Becca Balint
Representative for Vermont · Democratic · United States
“Mr. Speaker, I thank Representatives Torres and Jayapal for their leadership. I am very happy to speak here tonight on an issue that is so important to so many Americans. I want to talk about power tonight, Mr. Speaker. Before I came to Congress, I was a public school teacher.”
House of Representatives1 September 2026Source ↗
“In a democracy, dignity and due process are not optional. There is a lot of talk in this Chamber all the time about who belongs in this country, but tonight I will ask you this: What do we owe the people whose lives we have put in our hands? We owe them due process. We owe them care. We owe them dignity. We owe their families the truth.”
House of Representatives1 September 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the Republican budget. Let's lay out where we are. Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the White House, and they could be passing legislation right now to actually lower costs for families on groceries, prescription drugs, and housing.”
House of Representatives9 April 2025Source ↗
“{time} 1800 When I vote against this Republican budget, I will be thinking about all of the working families back in Vermont, thinking of the families who aren't going to be able to drop their kids off at a Head Start program, and thinking about the small businesses who tell me that the Trump on-again, off-again global tariffs are crushin…”
House of Representatives9 April 2025Source ↗
“One of these men is 31-year-old Andry Hernandez Romero who was snatched off the streets and put on a plane to El Salvador to rot in a prison there. Andry is not a gang member. He is not a terrorist. He is a threat to no one. He is a son, a brother, a makeup artist, and a hairdresser.”
House of Representatives7 April 2025Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, this week we learned that 75 percent of the men on that plane to El Salvador, the men who President Trump claimed were the worst of the worst, were, in fact, not hardened criminals. Are we surprised that it was another example of optics over evidence? Mr.”
House of Representatives7 April 2025Source ↗
The complete record
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“In a democracy, dignity and due process are not optional. There is a lot of talk in this Chamber all the time about who belongs in this country, but tonight I will ask you this: What do we owe the people whose lives we have put in our hands? We owe them due process. We owe them care. We owe them dignity. We owe their families the truth. When we fail them, we owe them accountability. In this room, we have a responsibility, too. We must stop funding a lawless and chaotic immigration enforcement system that has treated human lives as expendable. We have to use our power. Every government official who has abused their power and contributed to this horrific death toll must be held accountable.”
House of Representatives1 September 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I thank Representatives Torres and Jayapal for their leadership. I am very happy to speak here tonight on an issue that is so important to so many Americans. I want to talk about power tonight, Mr. Speaker. Before I came to Congress, I was a public school teacher. I can tell you, when you are a teacher, you have a lot of power over the young people in your classroom. You set the rules. You decide when to speak and when to listen. You can make students feel seen or feel small. I learned very quickly that the more power that you have over someone, the greater responsibility you have to them. This is the lesson that this administration hasn't learned. Right now, we are watching our government exercise enormous power over people who have almost none, and they are doing it carelessly, with deadly consequences.”
House of Representatives1 September 2026Source ↗
“{time} 1800 When I vote against this Republican budget, I will be thinking about all of the working families back in Vermont, thinking of the families who aren't going to be able to drop their kids off at a Head Start program, and thinking about the small businesses who tell me that the Trump on-again, off-again global tariffs are crushing them. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to reject this reckless budget.”
House of Representatives9 April 2025Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the Republican budget. Let's lay out where we are. Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the White House, and they could be passing legislation right now to actually lower costs for families on groceries, prescription drugs, and housing. Instead, they are attacking the very programs that working people and middle-class people across this country rely on. They have proposed a budget that gives massive tax cuts to the wealthiest and the corporations. How will they pay for it? They will pay for it by making cuts to Medicaid to the tune of $880 billion and deep cuts to SNAP benefits, food assistance to families. On top of that, they will add to the deficit.”
House of Representatives9 April 2025Source ↗
“One of these men is 31-year-old Andry Hernandez Romero who was snatched off the streets and put on a plane to El Salvador to rot in a prison there. Andry is not a gang member. He is not a terrorist. He is a threat to no one. He is a son, a brother, a makeup artist, and a hairdresser. He is a man who fled his home country to come to the United States because he feared for his life because he is gay. We are being lied to. These kinds of cruel tactics are not necessary to keep us safe. This is about taking away due process and intimidating us into silence and submission. If this administration will do this to Andry, then they will do it to anyone. We are all at risk. Protect due process. ____________________”
House of Representatives7 April 2025Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, this week we learned that 75 percent of the men on that plane to El Salvador, the men who President Trump claimed were the worst of the worst, were, in fact, not hardened criminals. Are we surprised that it was another example of optics over evidence? Mr. Speaker, 75 percent of these men had no criminal charges in the United States.”
House of Representatives7 April 2025Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, we have heard for months now that this administration only hires the very best people. Really? Let's look at exhibit A. This is the guy? This guy? This is the guy that keeps swinging around his big chainsaw? This is the guy who is going to fix government?”
House of Representatives10 March 2025Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues: What kind of man asks for absolute fealty and bootlicking from the people around him? What kind of man asks people to lie for him? What kind of man is so petty that he can't admit obvious mistakes and lies? What kind of man mocks veterans and then callously fires them from jobs? What kind of man appeases and flatters our enemies? What kind of man puts his own needs above country?”
House of Representatives3 March 2025Source ↗
“I am thinking of families who worry that they won't have Head Start.”
House of Representatives25 February 2025Source ↗
“Now the United States stands with Russia and North Korea against Ukraine and all of our allies in Europe? It is sick. We are standing with dictators and against our allies. I never thought I would see the day when our President would be a puppet for a dictator. To my Republican colleagues: Did you ever imagine that you would be in a party that stands on the side of dictators or on the side of a country who has killed journalists, with an authoritarian accused of war crimes, and a man who assassinates his political opponents? Aren't you embarrassed by what you have become? It is revolting to watch my colleagues side with Russia because Trump said so.”
House of Representatives24 February 2025Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, Russia invaded the sovereign nation of Ukraine. That is the cold, hard truth of it. Vladimir Putin is the aggressor. I stand here on the floor to say that our President will not rewrite the past. Putin has mercilessly continued this war for over 3 years now; a war that has led to immeasurable suffering for Ukraine and a shocking death toll of both Ukrainians and Russians. The region is awash in blood because of him.”
House of Representatives24 February 2025Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, as families in Los Angeles and the surrounding areas grapple with horrible devastation, loss of homes, community, loss of life and livelihoods, I am disgusted to hear that Republican leadership--Speaker Johnson--is planning to use this tragedy for political gain and withhold aid from California.”
House of Representatives15 January 2025Source ↗