At a recent hearing of the House Budget Committee on which she serves, US Representative Becca Balint of Vermont rebuked her GOP colleagues on the committee after a witness called federal programs that support LGBTQ people and kids “deficit spending.”
“I just want to mention something that is deeply troubling to me,” Balint said, as recorded in the transcript of the hearing. “A Republican witness earlier noted a few federal programs that support LGBTQ people including kids. And as a member of that community, it’s really disappointing to me that my Republican colleagues seem to delight in attacking the LGBTQ people and their families and blaming us for all things, including now, it turns out, the deficit.
“So, I just want to put this in perspective. Yesterday I met for an hour with parents of trans kids from across this nation, and they came from all over. All over from conservative districts and states. Just regular families, parents came to share their experiences of what it’s like in this moment. And you know what I heard over and over again? Why are members of our own government scapegoating us and our children? Why have we become the favorite enemy when we just want the same things that all American families we want? We want to live safe, fulfilling lives and we want to support and love and protect our children.
“It is morally bankrupt and deeply un-American to continue to attack these kids. It’s time to do our job and pass a budget that supports and protects all of our kids, all of our constituents.”
— from a press release from the office of US Representative Becca Balint
Rep. Balint is the first woman and first openly LGBTQ US Congress member from the Green Mountain State. She serves as cochair of the Equality Caucus.
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