Opinion

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement today after Senate Republicans on a party-line vote blocked consideration of a measure to raise the federal debt ceiling:

“I find it incredible that every Republican voted against a motion to even let the Senate consider legislation to pay our bills and prevent a default. We are entering very dangerous territory.

This is a listing of agency-by-agency contingency plans. This outlines exactly what each agency is allowed to do, and all the things which… during the shutdown… they are NOT allowed to do.

Agency Contingency Plans http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/contingency-plans

“Below are the links to contingency plans for agencies across the Federal Government. The page will be updated as more plans are posted.”

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today attended oral arguments before the Supreme Court in a case that justices could use to throw out some legal limits on contributions by individual donors to political campaigns.

“Freedom of speech, in my view, does not mean the freedom to buy the United States government,” Sanders told a rally outside the Supreme Court after the one-hour oral argument.

The court’s ruling later this term in McCutcheon vs. FEC could further erode campaign finance laws and extend the controversial 2010 Citizens United ruling which opened the floodgates on campaign spending by corporations and wealthy individuals.

A reader made this comment at the end of a news story about the government shutdown:

Ted Testerson
Republicans – Can I burn down your house?
Democrats – No
Republicans – Just the 2nd floor?
Democrats – No
Republicans – Garage?
Democrats – No
Republicans – Let’s talk about what I can burn down.
Democrats – No
Republicans – YOU AREN’T COMPROMISING!

The next “Brattleboro Citizens’ Breakfast” will take place on Friday,  October 18, 2013 at the Gibson Aiken Center, downstairs, hosted by Senior Meals. Doors open at 7:30am.

We plan to hear from Ann Braden of Gun Sense Vermont  ~ ~   The presentation will include the current state of Vermont gun laws and proposals for change.

Is there a need for a change? Here are some statistics to think about and explore:

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) cosponsored a bill to compensate federal workers furloughed because most of the United States government is shut down.

“Federal workers in Vermont and around the country should not have to pay the price for the House Republicans’ refusal to keep the government open,” Sanders said. “These dedicated workers have families to feed and bills to pay and we must make it clear that when this is over they are going to get paid.”

Many federal employees in Vermont are among the 800,000 federal workers furloughed since the government ran out of funds on Tuesday to operate most agencies.

Montpelier, VT. (September 16th, 2013)- Joined by higher education leaders from across Vermont, Representative Peter Welch announced legislation this morning at the Community College of Vermont in Montpelier that addresses the nation’s sky rocketing college costs. Across the nation, college costs have risen 1,120 percent over the last 30 years, with outstanding student debt now at $1.2 trillion.

“A college education, the gateway to the American middle class, is slipping further and further from the reach of working families. Federal loans and grants are a lifeline for college students. But students continue to lose ground because financial aid increases are being eaten up by college tuition increases,” Welch said. “This legislation creates a partnership between the federal government and our college administrators to cut unnecessary federal regulatory costs and encourage cost saving innovations.”

BURLINGTON, Vt., Sept. 15 – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today issued the following statement after Lawrence Summers withdrew from consideration to succeed Ben Bernanke as Federal Reserve chairman:

“I applaud Larry Summers for withdrawing his name from consideration. The truth is that it was unlikely he would have been confirmed by the Senate. What the American people want now is a Fed chairman prepared to stand up to the greed, recklessness and illegal behavior on Wall Street, not a Wall Street insider whose deregulation efforts helped pave the way for a horrendous financial crisis and the worst economic downturn in the country since the Great Depression. The Fed now must help develop policies which create millions of decent-paying jobs and rebuild the middle class.”

BURLINGTON, Vt., Sept. 15 – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said today that the Senate must call the bluff of House Republicans demanding deeper cuts in Head Start, Meals on Wheels and other programs for working families.

A proposal set for a House vote this week includes the deeper spending cuts in a continuing resolution to keep the government from shutting down after the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1. The proposal would lock in across-the-board cuts known as sequestration but carve out an exception for the Pentagon, which would get a $20-billion boost.

September 12, 2013

“I’ve always felt that the multiple billions spent on missile defense are a monumental waste of money, on technologically challenged systems, and I am emphatically against putting one of these sites in Vermont.”

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[Text of letter to Senator Leahy, below:]