Politics

BURLINGTON, Vt., – Sen. Bernie Sanders, chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, issued the following statement in advance of Monday’s observance of Veterans Day:

“As we honor our nation’s veterans, we must realize the important debt we owe them, a debt we can never truly repay. We must not forget that the true cost of war goes far beyond dollars and cents. Since World War II, more than 500,000 Americans have lost their lives in war. Millions more have received disability ratings by the VA. As a nation, we have a moral obligation to provide for the wounded and ensure that all veterans receive every benefit they have earned and deserve.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 4 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) welcomed today’s 64-32 Senate vote in favor of a bill to prohibit workplace discrimination against gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.

“I am very pleased that the Senate has taken this important step toward making America the democratic and inclusive society it should be,” Sanders said. “Today’s vote was a long-overdue victory in the struggle to end workplace discrimination against gay and transgender Americans.”

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today announced that the federal government designated three new community health centers in Vermont to increase from eight to 11 the number of health centers that will provide primary care for some 163,000 patients throughout the state.

“This is a huge step forward for health care in Vermont in providing high-quality, affordable primary care, dental care, low-cost prescription drugs and mental health counseling to people throughout Vermont,” said Sanders, chairman of a Senate subcommittee that oversees primary health care.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 4 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement tonight after the Senate voted 61-30 to advance a bill that would prohibit workplace discrimination against gay, bisexual and transgender Americans:

“I am very pleased that the Senate took a step closer to protecting gays from workplace discrimination. Vermont has prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation since 1992. It’s been illegal to discriminate against transgender Vermonters since 2007.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 – A Senate committee today advanced legislation by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to reauthorize the Older Americans Act, which supports Meals on Wheels and other services for the country’s rapidly-growing population of seniors.

The 5-year reauthorization sent to the Senate floor by the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee was cosponsored by Sens. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), the chairman, and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the ranking member. Sanders chairs the Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging.

First passed by Congress in 1965, the Older Americans Act provides essential services for seniors like nutrition programs, job training, caregiver support, transportation, preventive health services and protection from abuse and financial exploitation.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 29 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said today that a special congressional committee meeting for the first time on Wednesday should do what Americans clearly want and come up with a budget to promote jobs and the economy without cutting Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other benefits for working families.

“At a time when less than 10 percent of the American people approve of the job that Congress is doing, I believe it’s time that we started to listen to what the American people want us to do,” Sanders said.

A member of the Senate Budget Committee, Sanders was appointed to the joint Senate and House conference committee that is assigned to come up with a long-term budget plan by Dec. 13 in order to avert another government shutdown.

Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On Introduction of the USA FREEDOM Act of 2013

October 29, 2013

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, was enacted 35 years ago to limit the government’s ability to engage in domestic surveillance operations. In the years since September 11, 2001, Congress has repeatedly expanded the scope of this law to provide the government with broad new powers to gather information about law-abiding Americans. No one underestimates the threat this country continues to face, and we can all agree that the intelligence community should be given necessary and appropriate tools to help keep us safe. But we should also agree that there must be reasonable limits on the surveillance powers we give to the government. That is why I have consistently fought to curtail the sweeping powers contained in the USA PATRIOT Act and FISA Amendments Act, while also bolstering privacy protections and strengthening oversight. And that is why I continue my efforts today by joining with Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner, as well as members of Congress from both political parties, to introduce the bipartisan USA FREEDOM Act of 2013.

BURLINGTON, Vt., Oct. 18 – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today decried “outrageous” eavesdropping by the National Security Agency on some of the United States’ closest allies.

Sanders is cosponsoring legislation that would significantly rein in the sweeping surveillance activities of the NSA and other intelligence agencies.

In a letter to President Barack Obama, the senator also voiced concern that the U.S. actions could undermine cooperation in the fight against terrorism.

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:]

Washington, DC – Congressman Peter Welch will hold a telephone town hall meeting this evening with Vermonters regarding the President’s plan to respond to the use of chemical weapons in Syria.

To join the call, dial (toll-free) 877-229-8493 and enter PIN code 13785.

To Senators : Pat Leahy and Bernard Sanders and Representative: Peter Welch

First off I want to make it perfectly clear that I am against supporting death directly or indirectly, regardless of who did it. However, the elephant in the room, the huge issue here that NO ONE wants to acknowledge is …

Did Assad’s forces do it?

The fact that this fundamental question continues to remain unaddressed by you is very telling. I wrote an open letter to all of you just a few days ago. This letter was also sent out to local news media. I got form letter responses back from every one of you. Not one ZERO, NADA NONE of you felt that this question needed to be addressed.