First-term U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., has finally received her second committee assignment, landing on the House Budget Committee.
The Democrat’s first few weeks in Washington have been tumultuous, with a historic intra-party battle over Republican U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s speakership delaying the usual business of committee assignments — and eventually, actual hearings and legislative work — for weeks.
“It is critical that the budget addresses our country’s most pressing challenge and reflect the values of American families,” Balint said in a Tuesday morning press release. “We need to use every tool at our disposal to get closer to a more just and equitable economy that works for everyone. As Vermont’s voice on the committee, I’m eager to get to work for my community to fight for urgent investments in healthcare, education, and climate while ensuring that the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share.”
In late January, Balint scored her “dream” post to the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, following her predecessor in the House, U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., who served on House Oversight beginning in 2007. Balint sat in her first hearing on that committee last week.
On the budget committee, Balint will have a hand in crafting the House’s budget proposals and fiscal policies. The committee also has jurisdiction over the Congressional Budget Office, which provides budget and economic analyses to Congress.
Balint previously told VTDigger that, aside from the oversight committee, she had hoped to land spots on the House Agriculture or Financial Services committees. The former president pro tempore of the Vermont Senate had said she had hoped to have a hand in crafting this year’s Farm Bill on the former, or housing and consumer protection legislation on the latter.
“Honestly, what I’ve learned from being in the Legislature is every committee has consequential work,” Balint said in early January. “So as much as I would like to be able to be either on financial services or ag or oversight, wherever I land, I know that I can make a difference.”