. May this be the last time we elevate and celebrate a man unwilling to offer condolence or consolation or comfort. May this be the last time we choose a leader wrapped up in spite and vindictiveness. May this be the last time that we lose ourselves in our collective cruelty.

Ms. BALINT

Ms. BALINT. Mr. Speaker, another day, another disgusting pardon by Donald Trump. I will tell you today about Joseph Schwartz. Joseph Schwartz ran a nationwide nursing home empire and stole $38 million through Medicaid and tax fraud. I want you all to remember that is our money. He cheated American taxpayers. He cheated his employees. He stole money out of their paychecks and kept it for himself instead of paying their taxes. He robbed them of their 401(k)'s. Elderly patients in his care got substandard care. In April, this swindler was rightly sentenced to 3 years in prison, but he didn't stay long thanks to our President. He gave him a full and unconditional pardon after just 90 days. Trump and the Republicans cut $1 trillion from Medicaid, and Americans are not going to have their healthcare. Meanwhile, this guy literally steals $38 million from all of us, and Trump lets him walk free and back home to his $1.2 million home. Trump is laughing at his voters. It is disgusting.

Ms. BALINT

Ms. BALINT. Mr. Speaker, the Uniform Code of Military Justice is clear. It requires servicemembers to obey lawful orders and to refuse illegal orders. We can't order a servicemember to commit a crime. It is that simple. If someone is a servicemember, he can't follow an order that requires him to commit a crime. Recently, my Democratic colleagues merely reminded our servicemembers of their lawful duty. The President's reaction was that these Democratic Members of Congress were traitors and should be hanged. Fast-forward to last week, when we learned that Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the illegal killing of defenseless survivors of an attack on a boat in the Caribbean. This is what our colleagues were warning about. Mr. Speaker, Secretary Hegseth and anyone else who commits war crimes must be held accountable. Secretary Hegseth has to go.

Ms. BALINT

Ms. BALINT. Mr. Speaker, last Friday President Trump said he would give a full and complete pardon to Juan Orlando Hernandez, the corrupt former President of Honduras. It is disgusting. Trump is going to erase a major drug trafficking conviction against Hernandez, who is serving 45 years in Federal prison for his crimes. He was convicted by an American jury for working with drug cartels to move 400 tons of cocaine through Honduras to the United States. He got millions of dollars in kickbacks and bribes. What the hell is the President of the United States doing giving this thug a full pardon? He is a man who helped bring deadly drugs into our communities. Trump is literally rewarding a narco-terrorist. What will it take for my Republican colleagues to speak up? There is no way to spin this. He is literally standing with a drug trafficker and against us.

Ms. BALINT

Ms. BALINT. Mr. Speaker, on October 2, 2018, a man, a journalist, a father, a fiance was lured into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkiye. He went to get documents so he could marry his fiancee. He never came out. He was murdered in that building. His name was Jamal Khashoggi. He was a writer for The Washington Post, and his murder was an attack on the free press. A month later, our own CIA under Trump concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, MBS, had ordered Khashoggi's killing and dismemberment. The U.N. came to the same conclusion. MBS ordered the murder. Despite that, yesterday, President Trump welcomed MBS to the White House with fanfare and pomp and circumstance. Trump said Khashoggi was controversial. ``Whether you liked him or didn't like him, things happen.'' Mr. Speaker, there is only one way to look at this and that is moral rot: dangerous, chilling moral rot.

