State Government

House leaders say state will fully fund federal food, heating benefits hit by shutdown

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Leaders in the Vermont House of Representatives announced Thursday that they plan to fully fund food and heating assistance programs to prevent Vermonters from losing benefits as a result of the ongoing Republican-led federal government shutdown.

Without state intervention, officials said, more than 65,000 Vermonters could lose access to 3SquaresVT (SNAP) and LIHEAP benefits — programs that provide critical food and heating fuel support for working families, older adults, and low-income households.

“The Republican-led shutdown in Congress has created an incredible amount of uncertainty and anxiety for Vermonters, with people wondering how they will put food on the table and money to heat their homes,” said House Speaker Jill Krowinski, joined by Representatives Emilie Kornheiser, Theresa Wood, and Robin Scheu.

Krowinski said the Legislature’s plan is aimed at offsetting the most immediate fallout from the shutdown and from President Trump’s budget bill, which she said also includes “the loss of financial assistance for health insurance, increased taxes on working families, and cuts to Medicare.”

Representatives Kornheiser and Scheu serve on the Vermont Emergency Board, a panel that includes two senators and the governor. Lawmakers are coordinating with Governor Phil Scott and his administration to schedule an Emergency Board meeting next week to approve temporary state funding for the federal programs.

“This is exactly why Vermont’s legislative and executive leaders must work together to protect our neighbors,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement. “No Vermonter should go without food or heat because of dysfunction in Washington. We’re ready to act, and we’ll keep showing up to make sure people get the support they need, now.”

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Categories: State Government

34 replies »

  2. Where’s this state money coming from! And its the democrats who refused to sign the budget because their trillions of dollars pork was eliminated. funny how Vermont is so quick to blame republicans!

  5. If we didn’t allow our state to become dependent on Federal Govt largess, we wouldn’t have this problem.

  6. Don’t worry Vermonters, we’re the local government and we’re here to help! Where miraculously are the funds to do this coming from? I hope everyone is ready for a new tax increase. I understand helping others, but others also need to try and help themselves. And I hope they are truly helping the ones in need and not going to use this to gain the publics “trust” for votes. Never let a good crisis go to waste right?

  7. So let’s see…
    Sanders and Welch vote against the continuing resolution. Then Vermonters get increased financial obligations for which they supply benefit but receive none.

    Well played, comrades!

  8. It is the Democrat lead shutdown, they’re the ones that keep voting down the extensions to reopen Government!! A Democrat Congresswoman admitted yesterday “I feel bad for the people affected by the Shutdown but it is the only leverage we have” proving Democrats are more concerned about the far left of their party opposing their seat in a primary and need leverage to retain power! It may end this week, Haiti may be getting 20 inches of rain this weekend due to a stalled hurricane and surely will need assistance and just reported Congressional ‘observers’ on ‘oversight’ tours can be blocked from ICE facilities during shutdown

  9. The States knew this was coming. Since the Doge psyop, the fear and smear tactics were well underway. Yet, for months, billions of dollars spent on the war machine and technocrats buying the White House for $250 Million and more. A grand ball room is needed to hold all those giant, egomaniac, sociopathic balls….

    “Shutdowns are terrible and, of course, there will be families that are going to suffer. We take that responsibility very seriously,” House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) told Fox News…in a recent interview. “But it is one of the few leverage times we have.” Good to know the poor, the children, and the elders are considered political leverage – not people, not humans – they are leverage – human shields in a dispicible, nefarious political game – at least they are not hiding what they are anymore – empty, soulless, flesh suits.

    Divide and conquer. They don’t want to fix the problems. They want to create chaos and desperation to usher in their new world order. They know exactly what they are doing and they don’t care who dies or suffers. They plainly and clearly say so.

    For those who peer down their noses at follow human beings who are struggling, for whatever reason, condemnation and judgement can strike your household in the blink of an eye. Don’t forget the shutdown of 2020 had many people lined up for food – jobs lost, families lost, support systems lost, children and elders scared out of their wits – we never did get back to normal and never will – whatever that “normal” was for the majority. All the collateral damage mounting means nothing to the billionaires and the Master of Puppets. They are threatening and convey full intentions to harm people to get their way. Somehow, that is perfectly fine by our society standards? Unconscienable.

    • Melissa, Great points and if I didn’t hear it myself wouldn’t believe the leverage comment was actually admitted to. However, the Ballroom, which is replacing the FDR private pool building is private funding by President Trump, no mention of the quarter Billion Dollars, $260,000,000 spent on the No Kings this past weekend.

  10. Governor Phil Scott and his administration are meeting with the commie legislators to approve temporary state funding. He is a traitor and needs to resign.

  11. While the Vermont demo/progs are at it why not re-institute the honor-system free motel room program for anyone who claims to not have anywhere to go, and half of those motels should be set up as “sober recovery housing” to “invest” in our junkies.
    To really put the icing on the marxist cake, all grocery stores should now be operated by the state to take Vermont into full Mamdani mode. That will show those congressional Republicans how it’s done…

  12. so hilarious to hear people say it is a democrat shutdown. They literally do not control any branch of government. Another Trump Hates America quote: “In my opinion, I hear the Democrats are gonna be blamed, I hear Republicans are gonna be blamed, I actually think the president would be blamed,” he said. “If there is a shutdown … I think it would be a tremendously negative mark on the president of the United States. He’s the one that has to get people together.” Ergo, trump is to blame. Either that or he is deranged and the quote is nonsense. I vote for both.

