{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "is_view": false, "human_description_en": "where party = \"Independent\", state = \"VT\" and year = 2013 sorted by date descending", "rows": [["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=BF4B0DC3-703B-4AFC-A39F-FECB328F6DCC", "News September 16", "2013-09-16", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News September 16\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tMonday, September 16, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders\r\nSummers Out of Running for the Fed\u00a0Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers withdrew on Sunday from consideration to succeed Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke amid fierce opposition from within the Democratic Party over Summers\u2019 role in deregulating Wall Street. \u201cI applaud Larry Summers for withdrawing his name from consideration,\u201d Sen. Bernie Sanders said late Sunday. ''The truth is that it was unlikely he would have been confirmed by the Senate,'' Sanders added in\u00a0The New York Times,\u00a0The Washington Postand\u00a0Reuters\u00a0and online in\u00a0The Wall Street Journal.\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK\r\nSanders: Stand Up to Wall Street\u00a0\u201cWhat 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,\u201d Sen. Sanders said in reports by the\u00a0Los Angeles Times\u00a0and\u00a0McClatchy.\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK\r\nSummers Faced Growing Opposition\u00a0Along with independent Sen. Sanders, Montana Sen. Jon Tester, a member of the Banking Committee, last week became the third Democrat to declare opposition to Summers\u2019 nomination,\u00a0Bloomberg\u00a0reported. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, another committee member, reportedly told the administration that she had \"serious concerns\" about the prospect of a Summers nomination.\u00a0 In August, Warren worked with Sanders on a letter that raised a series of questions for whoever is nominated to chair the Fed, John Nichols blogged for\u00a0The Nation.\u00a0LINK\r\nHouse Plans Cuts for Seniors, Children\u00a0Sen. Sanders said the Senate must call the bluff of the House Republicans demanding deeper cuts on programs designed to help working families,ABC 22\u00a0and\u00a0Fox 44\u00a0reported. Under a proposal set for a House vote this week, \u201cmore Americans will lose their jobs ... more children will be thrown off of Head Start... more Americans will be unable to afford to send their kids to child care,\" Sanders said on\u00a0WPTZ-TV.VIDEO,\u00a0VIDEO\u00a0\r\nWorld\r\nSyria\u00a0The Russian-American deal to destroy Syria\u2019s chemical weapons arsenal gives President Obama some breathing space after a politically damaging few weeks. But the list of things that could still go wrong is extensive and daunting, according to\u00a0The New York Times.\u00a0LINK\r\nNational Food Stamp Cuts\u00a0The House this week is expected to weigh a Republican measure to scale back the food stamps program The House GOP bill would cut spending on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by about $40 billion over 10 years, according to congressional aides from both parties. That is twice the amount that House Republicans aimed to cut as part of a bill scuttled in June amid moves by House conservatives looking to make broader changes,The Wall Street Journal\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nVermont  Vermont to Aid Colorado Flood Recovery\u00a0Three top officials from the Vermont Agency of Transportation are headed west to help guide Colorado\u2019s road and bridge repair following last week\u2019s deadly and destructive flooding. Gov. Peter Shumlin announced Sunday that Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado asked for Vermont to share the expertise it gained in rebuilding roads and bridges following Tropical Storm Irene,\u00a0The Associated Press\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=56264542-0F55-4145-939C-9F0AAF520FB6", "Sanders Says Senate Must Not Give in on House-Planned Cuts for Seniors, Children", "2013-09-15", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Sanders Says Senate Must Not Give in on House-Planned Cuts for Seniors, Children\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tSunday, September 15, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tBURLINGTON, Vt., Sept. 15 \u2013 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.\r\nA 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.\r\nA member of the Senate Budget Committee, Sanders said it would be a \u201ctragic mistake\u201d and a \u201cterrible precedent\u201d if the Senate were to go along with the House and further slash programs for children, the elderly, working families and the most vulnerable people in this country.\u00a0\r\nIf the Senate accepts the House Republican plan, Sanders said in a\u00a0letter\u00a0to Senate colleagues, \u201cmore Americans will lose their jobs; more children will be thrown off of Head Start; more Americans will be unable to afford to send their kids to child care; more teachers will be thrown out on the street; more senior citizens will go hungry; and more working families will be unable to heat their homes this winter.\u00a0 In the richest country on the face of the earth that would be morally repugnant and bad economic policy.\u201d\r\nThe proposal by House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) would result in a $1 billion, 12 percent, cut in Head Start compared to 2002 spending levels. A $2.3 billion cut in education programs for disadvantaged children would represent a 14 percent cut since 2010. Home heating assistance for the elderly and families with children would be slashed by more than $1.8 billion compared to 2010, a 35 percent cut. Another $1.4 billion would be lopped off a program that provides affordable housing for working families with children, a 60 percent cut in compared to three years ago.\r\nIn addition to the direct impact of the cuts, the Congressional Budget Office projected that sequestration would result in the loss of 900,000 jobs and cause a significant 0.7 percent drop in gross domestic product next year.\u00a0\r\n\u201cMany of us have fought to replace these harmful cuts by closing tax loopholes that benefit the most profitable corporations and wealthiest people in this country, but not one Republican has joined us in this effort.\u201d Sanders said.\u00a0 \u201cAt a time when 21.5 million Americans are unemployed or under-employed, and the number of Americans living in poverty is near an all-time high, the American people cannot take even more austerity,\u201d he added.\r\nTo read Sanders\u2019 letter, click\u00a0here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=5F5570A9-100B-42D2-8805-895D9697B425", "Sanders Statement on the Federal Reserve", "2013-09-15", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Sanders Statement on the Federal Reserve\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tSunday, September 15, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tBURLINGTON, Vt., Sept. 15 \u2013\u00a0U.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:\r\n\u201cI 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.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=88EE712F-4C6E-4664-AED7-006E0214FDCD", "News September 15", "2013-09-15", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News September 15\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tSunday, September 15, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders Syria\u00a0WCAX-TV\u00a0examined whether President Obama could undertake military action against Syria without the approval of Congress. In Vermont, according to the report broadcast on Sunday, Sen. Patrick Leahy and Rep. Peter Welch have said more debate is needed, and they're waiting to see the outcome of a potential diplomatic solution in the United Nations. Sen. Bernie Sanders said he's also waiting for that but does not want to involve the United States in a bloody and complicated civil war.\u00a0LINK,\u00a0VIDEO\r\nBurlington\u00a0James Fallows, writing about American cities for\u00a0The Atlantic, is visiting Burlington, Vt., a town of 40,000+ people where now-U.S. Sen. Sanders got his start as mayor, where power on the city council is split between Democrats and Progressive party members, and a town that is the home of the University of Vermont but that does not include a single McDonald's outlet.\u00a0LINK\r\nWorld U.S., Russia Agree on Syrian Chemical Weapons\u00a0The United States and Russia agreed Saturday on a plan to bring Syrian chemical weapons under international control, a rare diplomatic victory in a brutal civil war that appears to head off a punitive U.S. military strike on Syria in the near future. In announcing the deal, Secretary of State John F. Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, said the agreement would be backed by a U.N. Security Council resolution that could allow for sanctions or other consequences if Syria fails to comply,The Washington Post\u00a0reported from Geneva.\u00a0LINK\r\nNational The Fed\u00a0The chances that Larry H. Summers, said to be President Barack Obama\u2019s favored candidate to replace Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, would win confirmation are falling sharply as Democrats come out against the possible nomination of the former Treasury Secretary. Jon Tester would vote against Summers in committee if the president nominated him, his office said on Friday. Earlier, another Banking Democrat, Sen. Sherrod Brown, told\u00a0CQ Roll Call\u00a0he would \u201clikely\u201d vote against Summers\u2019 nomination in committee. Sen. Jeff Merkley is a likely \u201cno\u201d vote as well.\u00a0LINK\r\nVermont\r\nPentagon Considers Vermont for Missile Defense Site\u00a0The Vermont congressional delegation\u2019s opposition to basing \u00a0a missile defense site is Jericho is inconsistent with its support for basing F-35 fighter jets in Vermont because both would will bring jobs, South Burlington City Council member Rosanne Greco said on\u00a0Vermont Public Television. \u201cIt\u2019s unlikely this will ever happen. The military itself has said it doesn\u2019t make sense,\u201d Seven Days\u2019 Paul Heintz said of the missile site proposal.\u00a0LINK\r\nFood Stamp Penalties\u00a0The state of Vermont has had to pay about half a million dollars in penalties to the federal government because of high error rates in its food assistance program. \u201cBut low-income Vermonters who rely on food assistance are the ones who have borne the brunt of the state\u2019s inefficiencies,\u201d according to a\u00a0Rutland Herald\u00a0and\u00a0Times Argus\u00a0editorial. Gov. Shumlin, the editorial added, \u201chas little sensitivity.\"", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=D6AAD261-CAB5-4085-B6FA-C44B67729CF6", "Don?t Cave on Cuts", "2013-09-15", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Don't Cave on Cuts\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tSunday, September 15, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tThe Senate must call the bluff of House Republicans who are demanding deeper cuts in Head Start, Meals on Wheels and other programs for working families, Sen. Bernie Sanders said on Sunday. 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.\r\nA member of the Senate Budget Committee, Sanders said it would be a \u201ctragic mistake\u201d and a \u201cterrible precedent\u201d if the Senate were to go along with the House and further slash programs for children, the elderly, working families and the most vulnerable people in this country.\u00a0\r\nIf the Senate accepts the House Republican plan, Sanders said in a\u00a0letter\u00a0to Senate colleagues, \u201cmore Americans will lose their jobs; more children will be thrown off of Head Start; more Americans will be unable to afford to send their kids to child care; more teachers will be thrown out on the street; more senior citizens will go hungry; and more working families will be unable to heat their homes this winter.\u00a0 In the richest country on the face of the earth, \u00a0that would be morally repugnant and bad economic policy.\u201d\u00a0\r\nThe proposal by House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) would result in a $1 billion, 12 percent, cut in Head Start compared to 2002 spending levels. A $2.3 billion cut in education programs for disadvantaged children would represent a 14 percent cut since 2010. Home heating assistance for the elderly and families with children would be slashed by more than $1.8 billion compared to 2010, a 35 percent cut. Another $1.4 billion would be lopped off a program that provides affordable housing for working families with children, a 60 percent cut compared to three years ago.\u00a0\r\nIn addition to the direct impact of the cuts, the Congressional Budget Office projected that sequestration would result in the loss of 900,000 jobs and cause a significant 0.7 percent drop in gross domestic product next year.\u00a0\r\n\u201cMany of us have fought to replace these harmful cuts by closing tax loopholes that benefit the most profitable corporations and wealthiest people in this country, but not one Republican has joined us in this effort.\u201d Sanders said.\u00a0 \u201cAt a time when 21.5 million Americans are unemployed or under-employed, and the number of Americans living in poverty is near an all-time high, the American people cannot take even more austerity,\u201d he added.\u00a0\r\nTo read Sanders\u2019 letter, click\u00a0here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=E5D5F40B-6819-4024-BE61-AD279C967F49", "Summers Pulls Out", "2013-09-15", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Summers Pulls Out\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tSunday, September 15, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tFormer Treasury secretary Lawrence Summers on Sunday withdrew as a candidate for Federal Reserve chairman to replace Ben Bernanke when his term runs out in January. The former Obama adviser faced mounting opposition in the Senate from, among others, Sen. Bernie Sanders. \u00a0\u201cI applaud Larry Summers for withdrawing his name from consideration. The truth is that it was unlikely he would have been confirmed by the Senate,\u201d Sanders said in a statement on Sunday. \u201cWhat 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.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=D1FD3DE8-B74C-4E7C-A70F-A76831D724CF", "News September 14", "2013-09-14", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News September 14\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tSaturday, September 14, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders\r\nThe Fed\u00a0President Barack Obama would face opposition from within his own party if he were to nominate Lawrence Summers to head the Federal Reserve. There is so much \u201cDemocratic antipathy to Mr. Summers that Mr. Obama will have to sweat on a bloc of Republican votes in the Senate to get him across the line,\u201d according to\u00a0Financial Times. Sens. Sherrod Brown and Jeff Merkley have indicated they will vote against Summers and Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren penned an op-ed entitled \"Four questions for Fed chair candidates,\" including whether the nominee would \"work to break up 'too-big-to-fail' financial institutions.\"\u00a0LINK\r\nObama and the Left\u00a0President Obama's push to use military force against the Syrian regime highlighted his many differences with liberals who believe the president has fallen short of his progressive mandate, according to\u00a0Politico. Several progressives, including Sens. Sanders and Brown, did not back a military authorization bill and others, such as Rep. Alan Grayson, opposed it outright.\u00a0LINK\r\nImmigration Reform\u00a0Sen. Sanders introduced three amendments to the Senate-passed immigration reform package aiming to ensure fair wages and working conditions for workers, Heather Gautney wrote in an op-ed for\u00a0Truthout.\u00a0LINK\r\nKoch Brothers\u00a0Charles and David Koch funneled $250 million to right-wing causes last year through a secretive organization called Freedom Partners which supports the United States Chamber of Commerce,\u00a0Think Progress\u00a0reported. The chamber consistently has supported the Export-Import Bank, which Sen. Sanders once called \"corporate welfare at its worst.\"\u00a0LINK\r\nSanders on Syria\u00a0Sen. Sanders expressed his serious reservations about President Obama's plan for military strikes in Syria in his \"Bernie Buzz\" e-newsletter,\u00a0Seven Days\u00a0reported. The latest edition said Sanders \"shares\" widespread public opposition to the strikes.\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK\r\nMissile Defense\u00a0Camp Ethan Allen in Vermont has been selected as a potential candidate for a United States missile defense system,\u00a0National Journal\u00a0reported. Sen. Sanders, alongside the rest of Vermont's congressional delegation and governor, opposes a plan to bring the missile defense system to the state.\u00a0LINK\r\nWorld\r\nU.S.-Russia Talks on Syria\u2019s Arms Make Progress\u00a0President Obama will not insist on a United Nations Security Council resolution threatening Syria with military action, senior administration officials said Friday, as American and Russian negotiators meeting in Geneva moved closer to an agreement that would seek to ultimately strip Syria of its chemical weapons,The New York Times\u00a0reported.\u00a0Secret Syrian military units have been ordered to move stocks of poison gases and munitions to as many as 50 different locations to make them harder for the United States to track,\u00a0The Wall Street Journal\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK\r\nTaliban Attacks U.S. Diplomats in Afghanistan\u00a0Taliban fighters attacked the United States consulate in Herat, Afghanistan on Friday,\u00a0The Wall Street Journal\u00a0reported. A truck of men carrying rocket-propelled grenades, suicide vests and assault rifles attacked the outpost. Security forces stopped the attack, which killed multiple Afghan civilians but no Americans.\u00a0LINK\r\nNational\r\nMinimum Wage\u00a0The nation's most populous state passed legislation this week to raise its minimum wage to $10 an hour, the highest in the country,\u00a0The Hill\u00a0reported. Democrats were quick to praise the California measure and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi urged Congress to follow suit at the federal level.\u00a0LINK\r\nVA Health Care\u00a0The Department of Veterans Affairs\u2019 reputation took a beating this week at a congressional hearing over its handling of the nation's veterans health care system,\u00a0The Washington Post\u00a0reported. House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Chairman Jeff Miller held a hearing in Pittsburgh on Monday to hear heart-wrenching testimony from veterans and family members about their frustrations with the VA.\u00a0LINK\r\nVermont\r\nSt. Albans Downtown\u00a0The city of St. Albans will press forward with plans to revive its downtown area through real estate deals, voter approval and government funding, theBurlington Free Press\u00a0reported. City voters authorized a $13 million parking structure at a special election this week. Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin and state legislators have promised $5.5 million in funds for new St. Albans downtown office space.\u00a0LINK\r\nSolar Plans Scrapped\u00a0Rockingham will no longer pursue a plan to create a 500-kilowatt solar facility on town-owned land due to the lapsing of the property's Act 250 permit,\u00a0The Associated Press\u00a0reported.LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=46DED41B-D50A-48D4-9BEB-28EE700A00D1", "The Week in Review", "2013-09-13", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "The Week in Review\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tFriday, September 13, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tWith the backdrop of Saturday\u2019s fifth anniversary of Lehman Brothers\u2019 crash and the Wall Street-caused recession that followed, surveys showed that Americans continue to overwhelmingly dislike and distrust Wall Street and worry about our economy. That sentiment and frustration with Washington\u2019s failure to deal with jobs and low wages fueled overwhelming public opposition to President Obamas\u2019 push for military strikes against Syria. Obama on Tuesday put aside plans for military intervention to pursue a proposal for international monitors to take over Syria\u2019s chemical weapons arsenal.\u00a0\r\nBack from the Brink\u00a0\u201cWith a loud and clear voice the overwhelming majority of the American people, across the political spectrum, are saying no to another war in the Middle East,\u201d Sanders wrote in a column for The Huffington Post on Friday. Building on that momentum, the senator said Americans now must demand action on important domestic issues. \"Now is the time to use that same energy and passion to save the middle class,\" he wrote. As the president had waged an intense campaign to sell Americans on the need to go to war, Sanders urged him to bring the same focus to the need to create jobs. \u201cI raised this issue to the president the other day,\u201d Sanders told Yahoo News. \u201cIt\u2019s one thing to give a speech which most people know really is not going to translate into terribly strong action,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cIntensity is the key issue. Is he prepared to fight?\u201d\u00a0Read the Huffington Post column,\u00a0Read the Yahoo article\r\nWall Street -- Five Years Later\u00a0As a result of the greed, recklessness and illegal behavior by Wall Street, America five years ago was plunged into the worst recession since the Great Depression. It was on Sept. 14, 2008, when Lehman Brothers collapsed and the financial crisis began. Over Bernie\u2019s opposition, Congress voted to bail out the largest financial institutions in the United States. In addition, the Federal Reserve provided more than $16 trillion in virtually zero interest loans to financial institutions and corporations in the United States and around the world, according to a GAO audit performed as a result of a Sanders provision in the Dodd-Frank Act. Amazingly, five out of the six largest Wall Street banks are even bigger today than five years ago. They now have $9.6 trillion in assets, or nearly 58 percent of GDP. Bernie wants tobreak up the big banks\u00a0and\u00a0end Wall Street speculation.