Ms. BALINT

Ms. BALINT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of my colleague, Congressman Chuy Garcia, who is my seatmate on the Judiciary Committee. Chuy is someone who is always looking out for the working people of this country. Chuy is always the one in committee who is thinking: How is this going to affect the people back home in my neighborhood. For 45 years, this man has worked relentlessly for the communities that he serves. His steadfast dedication to community has been on full display this year in the midst of the barbaric assaults that they have endured in Chicago. As Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino has indiscriminately launched chemical agents in residential neighborhoods and kidnapped people off the streets, the people of Illinois' Fourth District have had a strong champion in Chuy Garcia, standing alongside them every step of the way to demand justice. That is how he fights for not just everyone in his district but for people across this country. He is a man of principle and a man of morals, and it is so disheartening to see his name dragged through the mud today. When Federal agents kidnapped staffers of a local elected official off the streets, Chuy and his team were there demanding their release. He goes where he needs to go to stand up for his people. Isn't that what we all want from our elected officials? Now, I acknowledge that yes, indeed, our democracy is corrupted and rigged against working people, but it is not because of Chuy Garcia. Chuy has fought for working people his entire life, and he has been fearless in voting to stand up to mega corporations that are screwing us over and the big banks that don't give a damn about us. I urge my colleagues to keep all of these things in mind.

Ms. BALINT. I want my colleagues to think about the totality of this man's life and what he has done in service not just to Illinois but to the people of this country. I urge my colleagues to keep this in mind. This is not a game. It is a man's life. Please consider that as we think about this resolution.

Ms. BALINT

Ms. BALINT. Mr. Speaker, the healthcare system that we have today doesn't work for anyone except if you are an insurance company. I hear it from Vermonters all the time: Our healthcare system is on the brink, and every choice Republicans make leads us further into collapse. Republicans have no plan for healthcare, and they never have. For the last 15 years, all they have done is try to repeal, defund, deauthorize, and dismantle the Affordable Care Act with no alternative ever presented. Americans are so tired of hearing about a concept of a plan or volumes of ideas. Mr. Speaker, I will tell you the plan: Medicare for all. I will tell you the vision. It is that every American has access to affordable healthcare, to good jobs, to good schools, to clean air and water, housing they can actually afford, safer communities, and a functioning democracy. That is the vision. I want the American people to know that Democrats are not giving up on healthcare. We are going to continue to fight.

Ms. BALINT

Ms. BALINT. Mr. Speaker, our Nation is in crisis. We are in a very dark place. Americans are scared, and they want to see a way forward. We all need to start with ourselves. This morning, I sat, and I lit a candle. I thought about the anguish and suffering of Representative Melissa Hortman's two children as they try to cope with the assassination of their mom and dad. Then I sat, and I thought of the pain and the torment of Charlie Kirk's family as they try to cope with the killing of their dad. Today, Mr. Speaker, I am inviting Americans across the Nation to do the same. I invite them to sit for a few minutes in the pain of these two families. If they can feel compassion for one family and not the other, that should tell them about the work they need to do and the work that we all need to do.

Ms. BALINT

Ms. BALINT. Mr. Speaker, so over at the Centers for Medicaid & Medicaid Services, the administrator, Dr. Oz--yes, that guy--decided they should curb waste by letting the government use AI to decide if your medical procedure is really necessary. That means for-profit companies will use bots to deny care for seniors and working people and will get rich doing it at your expense. Right now, there are over 70 million Americans who rely on Medicare and Medicaid for their insurance. If there is one thing that Americans agree on right now, it is that our healthcare system is sick. Our premiums are too high. Our access is shrinking. We are all enraged by a system that is already designed to deny us healthcare coverage, not make us healthier. Our healthcare system is so perverse, we don't need yet another way for the system to screw us over. Americans deserve affordable, quality healthcare, and AI should not be determining whether you get healthcare. That is what Democrats are fighting for.

Ms. BALINT

Ms. BALINT. Mr. Chair, I rise today in strong opposition to this amendment. If passed, this amendment would immediately prohibit TRICARE coverage of mental health counseling for transgender young people. Let me repeat that. This amendment would take away mental health care services for transgender kids of servicemembers. That is what we are talking about. This amendment is intentionally discriminatory and will result in higher rates of mental health issues and suicide for trans youth, kids who already experience higher rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide compared to their peers. Republicans' all-out assault on healthcare right now has put these people into a state of constant fear and anxiety. Imagine that you are a servicemember, you are a parent, and you hear from a doctor that Congress has banned medically necessary care endorsed by every major medical association that would literally help save your child's life. All young people in this country should have access to the mental health care that they need, full stop. Forcing servicemembers to choose between being able to provide healthcare for their family, for their kids, or serving their country does not make our military stronger, does not make our country safer, and it will not--no matter what the Member says, it will not make transgender people in this country disappear. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''