  13. There you go again Nick, very predictable and hilarious comments. There is no complete GOP control of Senate when 16% of Democrats need to agree to vote to reopen government, which they repeatedly have refused to do and admitted yesterday making people suffer is the only ‘leverage’ Democrats have. Appears you hate President Trump, duly elected under ‘democracy’ with majority of popular vote than he hates the people of this Country

    • Come on, Ron. Stay on point. Do you agree with trump’s own words or are you one of those people who say “I’ll tell you what he really meant.” which, for you, is not addressing the quote at hand.

    • Nick this is a true statement, will actually be a black mark on the entire government including both parties in the long run, but may also take some time to pull everyone together which we are seeing now with current actions by Administrative Branch. Context of quotes is very important and often neglected as in your case. Any party that wishes to make citizens suffer to achieve their political goals as Democrat Congresswoman admitted to yesterday is the real black mark in history on our Country, and the Democrats were there to do just that in the mid 1860’s so they have experience! Democrats scream this shutdown is about affordable healthcare for the US, we already have affordable healthcare designed by them with no Republican input, it’s even called the Affordable Care Act, so no need to continue emergency funding from the COVID era when we are not longer in that “emergency”, does this really look like “Healthcare” for American Citizens?Democratic demands (about 1/3 of the $1.5 Trillion they are asking to stop the government shutdown.)
      This $1.5 trillion of tax payer money would make interest rates go up. It would force the cost of products to go up. It would force employers to cut back on employees, increasing the unemployment.
      $358 billion – making permanent
      COVID era Obama Care subsidies without any income caps or any other reforms.
      $200 billion – adding illegal aliens back to tax payer funded healthcare.
      $500,000 million – to fund liberal news outlets.
      $24.6 million – climate resilience in
      Honduras
      $ 13.4 million – civic engagement in Zimbabwe.
      $ 3.9 million – LGBTQI+ for democracy grants in the Western Balkins.
      $ 2.9 million – desert locust risk reduction in the Horn of Africa.
      $ 2.0 million – organizing for feminist democratic principles in Africa.

  14. Coming soon, the five hundred million dollar bond to pay for heat and food needs for Vermonters. Two years from now, the smoke went up the chimney and the stuff in the septic tank is the collateral for the bond. Comment from Richard Day.

  15. Nick, go to Congressional website or are you too lazy. The Federal Government funds States to provide Medicaid healthcare, Sanctuary States are giving it to people that crossed the border illegally, hence Federal Funding of Illegal Healthcare

    • Ron, your claim was that dems want $200 billion for illegals to have healthcare. Still waiting for a quote from a dem who agrees. Either that or you may want to check your source. I still can’t find a dem who said that.

    • Sorry Nick you won’t find a Democrat who will admit any of it, except maybe Fetterman from Pa., they are denying, lying, burying and obfuscating those facts. Just like until this week Dems were unified in the denial that the shutdown wasn’t due to their political fear and leverage, but some Dems jumped shipped and admitted they are keeping US Citizens hostage because it is they ‘only leverage’ they have. Dems are also trying to bury the fact that their Affordable Care Act was a failure and without the reinstatement of COVID funds premiums through Obamacare are going to go up 30%. We are down to needing only 3 more Democrats to vote on clean Bill to open Government, four are already on board. Seems you just type to create disruption.

    • Seeing as you can’t find support for the claim about money for illegals to get healthcare, I’ll assume you can’t find proof of the other claims as well, except for the subsidies for american’s healthcare, which is what they’ve been saying. And I will also assume you are happy to give $40 billion to Argentina as well as our soybean market. It’s all a part of the plan, eh?

  16. Hey Nick, by my calculations, the Democrats want 1.5 trillion to keep obamacare funded right? K, $65,213 per of the 23 million enrolled right? I think not, funding illegals for votes. Believe what yya want, follow the money. 40 million to Argentina is what your pissed about?

  17. I wish they would stop saying the State will cover the cost – instead of the people who struggle to pay their education tax and their own heat.
    Just like the Dems demand that the people of the us pay for Illegal Aliens and early retires and families that make up to $126K/year (Yep that’s right) Medical care while paying their own – THEY created both the high cost of energy – Green energy debacle and Obamacare.
    The only real solution is to lower the cost of both so most people can afford to pay for themselves.

    Dems/Libs/Marxist do not, will not admit when they screwed up and want to perpetuate the lie that so called Affordable Care act was not affordable!

  18. Nick, Dems never said it was about financing healthcare for American Citizens. Dems will never refer to any spending for illegal border crossers, commonly known as illegal aliens, to Dems there is no such thing, no such thing a crossing the border illegally and for the outspoke National Office holders they don’t believe the borders exist. They are not permitted to speak anything that Schumer or Jeffries doesn’t want them to say, their campaign money is on the line, controlled by Party leaders. As far as Argentina money, better spent now than later trying to kick out the Chinese Communist Party that is courting them to set up military bases there.

  19. Write to our Senators that represent? us. I still don’t understand how we need so much aid from DC. Is it just because it is “free”?

    • And don’t write to Becca, as you’ll get her standard response that she is understaffed. Worthless…

  21. Nick and Ron. On YouTube, watch Jeanne Shaheen on the Lawrence Jones video as she loses it when he shows a video of Democrats admitting they want health care for illegal lmmigrants.

    • This week the Mayor of Chicago was asked a question by a reporter using the phrase ‘Illegal Alien’ to which the Mayor replied “Is that a science fiction term?”, not even in the Left Democrat vernacular