\r\nTake the poll\r\nJobs\u00a0The share of the population in the workforce hit a 35-year low last month, the lowest since 1978. Real unemployment in August was nearly 14 percent. Youth unemployment stood at 22.7 percent. Black youth unemployment was 38.2 percent. Seventy-five percent of the jobs created so far this year have been part-time jobs. A Bernie provision in a Senate-passed bill would invest $1.5 billion in jobs for American young people.\r\nIncome Gap\u00a0The gap between the richest 1 percent and the rest of America is the widest it's been since before the Great Depression, according to report released on Tuesday. The wealthiest Americans earned more than 19 percent of the country's household income last year. That\u2019s the greatest share for any year since 1928. Economists Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez crunched IRS data to determine that 95 percent of all the gains since 2009 have gone to the top 1 percent. Economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman summed it up this way: \u201cBasically, while the great majority of Americans are still living in a depressed economy, the rich have recovered just about all their losses and are powering ahead.\u201d\r\nRead Rich Man\u2019s Recovery\r\nDental Crisis\u00a0Spending for dental care is rapidly climbing, according to a\u00a0new report\u00a0prepared by the Government Accountability Office. Americans spent about $108 billion on dentists in 2011, according to a report for a Senate panel that Sanders chairs. The subcommittee on Thursday heard that millions of Americans do not have access to dentists because of those skyrocketing costs and inadequate insurance coverage. Another obstacle is government policies that don\u2019t pay to prevent or take care of minor problems that left untreated get worse and cost more for taxpayer-funded emergency care. \u201cWe can and must address the dental crisis in America now,\u201d Sanders said at the outset of the hearing by the Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging, which he chairs.\r\nWatch a video", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=E5F0A035-C2E9-4EDF-BC7F-14053601717C", ": News September 13", "2013-09-13", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News September 13\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tFriday, September 13, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders\r\nDental Crisis\u00a0Sen. Sanders chaired a Senate hearing on Thursday to call attention to the high cost of dental care and ways to improve access to oral health care for all Americans. The Senate panel learned that more than 47 million Americans live in places where adequate dental care is difficult to access and 130 million do not have dental insurance, reported\u00a0WPTZ-TV\u00a0and other\u00a0NBC News\u00a0affiliates,\u00a0KWTC-TV\u00a0in Oklahoma City, Okla., and other\u00a0CBS News\u00a0affiliates,\u00a0CBS Radio, KNX-AM\u00a0all-news radio in Los Angeles,\u00a0The Associated Press,\u00a0Washington Times,\u00a0Congressional Quarterly\u00a0and others.\u00a0VIDEO,VIDEO,\u00a0VIDEO,\u00a0VIDEO,\u00a0VIDEO,\u00a0AUDIO,\u00a0AUDIO,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK\u00a0\r\nThe American People Have Spoken\u00a0\"With a loud and clear voice the overwhelming majority of the American people, across the political spectrum, are saying no to another war in the Middle East,\" Sen. Sanders wrote for\u00a0The Huffington Post,\u00a0Daily Kos, and\u00a0Green Mountain Daily. Building on that momentum, Sanders said Americans must demand action on important domestic issues. \"Now is the time to use that same energy and passion to save the middle class,\" he wrote.\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK\r\nWhere\u2019s Obama on Jobs?\u00a0President Obama just waged an unprecedented campaign to sell Americans on the need to go to war. Some in Congress want him to bring the same focus to jobs and other domestic priorities. \u201cI raised this issue to the president the other day,\u201d Sen. Sanders told\u00a0Yahoo News. \u201cIt\u2019s one thing to give a speech which most people know really is not going to translate into terribly strong action,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cIntensity is the key issue. Is he prepared to fight?\u201d Sanders declined to describe Obama\u2019s response, but a congressional aide who does not work for Sanders said the exchange was a bit combative, with the senator asking, in effect, \u201cWhy the hell aren\u2019t we talking about jobs?\u201d\u00a0LINK\r\nSyria\u00a0Americans, from both red states and blue states, are strongly opposed to a war in Syria and are telling their members of Congress,\u00a0The Huffington Post\u00a0reported. Sen. Sanders said that \"95 percent of my constituents have indicated to me in emails and phone calls that they do not want to see the United States getting involved in a bloody and complicated civil war in Syria - and that certainly has some influence on me.\"\u00a0LINK\r\nLame Duck\u00a0If President Barack Obama doesn't want to spend the rest of his term as a lame duck, he is going to have to address the obstructionism of Republicans in Congress, Sen. Sanders told Ed Schultz in an interview cited by\u00a0The Raw Story.\u00a0LINK\r\nIrene Recovery\u00a0Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation and the Springfield Regional Development Corporation have received an additional $500,000 in funding for a program that has already provided grants to over 30 area businesses struggling from the effects of Tropical Storm Irene. Sens. Sanders and Patrick Leahy and Rep, Peter Welch fought to include $400 million in disaster funding in the federal budget, the\u00a0Brattleboro Reformer\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nVeterans\u00a0\u00a0Sen. Sanders chaired a joint hearing on veterans\u2019 issues this week to receive testimony from advocacy groups,\u00a0The American Legion\u00a0reported. Sanders defended the embattled Department of Veterans Affairs, saying that the VA \"is making progress in reducing the disability claims backlog.\" Sanders lauded the VA for its implementation of cutting edge health care such as alternative medicine and telehealth systems.\u00a0LIN\r\nMissile Defense Site\u00a0The Vermont National Guard's Camp Ethan Allen has been selected by the Department of Defense as a finalist for a potential East Coast missile defense site, Sen. Sanders, joined by Sen. Leahy and Rep. Welch, opposed the selection. \"My first impression is that this is a very bad idea and, for a wide variety of reasons, I do not believe that it will ever happen,\" said Sen. Sanders\u00a0according to\u00a0WCAX-TV,\u00a0WPTZ-TV,\u00a0ABC22,\u00a0VPR,\u00a0Vermont Press Bureau,\u00a0VTDigger\u00a0and\u00a0Seven Days. Sen. Charles Schumer hoped the missile defense site will be located in New York to create jobs.\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0VIDEO,\u00a0VIDEO,\u00a0AUDIO,LINK,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK\r\nSpace\r\nExiting the Solar System\u00a0In a first for mankind, a NASA-built spacecraft, the Voyager 1, has exited the solar system. \u201cThis is historic stuff, a bit like the first exploration of Earth, and we had to look at the data very, very carefully,\u201d Edward C. Stone, 77, NASA\u2019s top Voyager expert, told\u00a0The New York Times.\u00a0LINK\r\nWorld\r\nUS-Russian Talks Begin\u00a0Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in Geneva for a second day of diplomacy, linked the removal of chemical weapons from Syria to prospects for a broader peace conference,\u00a0The Associated Press\u00a0reported. Russian diplomats pushed for the United States to take military threats off of the table.\u00a0LINK\r\nU.S.-Born Jihadist Killed in Somalia\u00a0Omar Hammami, a United States-born jihadist living in Somalia, has been killed my fellow militants\u00a0TIME\u00a0has learned. Hammami was on the United States' most-wanted list and the State Department had offered a $5 million reward for his capture.\u00a0LINK\r\nState of Emergency in Egypt\u00a0American diplomats asked Egyptian authorities Thursday to lift a state of emergency in force since August,\u00a0AFP News\u00a0reported. \"The interim government and military must ensure due process and that any citizens arrested by police or military are referred only to civilian courts,\" said a spokesman for the State Department.\u00a0LINK\r\nNational\r\nFive Years After Financial Crisis, Americans Don\u2019t Like Wall Street\u00a0Americans continue to overwhelmingly dislike and distrust Wall Street five years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the ensuing financial crisis, according to the latest\u00a0NBC News/Wall Street Journal\u00a0poll. Forty two percent said they have a negative view of the New York financial institutions while just 14 percent have a favorable opinion.\u00a0\u00a0LINK\r\nJobless Claims\u00a0Jobless claims dropped last week to an all-time low since April 2006, reportedBloomberg. However, the decrease in filings was not due to an improvement in the job market, but rather due to computer network issues in two states that caused those unemployment agencies to underreport for the month.\u00a0LINK\r\nTwitter IPO\u00a0Twitter is getting ready to file for an initial public offering, the company tweeted on Thursday. According to\u00a0CBS News, the company has been working to boost ad revenue and advertising products. CEO Dick Costolo said in January that he was cautious about filing an IPO because he didn't want Twitter to be a public company that must bend to shareholders' wishes.\u00a0LINK\r\nVermont\r\nBurlington City Council\u00a0The Burlington City Council will be offering extended public comment time at three upcoming meetings addressing the livable wage ordinance, F-35s and gun-related city charter changes, reported the\u00a0Burlington Free Press.\u00a0LINK\r\nMedia Shield Law\u00a0The Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Sen. Leahy, on Thursday approved a federal media shield law that would protect journalists who use confidential sources to report on the actions of government agencies, says\u00a0The Associated Press.\u00a0LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=188868CF-F647-4C44-AF43-1D6E89C056FB", ": News September 12", "2013-09-12", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News September 12\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tThursday, September 12, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders\r\nGeneva Talks Mark Big Test for U.S., Russia\u00a0Secretary of State John Kerry will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva on Thursday to discuss a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Syria, \u201cI am pleased to see that the president and his administration are now working with Russia, France, the UK, China and the United Nations to remove chemical weapons from Syria without involving the United States in the bloody and complicated Syrian civil war. This is a good step forward,\u201d Sen. Bernie Sanders said in theTimes Argus\u00a0and\u00a0Rutland Herald. Sens. Sanders and Patrick Leahy both support diplomatic proposals to remove chemical weapons from Syria,\u00a0WCAX-TV\u00a0reported.\u00a0VIDEO,\u00a0LINK\r\nObama Must Not Surrender to Class Warfare\u00a0President Barack Obama now must turn his focus from Syria to championing progressive solutions to the nation's pressing domestic issues. \u201cThe president has got to say, \u2018I stand with the working families of the United States, and if the billionaires hate me, so be it.\u2019 He's got to draw the line in the sand... on the class warfare going on in America.\u201d Sen. Sanders told\u00a0MSNBC's\u00a0Ed Schultz Wednesday that\u00a0VIDEO\u00a0 \u00a0\r\nObama's Unpopular War\u00a0President Barack Obama is paying a high political price for his support of unpopular military strikes in Syria, according to an\u00a0Al Jazeera America\u00a0report. Sen. Sanders \"assailed\" the president and Congress for not focusing on important domestic issues. \u201cWhat about our kids?\u201d he asked. \u201cWhat kind of future are they going to have in a country where the middle class continues to disappear?\u201d\u00a0LINK\r\n9/11 Remembered\u00a0The 12th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks were commemorated Wednesday in New York City, Washington, D.C., and western Pennsylvania. \u201cThose events transformed this country,\u201d Sen. Sanders said on Wednesday in a conversation with radio host Ed Schultz.\u00a0AUDIO\r\nJobs\u00a0The unemployment rate in August of 7.3 percent only measures people who have actively looked for work in the past four weeks. It's a tremendously deceptive measure that ignores millions of discouraged and freelance workers. In fact, the labor force participation rate last month was 63.2 percent, nearly the lowest level in 35 years,\u00a0Newsday\u00a0opinion editor Anne Michaud wrote in a column that cited Sen. Sanders\u2019 concern that Congress has ignored unemployment and the disappearing middle class.\u00a0LINK\r\nTaxes\u00a0Senate Democratic leaders are facing pressure from the party\u2019s left wing to move manufacturing incentives and other corporate tax measures endorsed by President Obama as part of a move toward job-promoting fiscal measures. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada is weighing whether to move the provisions, including new infrastructure funding measures that would be funded by new corporate tax revenue. Sen. Sanders said he and other liberals might support a corporate overhaul, but only if it included \u201csubstantial revenue\u201d to fund priorities, according to\u00a0Congressional Quarterly.\u00a0LINK\r\nUSPS\u00a0The United States should expand, not shrink, its postal service, Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese wrote for\u00a0Truthout. Bills to support the USPS are sponsored by Sen. Sanders and Rep. Peter DeFazio.\u00a0LINK\r\nGay Veterans\u00a0Legislation to bar anti-LGBT job bias is expected to come before the Senate sometime this fall,\u00a0The Washington Blade\u00a0reported. Another LGBT-relevant bill that has been reported out of the committee is the Charlie Morgan Act, which would ensure veterans in same-sex marriages have access to certain spousal benefits. A spokesman for Sen. Sanders, who chairs the veterans\u2019 committee, wouldn\u2019t speculate on the bill's chance of passage.\u00a0LINK\r\nBernie\u00a0In a weak attempt at a Brooklyn accent, radio host Thom Hartmann introduced Rep. Peter DeFazio on Wednesday with an attempted imitation of Sanders recommending that Hartmann should get to know DeFazio.\u00a0AUDIO\r\nMoran Plant\u00a0Burlington's Moran Plant may look like an eyesore from the outside, but it's an inspiration for the city's artists, according to\u00a0Seven Days. Some would like to see the plant transformed into something useful for the community. One area resident said he envisions a \"Great Hall\" space with two fantasy shows: a solo cellist performing the Brandenburg Concertos under a single spotlight; and a dramatic reading of Dylan Thomas\u2019 \u201cDo Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night\u201d by Sen. Sanders.\u00a0LINK\r\nWorld\r\nWar Crimes in Syria\u00a0United Nations human rights monitors presented detailed evidence on Wednesday of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by both pro-government and anti-government forces in a civil war in Syria,\u00a0The New York Times\u00a0reported. Of nine mass killings the panel investigated for the report, eight were attributed to the government side and one to rebels.\u00a0LINK\r\nNSA Shares Americans' Data with Israel\u00a0National Security Agency officials routinely share raw intelligence data, including sensitive personal information about United States citizens, with Israel, according to documents leaked to\u00a0The Guardian.\u00a0LINK\r\nNational\r\nRepublicans Delay Budget Vote\u00a0House Republicans decided Wednesday to delay until next week a vote on a continuing resolution to fund the government,\u00a0The Washington Postreported. Rank-and-file Republicans had not fully come aboard their leadership\u2019s plan to keep federal agencies operating at current sequestration levels while forcing a Senate vote on the Affordable Care Act\u00a0LINK\r\nHill Obamacare Rules Delayed\u00a0Rules about how members of Congress and their staff get insurance through health care exchanges may be delayed by the Office of Personnel Management, according to\u00a0Politico. A proposed solution to continue offering employer subsidies for health care to staff members is still being finalized.\u00a0LINK\r\nVermont\r\nState Buildings Go Solar\u00a0Gov. Peter Shumlin announced Wednesday a plan to convert state buildings to solar energy with the installation of over 900 solar tracking panels, according to the\u00a0Burlington Free Press. Estimated energy savings are pegged at more than $1 million over 20 years.\u00a0LINK\r\nMylan Technologies Expansion\u00a0Gov. Shumlin's administration plans to move $5.5 million from the state corrections budget to finance a project aiding Mylan Technologies in its expansion in downtown St. Albans,\u00a0The Associated Press\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nGoing to Pot\u00a0Gov. Shumlin said marijuana should be legalized in the state, but not right now. He said legalizing and taxing marijuana is the direction the country is headed and \"Vermont should be a part of that conversation.\" But he's not willing to do that now,\u00a0AP\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nLeahy is Citizen of the Year\u00a0The Vermont Chamber of Commerce has named Sen. Patrick Leahy as its 2013 Citizen of the Year. The chamber will celebrate Leahy\u2019s contributions to Vermont at an awards dinner on Oct. 16 at the Hilton Burlington, the\u00a0Burlington Free Pressreported.\u00a0LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=1ADF369E-5453-4EA5-AE44-E9AE50177A75", "Dental Care Crisis", "2013-09-12", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Dental Care Crisis\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tThursday, September 12, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tA Senate panel heard today that millions of Americans do not have access to dentists because of skyrocketing costs and inadequate insurance coverage. \u201cWe can and must address the dental crisis in America now,\u201d Sen. Bernie Sanders said at the outset of the hearing by the Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging, which he chairs. A new report prepared by the Government Accountability Office said Americans spent about $108 billion on dentists in 2011.\r\nListen to a CBS News report on the hearing\r\nRead the GAO report", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=59E5D209-41A2-44E3-88BA-2B990650EBA2", "Statement on Missile Defense Basing", "2013-09-12", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Statement on Missile Defense Basing\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tThursday, September 12, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tWASHINGTON, Sept. 12 \u2013\u00a0Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today issued the following statement on the Department of Defense announcement that\u00a0 Vermont is under consideration as the location for an anti-ballistic missile launch site:\r\n\u201cMy first impression is that this is a very bad idea and, for a wide variety of reasons, I do not believe that it will ever happen.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=C823023E-19E7-4DED-97AD-36D1F5E4F15B", "Dental Crisis in America", "2013-09-12", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Dental Crisis in America\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tThursday, September 12, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tWASHINGTON, Sept. 12 \u2013 A Senate panel heard today that millions of Americans do not have access to dentists because of skyrocketing costs, inadequate insurance and government policies that don\u2019t pay to prevent problems that left untreated get worse and cost more for taxpayer-funded emergency care.\r\n\u201cWe can and must address the dental crisis in America now,\u201d Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said at the outset of the hearing by the Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging.\r\nSpending for dental care is rapidly climbing, according to a new report prepared by the Government Accountability Office for the subcommittee which Sanders chairs. Americans spent about $108 billion on dentists in 2011.\r\nBut the soaring costs coupled with inadequate insurance coverage put dental care beyond the budgets of many working families. More than four out of 10 American adults skipped trips to the dentist because they lacked insurance and could not afford out-of-pocket payments, according to the GAO, the nonpartisan research arm of Congress.\r\nSanders plans to introduce legislation to expand comprehensive dental coverage to millions of Americans through Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act and the Department of Veterans Affairs.\u00a0 His measure also would increase access to dental services at community health centers and boost support for mobile clinics and dental clinics in schools.\r\nTaxpayers would save money by boosting resources for preventive care, Sanders said. \u201cWhen people cannot get to a dentist when they need one, they often end up in emergency rooms. It just doesn\u2019t make sense for us to spend so much money on those who wind up in hospitals but refuse to help people get the care they need before it\u2019s too late,\u201d Sanders said.\u00a0\r\nWitnesses at today\u2019s hearing included Cathi Stallings, a social worker from Falls Church, Va. \u201cI am here as someone who knows firsthand that dental care is a luxury that many millions of us in America cannot afford,\u201d she said.