Vermont Democrat Becca Balint is chairing one of four new task forces formed by the U.S. House Progressive Caucus. She says it’s time to fight corporate greed and prioritize working people as her party looks to recover from 2024’s losses.
The caucus announced Wednesday the creation of task forces to lower costs, fight corruption, promote better pay and benefits and end corporate greed.
Caucus Chair Greg Casar of Texas says Democratic voters are ready for change and want the party to more aggressively support the working class.
“The Progressive Caucus has heard that message loud and clear. Our four new Progressive Caucus task forces and our task force leadership will drive forward a bold pro-working class agenda that will take on billionaires, take on the establishment, root out corruption and actually deliver for working people,” Casar said.
Vermont’s at-large congresswoman will chair the task force on corporate greed. Balint says they are fighting for working people and working to dismantle an unfair system.
“What we want is to be able to have a sense of control over our lives. I don’t care what party you come from, I don’t care what region of the country you live in, we want to feel that we have some control over our own destiny,” Balint asserted. “We don’t want things to happen to us. We want things to be able to be made possible by what we do and the things that we put into place.”
Balint says her task force will fight the feeling of political impotence that many Americans feel.
“When you have a sense of powerlessness you don’t have a vision for the future. You don’t have hope in the democracy and you get paralyzed and you get stuck. So part of what we’re trying to do here is fight against that feeling of powerlessness,” Balint said. “The task force that I’m heading up is about giving people more control over their lives. It’s about protecting working people from the power and greed of giant corporations and predatory billionaires. And it’s about giving working people fairness and a level playing field. That’s not too much to ask for.”
Balint says the focus will be on raising the minimum wage, enacting true campaign finance reform, and ending monopolies she says drive up consumer prices.
“Of course Americans feel like the system is rigged against them, because it is!” Balint stressed. “ You feel it when you go to buy groceries and you empty your wallet but the bag of food is half empty. You feel it when your healthcare is absolute crap but you’re paying through the nose. The system is all wrong and we have to be in the business of changing the system. We have got to break up concentrated corporate power that continues to drive up prices and keep wages low.”
Better pay and benefits task force chair Emily Randall of Washington says the intent of the four new panels is to put working people at the center of the Democratic Party’s narrative.
“Even when economic signals look like the economy is on a positive trajectory it’s not always good for everyday working people,” Randall noted. “When we empower workers, when they feel valued for their work, our economy thrives. Working people are the engine of a working economy.”
Balint is in her second term. The new efforts come at a time when Republicans control Congress and the White House, but polls shows voters have concerns about the domestic agenda package of tax breaks and program cuts signed by President Trump on July 4th.
