Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) , a member of the Senate Finance Committee , took to the Senate floor to underscore how President Trump is trying to swindle hardworking American taxpayers to pay for his $1 billion vanity project to reconstruct the White House’s historic East Wing. In his remarks, Senator Welch outlined just a fraction of the essential federally-funded programs and services that have been cut by the Trump Administration, which would benefit from $1 billion in funding, including health care tax credits, child care, disaster recovery aid, public safety grants, and more. The Senator also called out President Trump for rushing to pass funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) without the reforms Vermonters have demanded. “The President of United States has been clear—he’s 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’s going to totally bypass regular order and any hope of a bipartisan budget. It’s really a waste of taxpayer dollars. The folks that you represent and I represent—who are willing to work hard and are willing to pay their fair share—really wonder: ‘why are we spending a billion dollars on a ballroom?’” said Senator Welch. Watch the Senator’s full remarks below : Read excerpts of Senator Welch’s remarks below: “Vermonters like to work hard. They get up each day and face the day, and they don’t fear hard work. They’re glad to do that, to protect their families, to improve their community. They work hard, but they don’t like paying for wasteful things. 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, tore it down. And now, he promised Americans that he would rebuild it, it would be through private contributions, but he’s asking— demanding — the United States Congress to spend a billion to rebuild what he destroyed. Vermonters don’t like that at all. “It’s been said, Mr. President, 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 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…to make health care 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 Vermont farms, who are all struggling; With $1 billion, we could provide a $12,000 small business loan—small businesses being really essential in Vermont—to all 82,000 Vermont small businesses. “With $1 billion, we could restore SNAP for every Vermonter who was kicked off nutrition assistance because of Trump tax bill; With $1 billion, we could fund Women, Infant and Child (WIC) benefits for Vermonters for 147 years; With $1 billion, we could provide child care for every child under five in Vermont for a year and 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 three years; With $1 billion, we could support FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund…” ###