\u00a0\r\nDr. Debony Hughes, a former Vermont dentist who now works in Prince Georges County, Md., told the panel about her recent experience volunteering at a free clinic. \u201cI was overwhelmed. People slept overnight in hopes to receive care,\u201d she testified. \u201cBut patients should not have to endure those types of conditions to receive treatment,\u201d she added. \u201cThese experiences reminded me that quality dental care is not a luxury, it is a necessity and we need to make it accessible and affordable for adults to receive the care they need and deserve.\u201d\r\nTo read the GAO report, click\u00a0here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=1FF542A5-9FE5-4559-9470-FC0BB7A6D731", "9/11 Remembered", "2013-09-11", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "9/11 Remembered\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tWednesday, September 11, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\r\nThe 12th\u00a0anniversary of terrorist attacks were commemorated Wednesday in New York City, where two hijacked jetliners crashed into the World Trade Center, and at the sites where two other hijacked planes crashed at the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C., and at a field in western Pennsylvania. \u201cThose events transformed this country,\u201d Sen. Bernie Sanders said on Wednesday in a conversation with radio host Ed Schultz.\r\nListen to the interview \u00bb", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=83E4853A-D319-4656-A0BC-0B33165968E5", "A single-payer system makes economic sense", "2013-09-11", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "A single-payer system makes economic sense\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t By:\u00a0 Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) \n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tWednesday, September 11, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tAmericans spend about twice as much per capita on healthcare as almost any other developed nation, but our outcomes are not as good as others that spend much less. We can do better. We must do better.\r\nToday, some 50 million Americans lack health insurance. Many others delay going to the doctor because of high deductibles and unaffordable copayments. While the number of uninsured Americans will go down with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, widely known as ObamaCare, tens of millions of Americans will remain uninsured.\r\nThe goal of an effective healthcare system is to do everything possible to enable people to live long and healthy lives. Sadly, the American system fails to do that and falls behind many other countries. While we devote 18 percent of our gross domestic product to healthcare, we rank 33rd in life expectancy and 34th in infant mortality, and trail in many other health outcomes. A Harvard University study indicated that, incredibly, some 45,000 Americans die needlessly each year because they do not get to a doctor in time.\u00a0\r\nI start my approach to healthcare from a very basic premise: healthcare is a right, not a privilege. Unfortunately, uniquely among major nations, that statement is not true for the United States, where access to healthcare depends on how much money you have and what your employer is willing to provide.\r\nIt is simply unconscionable that the most advanced nation in the world has so many people who lack health insurance. It makes no sense that millions more are one diagnosis or car accident away from financial disaster. And, despite the trillions of dollars we spend on healthcare, the disparity in the quality of care between the rich and everyone else grows wider.\r\nOur system doesn\u2019t make economic sense, and it certainly doesn\u2019t make moral sense. In a civilized, democratic society, every man, woman and child must be able to get the medical care they need regardless of income.\r\nIt is incomprehensible that drug companies still get away with charging Americans twice as much \u2014 or more \u2014 than citizens of Canada or Europe for the exact same drugs manufactured by the exact same companies. It is an outrage that insurers still want to hike premiums by as much as 60 percent a year on individual policyholders.\r\nIt boggles the mind that approximately 30 percent of every healthcare dollar spent in the United States goes to administrative costs rather than to delivering care. Taiwan, for example, spends only a little over 6 percent of its GDP on healthcare, while achieving better health outcomes on some key indicators than we do. The reason, of course, is that they spend a fraction of what we do on administrative costs.\r\nIf our goal is to provide high-quality healthcare in a cost-effective way, what should we be doing?\r\nClearly, we must move toward a single-payer system.\r\nThe health insurance lobby and other opponents of single-payer care make it sound scary. It\u2019s not. In fact, a large-scale single-payer system already exists in the United States. It\u2019s called Medicare. People enrolled in the system give it high marks. More importantly, it has succeeded in providing near-universal coverage to Americans over the age of 65.\r\nEstablishing a single-payer system will mean peace of mind for all Americans. When health insurance is no longer tied to employment, people will not fear losing both their job and their family\u2019s access to healthcare. Millions of Americans won\u2019t have to stay in jobs they don\u2019t like because their family needs healthcare. Entrepreneurs and small businesses will be free to develop their business plans without worrying about the cost and complexity of providing healthcare for themselves and their employees.\r\nFor these reasons and more, Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) and I have introduced the American Health Security Act, which would guarantee healthcare as a human right and provide every U.S. citizen and permanent resident with healthcare coverage and services through a state-administered, single-payer program.\r\nI am very proud that my home state of Vermont is now taking big steps to lead the nation in healthcare by moving forward on a plan to establish a single-payer healthcare system that puts the interests of patients over corporate profits. The American Health Security Act would make sure every state does the same.\r\nThe goal of real healthcare reform must be high-quality, universal coverage in a cost-effective way. We must ensure, to as great a degree as possible, that the money we put into health coverage goes to the delivery of healthcare, not to paper-pushing, astronomical profits and lining CEOs\u2019 pockets. \u00a0\r\nSanders is the junior senator from Vermont, serving since 2007. He sits on the Environment and Public Works; the Energy and Natural Resources, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions; and the Budget; and the Veterans\u2019 Affairs committees, as well as the Joint Economic Committee.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=AEC6A218-78E1-4096-A7A2-FE9292A10834", "These Disgraced Wall Street Kingpins Are Living Quite Nicely 5 Years After Crisis", "2013-09-11", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "These Disgraced Wall Street Kingpins Are Living Quite Nicely 5 Years After Crisis \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t By:\u00a0 Alison Fitzgerald \n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tWednesday, September 11, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tFive years after the near-collapse of the nation\u2019s financial system, the economy continues a slow recovery marred by high unemployment, hesitant consumers and sluggish business investment.\r\nMany of the top Wall Street bankers who were largely responsible for the disaster \u2014 and whose companies either collapsed or accepted billions in government bailouts \u2014 are also unemployed. But since they walked away from the disaster with millions, they\u2019re juggling their ample free time between mansions and golf, skiing and tennis.  Meantime, the major banks that survived the crisis, largely because they were saved with taxpayer money after being deemed \u201ctoo big to fail,\u201d are now bigger and more powerful than ever.\r\nThe Center for Public Integrity looked at what happened to five former Wall Street kingpins to see what they are up to these days. None are in jail, nor are any criminal charges expected to be filed.\r\nCertainly none are hurting for money.\r\nTake Richard Fuld. Five years after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the 158-year-old company he ran, collapsed under the weight of bad investments and sent a tidal wave of panic through the global financial system, Fuld is living comfortably.\r\nHe has a mansion in Greenwich, Conn., a 40-plus-acre ranch in Sun Valley, Idaho, as well as a five-bedroom home in Jupiter Island, Fla. He no longer has a place in Manhattan, since he sold his Park Avenue apartment in 2009 for $25.87 million.\r\nThe other four bankers the Center caught up with \u2014 Jimmy Cayne (Bear Stearns), Stanley O\u2019Neal (Merrill Lynch), Chuck Prince (Citigroup) and Ken Lewis (Bank of America) are also living in quiet luxury.\r\nContinue reading here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=B9A32FDA-1DD9-4367-8B86-8A0EEC728FB4", "Moyers & Company: How Furloughs Hurt the Most Vulnerable Soldiers", "2013-09-11", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "How Furloughs Hurt the Most Vulnerable Soldiers\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t By:\u00a0 Greg Kaufmann \n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tWednesday, September 11, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tMatthew Hoh, a former Marine Corps company commander in Anbar Province who later redeployed to Afghanistan with the State Department and resigned his post in protest over U.S. policy, believes that nothing has laid bare the\u00a0priorities\u00a0of our nation so clearly as the sequester.\r\n\u201cThe most vulnerable are getting hurt, while the privileged, the well-to-do are being protected,\u201d says Hoh, now a senior\u00a0fellow at the\u00a0Center for International Policy. \u201cWe\u2019re choosing to prioritize profits of corporations, or revitalize weapons systems that don\u2019t matter any more, as opposed to making sure soldiers get the care they need when they come home.\u201d\r\nHoh points to the fact that Department of Defense civilian health care workers were forced to reduce their hours by 20 percent until recently. While Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel\u00a0reduced\u00a0the furlough days required for the remainder of the fiscal year ending September 30, he also said that he \u201ccannot be sure what will happen\u201d under sequestration for Fiscal Year 2014 which begins October 1. The Pentagon will be required to cut 40 percent more than the $37 billion that was mandated this year.\r\nTo Hoh, the reduction in furlough days comes much too late and the damage has already been done.\r\n\u201cWe\u2019ve got a suicide epidemic with record numbers of suicides among military personnel every year,\u201d says Hoh. \u201cGuys coming home with PTSD and depression, and then the clinicians working with them were only available four days a week instead of five.\u201d\r\nIndeed,\u00a0Stars and Stripes\u00a0recently\u00a0reported\u00a0that Walter Reed National Medical Center had reduced beds in the in-patient mental health section from 28 to 22; an internal memo encouraged \u201cdispositions/discharges as soon as possible\u201d and the western Army medical region alone had delayed 10,000 routine patient appointments in the first month of furloughs due to staffing shortages.\r\nContinue reading here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=F325325F-3EA3-4A1C-94BE-F909F9DE98DD", ": News September 11", "2013-09-11", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News September 11\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tWednesday, September 11, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders\r\nObama Delays Syria Strike\u00a0President Obama, facing opposition in Congress and around the country to a strike in Syria, said Tuesday that he would hold off on military action for now and pursue a Russian proposal for international monitors to take over and destroy Syria\u2019s arsenal of chemical weapons. \u201cI believe that the American people share the president\u2019s concerns about chemical weapons in Syria and the brutal Assad dictatorship. But, in overwhelming numbers, Vermonters are telling me they want those issues addressed diplomatically by the UN and the international community \u2014 not by unilateral military action on the part of the U.S.,\u201d Sen. Bernie Sanders said in the\u00a0Burlington Free Press.\u00a0LINK\u00a0\r\nSanders: Focus on Middle Class\u00a0Sen. Sanders said Vermonters and the American people want Obama and Congress to focus on more pressing matters hitting closer to home such as the middle class and high unemployment,\u00a0Fox 44\u00a0and\u00a0ABC 22\u00a0reported. \u201cThe American people are saying very loudly and clearly that this country faces enormous crises, economically, global warming, health care, education income and wealth inequality and they want us to start addressing those needs,\u201d Sanders said on\u00a0Vermont Public Radio. \u201cThere is a reason why the vast majority of Americans disapprove of the work that Congress is doing. Vermonters and the American people want President Obama and Congress to focus on the major crises facing the collapsing middle class \u2014 high unemployment, low wages, growing wealth and income inequality, the high cost of college, global warming and many other issues,\u201d Sanders said in the\u00a0Free Press.\u00a0LINK,\u00a0VIDEO,\u00a0LINK\r\nObama Failed to Win Senate Support for Syria Strikes\u00a0Only about one in 10 members of Congress are currently supporting strikes in Syria,\u00a0CBS News\u00a0estimated. The network tally said Sen. Sanders was one of six senators leaning against supporting military intervention, reflecting overwhelming public opposition.\u00a0\u201cEvery once in a while democracy actually works, not very often around here, but the Congress is hearing their message. The president didn't have the votes,\u201d Sen. Sanders told\u00a0U.S. News & World Report.\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK\r\nSeize the Opportunity\u00a0Sen. Sanders told\u00a0CNN's\u00a0Suzanne Malveaux earlier on Tuesday that he hoped the president \"seizes the opportunity\" for international efforts to rid Syria of chemical weapons \"without the United States getting unilaterally involved\" in Syria's civil war. \u201cWe\u2019re moving in the right direction and I applaud the American people for making it very clear that they understand that getting involved in a Syrian civil war could have huge implications. The American people are saying to the Congress, \u2018Why don\u2019t you pay attention to our needs?\u2019\u201d Sanders told\u00a0Bloomberg News. Sanders was cautiously optimistic about the tentative proposal which would require Syria to transfer its weapons stockpile,\u00a0VtDigger\u00a0reported.\u00a0VIDEO,\u00a0VIDEO,\u00a0LINK\r\nNo More War, Americans Say\u00a0\u201cThe American people do not want us getting involved unilaterally in another war in the Middle East,\u201d Sanders said in a Senate floor speech before the president\u2019s televised address according to reports on\u00a0WCAX-TV,\u00a0Fox 44,\u00a0ABC 22\u00a0and\u00a0WPTZ-TV. The entire speech was rebroadcast by\u00a0C-SPAN.\u00a0LINK,\u00a0VIDEO,\u00a0VIDEO,\u00a0VIDEO,\u00a0VIDEO,\u00a0VIDEO\r\nBaldwin Opposes Syria Intervention\u00a0Sen. Tammy Baldwin on Tuesday said she would not support a resolution calling for U.S. military intervention in Syria. \u201cThe absence of a stated position was conspicuous to the Fighting Bob Fest attendees, especially when speakers including Rep. Mark Pocan and Sen. Sanders used the podium to voice their opposition to military intervention in Syria,\u201d\u00a0The\u00a0(Madison, Wis.)\u00a0Capital Times\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nRutland Herald: Bombs Away\u00a0\u201cA few rockets launched by America \u2026 could remind Assad that the world is watching and he will have to pay a price for his ruthlessness. Leahy, Sanders\u00a0and Welch need to stand with Obama,\u201d a\u00a0Rutland Herald\u00a0editorial said.\u00a0LINK\r\nVA Claims Backlog\u00a0Sen. Sanders, the Senate veterans\u2019 committee chairman, said Tuesday that he has \"guarded optimism\" about the Department of Veterans Affairs improving but still troubling caseload backlog,\u00a0The Washington Post\u00a0reported. \"While we\u2019ve seen a steady decline in the backlog, clearly there is much, much more work to do,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cVeterans deserve not only timely but accurate decisions.\u201d\u00a0LINK\r\nHealth Care\u00a0\u201cAmericans spend about twice as much per capita on health care as almost any other developed nation, but our outcomes are not as good as others that spend much less. We can do better. Clearly, we must move toward a single-payer system,\u201d Sen. Sanders wrote in a column for\u00a0The Hill.\u00a0LINK\r\nLabor's 'Big Tent'\u00a0The AFL-CIO is embracing a \"big tent\" strategy by endorsing comprehensive immigration reform. Democratic opposition to the Senate bill was largely non-existent and only Sen. Sanders had any real criticism for the bill, according to\u00a0National Review.\u00a0LINK\r\nSingle Payer\u00a0Why aren\u2019t more Democrats supporting single-payer bills by Rep. John Conyers and Sen. Sanders and instead lament the now 40 bills by Republicans to repeal Obamacare, Lambert Strether wrote for\u00a0Truthout.\u00a0LINK\r\nWarren\u2019s Charisma\u00a0Sen. Elizabeth Warren fired up union members last week in a speech at the AFL-CIO's annual convention. \"We have a few other truthsayers such as Bernie Sanders, but Elizabeth Warren has the presence, the poise, the appearance and the charisma to change the conversation on the public policy dictated by the D.C. insider conventional wisdom of both parties,\" Mark Karlin wrote for\u00a0Truthout.\u00a0LINK\r\nVisit Burlington\u00a0The Atlantic asked readers to recommend travel destinations and one recommended Burlington, Vt., for its craft beers. \u201cAdd to this its picturesque setting on Lake Champlain and strong liberal/left heritage (Bernie Sanders was once the mayor) and you get a wonderful place to live and work.\u201d\u00a0LINK\r\nCitizen Koch\u00a0Sen. Sanders will promote a documentary criticizing \"libertarian philanthropists\" Charles and David Koch, according to\u00a0The Washington Free Beacon, the Heartland Institute bankrolled publication which does not disclose its funding sources.\u00a0LINK\r\nWorld\r\nWhite House Backs International Syria Plan\u00a0The White House and a bipartisan group of senators on Tuesday backed a plan to give the United Nations time to take control of the Syrian government's internationally banned chemical weapons stockpile,\u00a0The New York Times\u00a0reported. An alternative resolution currently being drafted in the Senate would offer a deadline for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to release control of the stockpile to international agents.\u00a0LINK\r\nSyria Admits It Has Chemical Weapons\u00a0In the first direct acknowledgement of its stockpile of chemical weapons, Syrian officials told reporters Tuesday that it would cease production of such weapons and disclose the locations of its stockpiles to the United Nations, Russia and others,\u00a0The Wall Street Journal\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nRussia: France Idea 'Unacceptable'\u00a0France's initial draft United Nations Security Council resolution authorized the use of force if the Syrian government failed to turn over its chemical weapons to international authorities, according to\u00a0The New York Times. But Russia's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday called the proposal \"unacceptable\" and touted a far less binding resolution.\u00a0LINK\r\nRouhani: Clock Is Ticking\u00a0Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told state television reporters Tuesday that time for resolving the nation's nuclear problems with the West is limited, according to\u00a0Reuters. Urging international leaders to seize the diplomatic opportunity provided by his election, Rouhani offered to start negotiations at the United Nations General Assembly in New York this month.\u00a0LINK\r\nNational\r\nNSA Broke Rules in Surveillance\u00a0National Security Agency employees regularly searched call data using numbers that had not been approved by courts, according to legal filings and court opinions released by the Obama administration Tuesday. Unauthorized searches went on for about three years until they were discovered in March 2009, according to\u00a0Politico.\u00a0LINK\r\nRepublicans Scheme to Defund Obamacare\u00a0House Republicans have settled on a plan to force Senate Democrats to vote on defunding the Affordable Care Act before authorizing a continuing resolution to fund the government,\u00a0The Washington Post\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nVermont\r\nFeds Cut Food Aid over State Screwups\u00a0Chronic errors in payments to beneficiaries of its food-buying assistance program have landed the state in hot water with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which has handed down hundreds of thousands of dollars in penalties. Top anti-hunger advocates say the federal sanctions are doing little to correct accounting problems that in some cases have led to the wrongful denial of benefits to hungry Vermont families. And action continues to be slow in coming, according to anti-hunger officials, despite persistent pleas from caseworkers decrying the effects on their low-income clients,\u00a0The Vermont Press Bureau\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nVermont Veterans\u00a0Vermont Veterans Home officials said they continue to make improvements at the nursing home and have recently returned from a conference at which the administrator of the home, Melissa Jackson, was elected to represent 10 states. Jackson will serve three years as director of the Northeast region, which includes the New England states and New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland, for the National Association of State Veterans Homes, the\u00a0Rutland Herald\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nUVM\u00a0The University of Vermont has improved its spot in the annual ranking of the \"Best National Universities\" by US News & World Report, according to the\u00a0Burlington Free Press. Previously tied at 92 with four other universities, this year UVM is tied at 82 with three others (Stevens Institute of Technology, Stony Brook/SUNY, and Texas Christian University).