Vermont Business Magazine Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth gave the following opening remarks at the All Legislative Briefing on December 3rd:
Good morning, and welcome back. It's always good to feel everyone coming together again, to feel our shared commitment and shared strength, in the hallways, in the cafeteria, in this chamber and the Senate chamber just around the corner.
But it's especially good to feel that gathering strength this year, because we will need every bit of it and more this coming session.
Last year, we were facing multiple crises: our hospitals and our health insurers were showing signs of strain, even in some cases, signs of potential collapse; our property taxes had spiked and then spiked again; we were still dealing with the long-term effects of catastrophic flooding.
And all of those crises are still with us this year, in one form or another. But as we gather today, there is a larger emergency looming, a more all-encompassing crisis that we will all of us confront this time out. And as unbelievable as it might have sounded to us a dozen years ago, that crisis is being produced on a daily basis by our own federal government.
Last year, we were worried about what might come to pass following the 2024 elections. This year we know all too well the on-the-ground realities.
The federal government has withheld money from SNAP and LIHEAP. The federal government has denied our urgent requests for disaster aid and assistance. Think for a second about what that means. These are not frills or perks or waste, fraud and abuse, not by any stretch of the imagination —Washington has tried to keep food from the poorest among us, and they've tried to eliminate heating assistance in the middle of winter. And maybe worst of all, they have begun a process of picking and choosing who will receive aid in the wake of natural disasters, with the bluest states looking not just at delay but outright denial, regardless of economic impact, regardless of how many will live or die.
But the loss of federal funding is only the half of it. The federal government now reserves the right to send masked agents into our streets, to detain and imprison our constituents, in some cases regardless of American citizenship or legal status. They are threatening to punish Vermont and states like it for protecting the civil rights of all its citizens. Even as we speak, two of my constituents —a Winooski mother and her second-grade child —are being held in a detention facility in Dilley, Texas. The horrible irony is that this family moved to Vermont because of our reputation for welcoming immigrants and treating them with kindness and decency.
So that is the question in my mind as we enter this next session: How will we respond to these provocations and outrages? Will we fight for the rights of those targeted by this administration? Will we close the inevitable gaps in funding to make sure that our people eat, that our people survive the winter? Will we push back —in our bills, in our votes, in our committees, in our several caucuses —against this attempt to bend Vermont to the federal will?
I believe we will. I believe we will push back, again and again, in all the legal ways open to us. But make no mistake: this session will be more like a horror movie than a Hallmark holiday film. Because although emergencies and crises are our stock in trade, this time the call is coming from inside the house. And history will judge how we respond.
12.5.2025. Office of the President Pro Tempore
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