Ms. BALINT

Ms. BALINT. Madam Speaker, I take to the floor today because I am angry and so are Vermonters. We are furious because of what happened yesterday to a Vermonter, a U.S. citizen, as he attempted to return home. Wilmer Chavarria is a community leader. He is a school superintendent in my State. He was held and interrogated for hours yesterday in the Houston airport by CBP agents and given no reason for his detainment. Wilmer called this experience psychological terror. Again, we are talking about a U.S. citizen here. When we say this can happen to any of us, this is what we are talking about. This kind of violation of our constitutional rights is how leaders use terror to intimidate us into silence. I don't want to hear about how everyone is going after the violent criminals in this country and trying to get violent criminals off the streets, when community leaders and school superintendents are being detained because of the color of their skin and the sound of their last name. Madam Speaker, we need to hold onto our collective outrage. We do not need to accept this. This is not what Americans want.

Ms. BALINT

Ms. BALINT. Mr. Speaker, I was unable to be present on July 14, 2025, due to weather-related travel delays. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 191; YEA on Roll Call No. 192; and YEA on Roll Call No. 193.

Ms. BALINT

Ms. BALINT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to honor the life and legacy of the Venerable J. Stannard ``Stan'' Baker, who passed away on June 23, 2025, at the age of 79. A devoted deacon in the Episcopal Church and a pioneering advocate for LGBTQI+ rights, Stan's impact on our Nation and on the Commonwealth of Vermont will endure for generations. Ordained in 2009, Stan served with distinction as Archdeacon of the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont and as chaplain to retired clergy. His ministry was marked by compassion, humility, and a fierce commitment to justice and healing. In every community he touched, he brought people together, building bridges of understanding and care. Before his ordained ministry, Stan excelled as a psychotherapist--co- founding BTR Psychotherapy and serving as a Clinical Director and Mental Health Director--offering vital support to individuals and families facing difficult challenges. Stan's most enduring legacy, however, is his courageous role in Baker v. Vermont. As the lead plaintiff, Stan helped secure Vermont's groundbreaking civil unions law, making it the first state in the nation to grant legal recognition and benefits to same-sex couples. This landmark decision marked a turning point in the struggle for equality--a step so bold and historic that it helped lay the legal and moral foundation for marriage equality across the United States. So many LGBTQI+ Americans today can trace their right to marry the person they love back to the courage of Stan Baker and his fellow plaintiffs, who stood up at a time when few dared to do so. His action was not only a personal stand but a transformational moment in our Nation's history--one that reshaped the legal landscape and inspired a movement. His life was also a testament to love and partnership. Stan and his husband, Peter Harrigan, were among the first same-sex couples to enter into a civil union in Vermont--and they later married. Their story reflects both the personal and political progress that can emerge from courage and conviction. Stan was much more than a public advocate; he was a lover of music, a collector of books and fountain pens, a cello and guitar player, and a person of deep faith and generosity. He is survived by his husband Peter, whose grief is shared by all of us who knew and admired Stan. Today, we remember Stan Baker--not only for the victories he helped achieve, but for the kindness he expressed, the communities he strengthened, and the hope he inspired. I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring his memory and recommitting ourselves to the values he embodied: justice, dignity, and love for all. May his life continue to guide us, and may we carry forward his legacy with courage and compassion.

Ms. BALINT

Ms. BALINT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to amend the rule to make in order the amendment at the desk that protects against any cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.

Ms. BALINT

Ms. BALINT. Mr. Speaker, this is a cruel bill. Thousands of Americans will die because of it. Rural hospitals will close. Millions will lose their healthcare. Kids will go hungry. Americans will be poorer. They will be sicker because my Republican colleagues are falling in line instead of standing up for their people back home. This bill shows us their priorities, and it is not the American people. They are taking away Americans' healthcare to give more money to the very wealthy. This bill is for billionaires and not for Americans.