\u00a0LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=40C3B21A-CD97-4BAA-8E32-9526B94E5C9D", "?A Good Step Forward?", "2013-09-10", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "\u2018A Good Step Forward\u2019\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tTuesday, September 10, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tPresident Barack Obama on Tuesday asked Congress to postpone consideration of his request for military strikes against Syria because of \u201cencouraging signs\u201d and \u201cconstructive talks\u201d with Russia\u2019s leaders about a proposal that international monitors take over Syria\u2019s arsenal of chemical weapons. \u201cThis is a good step forward,\u201d Sen. Bernie Sanders said after Obama\u2019s nationally televised address from the White House East Room. Sanders has voiced concerns that another war in the Middle East would push aside important issues at home.\u00a0\r\n\u201cThere is a reason why the vast majority of Americans disapprove of the work that Congress is doing. Vermonters and the American people want President Obama and Congress to focus on the major crises facing the collapsing middle class \u2013 high unemployment, low wages, growing wealth and income inequality, the high cost of college, global warming and many other issues,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cI believe that the American people share the president\u2019s concerns about chemical weapons in Syria and the brutal Assad dictatorship. But, in overwhelming numbers, Vermonters are telling me they want those issues addressed diplomatically by the UN and the international community \u2013 not by unilateral military action on the part of the U.S.,\u201d the senator added.\r\n\u201cI am pleased to see that the president and his administration are now working with Russia, France, the UK, China and the United Nations to remove chemical weapons from Syria \u2013 without involving the United States in the bloody and complicated Syrian civil war. \u00a0This is a good step forward.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=674BF530-F357-4AAA-87D3-02E07E6F70C0", "Associated Press: Richest 1 percent earn biggest share since '20s", "2013-09-10", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Richest 1 percent earn biggest share since '20s\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t By:\u00a0 Paul Wiseman \n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tTuesday, September 10, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tWASHINGTON \u2014 The gulf between the richest 1 percent and the rest of America is the widest it's been since the Roaring '20s.\r\nThe very wealthiest Americans earned more than 19 percent of the country's household income last year \u2014 their biggest share since 1928, the year before the stock market crash. And the top 10 percent captured a record 48.2 percent of total earnings last year.\r\nU.S. income inequality has been growing for almost three decades. And it grew again last year, according to an analysis of Internal Revenue Service figures dating to 1913 by economists at the University of California, Berkeley, the Paris School of Economics and Oxford University.\r\nOne of them, Berkeley's Emmanuel Saez, said the incomes of the richest Americans surged last year in part because they cashed in stock holdings to avoid higher capital gains taxes that took effect in January.\r\nIn 2012, the incomes of the top 1 percent rose nearly 20 percent compared with a 1 percent increase for the remaining 99 percent.\r\nThe richest Americans were hit hard by the financial crisis. Their incomes fell more than 36 percent in the Great Recession of 2007-09 as stock prices plummeted. Incomes for the bottom 99 percent fell just 11.6 percent, according to the analysis.\r\nContinue reading here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=67BB7B2F-7FBB-40A1-B627-5E3364A975B5", ": News September 10", "2013-09-10", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News September 10\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tTuesday, September 10, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders\r\nMilitary Strikes against Syria on Hold\u00a0President Obama on Monday tentatively embraced a Russian diplomatic proposal to avert a United States military strike on Syria by having international monitors take control of the Syrian government\u2019s chemical weapons. \u201cMy sense is that it is really good news,\u201d Sen. Bernie Sanders told\u00a0PBS\u2019 Tavis Smiley on Monday. \u201cRussia is jumping in in a constructive way \u2026 If they can force Syria for the first time \u2026 to acknowledge that they have chemical weapons \u2026 and to allow the international community to secure those chemical weapons, then that would be a huge step forward.\u201d\u00a0VIDEO\r\nSanders Hopes for Peaceful Resolution\u00a0Sen. Sanders voiced a cautious optimism late Monday that the United States might yet find a peaceful resolution to its standoff with Syria. \u201cMost Americans would support an effort that could remove chemical weapons from Syria without American military involvement in another Middle East war,\" he said, according toSeven Days. \"I urge the president and Russia to work vigorously to achieve that goal.\"\u00a0LINK\r\nSenate Vote Delayed\u00a0Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced Monday that he would not force an initial vote this week on a resolution authorizing military force against Syria. Sen. Sanders welcomed the delay to pursue a diplomatic solution. \u201cAs somebody who is not enthusiastic about getting into a war for all kinds of reasons, I think it would been seen by the entire global community as a wonderful victory if you can get chemical weapons out of Syria without the United States getting involved in a bloody war,\u201d Sanders said on\u00a0PBS.\u00a0VIDEO\r\nSenate Opposition to Military Action Increasing\u00a0The decision to put off a Senate vote came as opposition to a U.S. strike on Syria was growing even among Obama\u2019s allies and former Senate colleagues. On Monday, six senators \u2014 five Republicans and Democrat Heidi Heitkamp \u2014 came out against the Syria resolution. Sen. Sanders told\u00a0Politico\u00a0that 95 percent of his constituents oppose military strikes against Syria \u201cand that certainly has some influence on me.\u201d\u00a0LINK\r\nAmericans Overwhelmingly Oppose War in Syria\u00a0Six in 10 Americans oppose airstrikes with similar majorities saying they fear military action could enmesh the United States in another long war in the Middle East, according to polls for\u00a0The New York Times,\u00a0CBS Newsand other news organizations. \u201cI think we should listen to the American people,\u201d Sen. Sanders told\u00a0MSNBC\u2019s\u00a0Thomas Roberts.\u00a0VIDEO\r\nRegime Change\u00a0Sen. Sanders expressed concern that a resolution passed last week by a divided Senate Foreign Relations Committee could lead to greater U.S. involvement in Syria. Sanders said the current draft includes language supporting regime change and \u201cchanging momentum on the ground.\u201d And in an interview with\u00a0The Washington Post, Sanders also expressed concern about inadvertently supporting rebel groups that have ties to Al-Qaeda.\u00a0VIDEO\r\nAnti-War Protests\u00a0Anti-war protesters made their voices heard in several cities Monday. As flames of more than 50 candles flickered on the Woodstock green, Carol Egbert said she contacted the offices of Sens. Leahy and Sanders, the\u00a0Valley News\u00a0reported. The vast majority of calls and emails to Sen. Sanders\u2019 office are from constituents opposed to military strikes in Syria,\u00a0WNYT-TV\u00a0in Albany, N.Y.,\u00a0The\u00a0(Madison, Wis.)\u00a0Capital Times\u00a0and\u00a0Epoch Times\u00a0reported.\u00a0VIDEO,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK\r\nThe Fed\u00a0Ben Bernanke\u2019s second term as Federal Reserve chairman ends in January and President Obama may announce his successor any day. Larry Summers, a former White House economic adviser and president of Harvard University, is considered Obama\u2019s favorite for the post. In a July 28 letter to Obama, Sen. Sanders urged him to strike Summers from the running,\u00a0Vtdigger.org\u00a0reported. \u201cI urge you to consider someone who will put the needs of the disappearing middle class ahead of the interests of Wall Street and the wealthy few,\u201d Sanders wrote.\u00a0LINK\r\nUSPS\u00a0Unions representing postal workers are raising questions about health provisions tucked into the newest Senate postal reform legislation that they say \u201cwill undermine the successful, longstanding Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and increase costs for millions of federal employees, retirees and their families.\u201d Sen. Sanders and Rep. Elijah Cummings have also expressed concerns about the Senate bill,\u00a0The Hill\u00a0reported online.\u00a0LINK\u00a0\u00a0\r\nCarbon Tax\u00a0Australian conservatives racked up big wins in last week\u2019s elections and some are attributing the results to the Labor Party\u2019s support for a carbon tax,\u00a0The Daily Callerreported. Sens. Sanders and Barbara Boxer introduced a carbon tax bill in the United States Senate earlier this year.\u00a0LINK\r\nGay Marriage\u00a0Takako Ueda of Dummerston, Vt., may stay in the United States and apply for permanent citizenship in three years thanks to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling against a law which denied gay foreigners married to U.S. citizens the same rights as straight bi-national spouses. Sens. Sanders and Patrick Leahy and Rep. Peter Welch \u201chave been in their corner for the long haul,\u201d the\u00a0Brattleboro Reformer\u00a0editorialized. \u201cAll of us here at the Reformer are happy for Ueda and Herbert and are proud of everyone that rallied around them in their darkest moments.\u201d\u00a0LINK\r\nHappy Birthday Bernie\u00a0Sunday was Sen. Sanders\u2019 birthday. \u201cHappy birthday senator,\u201d Rachel Maddow said on\u00a0MSNBC. She noted that Sept. 8 also was the birthday of scotch tape, Patsy Cline and The Rachel Maddow Show, which turned five years old.\u00a0VIDEO\r\nLetters\u00a0Dean Lynch wrote to the\u00a0Brattleboro Reformer\u00a0hoping that the Vermont congressional delegation recognizes \u201cthe folly\u201d of military intervention in Syria. Ronald Pulcer opposed military strikes in a letter to the\u00a0Rutland Herald. Neville Berle, in a\u00a0Times Argusletter, hoped that Sanders, Leahy and Welch would recognize that \u201cwhen it comes to U.S. national security \u2026 American foreign assistance programs represent the best bang for the buck.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK\u00a0,LINK\r\nWorld\r\nFrance Offering U.N. Resolution on Syria\u00a0France announced Tuesday it would put forward a resolution in the U.N. Security Council aimed at forcing Syria to ultimately dismantle its chemical weapons program, seizing on a diplomatic opening from Syrian ally Russia amid Western threats of force against President Bashar Assad's regime. France, a permanent member of the 15-nation council, was to start the resolution process on Tuesday. The proposal would also condemn a chemical weapons attack near Damascus on Aug. 21 that Western powers allege was carried out by Assad's regime \u2014 a claim he has denied,\u00a0CBS Newsreported.\u00a0LINK\r\nNational\r\nObama to Meet Senators before Prime-Time Speech\u00a0President Obama will sit down for separate meetings with Senate Democrats and Republicans on Tuesday to discuss the Syria resolution,\u00a0Roll Call\u00a0reported.\u00a0Later Tuesday, Obama was to lay out his case for striking Syria in a prime time speech on major networks,\u00a0Politico\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK\r\nAmericans Still Oppose Attacking Syria\u00a0New polls from\u00a0The Washington Post,\u00a0The Associated Press\u00a0and\u00a0USA Today\u00a0confirmed that Americans are overwhelmingly opposed to military action in Syria. According to the Post-ABC News poll, 64 percent of Americans oppose launching missile strikes. USA Today\u2019s results say that 63 percent are opposed.\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK,LINK\r\nCorporate Tax Overhaul\u00a0The chairmen of the congressional tax-writing committees said Monday that a consensus is forming in Washington around a plan to lower rates and close loopholes for U.S. corporations. But Sen. Max Baucus and Rep. Dave Camp said they would not proceed with a rewrite of the corporate code unless they can build support for overhauling tax laws that affect individuals as well. \u201cThere is more agreement on the corporate side,\u201d Baucus, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, told\u00a0The Washington Post.\u00a0LINK\r\nWorking People\u00a0AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka lamented the decline of labor membership in recent decades,\u00a0The Hill\u00a0reported. He called upon leaders at the AFL-CIO's annual convention to begin \"the great work of reawakening a movement of working people \u2013 all working people, not just the people in this hall, not just the people that we represent today\u2013 but everyone who works in this country, everyone who believes that people who work deserve to make enough to live and enjoy the good things in life.\"\u00a0LINK\r\nCourts Skeptical on Net Neutrality\u00a0Two out of three judges on a panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals indicated Monday a readiness to side with Verizon and strike down at least part of the Federal Communications Commission's net-neutrality regulations,\u00a0The Hill\u00a0reported. Supporters of the rules argue that they are necessary to protect a free and open Internet, and that all websites should be treated equally.\u00a0LINK\r\nCompanies Ask for NSA Requests Disclosure\u00a0Some of the world's largest internet companies on Monday asked the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to allow them to disclose more about their requests for information from spy agencies,\u00a0Reuters\u00a0reported. Google argued that its First Amendment right to speech on a matter of great public importance outweighs any harm to intelligence efforts.\u00a0LINK\r\nVermont\r\nSolar Homes\u00a0Solar home designers from two Vermont colleges are getting ready to attend an international solar design competition. The teams from Norwich University in Northfield and Middlebury College will be at the Statehouse in Montpelier Tuesday. Next month the teams will be competing in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon in Irvine, Calif.,\u00a0APreported.\r\nVermont Health Co-Op\u00a0A federal agency says it has stopped payments of money it was to provide under a loan agreement with a Vermont health insurance cooperative, according anAP\u00a0reported. The cooperative\u2019s future was placed in doubt when it was denied a state license in May. It is appealing that decision.\u00a0LINK\r\nFall Foliage\u00a0Train rides to view Vermont's fall foliage will be offered during the Colors of Kingdom Festival in St. Johnsbury,\u00a0The Associated Press\u00a0reported. On Sept. 21, a locomotive and four antique coaches will bring leaf peepers south along the Connecticut and Passumpsic rivers.\u00a0LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=ABC23C3E-0380-49CD-BA9C-88F25A71D206", "Sanders Reacts to President?s Speech on Syria", "2013-09-10", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Sanders Reacts to President\u2019s Speech on Syria\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tTuesday, September 10, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tWASHINGTON, Sept. 10 \u2013 Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement tonight after President Barack Obama delivered a national address on Syria\u2019s chemical weapons:\r\n\u201cThere is a reason why the vast majority of Americans disapprove of the work that Congress is doing. Vermonters and the American people want President Obama and Congress to focus on the major crises facing the collapsing middle class \u2013 high unemployment, low wages, growing wealth and income inequality, the high cost of college, global warming and many other issues.\r\n\u201cI believe that the American people share the president\u2019s concerns about chemical weapons in Syria and the brutal Assad dictatorship. But, in overwhelming numbers, Vermonters are telling me they want those issues addressed diplomatically by the UN and the international community \u2013 not by unilateral military action on the part of the U.S.\r\n\u201cI am pleased to see that the president and his administration are now working with Russia, France, the UK, China and the United Nations to remove chemical weapons from Syria \u2013 without involving the United States in the bloody and complicated Syrian civil war. This is a good step forward.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=EAD78EB1-A792-499B-908C-8112087578C7", "The Washington Post: From ?Inequality for All,? a challenge for America", "2013-09-10", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "From \u2018Inequality for All,\u2019 a challenge for America\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t By:\u00a0 Katrina vanden Heuvel \n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tTuesday, September 10, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\u201cChilling.\u201d\r\nThat\u2019s how one reviewer\u00a0describes\u00a0the experience of watching Harvey Weinstein\u2019s latest film. Only the movie in question isn\u2019t \u201cErased,\u201d Weinstein\u2019s pulse-pounding thriller about an ex-CIA agent on the run. Nor is it \u201cOnly God Forgives,\u201d in which Ryan Gosling finds himself caught up in a gritty underground world of Thai drug smuggling, prostitution, rape, and murder.\r\nThe movie is, in fact, a documentary, but one more disturbing than international criminal conspiracies and more devastating than any \u201cSharknado.\u201d It\u2019s about income inequality. As Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich intones in the film, \u201cOf all developed nations, the United States has the most unequal distribution of income, and we\u2019re surging towards even greater inequality.\u201d\r\n\u201cInequality for All,\u201d directed by Jacob Kornbluth and set to be released nationwide on Sept. 27, comes at a critical moment for America. Sept. 15 marks the five-year anniversary of\u00a0the collapse of Lehman Brothers\u00a0\u2014 fueled by a toxic combination of deregulation, subprime lending and credit-default swaps \u2014 that precipitated the 2008 global economic crisis and laid bare the rot at the heart of our economic system. It was largely this orgy of greed that led the first Occupy Wall Street protesters to Zuccotti Park on Sept. 17, two years ago next week.\r\nIn the half-decade since Wall Street\u2019s self-induced crash, the country has hovered between outrage (that the perpetrators walked off scot-free and bonus-laden) and apathy (that anything will ever break the iron bond between Congress and the financial industry).\r\nUntil now, hopefully. Following the diminutive Reich on his \u201cstatistics-driven and impassioned\u201d\u00a0crusade, \u201cInequality for All\u201d throws into sharp relief the numbers and stories we hear. Combining footage from Reich\u2019s electrifying Berkeley lectures with interviews, news clips and rich graphics, the film weaves a compelling narrative about how and why, since the late 1970s, income inequality has risen to crisis levels.\r\nThe facts are breathtaking. In 1978, according to Reich, a \u201ctypical male worker\u201d made $48,302, while the typical top 1 percenter earned $393,682, more than eight times as much. In 2010, even as overall gross domestic product and productivity increased, the average male worker\u2019s wage fell to $33,751. Meanwhile, the average top 1 percent earner was making more than $1.1 million \u2014 32 times the average earner.\r\nContinue reading here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=173C742E-C8FF-4D7C-87B4-BE6E36B20CE4", ": News September 9", "2013-09-09", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News September 9\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tMonday, September 9, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders International Response Needed on Syria\u00a0Sen. Bernie Sanders said the United States should work with the world community in responding to Syria\u2019s use of chemical weapons. After more than a decade of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan \u201chow about coming home and addressing the crisis facing the American people?\u201d Sanders said on\u00a0MSNBC. \u201cIf we want to deal with a crisis, let\u2019s deal with unemployment, let\u2019s deal with health care, let\u2019s deal with education. We have enough on our own hands,\u201d the senator added.\u00a0LINK,\u00a0VIDEO\r\nAmericans Oppose Intervention in Syria\u00a0Sen. Sanders said that more than nine out of 10 calls and emails to his office over the past week opposed U.S. action in Syria. The senator also said he's worried that the \"surgical strike\" against Syria could prompt a push for greater U.S. involvement to bring about a regime change,\u00a0WPTZ-TV\u00a0reported. Sanders said the public wants Congress to address issues affecting working families,\u00a0WCAX-TV\u00a0reported.\u00a0VIDEO, VIDEO\u00a0\r\nWhite House Turns up Heat\u00a0Proponents of striking Syria are banking on getting lawmakers away from anti-war town halls and into classified briefings.