SOUTH BURLINGTON — Earlier this month, In a backyard overlooking Spear Street, dozens of Vermont Republicans watched a four-part performed history of patriotic songs and munched on barbecue beneath an American flag the width of a two-car garage in the leadup to Independence Day. 

In a visit to Waterbury, Vermont’s Congressional delegation and Environmental Protection Agency administrator announced $7 billion in federal funding for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Solar for All program that will help pay to put solar panels atop millions of homes across the country.

A new bill would move the legal age for all marriages in Vermont to 18 years old, the age of consent, mirroring moves in other state legislatures this year to ban child marriage. Under existing law, minors 16 years of age and older can legally marry in Vermont with the written consent of one parent.