Ms. BALINT

Ms. BALINT. Mr. Speaker, we all know that the Republicans' so-called big, beautiful bill is wildly unpopular. Every poll, including FOX News, shows that Americans think it is rotten, and it is. That is why Trump is trying desperately to rehabilitate the bill in the eyes of the public, but Americans aren't stupid. They don't want their healthcare taken away. They don't want us taking food away from hungry people. They don't want our rural hospitals to close. They don't want to add trillions of dollars to the debt, and they sure as hell do not want the wealthy to continue to get rich off the backs of the rest of us. This is not rocket science. They want a tax code that doesn't screw us over. They want affordable rent and mortgages. They want lower healthcare costs. They want to see us fighting for a better future for their families. All this bill does is take and take and take away from working people and provide it, once again, to the billionaires who do not need it. They see right through it, and so do we.

Ms. BALINT

Ms. BALINT. Mr. Speaker, right now, ICE is showing up at courthouses across the country, waiting to arrest people after their official immigration hearings. Is this what we thought we would see in America? ICE officials lying in wait to grab people who are actually following the rules? In some cases, these people had just had their cases dismissed. They walk into court, following the rules, doing what they were told, following the legal pathways, and they are being taken into unmarked cars and fast-tracked for deportation. Let's be clear: This isn't about catching dangerous criminals. It was never about catching dangerous criminals. These are moms, dads, students, grandparents, workers, people who are trying to get through the legal process the right way, but ICE is turning our courthouses into traps. The very places that immigrants are supposed to go to follow a legal path to citizenship have now become traps to lure people in so that they can be arrested, detained, and disappeared. ICE tricked a Vermonter, Mohsen Mahdawi. He has been legally in our State for 10 years. He showed up for the final step in his citizenship process only to have masked men detain him after he exited the courthouse. He knew it was a risk to show up, but he decided it was worth the risk to maybe finally become an American. Imagine going to court, following the process, and then getting arrested the second you step outside. That is what is happening in America right now. Last month, in San Francisco, four asylum-seekers were taken by ICE after their hearings were over. In New York City, even a city official, Comptroller Brad Lander, was detained by ICE while trying to support an immigrant friend. If they are willing to rough up city officials, mayors, and even a sitting U.S. Senator, what does that mean for the rest of us? These tactics are to scare people. People are now afraid to go to court. How does that possibly make our country more safe? People are skipping hearings, risking automatic deportation, because they don't trust the system anymore. How is anyone supposed to follow the legal steps if even those are now a risk? Republicans claim over and over again in committees that this is only about illegal immigration. It is not. If that were the case, then they would be just as outraged as I am that people are being snatched outside of their court hearings. It is an attack on due process, plain and simple. It is an attack on the idea that we all deserve a fair shot in this country. It is also a clear tactic to instill fear in all of us so that we will be intimidated into submission and stop standing up for our neighbors. ICE agents without visible ID, without any official markings on them, and with masks are acting more like vigilantes than agents of our government. Mr. Speaker, how can we even trust that these are government officials? It is nothing more than kidnapping, and it needs to stop. There should be no more secret arrests and no more plainclothes agents waiting outside of courtrooms. This kind of thing does not happen in democracy. It doesn't. The only way to protect Americans from these abuses is to provide due process to anyone facing deportation. Due process exists to protect American citizens and to protect all of us from wrongful deportation and wrongful detention. This administration does not seem to care about this complete and total violation of our constitutional rights, a right that we are all entitled to, regardless of status. Under Trump, ICE and DHS have become a means to carry out political arrests and to silence anyone that disagrees with their extreme agenda. That is what we are looking at right now. It has never been about removing the criminals. It has always been about creating mass fear and mass intimidation so they can retain more power. This is not what Americans want. I need my Republican colleagues to fight for everyone in their district. I need them to speak up. Mr. Speaker, where is your line?