\u00a0Sen. Sanders, who caucuses with the Democrats, said Democrats he's spoken with feel the tug of party loyalty and not wanting to undercut Obama so publicly. But he told\u00a0National Journal\u00a0that such loyalty doesn't typically outweigh overwhelming public opposition.\u00a0LINK\r\nRight-Left Coalition\u00a0\u201cWhat the president has to be careful of is what I call the Ted Cruz Bernie Sanders coalition \u2026The anti-war Democrats and Tea Party Republicans voting against this because of their deep held beliefs,\u201d Heidi Pryzybla of\u00a0Bloomberg News\u00a0said on Sunday\u2019s broadcast of Capital Gains.\u00a0VIDEO\r\nWorld Kerry, Assad Trade Warnings\u00a0Secretary of State John F. Kerry issued a strong challenge in London on Monday to Syrian President Bashar Assad to turn over his chemical weapon stockpile to avoid a US-led attack,\u00a0The Boston Globe\u00a0reported. Assad, in an interview withCBS News\u00a0that aired Monday morning, issued a warning of his own, saying that the United States should \u201cexpect every action\u201d if the US attacks Syria, while saying a response might \u201cNot necessarily from the government.\u201d\u00a0LINK\r\nObama to visit Senate Democrats on Tuesday\u00a0President Obama will travel to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to help sell his plan for U.S. military strikes on Syria. Just hours before a scheduled national address from the Oval Office Obama will meet with Senate Democrats as he tries to overcome skepticism \u2014 or outright opposition \u2014 from members of his own party as the Senate prepares to hold critical votes on the Syria use-of-force resolution. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is likely to win a cloture vote on Wednesday, but it is unclear if the Senate will approve the resolution on a final vote after that,\u00a0Politico\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nSupport Wanes for Obama on Syria\u00a0Congress will be in session on Monday for the first time since the August recess. Debate on Syria could begin in the full Senate this week. White House efforts to convince Congress to back military action against Syria are not only failing, they seem to be stiffening the opposition, according to\u00a0Reuters. The influential Republican chairman of the House intelligence committee, Mike Rogers, told CBS's \"Face the Nation\" that the White House had made a \"confusing mess\" of the Syria issue.\u00a0LINK\r\nNational Congress Ignores Jobs\u00a0The 7.3 percent of Americans unemployed in August was down from 8.1 percent unemployment a year ago, but the improvement is happening slowly and there's no reason to expect Washington to step in and speed things up. Since 2009, Congress hasn't passed major legislation aimed at helping to shrink the nation's massive pool of unemployed, according to\u00a0National Journal.\u00a0LINK\r\nCongress Puts Off Immigration Reform\u00a0Congress is likely to postpone consideration of an immigration overhaul until the end of the year, if not longer, because the sudden debate over military action in Syria and a looming face-off with President Obama over the budget and the nation\u2019s borrowing limit have shot to the top of the legislative agenda,\u00a0The New York Timesreported.\u00a0LINK\r\nCongress Delays Farm Bill\u00a0The two sides are also jockeying over the farm bill, which was a victim of a conservative revolt over food stamps,\u00a0The Washington Post\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nDebt Ceiling Debate Now a Sideshow\u00a0The post-summer period was supposed to have been dedicated to avoiding a government shutdown and addressing the federal borrowing limit, but now the focus is on President Obama's request for congressional approval to take military action in Syria,\u00a0The Wall Street Journal\u00a0reported. That means time soaked up by briefings and debate, plus the added tension that comes with a divisive issue like a proposed bombing campaign.\u00a0LINK\r\nNAACP\u00a0Benjamin Jealous, the president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said Sunday that he plans to step down at the end of the year, The Associated Press reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nGreed, Recklessness and Illegal Behavior\u00a0Five years after Lehman Brother\u2019s collapse hastened a worldwide economic panic, the government faces lingering questions about the decision to spare executives like Richard S. Fuld Jr., who ran Lehman for 14 years until its demise. Not a single senior executive from any Wall Street bank faced criminal charges from the crisis, either. And the government\u2019s deadline for filing most charges will expire this month, the anniversary of Lehman\u2019s collapse, providing a reminder of the case and its unpopular outcome, according to\u00a0The New York Times.\u00a0LINK\r\nObama Got Secret Court to Lift Restrictions on NSA\u00a0The Obama administration secretly won permission from a surveillance court in 2011 to reverse restrictions on the National Security Agency\u2019s use of intercepted phone calls and e-mails, permitting the agency to search deliberately for Americans\u2019 communications in its massive databases, according to aWashington Post\u00a0report based on interviews with government officials and recently declassified material.\u00a0LINK\r\nVermont\r\nState Reaches Deal on Asbestos Mine Cleanup\u00a0The state has reached a settlement with the owners of an inactive asbestos mine that officials say poses an ongoing pollution threat in two Northern Vermont towns. The mine, in the towns of Eden and Lowell, is the state\u2019s biggest hazardous waste site. Clean-up and mitigation costs could run into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Without providing specifics on the settlement, Vermont Assistant Attorney General Thea Schwartz told\u00a0Vermont Public Radio\u00a0that the settlement reflects the reality that the mine\u2019s owner doesn\u2019t have the resources to pay for the clean-up.\u00a0LINK\r\nPutney Goes Solar\u00a0Officials in Putney chose a company to build a new solar array that would provide electricity for the town\u2019s buildings. The\u00a0Brattleboro Reformer\u00a0reported that Integrated Solar is building a 500-kilowatt solar array in Westminster. Putney will get about 185 kilowatts to provide power for Town Hall, the fire station, garage, public library and wastewater treatment plant. The town expects to save about $4,000 every year by buying the solar power from the developers of the solar array.\u00a0LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=1EC88B56-D4D7-4CD2-B6B9-74696CFF1C9D", "Bloomberg Businessweek: Not Looking for Work: Labor-Force Participation Hits 35-Year Low", "2013-09-09", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Not Looking for Work: Labor-Force Participation Hits 35-Year Low\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t By:\u00a0 Peter Coy \n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tMonday, September 9, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tA job seeker speaks to a r\u00e9sum\u00e9 professional at a National Career Fairs job fair in Arlington, Va., on Jan. 30\r\nThe unemployment rate fell in August but for the worst of reasons: Many Americans\u00a0stopped looking for work\u00a0so they weren\u2019t counted among the unemployed. What\u2019s harder to tell is why they stopped looking. The political right chalks it up to laziness and government coddling, while the political left says people are giving up looking because a dysfunctional economy isn\u2019t producing enough jobs.\r\nThe Bureau of Labor Statistics\u00a0said the August unemployment rate was 7.3 percent, down a tick from 7.4 percent in July. The worrisome part is why the rate fell. The size of the workforce declined by about 300,000 and the participation rate fell to 63.2 percent from 63.4 percent\u2014the lowest since August 1978. The participation rate is the number of people either working or actively searching for work as a share of the working-age population. It rose steadily over the years as more women entered the workforce before falling sharply in the 2007-09 recession, and it hasn\u2019t recovered since.\r\nAlso disappointing was the payroll report. While the 169,000 added to employers\u2019 payrolls in August wasn\u2019t far below the 180,000 median prediction of economists surveyed by Bloomberg, there was a downward revision of 74,000 jobs to the previous two months\u2019 reports. The government said June payrolls grew by only 172,000, rather than 188,000; July\u2019s grew by only 102,000, instead of 162,000. In other words, while employment did grow in August, it was from a substantially lower starting point than previously believed.\r\nSome quick reactions from observers:\r\nContinue reading here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=5ED4F671-853E-4B1C-8610-F375552007AA", "?A Potentially Positive Development?", "2013-09-09", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "\u2018A Potentially Positive Development\u2019\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tMonday, September 9, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tPresident Obama on Monday called a proposal to put Syria's chemical weapons under international control \u201ca potentially positive development.\u201d The president\u2019s guarded remarks came as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid postponed Senate consideration of \u00a0a resolution supporting military strikes by the United States against Syria. \u00a0Sen. Bernie Sanders welcomed the developments. \u201cAt a time when the vast majority of the American people and many members of Congress are extremely skeptical about the wisdom of U.S. military intervention in Syria\u2019s bloody and complicated civil war, I appreciate that the majority leader delayed a vote and that President Obama is prepared to work with Russia to have Syria turn over control of its chemical weapons to international monitors. Most Americans would support an effort that could remove chemical weapons from Syria without American military involvement in another Middle East war. I urge the president and Russia to work vigorously to achieve that goal.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=8EBF3858-946C-4BA1-843A-6515E1AFF700", "As Congress Debates Syria, U.S. Labor Force Hits 35-Year Low", "2013-09-09", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "As Congress Debates Syria, U.S. Labor Force Hits 35-Year Low\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tMonday, September 9, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tA key concern of Sen. Bernie Sanders about President Obama\u2019s request for the United States to launch military strikes against Syria is that it would divert Congress and the president from dealing with jobs and other important but overlooked issues here at home. \u201cIf we get sucked into a civil war in Syria, it will be harder to deal with 14 percent unemployment or 20 percent youth unemployment or 40 percent black youth unemployment, and the many, many other problems that this country faces,\u201d Sanders said on Monday on MSNBC.\r\nThere was, for example, startling but barely-noticed news in the unemployment report for August, when the share of the population in the workforce hit a 35-year law. The size of the workforce declined by about 300,000 and the participation rate fell to 63.2 percent from 63.4 percent\u2014the lowest since August 1978, according to an analysis by Peter Coy for Bloomberg Businessweek. The participation rate is the number of people either working or actively searching for work as a share of the working-age population.\r\nWatch the MSNBC interview \u00bb\r\nRead the Bloomberg Businessweek article \u00bb", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=FAD8DBE5-A3C6-476C-A024-DCAED939A0C5", "Sanders Statement on Syria", "2013-09-09", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Sanders Statement on Syria\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tMonday, September 9, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tWASHINGTON, Sept. 9 \u2013 Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement tonight after President Barack Obama said a proposal to put Syria's chemical weapons under international control could be a potential breakthrough and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) postponed action on a resolution in support of U.S. military strikes against Syria:\r\n\u201cAt a time when the vast majority of the American people and many members of Congress are extremely skeptical about the wisdom of U.S. military intervention in Syria\u2019s bloody and complicated civil war, I appreciate that the majority leader delayed a vote and that President Obama is prepared to work with Russia to have Syria turn over control of its chemical weapons to international monitors.\r\n\u201cMost Americans would support an effort that could remove chemical weapons from Syria without American military involvement in another Middle East war. I urge the president and Russia to work vigorously to achieve that goal.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=65B0B24B-7F12-4F39-8ED6-721048881EF0", "News September 8", "2013-09-08", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News September 8\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tSunday, September 8, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders\r\nAmericans Oppose U.S. Force in Syria\u00a0Sen. Bernie Sanders reports there is 10-1 opposition to authorizing the use of force in Syria in an online survey of constituents. Calls to his offices are even more overwhelming, according to an editorial\u00a0on Sunday\u00a0in the\u00a0The(Madison, Wis.)\u00a0Capital Times.\u00a0LINK\r\nVermont Delegation Split on Syria\u00a0Sen. Patrick Leahy, the country's most senior senator, appears set to support U.S. intervention. Sen. Sanders has voiced reservations while Rep. Peter Welch remains on the fence,\u00a0WCAX-TV\u00a0reported\u00a0on Saturday.\u00a0LINK,\u00a0VIDEO\r\nHealth Care\u00a0\u201cA new and affordable way for many Vermonters to purchase insurance is the key provision of the Affordable Care Act. I was proud to be involved in the passage of this law when I worked as the health policy adviser for Sen. Sanders,\u201d David Reynolds,\u00a0deputy director of health reform in the Vermont Agency of Administration, wrote for the\u00a0Rutland Herald\u00a0and\u00a0Times Argus.\u00a0LINK\r\nWorld\r\nKerry Meets Arab Leaders on Syria\u00a0Secretary of State John Kerry is meeting Arab League leaders in Paris as part of a European tour to gather support for intervention in Syria. Kerry said the number of nations prepared to take military action was now in \"double digits\", but the list has not been made public. France strongly supports intervention in response to the use of chemical weapons in Damascus last month, but it wants to wait for a report by UN weapons experts before taking action,\u00a0BBC\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nNational Uphill Battle for Syria Votes\u00a0After a frenetic week of wall-to-wall intelligence briefings, dozens of phone calls and hours of hearings with senior members of President Obama\u2019s war council, more and more lawmakers, Republican and Democrat, are lining up to vote against the president. Officials are guardedly optimistic about the Senate, but the blows keep coming.\u00a0On Saturday, Senator Mark Pryor, Democrat of Arkansas, perhaps the most endangered incumbent up for re-election, came out against the authorization to use force,\u00a0The New York Timesreported.\u00a0LINK\r\nWhite House Showed Gruesome Videos to Senators\u00a0Videos the Obama administration showed earlier this week to a select group of senators in closed-door briefings to make the case that a limited military attack on Syria would be justified were obtained byNBC News\u00a0on Saturday. The footage of bodies writhing on the floor, people with their dilated eyes watery and dazed, and children seemingly gasping for air, sometimes with other, inert bodies nearby, are just some of the gruesome images that the administration says are consistent with exposure to nerve agents.\u00a0LINK\r\nProtesters at Baldwin Speech on Syria\u00a0Sen. Tammy Baldwin was silenced for nearly two minutes by protesters voicing opposition to U.S. military action in Syria during her speech\u00a0Saturday\u00a0at Fighting Bob Fest, the annual gathering of progressives. The fracas began after Baldwin remained vague. \"There are no good options in Syria,\" Baldwin said. Baldwin promised the crowd that she had heard their feedback and that she will continue to ask tough questions as the debate continues,\u00a0The Capital Times\u00a0reported.\r\nVermont\r\nCovered Bridge Reopens\u00a0The Taftsville Covered Bridge, the second-longest in Vermont and one of the oldest, reopened\u00a0Saturdayafter undergoing an extensive rebuilding, costing $2.5 million, to repair damage caused by Tropical Storm Irene. Rep. Welch, who once lived in nearby Hartland Four Corners, said he used to include the bridge in his regular runs through the neighborhood, the\u00a0Rutland Herald\u00a0reported.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=F9AD32BF-D729-46A2-ACA4-7E3493665988", "The Crisis at Home", "2013-09-08", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "The Crisis at Home\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tSunday, September 8, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSen. Bernie Sanders on Sunday denounced the use of chemical weapons by Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, but he said Congress must focus on high unemployment and other problems at home while the United States works with the international community on the Middle East. \u201cThe calls that are coming into my\u00a0office are overwhelmingly\u00a0against getting involved in a\u00a0bloody and complicated civil war\u00a0in Syria,\u201d Sanders told Alex Witt on Sunday on MSNBC.\u00a0\u201cThe American people are\u00a0profoundly disgusted with the\u00a0fact that the United States\u00a0Congress continues to ignore the\u00a0enormously serious problems\u00a0facing the middle class of this\u00a0country; real unemployment close to 14 percent, youth unemployment even higher\u00a0than that., poverty at an almost all-time\u00a0high.\u00a0What the American people are\u00a0saying is that we were in war in\u00a0Afghanistan, we were in a war in Iraq, we've lost thousands of soldiers\u00a0and spent trillions of dollars. How about coming home and\u00a0addressing the crisis facing the\u00a0American people?\u00a0\r\n\u201cEverybody understands that Assad\u00a0is a horrendous dictator and the\u00a0use of chemical weapons is\u00a0beyond words.\u00a0It's totally disgusting.\u00a0What we need is the world\u00a0community to come together to\u00a0address that issue and other issues in the Middle East.\u00a0But the American people are\u00a0saying two wars are enough.\u00a0Let's come home and address our\u00a0serious problems.\u201d\u00a0\r\nWatch Alex Witt interview Sanders on MSNBC \u00bb", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20130913010351/http://www.sanders.senate.gov:80/newsroom/news/?id=c4d5e9a2-c0aa-4026-abf3-c86cf680f868", "Sen. Sanders Airs Concerns on Syria", "2013-09-08", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "BURLINGTON, Vt., Sept. 8 \u2013 Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) this afternoon reiterated his concerns about U.S. involvement in the Syrian civil war.\u00a0\nIn an interview on MSNBC, Sanders made three points.\nFirst, he said that more than 9 out of 10 calls and emails to his office in the past week were against unilateral U.S. action against Syria. \u201cThe calls that are coming into my office are overwhelmingly against getting involved in a bloody and complicated civil war in Syria,\u201d Sanders told anchor Alex Witt.\nSecond, at a time when the U.S. faces major domestic crises in terms of high unemployment, low wages, massive income and wealth inequality and the planetary threat of global warming, he feared very much that U.S. involvement in Syria would make it even harder for the U.S. government to address the enormous problems facing the American middle class. \u201cThe American people are profoundly disgusted with the fact that the United States Congress continues to ignore the enormously serious problems facing the middle class of this country,\u201d Sanders said.\nThird, the senator worried that the \u201csurgical strike\u201d against Syria advocated by President Barack Obama could turn into a much deeper engagement and a push for \u201cregime change.\u201d He noted that a resolution passed last week by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee contained language that could become a basis for broader U.S. involvement. If that occurred, the U.S. involvement could take years, cost billions of dollars and possibly involve U.S. troops.\u00a0\nTo watch the interview, click here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=C1A96894-6D85-4145-91BA-D29037D889C1", ": News September 7", "2013-09-07", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News September 7\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tSaturday, September 7, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders\r\nAmericans Oppose Syria Attack\u00a0Americans have deluged their congressmen with phone calls, emails and online-survey responses to make their opposition known to the possibility of the U.S. striking Syria. \"We're just detecting very little support for this proposal,\" Sen. Bernie Sanders told\u00a0The Wall Street Journal. The senator's office had received 1,856 calls, faxes and emails for the week from constituents as of early Friday afternoon and 1,740 were opposed and 116 in favor. Of 488 phone calls to Sanders, there were only10 in support, The Washington Post\u2019s Ed O\u2019Keefe said on \u201cWashington Week\u201d onPBS. Chris Matthews on\u00a0MSNBC\u00a0said Sanders is hearing almost unanimously from people saying do not get involved.