Politics

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 – Sharp increases in prices for many generic drugs were examined today at a Senate hearing where three pharmaceutical companies refused to testify.

Generic drugs, copies of drugs no longer protected by patents, historically have cost much less than brand-name prescription medicines. But federal records made public at the hearing show the price for 1,215 generic drugs increased 448 percent on average from July, 2013 to July, 2014. During that period, nearly 10 percent of all generic drugs more than doubled in price, according to the analysis of data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 18, – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said today that it would be “insane” to construct the Keystone XL pipeline to ship the dirtiest oil on the planet from Canada’s tar sands region to refineries along the Gulf of Mexico.

“The scientific community is telling us that we have a narrow window of opportunity to address the crisis of climate change and to transform our energy system away from fossil fuels and into energy efficiency and sustainable energy,” Sanders said in prepared remarks. “This legislation would move us in exactly the wrong direction toward not only more dependence on fossil fuels but on some of the dirtiest fossil fuel imaginable. That is insane.”

BURLINGTON, Vt., Nov. 14 – Calling on the Postal Service to avert damaging service cuts and job losses, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) pointed to a new report today that revenue for the mail delivery service rose by $569 million during the fiscal year that just ended.

It was the second year in a row that profits rose, mainly because of increases in package deliveries to online shoppers.

Despite almost $1 billion in revenue growth over the past two years, the Postal Service is forging ahead with plans to shut down as many as 82 mail processing plants beginning in January. The closings would put 15,000 jobs in jeopardy.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced today that a Senate panel he chairs will hold a hearing next week to explore why the costs of certain generic drugs are skyrocketing. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), who has worked with Sanders on this issue, will take part in the Nov. 20 hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging.

Price hikes for generic drugs also reportedly have come under scrutiny by the U.S. Department of Justice. Subpoenas recently were issued to two generic drug makers seeking information about their interactions with competitors, The Wall Street Journal disclosed on Monday.

BURLINGTON, Vt., Nov. 10 – U.S. Senate Veterans’ Affairs’ Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement on Tuesday’s observance of Veterans Day:

“The truth is that we can never truly repay the debt that we owe to those men and women who put their lives on the line to defend our country. Since World War II, more than 500,000 Americans have lost their lives in war. Millions more have come home wounded in body and spirit. As a nation, we have a moral obligation to provide for the wounded and their families and ensure that all veterans receive every benefit they have earned and deserve.

BURLINGTON, Vt., Nov. 10 – Welcoming President Barack Obama’s support for net neutrality, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today urged the Federal Communications Commission to protect free and open access to the Internet.

In a l, Sanders said the commission should act decisively. “As you know, President Barack Obama has made a strong statement on net neutrality and the importance of preserving a free and open Internet. I strongly agree with him and so do the American people,” Sanders wrote to Wheeler.

Heres’  why I  think Scott Milne should demand a re-count of the 2014 Election Results; and I’d like to see  a total forensic exam of all the results, not just the Governor’s race, but the majority of people in Vermont are just concerned with the outcome of the Governor’s race.

The Vermont vote totals reported at 100%  show 193,087 votes for all votes for Governor candidates, and 191,504 for all votes for Representative to Congress candidates. The difference is 193,087 – (minus) 191,504 = (equals) 1,583 fewer people seem to have voted for the first item on the ballot.

BURLINGTON, Vt., Nov. 7 – After Tuesday’s extremely low voter turnout, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced today that he will introduce to make Election Day a national holiday.

“In America, we should be celebrating our democracy and doing everything possible to make it easier for people to participate in the political process. Election Day should be a national holiday so that everyone has the time and opportunity to vote. While this would not be a cure-all, it would indicate a national commitment to create a more vibrant democracy,” said Sanders, who was not on the ballot on Tuesday.

Below you’ll find the complete preliminary vote totals for Brattleboro. Click on the attachment to open a PDF showing the complete numbers.

Official results will be confirmed in the near future.

BURLINGTON, Vt., Nov. 1 – A United Nations panel on Sunday is set to issue a major report detailing what a draft called “the likelihood of severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts” of global warming.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said the new report from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is expected to make the strongest case yet for decisive action to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

“The scientific community across the world is sounding the alarm. Climate change is real and it will have devastating consequences around the globe unless we act boldly and decisively,” said Sanders, a member of the Senate environment and energy committees.

