Legislative update: looking ahead

Many of you have been in touch about the unprecedented actions being taken by our new President and those he has deputized. In addition to the scores of emails I’ve had from constituents, Montpelier was the focus of a huge demonstration on Wednesday, Feb. 5, protesting the actions taken by the Trump Administration targeting USAID, those working on our farms and in our forests, in the tourism, outdoor recreation sector, and our scientific research, arts, and culture communities. Clearly, a large number of Vermonters are very concerned, scared even, about what and how the current federal Administration is arbitrarily cutting and curtailing important, life-saving work, firing so many of our federal workforce, and threatening the lives and livelihoods of our refugees, farm and forestry employees.

With one-third of our state budget, over $3 billion, possibly at risk, the Legislature, the governor, and the treasurer are taking steps to identify programs affecting Vermonters. The threats of tariffs, loss of grant money, and key life-sustaining financial assistance for food, housing, and medical support mean there is a lot at stake for Vermonters. Our housing crisis alone will be further exacerbated if the tariffs imposed on Canadian lumber are allowed to go into effect. The federal government’s actions will affect our workforce, the scientific research at our colleges and universities, our businesses, and their exports.

The Legislature is working to protect as many Vermonters and Vermont programs as possible.  This will be a legal and financial challenge as many programs are up to 90% federally funded, and our National Guard is subject to the orders of our Commander and Chief. We clearly do not have the financial resources to fill all the gaps of lost federal funding, but we are exploring the resources and options we have to help shield Vermonters.

Vermonters should take heart that we have such a strong federal delegation (Balint, Sanders and Welch). Each of them has vocally opposed these unorthodox, anti-democratic, and harmful measures President Trump and DOGE have taken and are pushing back on.

As we look towards the future, Vermont has some stark choices to make. I encourage you to read a report recently presented to the Legislature by Kevin Chu and the Vermont Future’s Project entitled “Vermont Economic Action Plan – Towards Affordability and Abundance.” 

This non-partisan report, rich with data, makes the case that if we want a future of affordable abundance, we need a consistent strategy on how to grow our working-age population (2% a year for the next 10 years) and build more housing (7,000 units a year). It posits that we need to overcome our prejudice about growth and suggests that Vermont’s real threat is not growing at all. The report identifies 6 expansion strategies (recruitment and retention) and 4 efficiency strategies (economic alignment and stewardship) each of which challenges us to think outside the box.

Sen. Clarkson can be reached by email: aclarkson@leg.state.vt.us or by phone at the Statehouse (Tues-Fri) 802-828-2228 or at home (Sat-Mon) 802- 457-4627.