Issues
A Vermont for All of Us
Becca’s Commitment to Real Change
Housing is a Human Right
When Becca was teaching at rural public schools in Windham County, she saw that when kids didn’t have safe and stable housing, it impacted their learning, their physical and mental health, and their ability to be successful. Housing is fundamental to giving kids a strong start.
It’s no secret we have a housing crisis in Vermont – worsened by floods and other climate crises. Businesses, schools, medical providers, contractors, towns, and many others are struggling to attract and retain working people because it’s so hard to find a place to live. Skyrocketing housing prices have created insurmountable roadblocks for families trying to buy and rent homes. So many of the people who live, work, and power our state are simply being priced out.
Whether it’s our workforce challenges, income disparities, ongoing mental health crises, houselessness, or our acute struggles with the opioid epidemic, housing is a key component to the solution.
Becca believes this acute crisis requires bold, creative solutions. That’s why in her first term in Congress she introduced the Community Housing Act. This comprehensive legislation invests over 500 billion dollars in affordable housing, renter protections, down payment assistance, and new construction.
MENTAL HEALTH CARE
Our society perpetuates the harmful stereotype that our leaders should be invulnerable, but Becca firmly believes that struggling with mental health doesn’t make you weak – it makes you human. For decades, Becca has spoken openly about her experiences with anxiety and depression in an effort to destigmatize mental health challenges. Mental health care is health care.
Economic downturns, the loss of human connection, and isolation in the wake of the pandemic have all contributed to a skyrocketing number of people struggling. About 4 in 10 adults in the United States have reported symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder, up from one in ten adults before the pandemic began.
Now more than ever, we need elected officials who are willing to lead tough conversations about topics like mental health, and do everything in their power to ensure equitable access to mental health care.
In Congress, Becca is focused on ensuring we take federal action to address the growing mental health crisis. In her first term she has introduced bills to make mental health care more accessible after disasters and to support services for youth. Becca is a member of the Rural Health Care Caucus and the Mental Health Caucus to work toward bipartisan solutions to this urgent crisis.
PROTECTING OUR DEMOCRACY
One of our most sacred rights in this country is the right to vote. Throughout our nation’s history citizens have fought and even died to gain equal access to the ballot box. Unfortunately, Republican-controlled legislatures across the country are passing laws that make it harder for people to vote, particularly people of color.
Becca knows from her own family history, with a grandfather who was killed in the Holocaust, how dangerous it is when we let fear divide us and turn away from democracy.
We need leaders who bring our shared values to Washington, who know that democracy is stronger when we pull more people into the fold. When we make voting more accessible, the government better reflects the will of the people.
As a member of the House Judiciary Committee, Becca is an original cosponsor of the Freedom to Vote Act, the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, and other legislation to make voting more accessible for everyone.
With the Supreme Court’s willingness to overturn Roe vs. Wade, the future of other essential rights is at risk – gay marriage, access to contraception, interracial marriage. Becca believes it is time for a serious conversation about reforming the Supreme Court, including term limits and stricter ethics regulations. Becca is an original cosponsor of the Judiciary Act to expand the court.
CLIMATE ACTION
There’s no place in the world that values the outdoors and protection of our natural resources like the Green Mountain State. But we must act to ensure that future generations can enjoy the same beautiful Vermont we call home today.
Climate action in Vermont and the nation must build on our strengths, which means transforming our economy into a climate economy. But while Vermont has led the way with electric vehicles, adopting renewable energy, and land preservation, we can’t attack the impending climate crisis with a piecemeal approach. This urgent crisis demands immediate bold action. We need a united, 50-state solution to fighting the climate crisis – and that’s what the Green New Deal will give us.
In Congress, Becca is an original cosponsor of the Green New Deal to provide Vermont with the funding we need to create and sustain good-paying green jobs, combat the climate crisis, fight environmental injustice, and transition our state and our country to a clean energy economy.
GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION
As a middle school teacher and mother of two teenagers, the issue of gun violence is personal for Becca. Becca is deeply committed to policies that reduce gun violence because keeping Vermont children and families safe has to be our highest priority.
As Majority Leader in the State Senate, Becca proudly helped pass the first gun safety laws in Vermont’s history: a series of bills aimed at keeping Vermont children, communities, and survivors of abuse safe. But this fight isn’t over.
Common-sense gun reform is popular in Vermont and across the country, but the powerful gun lobby has stopped these reforms in their tracks. In D.C., Becca isn’t afraid to stand up to the gun lobby and advocate for gun safety measures including expanding background checks, investing in gun violence research and prevention programs, and Extreme Risk laws.
Becca is a member of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, to bring together voices from across the country to finally end this epidemic and get beyond “thoughts and prayers.” She is an original cosponsor of common sense reform like the Bipartisan Background Checks Act and the Assault Weapons Ban.
Becca believes it’s time to reinstate the assault weapons ban. There is no reason for weapons of war to be in our communities.
LGBTQ+ RIGHTS
Becca has an innate sense of justice that has driven her throughout her entire life. As the first openly gay person to represent Vermont in Congress and co-chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, Becca is leading the fight to protect equal rights for LGBTQ+ people.
Nearly half of U.S. states lack basic protections for LGBTQ+ people, meaning they can be evicted from their homes, or denied credit because of their gender or sexual orientation. Becca has always been a champion for LGBTQ+ people, but there’s so much more to do. In D.C., Becca is an original cosponsor of the Equality Act, which expands federal civil rights law to protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination in employment, housing, credit, jury service, and federally funded programs.
As the fiercest protector of LGBTQ+ rights on the House Judiciary Committee, Becca is constantly up against anti-transgender and anti-LGBTQ+ hate. We need her voice to help protect the LGBTQ+ community against this targeted attack from the GOP. Becca doesn’t back down no matter how relentless and disgusting the attacks have become. That’s why she’s earned endorsements from leading LGBTQ+ advocates LPAC, Victory Fund, and Equality PAC.
REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
Deciding whether and when to have a child is deeply personal – and should be in the hands of pregnant people, not politicians. The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was cruel, dehumanizing, and dangerous. It does not reflect the will of the majority of Americans who deeply value maintaining control of their bodies, their lives, and their futures. The extremist conservative Supreme Court is using their power to override the will of the people.
As Senate Majority Leader, Becca led the charge to make Vermont the first state in the nation to explicitly protect reproductive freedom in its constitution. Becca is a tested reproductive rights champion who will fight to codify in federal law the right to abortion care.
We need to change the system so Americans aren’t subject to tyranny by a minority. This means abolishing the Senate filibuster, a serious conversation about reforming the Supreme Court, and ensuring that the majority of Americans who support abortion care can freely and fairly express their voice at the ballot box. In Congress, Becca is an original cosponsor of the Women’s Health Protection Act to federally protect abortion access.
But simply fighting for rights is not enough; every American needs guaranteed access to reproductive health care services. Your zip code should never determine your right to access life-saving care.
INVESTING IN RURAL COMMUNITIES
As Vermont’s sole voice in the House of Representatives, Becca is a fierce advocate for rural America, visiting communities in all 14 counties in her first year in Congress. Rural Vermonters face unique challenges when it comes to accessing healthcare and government services, and as we brace for the effects of climate changes.
In rural communities like Vermont, healthcare facilities can be few and far between. This puts even more pressure on the options we do have. Becca is working in Washington to ensure rural hospitals have the support they need to keep families healthy, regardless of where they live. This Congress, Becca introduced a bill to ensure EMS personnel can obtain payments the same way other medical professionals do so they can keep serving Vermonters in our most rural communities.
Rural downtowns, seniors and small businesses depend on the post office. In her first term in Congress, Becca has demanded reliable, timely postal service for Vermonters – not taking no for an answer. Becca knows we cannot leave rural America behind, especially when it comes to these critical services.