Vermont voters are still undecided with no candidate recently polling at 50% or more for Governor of Vermont.  Of course the recent polls are corrupt because they don’t include the name of all SEVEN  candidates for governor of VT. The polls are created by major news media contractors and all major news media, television, radio and newspapers, are controlled by Corporations.  They don’t even want you to know the names of the “other” candidates the voters are “undecided” about.  This is how government continues to be of the corporations, by the corporations and for the corporations.   We need to break the deadlock of undecision in Vermont by allowing one more debate with all 7 candidates.

Sanders’ Veterans Bill Expanded Education Program

BURLINGTON, Vt., Oct. 21 – U.S. Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced today that the Department of Veterans Affairs will begin accepting applications for college scholarships for surviving spouses of service members who died in the line of duty. Sanders worked hard to get the provision in the recently-passed veterans bill. He urged all eligible spouses to take advantage of it.

Until the law was changed this summer, the Post 9/11 GI Bill had offered scholarships to children of those who died in the line of duty but not their widows or widowers. Now, eligible spouses may be entitled to full tuition for up to 36 months plus a stipend to cover the cost of housing, books and supplies.

Humor is the best and worst of political hay. From Cris Ericson’s sparkling sequined farm dress and Ma Parker’s picnic floppy hat, to Peter Diamondstone’s too patriarchal horn-rimmed glasses, longbeard and grade-school shorts, to Bernard Peter’s pitchfork take-charge Duck Dynasty philosophy, to Emily Peyton’s grinning political dibs through gritted teeth, to Scott Milne’s making each point with a full left head swivel to Governor Shumlin, this lineup is richly deserving of national late-night talk show humor.VTDigger and the Reformer made short work of the “In case you missed it” reportage:

LAS VEGAS, Oct. 15 – Speaking at a labor union convention here today, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said the future of American democracy is at stake.

“We are not living in a democracy when 60 percent of Americans are not voting, while billionaires like the Koch Brothers are spending hundreds of millions to buy the United States Senate. That’s called oligarchy, not democracy,” Sanders said.

The billionaires Charles and David Koch and other wealthy individuals are pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into this fall’s campaigns by taking advantage of a disastrous 2010 Supreme Court ruling and subsequent court decisions that gutted federal and state laws limiting campaign spending.

BURLINGTON, Vt., Oct. 7 – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today strongly disagreed with a proposal by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to cut Social Security and disabled veterans’ benefits to pay for more defense spending.

Ryan has resurrected a discredited plan to change the formula that the federal government uses for calculating annual cost-of-living adjustments. According to published reports, Ryan said he wants to boost the Pentagon budget by taking what he called “savings” in Social Security and other programs pegged to annual adjustments in the consumer price index.

BURLINGTON, Vt., Oct. 4 – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said today that the “incredible and obscene” level of income and wealth inequality in America has become a danger to our economic and political systems – and must be addressed.

According to a new Forbes magazine tally, the 400 wealthiest Americans are now worth $2.29 trillion. Their combined wealth grew last year by $270 billion – a 13 percent increase. These billionaires now own more wealth than the bottom half of America – more than 150 million people.

While the very rich become richer, most Americans have become poorer. Median family income has declined by almost $5,000 since 1999 and more than half of the American people have less than $10,000 in savings.

Vermont PBS offered each candidate for Governor and Lt. Governor of Vermont the opportunity to record a series of messages to be broadcast on-air throughout October.  These “candidate commentaries”  are one minute long, each. The 3  topics are Jobs/Economy, Healthcare, and the Candidate’s #1 Priority.  

Congressman Peter Welch, United States House of Representatives

Official Appearance Schedule – Wednesday, October 3rd, 2014

5:30 p.m.
Brooks House Grand Opening: Brattleboro
Rep. Welch will join the celebration and make remarks at the Brooks House Grand Opening.

BURLINGTON, Vt., Oct. 2 – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) today launched an investigation into soaring generic drug prices.

“We are conducting an investigation into the recent staggering price increases for generic drugs used to treat everything from common medical conditions to life-threatening illnesses,” Sanders, chairman of a Senate health care subcommittee, and Cummings, ranking member of the House oversight committee, wrote in letters to 14 pharmaceutical companies.

Early/absentee ballots for the General Election to be held on November 4, are now available in all Vermont town clerk’s offices. Anyone wishing to vote prior to November 4, may apply for an early/absentee ballot until 5:00 p.m. on Monday, November 3.

Early/absentee ballots may be voted in person in the clerk’s office, mailed to the voter by the clerk’s office, picked up by the voter or delivered to the voter’s residence by two justices of the peace. All voted ballots must be received by the clerk before the polls close on election day in order to be counted. For more information or to request an early/absentee ballot in Brattleboro call 251-8157.