WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today voted against congressional Republicans’ Continuing Resolution (CR), which would give the Trump Administration authority to strip funding without oversight by Congress and cut billions from previously bipartisan programs and initiatives. Senator Welch released the following expanded statement on the CR: 

“Instead of funding the government, this bill makes drastic cuts to critical programs Vermonters rely on and gives unprecedented power to President Trump and Elon Musk to continue their reckless, illegal rampage. I could not vote for a bill that makes radical cuts—totaling billions of dollars—to funding for law enforcement, infrastructure re-development, disaster response and mitigation, cancer research, and more. I could not vote for a bill that gives a blank check to President Trump to inflict more punitive tariffs on American businesses, farmers, and families. I could not vote for a bill that allows Trump and Musk to cut federal funding at their whim and defund programs entirely without congressional approval or oversight,” said Senator Welch.  

“It’s wrong for congressional Republicans to jeopardize Vermonters’ health, safety, and financial wellbeing so they can play games with the budget process. Republicans walked away from bipartisan negotiations on a budget because President Trump told them to.  They are, yet again, ceding Congress’s constitutional authority to Donald Trump and hurting Americans in the process,” concluded Welch. 

The Republicans’ CR makes drastic cuts to funding, and would result in fewer jobs, higher prices, and more chaos: 

• The bill cuts more than $247 million from the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Program, which funds community safety and policing grants to local, state, and tribal governments. 
• The bill cuts congressionally directed medical research programs at the Department of Defense by more than half, totaling $859 million.  
• The bill gives an $8 million blank check to the Trump Administration to use for mass deportations.  
• The bill underfunds rental assistance by $500 million, which could result in fewer housing vouchers for Vermonters who need safe, affordable housing. 
• The bill only provides an additional $2.2 billion for FEMA’s disaster recovery, at a time when FEMA is estimated to require an additional $17 billion, in addition to the current funding levels, to respond to future natural disasters. 
• The bill will cut $1.4 billion in funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, eliminating all funds from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law which Congress passed in 2021. This could put flood recovery projects supported by the Army Corps in Vermont at risk. 
• The bill will cut the budget of the Federal Public Defender program, which would prevent them from filling vacant positions and require delayed payments to private panel attorneys. 
• The bill will cut $280 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), opening a pathway for Secretary Kennedy to remove spending from:
  • Infectious diseases  
  • Alzheimer’s 
  • Lyme Disease  
  • The Rural Residency Planning and Development Program 
  • Maternal Health Innovation Program 
  • Nurse Faculty Loan Repayment Program 
  • Cancer Prevention Programs 
  • Medication assisted treatment programs 
  • First Responders grants 
  • Child Abuse Prevention Program  
  • Runaway and Homeless Youth Program; and  
  • Elder Abuse Prevention and Adult Protective Services 
• The bill will cut $1.2 billion from the Department of Veterans Affairs, military construction and related agencies, and potentially strip funding from health care efforts including:
  • Homelessness prevention programs 
  • Rural health  
  • Suicide prevention 
• The bill will cut more than $1 billion from Washington D.C.’s budget, impacting education, law enforcement, housing and more. 

Senator Welch announced he would vote against the bill on Wednesday. 

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