\u00a0LINK,\u00a0VIDEO,\u00a0VIDEO\u00a0\u00a0\r\nPublic Says No to War\u00a0The White House's chances of winning congressional support for military action in Syria look increasingly worse as members of Congress hear from constituents overwhelmingly opposed to military intervention, according to a\u00a0Washington Post\u00a0report that said Sen. Sanders told a local television station his phones were \"bopping off the hook\" with calls from those opposed to military strikes. Thousands headed to Sen. Sanders' website and opposed military action in Syria by a margin of 10 to 1,\u00a0Vermont Public Television\u00a0andThe Thom Hartmann Program\u00a0reported.\u00a0\u201cBernie Sanders said most of the calls coming into his office were against this effort. I can tell you, 99 percent of the calls coming into my office are against it,\u201d Rep. Elijah Cummings said on\u00a0MSNBC.LINK,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0AUDIO,\u00a0VIDEO\r\n\u2018War is the Enemy of the Poor\u2019\u00a0The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was right, Sen. Sanders told Tavis Smiley in a public radio interview. \u201cIf we get involved in a prolonged effort in Syria, who do you think is going to be paying for that?\u00a0 \u2026 It will undoubtedly mean more cuts for programs that low-income and working families need. It will mean more kids being thrown off Head Start to pay for the war, more elderly people being thrown off the Meals on Wheels program, more kids not being able to go to college in order to pay for the war. That is the economic reality,\u201d Sanders said.\u00a0\u00a0AUDIO\r\nVermont Protesters\u00a0Demonstrators stopped by the offices of Vermont's congressional delegation this week to express opposition to military action in Syria,\u00a0Valley News\u00a0andVtDigger.com\u00a0reported. Sen. Sanders met with constituents to spell out his \"grave doubts\" about intervening in \"another war that can go on for a long, long time.\"\u00a0Seven Dayscolumnist Paul Heintz said popular opinion in war-weary Vermont is trending against intervention in Syria, but predicted \"yes\" votes for military strikes from Sen. Patrick Leahy and Rep. Peter Welch and a \"no\" vote from Sanders. \u201dLeahy tends to support Obama on basically anything he asks for,\u201d Jack Thurston said on\u00a0Vermont Public Television.\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0VIDEO\r\nHerbert and Ueda\u00a0Takako Ueda was married in Vermont in 2011, but faced deportation to Japan because the federal government did not treat her and her American wife, Frances Herbert, the same as straight bi-national couples. After the Supreme Court in June struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, Ueda received a green card allowing her to live in the United States with her wife. \"This is an important step for Frances and Takako and for all Americans,\" said Sen. Sanders.\u00a0LINK\r\nWorld\r\nDefending His Case\u00a0In a lengthy news conference from the G-20 summit in Russia, President Barack Obama defended his case for military strikes in Syria,\u00a0The Washington Post\u00a0reported. Obama said his primary goal was to \"maintain the international norm on banning chemical weapons.\"\u00a0LINK\r\nU.S. Embassies\u00a0Tighten Security\u00a0United States Embassies are tightening security in the midst of potential terrorist threats,\u00a0Reuters\u00a0reported. The State Department has ordered its personnel to leave Lebanon in an \"abundance of caution.\"\u00a0LINK\r\nIran Plots Revenge\u00a0Intelligence officials have intercepted an order from Iran to militants in Iraq which instructed terrorist attacks on the United States Embassy in Baghdad should the U.S. strike Syria,\u00a0The Wall Street Journal\u00a0reported. Military officials have been trying to predict the range of possible responses from Syria, Iran and their allies. U.S. officials said they are on alert for Iran's fleet of small, fast boats in the Persian Gulf, where American warships are positioned. U.S. officials also fear Hezbollah could attack the U.S. Embassy in Beirut.\u00a0LINK\r\nU.S., China Strike Climate Agreement\u00a0The United States and China announced Friday they would seek to eliminate some of the world\u2019s most potent greenhouse gases through the 1987 Montreal Protocol, the landmark treaty that successfully phased out ozone-depleting substances decades ago,\u00a0The Washington Post\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nNational\r\n13.7% Unemployment\u00a0Employers added a steady, if unspectacular, 169,000 jobs in August when the unemployment rate fell to 7.3 percent, the Labor Department reported on Friday. Counting those forced into part-time jobs and those who gave up looking for work, the real unemployment figure for August was 13.7 percent.\u00a0LINK\r\nDebt Ceiling\u00a0House Republicans will raise the nation's debt limit before a mid-October deadline but demand major fiscal reforms in exchange, Majority Leader Eric Cantor said Friday. Cantor did not detail any specific House GOP demands, but Republican leaders are discussing a number of policy objectives that could be tied to a borrowing hike,\u00a0The Hill\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nStopgap Spending Bill\u00a0GOP aides say that a stopgap spending bill to avoid a government shutdown on October 1 will be voted on in the House of Representatives next week,\u00a0The Hillreported.\u00a0LINK\r\n60 Votes for Syria\u00a0Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid predicted Friday that his chamber would vote in favor of military action in Syria,\u00a0Politico\u00a0reported. \u201cI think we are going to have 60 votes,\u201d Reid told reporters. \u201cIt\u2019s a work in progress.\u201d\u00a0LINK\r\nVermont\r\nIBM Pulls Discriminatory Ad\u00a0About six weeks after eliminating 419 jobs at its Essex Junction site, IBM wants to hire young engineers and said in an advertisement that applicants must have graduated in 2010 or later, according to the\u00a0Burlington Free Press. Attorney General Bill Sorrell called that age discrimination. IBM changed the ad copy.\u00a0LINK\r\nIBM Shifting Retirees of Company Health Plan\u00a0International Business Machines Corp. plans to move about 110,000 retirees off its company-sponsored health plan and instead give them a payment to buy coverage on a health-insurance exchange. The move, which will affect all IBM retirees once they become eligible for Medicare, will relieve the technology company of the responsibility of managing retirement health-care benefits,\u00a0The Wall Street Journal\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nLeahy Patronage\u00a0An aide to Sen. Sen. Patrick Leahy is getting a new job as the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s state director for rural development in Vermont and New Hampshire. The appointment of Ted Brady was announced Friday,\u00a0AP\u00a0reported.\r\nIndependent Candidates\u00a0Vermont's secretary of state has lost an appeal over the nominating petition process for independent candidates for president,\u00a0The Associated Pressreported. The state's Supreme Court agreed with a trial court ruling that town clerks must be able to certify signatures on a petition from faxes or photocopies in order to uphold the rights of candidates and their supporters.\u00a0LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=8AE8748B-2F8F-42FC-8EBD-AA438EDF9A3A", ": News September 6", "2013-09-06", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News September 6\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tFriday, September 6, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders\r\nSanders Fears Broader U.S. War in Syria\u00a0Sen. Bernie Sanders voiced concern on Thursday that some on Congress want to use President Barack Obama\u2019s call for \u201csurgical strikes\u201d to punish Syria for using chemical weapons as a pretext for a broader war aimed at regime change, according to\u00a0WCAX-TV\u00a0and\u00a0The Thom Hartmann Program.\u00a0A divided Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed a resolution with language authorizing a broader war, Sanders said on\u00a0Al Jazeera America. \u201cIf the effort does not go well, sometime in the future it could \u2026 mean American troops on the ground,\u201d Sanders said Thursday on\u00a0MSNBC.\u00a0AUDIO,\u00a0VIDEO,\u00a0VIDEO\r\nWar Protesters in Vermont\u00a0About 45 demonstrators on Thursday marched to the offices of Sens. Sanders and Patrick Leahy and Rep. Peter Welch,\u00a0WCAX-TV,\u00a0NECN-TV,\u00a0The Associated Press\u00a0and the\u00a0Burlington Free Press\u00a0reported.\u00a0Vermont Public Radio,\u00a0Fox 44\u00a0and\u00a0ABC 22\u00a0said Sanders met with protesters.\u00a0\u201cWe have a dysfunctional Congress today that is basically unable to address issues. What do you think will happen if we get involved in another war?\u201d Sanders is leaning against voting for military action, according to\u00a0Seven Days.\u00a0VIDEO,\u00a0VIDEO,\u00a0VIDEO,\u00a0VIDEO,\u00a0VIDEO,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK,,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK\r\nIndependents Oppose War\u00a0Independent voters are the most determined foes of President Obama\u2019s proposal to launch missile strikes in response to reports that the Syrian government employed chemical weapons in that country\u2019s brutal civil war. So what does the Senate\u2019s independent member say? Sanders shares the skepticism and he\u2019s asking questions that are more likely to be heard on Main Street than in Washington, John Nichols blogged for\u00a0The Nation.\u00a0LINK\r\nRail Upgrades\u00a0Vermont will receive an $8.9 million federal grant to upgrade railroad service on the western side of the state. \"The fact of the matter is that improving our rail system moves us in a very substantial way forward in getting trucks off the road, cutting back on congestion and cutting back on greenhouse gas emissions,\u201d Sen. Sanders said at a news conference at Burlington\u2019s Union Station,\u00a0WCAX-TV\u00a0reported.\u00a0VIDEO\r\nCarbon Tax\u00a0David Chavern, Chief Operating Officer of the Chamber of Commerce, told\u00a0Think Progress\u00a0that a carbon tax \"would be interesting to think about.\" Chavern said a carbon tax is \"more efficient\" than a cap-and-trade approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In the Senate, Sens. Sanders and Barbara Boxer have proposed a carbon tax to combat global warming.\u00a0LINK\r\nF-35s\u00a0Sen. Leahy is concerned that the Air Force might base some F-35 fighter jets with an active military base and put off deciding whether to also base the next generation of fighter jets at a National Guard facility, such as Vermont\u2019s. Leahy talked with a top Air Force official this week about the military\u2019s timing. In addition to Leahy, the basing plan for Vermont has the backing of Sen. Sanders and Rep. Welch, the\u00a0Burlington Free Press\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nNew Yorker Festival\u00a0The New Yorker announced on Thursday that Sen. Sanders will be interviewed on Oct. 5 by Herrick Herzberg during part of the magazine\u2019s annual festival that also will feature authors, actors, journalists and others.\u00a0\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK\r\nWorld\r\nSyrian Rebels\u00a0Graphic videos obtained by\u00a0The New York Times\u00a0apparently show the execution of captured Syrian government soldiers by Syrian rebels, but Secretary of State John Kerry told Congress on Thursday that extremist groups comprise between 15 and 25 percent of the rebels fighting against President Bashar al-Assad in Syria,\u00a0USA Today\u00a0reported.VIDEO,\u00a0VIDEO,\u00a0LINK\r\nG-20\u00a0World leaders meeting at the G-20 summit in Russia focused on Syria,\u00a0USA Todayreported. Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters that Secretary of State John Kerry has lied openly about whether terrorist groups have infiltrated rebel forces in Syria,\u00a0Fox Newsreported. Kerry told lawmakers this week that \"the opposition has increasingly become more defined by its moderation,\" in a statement which Putin challenged.\u00a0\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK\r\nIran Plots Revenge, U.S. Claims\u00a0The U.S. has intercepted an order from Iran to Shiite militants in Iraq to attack the U.S. Embassy and other American interests in Baghdad in the event of a strike on Syria, U.S. officials told\u00a0The Wall Street Journal.\u00a0LINK\r\nPope Against Syria Strikes\u00a0Pope Francis urged leaders Thursday to abandon what he called a \"futile pursuit\" of a military solution in Syria,\u00a0The Huffington Post\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nEgypt Minister Survives Assassination Attempt\u00a0Egyptian Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim survived an assassination attempt on Thursday when a car bomb blew up his convoy,Reuters\u00a0reported. The action is the latest act of violence in the divided nation, one which Egypt's government has labeled \"terrorism.\" The Muslim Brotherhood condemned the attack.\u00a0LINK\r\nNational\r\nSenate on Syria\u00a0A draft resolution would give the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad 45 days to sign an international chemical weapons ban or face the threat of \u201call elements\u201d of U.S. military power. Sens. Joe Manchin III and Heidi Heitkamp are working on the alternative proposal that would delay the immediate use of military force and would compel the Obama administration to build more international and American political support for striking the Assad government, according to\u00a0The Washington Post.\u00a0LINK\r\nObama Cancels California Trip\u00a0President Obama has canceled a scheduled trip to California next week in order to lobby members of Congress on a resolution authorizing military action in Syria,\u00a0USA Today\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nSummers Foes\u00a0At least three Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee \u2013 Jeff Merkley, Sherrod Brown and Elizabeth Warren \u2013 are expected to oppose Lawrence Summers if he is nominated to become Federal Reserve chairman,\u00a0The Wall Street Journal\u00a0reported. Democrats hold a two-vote majority on the 22-member panel, so the loss of three Democrats would make it impossible for Summers to advance to the full Senate for a confirmation vote without the backing of some of the 10 Republicans.\u00a0LINK\r\nNSA Foils Internet Encryption\u00a0The National Security Agency is using supercomputers, technical trickery, court orders and behind-the-scenes persuasion to undermine the major tools protecting the privacy of everyday communications in the Internet age, according to newly disclosed documents cited by\u00a0The New York Times.\u00a0LINK\r\nWal-Mart Workers Protest\u00a0Wal-Mart workers and supporters launched protests in 15 cities across the United States on Thursday to raise wages and improve working conditions,\u00a0The Guardian\u00a0reported. Thursday's demonstrations follow strikes by fast-food workers last week demanding a higher minimum wage.\u00a0LINK\r\nAugust Unemployment\u00a0In advance of the monthly Labor Department report later this morning on August unemployment, analysts predict a solid gain of 177,000 jobs and expected the official unemployment rate to remain at 7.4 percent, according to\u00a0The Washington Post.\u00a0LINK\r\nVermont\r\nShumlin Eyes Payroll Tax for Health Care\u00a0Gov. Peter Shumlin said increases in the payroll tax will \u201cplay a major role\u201d in the public financing system he wants to use to fund single-payer health care. The public discussion over single-payer has taken a back seat of late to the health insurance \u201cexchange\u201d set to come online in the beginning of October. The new online marketplace, a product of the federal Affordable Care Act, will offer consumers a platform from which to comparison shop from a more strictly regulated slate of coverage options,\u00a0The Vermont Press Bureau\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nGeneral Dynamics Layoffs\u00a0General Dynamics has eliminated 35 jobs in Williston, according to the\u00a0Burlington Free Press. General Dynamics\u2019 Vermont operation is part of its combat systems division, which manufactures guns and ammunition for all fighter aircraft in the United States, as well as tanks and other combat vehicles. The Vermont operation still employs 275 people, according to a company spokesman.LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=16A8ED65-64A0-4DF1-9C2C-81E2D2483635", "The Guardian: Walmart workers protest over minimum wage in 15 US cities", "2013-09-05", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Walmart workers protest over minimum wage in 15 US cities\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t By:\u00a0 Karen McVeigh \n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tThursday, September 5, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tWalmart\u00a0workers and their supporters are planning to launch protests in stores in 15 cities across the US on Thursday, as part of a small but vociferous movement to raise wages and improve conditions for some of the nation's lowest paid workers.\r\nThe action follows strikes last week by fast food workers demanding a higher minimum wage and a civil disobedience action in\u00a0Washington DCin August, where a coalition of Walmart workers and unions called for a minimum annual wage of $25,000 and the reinstatement of 20 employees they claim were illegally fired by the company after strikes in early June.\r\nOurWalmart, a union-backed members group, says it has filed more than 100 unfair labour practice charges against Walmart with the National Labor Relations Board, including 20 illegal terminations and 80 disciplinary actions. The board said it was looking into \"several cases\".\r\nWalmart have denied any wrongdoing.\r\nThursday's actions will include a march in Los Angeles and a rally outside the Four Seasons hotel in San Francisco, where\u00a0Marissa Mayer, Yahoo CEO and Walmart board member has a penthouse apartment. InNew York, a petition will be delivered to the headquarters of Williams Capital Group, whose chairman, Christopher Williams, is a Walmart board member. Other actions are expected in Washington DC, where a bill was recently passed by the city council to pay workers for large retailers $12.50 an hour. Workers will also\u00a0protest\u00a0in Chicago, Boston, Sacramento, Miami and Dallas, according to organisers.\r\nContinue reading here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=94325FE1-066F-4058-9198-CE1FA8836B2F", "Not Another Quagmire", "2013-09-05", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Not Another Quagmire\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tThursday, September 5, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday \u00a0questioned \u00a0provisions in the latest version of a Senate resolution authorizing military action against Syria that could lay the foundation for broad-scale U.S. military involvement in overthrowing the regime of Bashar Assad. \u201cI don\u2019t sense that the American people have much appetite to get involved in what could be a real quagmire,\u201d the senator told Thom Hartmann. Sanders spoke of the horrors of chemical warfare and \u00a0the ruthless nature of the Assad regime, but questioned language added to a Senate resolution to give President Obama authority to \u201cchange the momentum on the battlefield in Syria.\u201d Sanders said that push by Sen. John McCain and others for regime change is one of his \"serious reservations\" about authorizing military action against Syria. \u201cIf that policy prevails, there is no question that it could cost tens of billions of dollars and the possible future involvement of American troops,\u201d Sanders said.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=BB77912D-A26B-4764-8805-DB886E39C355", ": News September 5", "2013-09-05", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News September 5\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tThursday, September 5, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders\r\nSenate Weighs Military Strikes Against Syria\u00a0Sen. Bernie Sanders said Wednesday on\u00a0MSNBC\u00a0that he is \u201ckeeping an open mind\u201d but has \u201cvery deep concerns\u201d about President Obama's proposal to punish Syria with military strikes for using chemical weapons on its own citizens. \u201cWe\u2019ve cut back on education, we\u2019ve cut back on nutrition programs, we\u2019ve thrown kids off Head Start. We have billions to spend on a war but no money to take care of the very pressing needs of the American people. That bothers me a lot,\u201d Sanders told Ed Schultz.\u00a0VIDEO,\u00a0AUDIO\r\nLeaning 'No'\u00a0\u00a0Vermont's delegation remained undecided, but Sanders is concerned that even limited military action might lead to a larger U.S. involvement in Syria's bloody civil war,Vermont Public Radio\u00a0reported. \u201cI worry very much that with this rush into war, the very serious problems facing Vermonters and people all over this country \u2026 will be pushed aside,\u201d Sanders told\u00a0The Vermont Press Bureau. \u201cSo there will be less discussion about creating jobs, less discussion about making college affordable, less discussion about protecting \u2026 Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.\u201d In\u00a0Seven Days\u00a0and\u00a0Politico, Sanders also was said to be leaning against intervention.\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK\r\nInternational Loner\u00a0Sen. Sanders said on\u00a0WPTZ-TV\u00a0that he's concerned that the United States would be going into a war almost unilaterally without the support of the United Nations or NATO. \u201cIf we are concerned about international stability... this sets a very dangerous precedent that other countries could use in the future.\u201d\u00a0ABC 22\u00a0said Sanders tweeted his views on the Syrian conflict. \u201cWe have billions to spend on a war but no money to take care of the very pressing needs of the American people.\u201d On\u00a0WCAX-TV, political scientist Eric Davis said Sen. Patrick Leahy is the most likely to vote for letting Obama attack Syria while Sanders has expressed the greatest reservations.