Bernie Sanders

WASHINGTON, April 24 – Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said today that outrageously high oil and gas prices that Vermonters and Americans are paying constitute a national emergency that requires a bold response from the White House and Congress.

Gas prices: Photo by Ewen Roberts (CC)    » read more »

04/02/2008 -- The National League of Cities (NLC) today presented key Senators with the signatures of nearly 400 local officials from 46 states in support of funding for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program. In a meeting today with Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt), NLC officials displayed 400 energy-efficient light bulbs representing the innovative work already occurring in cities and towns across the country to advance energy conservation.

Senator Bernie Sanders    » read more »

BURLINGTON, March 19 – Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said today, on the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq, that the United States must bring its troops home as soon as possible.

“More than five years ago, as a member of the House, I voted against giving President Bush the authority to go to war in Iraq.

U.S. Army paratroopers assigned to Company C, 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, in Iraq: Using a wall for cover, U.S. Army paratroopers scan rooftops and radio for air cover after receiving fire from an insurgent in Tall Afar, Iraq, Nov. 26, 2005. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. James Wilt    » read more »

WASHINGTON, March 13 – The Senate on Thursday ploughed through a series of votes on amendments to a $3 trillion budget blueprint including a 43 to 55 roll call rejecting a proposal by Senator Bernie Sanders to rescind tax breaks for millionaires.

“While I am disappointed, we are making progress and raising consciousness about the need to change our national priorities,” Sanders said afterward.    » read more »

WASHINGTON, March 13 – U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.), and Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) as well as AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, RFK Center Director Monika Kalra Varma today joined the Coalition of Immokalee Workers at a press conference to support a nationwide petition drive on behalf of Florida farm workers.    » read more »

WASHINGTON, February 28 – More than one in every 100 American adults is in jail or prison, according to new research on the nation’s surging inmate population. The same study also found that Vermont is one of only five states that spends more money on prisons than on higher education.

“Incredibly, with over 2.3 million Americans behind bars, we now have more people in jail than any other country on Earth,” Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said. “In my view, these sad facts reflect a very distorted set of national priorities.    » read more »

WASHINGTON, February 7 – The Senate late this afternoon voted 81 to 16 for an economic stimulus package that adds tax rebates for retirees and disabled veterans to a House-passed version of the bill.

“I am glad the stimulus package was substantially improved by adding help for 20 million seniors on Social Security and 250,000 veterans living on disability benefits. Including seniors and veterans will help people truly in need, and it will help the economy overall. It’s the right thing to do,” Senator Bernie Sanders said.    » read more »

02/04/2008 -- Rising fuel prices pushed profits for Exxon Mobil and other petroleum producers to new records. “It is absurd,” Senator Bernie Sanders said, “for oil companies like Exxon Mobil to be raking in obscene profits while millions of Americans are struggling to pay skyrocketing gas and home heating oil prices. We owe it to the American people to do everything we can to stop big oil companies from ripping off American consumers.”    » read more »

WASHINGTON, February 4 – Senator Bernie Sanders said today that President Bush’s new budget proposal was “unconscionable” and reflected “grossly distorted” priorities.

While providing hundreds of billions in tax breaks for the richest 1 percent of Americans, Bush proposed major cuts in health care, home heating assistance, weatherization, nutrition and housing programs. He also wants to raise fees on veterans’ health care.    » read more »

02/04/2008 -- President Bush sent a budget proposal to Congress on Monday that Senator Bernie Sanders called “unconscionable.” Among the grossly distorted priorities, Bush would cut $196 billion over five years in Medicare and Medicaid. He also would slash home heating assistance at a time of record-high fuel prices, impose new fees on veterans, and cut weatherization, nutrition and housing programs. For the super rich, however, special tax breaks would be preserved.    » read more »

02/04/2008 -- President Bush’s final budget continues down the same fiscally irresponsible path he started on seven years ago – weakening America's economy by running up massive deficits and making large cuts in America’s priorities. As more Americans feel the effects of the current economic downturn, President Bush’s proposed cuts to home heating assistance, job training and education programs show just how out of touch he is. Democrats will continue to strengthen our economy, by investing in middle class families and responsibly funding America's priorities.    » read more »

02/01/2008 -- WASHINGTON, February 1– Boosted by gushing oil prices, Exxon Mobil's $40.6 billion in 2007 profits exceeded the company’s own record for a U.S. corporation. Chevron also reported huge profits. At a meeting in Vienna of the international oil cartel, meanwhile, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Companies kept production quotas steady.    » read more »

WASHINGTON, January 31 – Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today pressed for passage of a stronger economic stimulus package than the House approved on Tuesday. He urged senators to increase help for senior citizens and veterans, and he said he would fight for substantial relief for people struggling to pay skyrocketing home heating bills.

“We have serious economic problems,” Sanders said. “Let’s pass an economic stimulus package quickly, but let’s make sure we get it right.”    » read more »

01/30/2008 -- Senator Bernie Sanders and others are pushing to include home-energy assistance funding in an economic stimulus package the Senate is debating. Growing energy costs and cold weather have made additional funding a necessity for low-income families, seniors on fixed incomes and the disabled. Funding in the stimulus plan would be used immediately to help pay utility bills, jumpstart the economy and support small businesses that deliver heating fuels.    » read more »

01/29/2008 -- The House passed an economic stimulus package on Tuesday as Senator Bernie Sanders and other senators stepped up their efforts to make it more effective. “The Senate has got to do a lot of work on that legislation and improve it," he said of a deal cobbled together by the Bush administration and House leaders. Sanders and other senators want to expand unemployment benefits, increase funding for home heating programs and food stamps, bolster job-training programs, and provide tax rebates for a larger percentage of the elderly.    » read more »