Ms. BALINT

Ms. BALINT. Mr. Speaker, I stand here today in support of labor leader David Huerta. The head of the SEIU California union was arrested in Los Angeles while exercising his First Amendment rights to speech and assembly, rights that are guaranteed to all of us in the Constitution. That is what separates us from autocratic regimes around the world. The Trump administration is now going after judges, Members of Congress, political opponents, students, law firms, reporters, Governors, and now the leader of a powerful labor union. This is about abusing power to silence dissent. This is about generating fear to turn us against each other so that we don't pay attention to this lawbreaking administration. David Huerta said this after being arrested: ``What happened to me is not about me. This is about something much bigger. This is about how we as a community stand together and resist the injustice that is happening. Hardworking people and members of our family and community are being treated like criminals. We all collectively have to object to this madness because this is not justice.''

Ms. BALINT

Ms. BALINT. Mr. Speaker, Defense Secretary Hegseth should be one of the busiest people on the planet, defending our country and leading nearly 3 million courageous Americans in our Armed Forces. It is an awesome responsibility. This week, Pete Hegseth spent his precious time deciding that a naval ship named after a veteran is just too gay for him. Harvey Milk was an American hero, a civil rights leader, and the first openly gay official in California. He served his country in the Navy. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He was someone who stood up for the rights and dignity of all, and he was assassinated while serving in public office. His memory is worthy of dignity and respect. Removing his name from a ship is small and it is petty. It is obviously an attempt to erase the history of anyone who shows resistance to this administration. That is what autocrats and authoritarians do. Since Secretary Hegseth took the helm, the Department of Defense has been fraught with national security risks and constant drama. I urge him to stop spending his time renaming ships because he wants to pretend that we don't exist. He should do his damn job.

Ms. BALINT

Ms. BALINT. Mr. Speaker, it is hard not to feel like this administration is trying to kill us. The Republican budget slashes billions of dollars from Medicaid and food assistance programs. Millions will lose their health insurance and will be hungrier and sicker. It gets worse. In his 2026 budget, Trump has called for a 40 percent cut to the National Institutes of Health. He wants a 44 percent cut to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and he is urging Republicans to cut billions of dollars from the National Cancer Institute. For over 50 years, every major medical breakthrough that has happened in the treatment of cancer has been linked to our Federal investments. Americans are not demanding that we cut money to fund cancer research, Mr. Speaker, I promise you that. They are not calling for these cuts. Of course, as the irrepressibly cheerful Joni Ernst reminded Americans last week, that is okay because we all are going to die. I just don't think Americans thought the Trump administration would be actively trying to speed up our deaths, but here we are.

Ms. BALINT

Ms. BALINT. Mr. Speaker, ask yourself why. Why are we here at 3 a.m. fast-tracking this bill? This bill is nothing to be proud of. It is best to pass it in the night when most folks are asleep. What kind of a nation are we when leaders choose to take food away from children? What kind of a nation are we when they choose to take healthcare away from people? What kind of a nation are we when they choose to add trillions of dollars to the deficit and pass those financial handcuffs on to our grandchildren? What kind of a nation are we when they choose to make those deficits, that it will force $500 billion in cuts to Medicare? What has happened this week is shocking. It is unconscionable. It is not leadership. It is moral failure, kicking the poor in the teeth while rewarding the richest among us. Mr. Speaker, Americans deserve so much better than this, so much better. I urge my colleagues to reject this cruel, cynical bill.