\u00a0VIDEO,\u00a0VIDEO,\u00a0VIDEO\r\nSenate Panel Votes for War\u00a0A sharply divided Senate committee voted 10 to 7 on Wednesday to give President Obama authority to use force against Syria. To secure the support of Sen. John McCain, who is viewed as crucial to the authorization\u2019s final passage, the committee toughened some of the language to declare it U.S. policy to \u201cchange the momentum on the battlefield in Syria.\u201d In a statement released after the committee vote, Sen. Sanders listed that appetite for regime change as one of his \"serious reservations\" about action in Syria. \u201cIf that policy prevails, there is no question that it could cost tens of billions of dollars and the possible future involvement of American troops,\u201d Sanders said in\u00a0Talking Points Memo.\u00a0LINK\u00a0\u00a0\r\nEditorial Backs Rebels\u00a0Vermont\u2019s congressional delegation \u201cmay well be standing against the opinion of a majority of Vermonters if they support Obama\u2019s resolution. But not doing so may be to initiate a policy of fatal passivity,\u201d according to a\u00a0Rutland Herald\u00a0editorial that came down on the side of a strategy \u201cdesigned to dovetail with the needs of the secular, anti-radical rebels who are locked in competition with al-Qaida-allied Islamists.\u201d\u00a0LINK\r\nCaregivers for Veterans\u00a0The Department of Veterans Affairs said Wednesday it supports expanding a caregivers benefit for seriously wounded veterans if Congress come up with the billions needed to pay for the expansion,\u00a0The Associated Press\u00a0reported. Sen. Sanders sponsored a bill to enroll an additional 70,000 caregivers in the program by 2016. Under the legislation, any veteran with a \"serious-service connected disability\" would qualify for caregiver assistance.\u00a0LINK\r\nWorld\r\nU.S. Dismisses U.N. Inspections in Syria\u00a0The Obama administration has asserted that the findings by United Nations experts of alleged chemical attacks no longer matter, citing its own evidence that the Syrian government was behind the attack last month in the Damascus suburbs. Few lawmakers have pressed the administration to wait for the inspectors to release their results. Weapons experts say the on-the-ground analysis could confirm key forensic details about the attack, possibly bolster the case against the Syrian government and help rally international support for action, according to\u00a0The Washington Post.\u00a0LINK\r\nObama Asserts Right to Strike Without Congress\u00a0President Barack Obama told reporters in Sweden he retains the right to order military strikes against Syria even if Congress does not authorize them,\u00a0The Wall Street Journal\u00a0reported. \"I don't believe that I was required to take this to Congress. But I did not take this to Congress because I think it's an empty exercise,\" he said.\u00a0LINK\r\nSpies Missed Chemical Strike\u00a0United States intelligence officials failed to detect the Syrian regime's plans for a massive chemical weapons attack in the days ahead of the strike,\u00a0The Associated Press\u00a0reported. Although intelligence agencies had damning intercepts on-file, those communications had not been \"processed\" ahead of the attacks, which killed a reported 1,429 Syrians.\u00a0LINK\r\nAssad Ally Defects\u00a0General Ali Habib, a former Syrian defense minister, defected from Syria on Wednesday with western help,\u00a0Reuters\u00a0reported. Habib had been under house arrest since he resigned in protest in 2011, and he is the most senior member of Assad's regime to defect.\u00a0LINK\r\nHalting Aid to Egypt Could Cost U.S.\u00a0Halting military aid to Egypt could cost the United States billions of dollars in fees with defense contractors, according to a\u00a0Reuters\u00a0report.\u00a0LINK\r\nDoubts on Japan's Fukushima Cleanup\u00a0Accidents, miscalculations and delays have plagued the Japanese government's plans to clean up the site of a destructive nuclear plant disaster in Fukushima,\u00a0The New York Times\u00a0reported. Authorities have vowed to one day allow evacuated residents to return to the area, but remaining contamination has led many experts to doubt these efforts.\u00a0LINK\r\nNational\r\nSenate to Return Briefly on Friday\u00a0In an effort to move the resolution authorizing the use of force against Syria to the floor as quickly as possible, the Senate is expected to return for a brief session on Friday. The short session would allow the filing of the use of force resolution, a senior Senate Democratic aide said. The move would allow the measure to be on the calendar by the time the Senate really returns on Sept. 9. Majority Leader Harry Reid could then move to proceed and file a motion to limit debate, setting up a first test vote on Sept. 11,\u00a0Roll Call\u00a0reported online.\u00a0LINK\r\nSyria Debate Is Crowding Other Issues on Calendar\u00a0The intensifying debate over military action in Syria is threatening to consume the limited amount of time that Congress had allocated this month for dealing with a budget clash and the rest of President Obama\u2019s domestic agenda. Lawmakers are scheduled to return to reconvene Congress on Monday after their annual summer break. With a budget and debt limit clash looming in October, the legislative window had already narrowed for any action on immigration, energy efficiency, a new Federal Reserve chairman and an examination of surveillance laws. Now, with Obama\u2019s surprise request Congressional authorization for a Syria strike, the political casualties are mounting quickly,\u00a0The New York Times\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nObama Faces Resistance from Progressives\u00a0A bloc of several dozen liberals who are among President Barack Obama's closest allies in Congress is now becoming an obstacle to congressional approval of his plan for airstrikes in Syria. On Wednesday the White House chief of staff, Denis R. McDonough, convened a conference call for members of the House Progressive Caucus. \u201cI think a lot of us believe there\u2019s a legitimate use of military action where a state has used chemical weapons,\u201d Rep. Peter Welch told\u00a0The New York Times. \u201cOn the other hand, there is a very compelling question about what the effect of that will be. Will it make the situation better or worse?\u201d \u00a0Welch said the question became even more complicated for Democrats because war \u201cruns against the grain\u201d of where they have stood for the last decade.\u00a0LINK\r\nClinton: Improve, Don't Repeal Obamacare\u00a0Former President Bill Clinton on Wednesday urged opponents of the Affordable Care Act to stop fighting for its repeal,\u00a0Politico\u00a0reported. Clinton said he thinks Congress should work to improve the law instead.\u00a0LINK\r\nVA Benefits Extended to Gay Couples\u00a0Attorney General Eric Holder announced Wednesday that the Obama administration would provide veterans' benefits to married same-sex couples in light of the Supreme Court's recent ruling on the issue,\u00a0The Wall Street Journal\u00a0reported. Federal law on veterans' benefits defines marriage as between people of opposite sex, but Holder called the continued enforcement of the law \"no longer appropriate.\"\u00a0LINK\r\nThe Fed\u00a0President Obama still has his former economic adviser Larry Summers in mind for the Fed chair position, according to a\u00a0New York Times\u00a0report. Obama's one remaining concern about nominating Summers for the job is the potential for a heated Senate battle. Liberal democrats view Summers as instrumental in the effort to deregulate big banks during the Clinton administration.\u00a0LINK\r\nVermont\r\nJobs\u00a0A pharmaceutical company has expanded its plant in St. Albans, Vt. Mylan Technologies held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday for an 85,000 square-foot addition that will add 160 new jobs to the 591 people the maker of transdermal patches already employs in Franklin County,\u00a0The Associated Press\u00a0reported.\u00a0\u00a0\r\nHealth Exchange\u00a0Vermont's online health insurance marketplace, Vermont Health Connect, is on track for its upcoming launch, according to the\u00a0Burlington Free Press. Vermonters will have to start using the exchange to purchase healthcare starting October 1.\u00a0LINK\r\nF-35s\u00a0Opponents of the basing of F-35 jets at Burlington's airport claim the city has the authority to stop the Air Force from bringing the planes, the\u00a0Free Press\u00a0reported. \u201cBurlington owns the airport,\u201d F-35 opponent Chris Hurd said during a Tuesday news conference in downtown Burlington. \u201cBurlington is the landlord. Burlington can tell its tenant not to base the F-35 at the airport.\u201d\u00a0LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=540648BC-2A1B-4B2A-8970-6F877293ABF0", "As Debate Reopens, Food Stamp Recipients Continue to Squeeze", "2013-09-04", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "As Debate Reopens, Food Stamp Recipients Continue to Squeeze\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t By:\u00a0 Sheryl Gay Stolberg  \n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tWednesday, September 4, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tDYERSBURG, Tenn. \u2014 As a self-described \u201ctrue Southern man\u201d \u2014 and reluctant recipient of food stamps \u2014 Dustin Rigsby, a struggling mechanic, hunts deer, dove and squirrel to help feed his family. He shops for grocery bargains, cooks budget-stretching stews and limits himself to one meal a day.\r\nTarnisha Adams, who left her job skinning hogs at a slaughterhouse when she became ill with cancer, gets $352 a month in food stamps for herself and three college-age boys. She buys discount meat and canned vegetables, cheaper than fresh. Like Mr. Rigsby, she eats once a day \u2014 \u201cif I eat,\u201d she said.\r\nWhen Congress officially returns to Washington next week, the diets of families like the Rigsbys and Adamses will be caught up in a debate over deficit reduction. Republicans, alarmed by a rise in food-stamp enrollment during the economic downturn, are pushing to scale down the program. No matter what Congress decides, benefits will be cut in November, when a provision in the 2009 stimulus bill expires.\r\nYet as lawmakers cast the fight in terms of spending, nonpartisan budget analysts and hunger relief advocates warn of a spike in \u201cfood insecurity\u201d among Americans who, as Mr. Rigsby said recently, \u201clook like we are fine,\u201d but live on the edge of poverty, skipping meals and rationing food.\r\nSurrounded by corn and soybean farms \u2014 including one owned by the local Republican congressman, Representative Stephen Fincher \u2014 Dyersburg, about 75 miles north of Memphis, provides an eye-opening view into Washington\u2019s food stamp debate. Mr. Fincher, who was elected in 2010 on a Tea Party wave and collected nearly $3.5 million in farm subsidies from the government from 1999 to 2012, recently voted for a farm bill that eliminated food stamps.\r\n\u201cThe role of citizens, of Christianity, of humanity, is to take care of each other, not for Washington to steal from those in the country and give to others in the country,\u201d Mr. Fincher, who declined to be interviewed for this article, said after his vote in May. In response to a Democrat who invoked the Bible during the food stamp debate in Congress, Mr. Fincher responded with\u00a0his own biblical phrase. \u201cThe one who is unwilling to work shall not eat,\u201d he said.\r\nOn Wednesday, the Department of Agriculture released a\u00a02012 survey\u00a0showing that nearly 49 million Americans were living in \u201cfood insecure\u201d households \u2014 meaning, in the bureaucratic language of the agency, that some family members lacked \u201cconsistent access throughout the year to adequate food.\u201d In short, many Americans went hungry. The agency found the figures essentially unchanged since the economic downturn began in 2008, but substantially higher than during the previous decade.\r\nContinue reading here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=A4D2F0CC-DD85-4DF7-A49A-418D1FB9A5DA", ": News September 4", "2013-09-04", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News September 4\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tWednesday, September 4, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders\r\nSyria\u00a0The Senate Foreign Relations Committee could vote today on authorizing the use of force in Syria after the panel's top members drafted a resolution late Tuesday that permits President Obama to order a \"limited and tailored\" military mission against Syria. Republican and Democratic leaders in the House on Tuesday backed an attack on Syria. The Senate was \u201call over the map\u201d according to\u00a0Politico, which said Sen. Bernie Sanders was seen as a potential \u2018no\u2019 vote. Sanders said on\u00a0WAMC-FM\u00a0that he wants to know why \u201cit is in the best interests of the United States to intervene in Syria's bloody and complicated civil war.\u201d Radio host\u00a0Thom Hartmann\u00a0said Sanders may block military intervention.\u00a0Time\u00a0called Sanders \u201cpart of the antiwar left.\u201d In a\u00a0Rutland Herald\u00a0letter to the editor, Judy and\u00a0Michael Olinick pleaded for the Vermont congressional delegation to \u201cplease do all you can to dissuade Obama and John Kerry from this criminal folly.\u201d\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK,LINK,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0VIDEO\r\n\u2018Something Rare in America\u2019\u00a0Sen. Sanders, who will headline this weekend\u2019s Fighting Bob Fest in Madison, Wis., is proud to talk about his proposals \u201cto reform the tax code in a way that protects the middle class, working families, and the most vulnerable while making sure that the wealthiest Americans and most profitable corporations pay their fair share.\u201d Other senators may want to operate in secret, but Sanders is proud to discuss his plans. That\u2019s what makes Sanders something rare in America: a senator who has good ideas \u2014 and the courage to advance them, publicly and without apology,\u201d John Nichols wrote in\u00a0The Capital Times.LINK\r\nCongress on Twitter\u00a0According to\u00a0New York Magazine, 97 percent of members of Congress now have an official presence on Twitter. A chart showed that Sen. Sanders leads members of the Senate Democratic caucus with more than 170,000 followers.\u00a0LINK\r\nWorld\r\nSyrian Refugees\u00a0Ongoing civil war fighting in Syria has forced more than 2 million people out of the country and more than 4 million others are displaced within its borders, according to a United Nations report cited by\u00a0CBS News.\u00a0LINK\r\nU.S. May Step up Rebel Support\u00a0The Obama administration is considering putting the Pentagon in charge of arming and training moderate rebel forces in Syria, a move that could help expand the effort significantly beyond the limited scope of the current Central Intelligence Agency program, U.S. officials told\u00a0The Wall Street Journal.\u00a0LINK\r\nObama Opens Foreign Trip\u00a0President Obama is seeking to use a 24-hour visit to this Swedish capital to show a softer side of American diplomacy even as the world's gaze remains fixed anxiously on Syria. He intends to focus in the Nordic nation on climate change, trade and technology, a trio of issues on which there is broad consensus with European allies. The president arrived Wednesday morning in Stockholm after an overnight flight from Washington.LINK\r\nNational\r\nSenate Syria Resolution Would Limit Obama to 90 Days\u00a0Members of the Senate Foreign Relations committee hammered out a deal on Tuesday evening that would set a 60-day deadline for military action in Syria, with one 30-day extension possible, according to a draft of the resolution. The proposal, drafted by Sens. Robert Menendez and Bob Corker, also would bar the involvement of U.S. ground forces in Syria, according to\u00a0USA Today.\u00a0LINK\r\nKerry, Hagel Lay Out Objectives in Senate Hearing\u00a0Appearing before a Senate panel on Tuesday, Secretary of State John F. Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel struggled at times to frame a proposed military strike on Syria as tough enough to be worthwhile but limited enough to guarantee that the United States would not get dragged into another open-ended military commitment in the Middle East,\u00a0The Washington Post\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nHouse Leaders Endorse Strikes\u00a0Top Republicans have endorsed President Barack Obama's plan for limited United States strikes on Syria in the wake of chemical attacks on Syrian citizens,\u00a0Reuters\u00a0reported. House Speaker John Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Canter voiced their support.\u00a0LINK\r\nEnergy Debate Postponed\u00a0Debate on an energy-efficiency bill in the Senate has been delayed by the situation over Syria,\u00a0The Hill\u00a0reportrf. The energy bill is next up on the Senate's agenda after Syria, according to a pair of Democratic Senate aides.\u00a0LINK\r\nSouthern Democrats\u00a0As Democrats try to curtail GOP dominance in the South, the party\u2019s top recruits for 2014 elections are trying to sell themselves as problem sol\u00advers above Washington\u2019s partisan grid\u00adlock. They\u2019re casting the Republicans\u2019 anti\u00adgovernment mantra and emphasis on so\u00adcial issues like abortion and gay marriage as ideological obstacles to progress on \u201cbread-and-butter\u201d issues like public edu\u00adcation, infrastructure and health care,\u00a0The Associated Press\u00a0reported.\r\nVermont\r\nSafer Schools\u00a0State officials announced Tuesday progress on a plan to require that emergency 911 calls from classroom phones provide detailed location information at emergency call centers, the\u00a0Burlington Free Press\u00a0reported. Police have been visiting schools and making test calls. The upgraded system will allow emergency responders to note accurate location information even if the caller cannot speak.\u00a0LINK\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\r\nF-35s\u00a0Three Burlington city councilors plan to introduce a four-page resolution opposing the basing of the Air Force's F-35 fighter jets the city, the\u00a0Free Press\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=E73B4199-CA42-4B16-975D-04F14489CAF0", "Sanders Statement on Syria", "2013-09-04", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Sanders Statement on Syria\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tWednesday, September 4, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tWASHINGTON, Sept. 4 \u2013\u00a0Sen. Bernie Sanders issued the following statement today on President Barack Obama\u2019s request for Congress to authorize military strikes against Syria:\r\n\u201cI intend to keep an open mind with regard to the president\u2019s proposal on Syria but at this point I have serious reservations.\u00a0 These reservations are shared by many Vermonters who are calling my office \u2013 the overwhelming majority in opposition to our involvement in the Syrian civil war.\u00a0 I think we all understand that Assad is a ruthless dictator and that his use of chemical weapons is abhorrent and a violation of international law. Many Vermonters, however, worry that our involvement in a third Middle East war in 12 years may make a very bad situation even worse.\u00a0\r\n\u201cHere are several concerns that I have.\r\n\u201cFirst, the truth is that a largely dysfunctional Congress has difficulty today focusing on the very serious issues facing our country: the disappearing middle class, high unemployment, low wages, the high cost of college, the decline of our manufacturing sector and the planetary crisis of global warming. I fear very much that U.S. involvement in another war in the Middle East, and the cost of that war, will make it even harder for Congress to protect working families.\r\n\u201cSecond, as someone who voted against the war in Iraq, I worry that while the president talks about \u2018surgical strikes\u2019 and a limited engagement by our military, there is no doubt that many members of Congress support \u2018regime change\u2019 in Syria and much deeper involvement. If that policy prevails, there is no question that it could cost tens of billions of dollars and the possible future involvement of American troops.\r\n\u201cThird, I am concerned that the United States would be going into a war almost unilaterally without the support of the United Nations or NATO. If we are concerned about international stability, this sets a very dangerous precedent that other countries could use in the future.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=EFA542DE-3059-4BD6-A05F-F74D0E1771A3", "Who Pays for Military Strikes Against Syria?", "2013-09-04", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Who Pays for Military Strikes Against Syria?\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tWednesday, September 4, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tWhile saying \u201cthere is no debate about the horrors of chemical warfare,\u201d \u00a0Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday said a drumbeat for military strikes against Syria \u201cspeaks to the degree to which Congress is way out of touch\u201d with the priorities of the American people. He cited jobs and global warming among priorities that are important to Americans but lost in the debate on Syria. He also asked how a U.S. military intervention would be paid for. \u201cWe\u2019ve cut back on education, we\u2019ve cut back on nutrition programs, we\u2019ve thrown kids off Head Start. We have billions to spend on a war but no money to take care of the very pressing needs of the American people. That bothers me a lot,\u201d Sanders said.