Fair Share for Vermont, Hunger Free Vermont, Public Assets Institute, Planned Parenthood Vermont Action Fund, Vermont Conservation Voters (VCV), Vermont Natural Resources Council (VNRC), and the Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG) held a press conference ahead of Governor Scott’s annual budget address to highlight the effects of H.R. 1 – the “One Big Beautiful Bill” – and call for a state budget that is responsive to growing needs amid a retrenchment of federal support for Vermont communities. In a moment where the federal government has abdicated its role as a reliable partner, we need state leaders to step in to protect Vermonters.
This press conference comes on the heels of this coalition’s eight-stop statewide public engagement and education tour, A Big Beautiful Tour About A Big Ugly Bill, which engaged over 500 Vermonters across the state, beginning in Shelburne with stops in Barre, Middlebury, Essex, Bennington, White River Junction, and Brattleboro, as well as a final statewide virtual event.
“From Brattleboro to Bennington to Barre, we heard over and over that Vermonters expect their state government to protect them from the dangerous and destructive actions of the Trump administration”, said Dan Fingas, Executive Director of Vermont Conservation Voters. “Vermonters stood in solidarity that they value supporting their neighbors and communities over austerity and needless cuts.”
In July of 2025, H.R. 1 became law. This “big ugly bill” threatens access to healthcare and food assistance, slashes the critical funding needed to advance affordable renewable energy, and doubles down on tax cuts for the richest Americans – saving $57,000 a year for the richest one percent of Vermonters, and pennies on the dollar for everyone else.
‘H.R. 1 is a massive transfer of wealth from most Vermonters to the wealthiest,” said Anika Heilweil, Fair Share for Vermont Campaign Manager. “This year, our policymakers will have a decision: we can allow this wealth transfer from most Vermonters to the wealthiest, or we can recapture those federal tax cuts at the state level to make needed investments in our communities.”
Meanwhile, our most vulnerable neighbors are faced with steep service cuts. Speakers highlighted that access to food assistance and health care is at risk. New barriers and funding cuts to programs like 3SquaresVT threaten to increase hunger across the state, while health care changes stand to make coverage more expensive and less accessible across the board – while putting Medicaid access at risk for an estimated 45,000 Vermonters.
“As advocates, it is our job to say what is important, and it is on the state and the legislature to prioritize how to fund the items they deem important. What Vermonters need today is a sustainable, efficient health care system that meets their needs.
Our state budget reflects the priorities and values of our state, and we hope to see health care reform as a pillar of the state budget being unveiled today.” said Jessica Barquist, Vice President of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood Vermont Action Fund.
The Big Ugly Bill has stripped both critical protections for vulnerable Vermonters and taken a sledgehammer to the forward-looking policies poised to transform our state. Just last year, solar eclipsed all other forms of generation as the most affordable power on the planet. Yet this bill strips critical subsidies that make way for a just transition away from price-volatile, health-harming fossil fuels.
“The clean energy transition is well underway globally and there’s no stopping it, despite Donald Trump. Like other leading states and nations, Vermont should continue to lean into renewable energy for all the public health, financial and resilience benefits it provides. That includes a budget that continues to make short- and long-term investments that transition us away from fossil fuels and to more affordable, clean renewable energy resources,” said Johanna Miller, energy and climate program director at the Vermont Natural Resources Council.
In Vermont, we have a storied history of looking out for our neighbors when times get tough. As Governor Scott said in his latest State of the State address, we want all Vermonters to grow up “in communities that still believe in showing up for one another.”
We urge the governor and our legislature to do everything in their power to protect Vermonters from the big ugly bill and from a federal administration intent on sowing division and chaos.
“Ensuring that all Vermonters’ most basic needs for food, healthcare, housing, and heat are met is non-negotiable,” said Anore Horton, executive director at Hunger Free Vermont. “We are calling on Vermont’s lawmakers and Governor Scott to make policy choices that ensure the best possible outcomes for all of us, and to raise the revenue required to do so.”