Ms. BALINT

Ms. BALINT. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Schrier, and I am happy to be here. Just this morning, President Trump said that the Republicans aren't cutting anything meaningful in their budget. What a thing to say. What a shocking thing to say when these cuts will hurt so many Americans. I am having a really hard time understanding how taking away healthcare from nearly 14 million Americans isn't meaningful. It is not meaningful that rural hospitals across Vermont and across this country are going to be at risk of closing? Just today I met with Vermonters from a little town called Coventry, and they are deeply concerned that they are going to lose access to labor and delivery healthcare at their local hospital. Republicans are so out of touch with the reality of American families right now, and it is shocking to call these cuts not meaningful when their bill will hurt working families. It takes away food and healthcare from millions and millions of people, their own voters, but yet they are not meaningful cuts. These cuts are certainly meaningful for all the kids and veterans who will go hungry because of this cruel and what I think is a very cynical bill. Why are my Republican colleagues making the cuts? That is what we all want to know. It is to give the very wealthy another big tax cut and deliver tax breaks to billionaires and corporations, people who absolutely don't need any more assistance. It is taking that money from people who desperately need help and giving away to the people who don't. People who are just struggling to get by are having precious resources taken away from them. Right now, across this country, Americans are trying to figure out the math. Are they going to be able to afford groceries for their kids? They are trying to decide whether they can afford to go to the doctor. While that is happening, in real time, my colleagues are spending time demanding more work requirements for Medicaid recipients when we know that almost half of adults on Medicaid are already working. They act like they are not working. They are working, and 27 percent of those working-age adults on Medicaid are disabled. They are doing the best they can here. It couldn't be more obvious that they are just looking to remove more people from the Medicaid rolls in order to have more money to give tax breaks to billionaires and corporations. It is sick. These are real people who we are talking about tonight in every congressional district who cannot handle these cuts. It is as simple as that. The reality is that Americans can't pay for their rent right now. They can't pay for their groceries. They are too high. Prescription drug prices are too high. Costs for consumers and small businesses are just going to go up because of the asinine tariff regime that we have been dealt. Of course, Americans feel like it is rigged against them because it is. That is why we have to be here fighting for them. That is why we have to be here, raising the alarm about what is happening in this bill with Medicaid. What Americans want is fairness. What they need is fairness. We owe them that. They want and need affordable healthcare, and we owe them that. They want and need a fair shot, a better life for their kids, and we owe them that. This bill that cuts Medicaid is a statement of values. It shows exactly what and who the Republicans are caring about. It is not you and your family. It is not me and mine. It is about propping up billionaires and kicking the rest of us in the teeth while they do it. What kind of leaders take away healthcare and food from working people so that the wealthy can get even more money? What kind of leaders? Not strong leaders, not leaders of conscience. It is shameful.

Ms. BALINT

Ms. BALINT. Mr. Speaker, I was a history teacher, and I know that we have to be documenting this moment. When we look back, I don't want anyone to say that we didn't know what was happening. Trump adviser Stephen Miller and perhaps the most joyless man in America recently said that Trump is actively looking at suspending the writ of habeas corpus. I am sorry. What? What? Habeas corpus is the right we all have to challenge in court if we are detained and locked up. Without it, it means that any of us can be locked up with no cause. It can only be suspended by Congress, by us. Americans, please hear me: Who are we? Who are we if we let Trump abandon our core principle that no one in this country will be imprisoned unlawfully? This is about liberty, and there is nothing more important than our liberty.

Ms. BALINT

Ms. BALINT. Mr. Speaker, I am a history teacher so I know that we have to do everything we can to document what is happening right now because we are at a very dangerous moment, and it requires courage from every single one of us. Here is the truth of it: This national nightmare started with a series of lies, the first one being that Barack Obama was not born in this country. Then the second one, the ridiculous, easily disproved claim was that the 2017 inauguration broke records that no one had ever seen before. Then there was the lie about the weather map and the Sharpie, and then so many other lies building up to that one big lie that you all have heard about the 2020 election. It was an obvious lie, and yet he lost over and over and over in court and continued to lie. There was no evidence, but it didn't matter. Why didn't it matter? It didn't matter because it wasn't about the evidence. It was actually a test. It was a test to signal your willingness to be loyal. If you promise to spread our lies, you can be on the team. It was a qualification for being able to work on that team. Slowly, like the rot in the foundation of an old farmhouse, it continues to let the decay set in.