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=9F515BC1-AAD9-444B-AD61-32C5DB5568E1", "Senate Debates Syria", "2013-09-03", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Senate Debates Syria\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tTuesday, September 3, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tThe Senate Foreign Relations Committee held the first public hearing Tuesday on President Obama\u2019s request for Congress to authorize a military strike against Syria in response to last month's chemical attack outside Damascus. \u201cThe use of chemical weapons by the Assad dictatorship is inhumane and a violation of international law,\u201d said Sen. Bernie Sanders. \u201cHowever, at this point in time, I need to hear more from the president as to why he believes it is in the best interests of the United States to intervene in Syria's bloody and complicated civil war. I look forward to the Senate debate that will be taking place in the very near future.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=CECCCC02-FDA2-433D-81F6-3003FAC186A8", "News September 3", "2013-09-03", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News September 3\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tTuesday, September 3, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders Syria\u00a0President Obama and his supporters on Capitol Hill will have to overcome broad skepticism about the merits of military strikes against Syria. It is possible they will lose some liberal senators, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats,\u00a0USA Today\u00a0reported online. Sanders said Saturday that that he wants to hear from Obama why it is in \u201cthe best interests of the United States to intervene in Syria's bloody and complicated civil war.\u201d\u00a0 Vermont's congressional delegation is taking a wait-and-see stance, according to online reports by\u00a0vtdigger.org\u00a0and\u00a0Seven Days.\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK\r\nWorld\r\nIsrael Tests Missile in Mediterranean\u00a0Tensions over Syria ratcheted up a notch on Tuesday after Russia's Defense Ministry said it detected traces of ballistic \"objects\" \u2014 now claimed by Israel \u2014 launched from an area in the central Mediterranean and moving in an easterly direction. After some initial confusion over who was responsible, the Israeli military said it was behind the launch, saying it was carrying out a joint missile test with the United States,\u00a0USA Today\u00a0reported from Jerusalem.\u00a0LINK\r\nU.S. Wary of Pakistan\u00a0Top-secret budget documents reveal an intense focus on Pakistan. A 178-page summary of the U.S. intelligence community\u2019s \u201cblack budget\u201d shows that the United States has ramped up its surveillance of Pakistan\u2019s nuclear arms, cites previously undisclosed concerns about biological and chemical sites there, and details efforts to assess the loyalties of counter\u00adterrorism sources recruited by the CIA,\u00a0The Washington Post\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nNational\r\nObama Presses Congress on Syria\u00a0The Obama administration launched a campaign to persuade Congress to authorize military action against Syria. Officials said they are willing to rewrite the proposed resolution to clarify that any operation would be limited and not include ground troops.\u00a0Secretary of State John Kerry told House Democrats that the United States faced a \u201cMunich moment,\u201d a reference to the 1938 agreement between Adolf Hitler and British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain.\u00a0After meeting with the president Monday at the White House, Sen. John McCain warned of \u201ccatastrophic\u201d consequences if Congress rejects the resolution.\u00a0LINK\r\nSenate Foreign Relations Panel Meeting on Syria\u00a0Secretary of State Kerry, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin E. Dempsey are slated to appear Tuesday before Senate Foreign Relations as Congress begins reviewing the Obama administration\u2019s draft resolution to authorize the use of force in response to the chemical weapons attack on Aug. 21 by the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad,\u00a0Congressional Quarterly\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nSyria Vote Sets Up Republican Clash\u00a0The Congressional vote on whether to strike Syria will offer the best insight yet on which wing of the Republican Party \u2014 the traditional hawks, or a growing bloc of noninterventionists \u2014 has the advantage in the fierce internal debates over foreign policy that have been taking place all year,The New York Times\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nFood Labels\u00a0A senior scientist at the Consumers Union, the policy division of \"Consumer Reports,\" is scheduled to speak to a group of New Hampshire lawmakers about proposed legislation requiring the clear labeling of genetically modified foods,\u00a0The Associated Pressreported.\u00a0LINK\r\nVermont\r\nSchool Meals\u00a0Gov. Peter Shumlin and Education Secretary Armando Vilaseca plan to announce a new Vermont initiative to make free, school-based breakfasts and lunches available to more low-income students. The federal government provides funding for free or reduced-priced lunches depending on the income level of the student's family,\u00a0AP\u00a0reported.LINK\r\nHoward Dean\u00a0Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean made waves when he spoke at an AFL-CIO conference in Iowa last month.\u00a0 Gov. Dean also has another speech scheduled for Se ptember 23 at the Saint Anselm College New Hampshire Institute of Politics. Despite the speaking engagements in the first states to hold a caucus and primary, Dean told\u00a0Vermont Public Radio\u00a0another bid for the White House is unlikely.\u00a0LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=C2AC80C1-2443-4FC8-BA7D-0F1D83AD5484", ": News September 2", "2013-09-02", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News September 2\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tMonday, September 2, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders Sanders: Why Intervene in Syria\u2019s Civil War?\u00a0Sen. Bernie Sanders condemned the use of chemical weapons by the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. \u201cThe use of chemical weapons by the Assad dictatorship is inhumane and a violation of international law. However, at this point in time, I need to hear more from the president as to why he believes it is in the best interests of the United States to intervene in Syria\u2019s bloody and complicated civil war,\u201d Sanders said in Monday\u2019s\u00a0Bennington Banner,\u00a0Rutland Herald,\u00a0Times Argus\u00a0and\u00a0Keene Sentinel\u00a0and on\u00a0WCAX-TV\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0VIDEO\r\nSanders Opposed Iraq War Resolution\u00a0As Congress embarks on a debate over whether to launch a strike against Syria, it's worth looking at the most recent vote for the authorization of force against Iraq in 2002. When President George W. Bush asked Congress to go to war against Iraq in the fall of 2002, the resolution was introduced by leaders of both parties in each chamber: The measure passed the House 296 to 133 and the Senate 77 to 23. The one independent in the House at the time, Sanders, voted no, according to\u00a0The Washington Post\u00a0online.\u00a0LINK\r\nFighting Bob Fest\u00a0Sen. Sanders will keynote Fighting Bob Fest No. 12 on Saturday in Madison, Wis. This will be his fourth appearance and he has a huge following in Wisconsin. I can think of no one in public life who has contributed more to the fight for social and economic justice, Ed Garvey wrote in\u00a0The Capital Times.\u00a0LINK\r\nNational\r\nLawmakers Doubt Obama\u2019s Syria Plan Will Pass\u00a0Members of Congress from across the political spectrum reacted with deep skepticism Sunday to President Obama's bid for approval of strikes against Syria, with lawmakers raising doubts about whether a vote would succeed. Few of the approximately 100 members of Congress who returned to Washington for a classified intelligence briefing Sunday said they would support the administration's request to authorize the use of force, the\u00a0Los Angeles Times\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nLeahy Skeptical of War Resolution\u2019s Chances\u00a0From the Democratic dean of the Senate to tea party Republicans, lawmakers say that Obama\u2019s resolution will need to be rewritten and narrowed in its scope to gain support in a skeptical Congress. The request would not pass the Congress as written because it is too broad, Sen. Patrick J. Leahy told reporters after a meeting on the resolution seeking military force,\u00a0The Washington Post\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nCourt Rules VA Must Extend Benefits to Gay Married Couples\u00a0A federal judge in California found that federal veterans\u2019 benefits laws that limit those benefits to opposite-sex spouses are unconstitutional. Finding no rational basis for the definitions in Title 38 of the U.S. Code that limit provision of veterans\u2019 benefits to opposite-sex couples, Judge Consuelo B. Marshall found those statutes unconstitutional. The ruling echoed the Supreme Court\u2019s ruling earlier this summer striking down part of the Defense of Marriage Act,\u00a0BuzzFeed\u00a0reported.LINK\u00a0\r\nDrug Agents Use Vast Phone Trove, Eclipsing N.S.A.\u2019s\u00a0For at least six years, law enforcement officials working on a counter-narcotics program have had routine access, using subpoenas, to an enormous AT&T database that contains the records of decades of Americans\u2019 phone calls \u2014 parallel to but covering a far longer time than the National Security Agency\u2019s hotly disputed collection of phone call logs. The Hemisphere Project, a partnership between federal and local drug officials and AT&T that has not previously been reported, involves an extremely close association between the government and the telecommunications giant,\u00a0The New York Times\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nVermont\r\nAge Wave\u00a0Vermont is the second-oldest state in the nation, after Maine, according to the 2010 U.S. Census, and the population shift that some experts have called an \u201cage wave\u201d is bringing new jobs in health care, personal care, construction and more as retiring baby boomers seek to live independently. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says that personal care aides and home health aides are the fastest-growing occupations in the nation, theBurlington Free Press\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=190BE0CB-1E34-49FF-9FBF-21DD7A906043", "News September 1", "2013-09-01", "2013", "2013-09", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News September 1\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tSunday, September 1, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders Obama Asks Congress to Back Strike on Syria\u00a0In an about face, President Obama announced on Saturday at the White House that he would seek approval from Congress to attack Syria. That stopped the clock for at least a week on what had loomed as an imminent attack. Sen. Bernie Sanders called the apparent use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime \u201cinhumane and a violation of international law,\u201d but added, \u201cI need to hear more from the president as to why he believes it is in the best interests of the United States to intervene in Syria\u2019s bloody and complicated civil war,\u201d the\u00a0Burlington Free Press,\u00a0Valley News,\u00a0WCAX-TV\u00a0and\u00a0WPTZ-TV\u00a0reported. \u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0VIDEO,\u00a0VIDEO\r\nSenate\u00a0Harry Reid said Saturday he\u2019d try to bring the Senate back early for a vote, meaning it will say yes first and add to the drama in the House, according to\u00a0The Daily Beast. Obama might lose a very small number of Senate Democrats and maybe independent Sanders, but he should get several Senate Republicans who aren\u2019t up for reelection this year and in hiding from the tea party, the article asserted.\u00a0LINK\r\nWorld Mandela Discharged from Hospital\u00a0South Africa\u2019s president says Nelson Mandela has been discharged from the hospital in the capital, Pretoria. President Jacob Zuma said in a statement Sunday that former President Mandela remains in critical condition and was sent to his Johannesburg home early Sunday, where he would continue to get intensive care. LINK\r\nNational Media Consolidation\u00a0In a deal that could heighten the competition in radio against Clear Channel Communications, long the industry\u2019s dominant player, Cumulus Media has agreed to buy Dial Global, a syndicator of sports, talk and music programming to thousands of stations, for $260 million,\u00a0The New York Times\u00a0reported. LINK\r\nBehind the Times\u00a0\u201cClaremont has been touted as an up-and-coming city and yet failed to understand that it might have been important to commemorate the March on Washington. The city of Claremont does not even celebrate Martin Luther King, which makes it way behind the times,\u201d Levi Sanders of Grafton, N.H., wrote in a letter to the editor of the\u00a0Valley News.LINK\r\nVermont  Health Care\u00a0On Tuesday, the PR campaign for \u201cVermont Health Connect\u201d gets under way in earnest with an advertising blitz aimed at building a brand identity for the website from which one-sixth of Vermonters will soon be required to purchase their health insurance, theVermont Press Bureau\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nUSPS\u00a0The U.S. Postal Service is going to be offering a special pictorial postmark to mark the 250th anniversary of the Vermont town of Ryegate. On Sept. 7, Postmaster Patricia Crocker and her staff will stamp letters and postcards with the unique postmark documenting the occasion,\u00a0The Associated Press\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=15C45336-DAB3-4F7D-BB3D-B2557A867736", ": News August 31", "2013-08-31", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News August 31\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tSaturday, August 31, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders\r\nVA Faulted for Lax Oversight of Veterans\u2019 Financial Advisers\u00a0A bipartisan group of senior senators said Friday they are \"deeply troubled\" by the findings of a new Government Accountability Office report that criticizes the Department of Veterans Affairs for lax enforcement of its rules on accrediting private financial planners, attorneys, insurance agents and others who assist veterans in filing for VA benefits,\u00a0The Washington Post\u00a0online,\u00a0Military Times,\u00a0The Reno Dispatch\u00a0and\u00a0The Tampa Tribunereported. Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders and ranking member Sen. Richard Burr signed a letter sent to Secretary Eric Shinseki.\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\r\nVermont Veterans Home Workers Thank Sanders\u00a0\u201cThe nurses and caregivers at the Vermont Veterans\u2019 Home would like to thank Sen. Sanders\u00a0for his leadership fighting for a federal commitment to high quality health care for our nation\u2019s veterans, Harry (Jamie) Percey wrote in a letter to the editor of the\u00a0Bennington Banner.\u00a0LINK\r\nCollege Costs\u00a0In a letter to the editor of\u00a0The Caledonian-Record, Sharon Baker differed with Sen. Sanders\u2019 on student loan debt.\u00a0LINK\r\nWorld\r\nU.N. Inspectors Leave Syria\u00a0United Nations weapons inspectors left Syria for Lebanon on Saturday as the Obama administration made an aggressive and coordinated push to justify a military intervention on the grounds that American credibility was at stake,\u00a0The New York Times\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nKerry Outlines Chemical Attack Evidence\u00a0Secretary of State John Kerry outlined evidence Friday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad used poison gas against its citizens,\u00a0The New York Times\u00a0reported. Kerry said more than 1,400 people were killed in the attack, 400 of whom were children. \u201cThe question is \u2026 what are we and the world going to do about it?\u201d he said.\u00a0LINK\r\nConsulting Congress\u00a0The White House has provided a series of briefings for key lawmakers to combat complaints that Congress is not being consulted on a potential U.S. strike in Syria. More than 160 House members - Democrats and Republicans \u2013 signed letters this week urging the president to \"receive authorization from Congress\" before striking Syria. Elliot Engel, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Relations Committee, told\u00a0CBS News\u00a0that \"there's clearly a precedent where the president can act and then come to Congress later on, or come to Congress certainly within 60 days.\"\r\nExperts Warn of Unintended Consequences\u00a0Middle East experts fear the U.S. plan overlooks the potential to worsen the violence in Syria and intensify a fight for regional influence between Iran and Saudi Arabia, according to\u00a0The New York Times.\u00a0LINK\u00a0\r\nNational\u00a0\r\nWhite House Need Not Disclose Visitors\u00a0White House visitor logs for the president and most of his staff are not public information, according to a Friday federal appeals court ruling reported by\u00a0The Associated Press.\u00a0LINK\u00a0\r\nVermont\u00a0\r\nWind Power\u00a0The state says Green Mountain Power could be fined $54,000 for violating sound standards at its Lowell wind project. But the state agency that represents ratepayers says that instead of a fine, GMP should use the money to look into additional sound monitoring at the site where the problems were serious enough to justify a fine of $9,000 for each of the six violations,\u00a0Vermont Public Radio\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nNuclear Power\u00a0The loss of a nuclear power plant that once provided Vermont with one-third of its electricity won\u2019t affect the region\u2019s power supply, according to ISO New England, which operates the region\u2019s high-voltage power grid and administers its wholesale electricity market in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont,\u00a0The Keene Sentinel\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=2E6DCE9F-DBFE-41ED-BA57-DFBF823F92B8", "Sanders Statement on Syria", "2013-08-31", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Sanders Statement on Syria\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tSaturday, August 31, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tWASHINGTON, Aug. 31 \u2013\u00a0Sen. Bernie Sanders issued the following statement today after President Barack Obama announced that he will ask Congress to authorize military strikes against Syria:\r\n\u201cThe use of chemical weapons by the Assad dictatorship is inhumane and a violation of international law.\u00a0 However, at this point in time, I need to hear more from the president as to why he believes it is in the best interests of the United States to intervene in Syria's bloody and complicated civil war. I look forward to the Senate debate that will be taking place in the very near future.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=57B95AFE-B2C3-4D6D-863B-FE05E107D026", "Sanders on Syria", "2013-08-31", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Sanders on Syria\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tSaturday, August 31, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSen. Bernie Sanders on Saturday reacted to President Barack Obama\u2019s call for Congress to support a military strike to punish Bashar Assad's regime for the use of chemical weapons. \u201cThe use of chemical weapons by the Assad dictatorship is inhumane and a violation of international law. However, at this point in time, I need to hear more from the president as to why he believes it is in the best interests of the United States to intervene in Syria's bloody and complicated civil war,\u201d Sanders said.\r\nNavy ships were positioned in Mediterranean Sea and ready to launch cruise missiles when Obama decided to seek approval from Congress before taking military action.\r\nCongress returns on Sept. 9. \u201cI look forward to the Senate debate that will be taking place in the very near future,\u201d Sanders said.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=8AE03A54-3BD8-4078-A488-841D692727F2", "The Week in Review", "2013-08-30", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "The Week in Review\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tFriday, August 30, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tIn advance of Labor Day weekend, there were nationwide protests on Thursday by low-wage workers at fast-food restaurants in more than 50 cities. Jobs and economic justice were common themes at Wednesday\u2019s observance of the 50thanniversary of the March on Washington. A report on Monday said U.S. workers' pay isn't even keeping up with inflation.\u00a0What do you think\u00a0\u00a0about the minimum wage, striking fast-food workers and the role of organized labor in America?\r\nFast-Food Strikes\u00a0Many of the workers at fast-food chains are paid only the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, which has not changed since 2009. Sanders is a cosponsor of legislation to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, about what it would be if the minimum wage had kept up with inflation over the past 50 years. After one-day strikes were staged earlier this summer, Sanders praised the workers \u201cwho are standing up for justice, who are putting a spotlight on one of the major economic crises facing this country.\u201d While fast-food chains pay what Sanders called \u201cstarvation wages,\u201d he noted that the top executives for the same firms are paid millions of dollars a year.\r\nWatch Sanders' speech \u00bb\r\nRead more about the minimum wage \u00bb\r\nMarch on Washington\u00a0\u201cThere has been some real progress in breaking down barriers of discrimination and segregation, including the election and re-election of an African-American president,\u201d Sanders said of Wednesday\u2019s 50th\u00a0anniversary of the march. \u201cOn the other hand, in terms of unemployment, low wages and more wealth disparity, we are worse off than we were in 1963.\u201d\r\nWatch Sanders\u2019 reflect on the March on Washington\r\nStagnant Wages\u00a0Paychecks for U.S. workers are not keeping up with inflation, according to a report on Monday. The average hourly pay was $8.77 last month, down from $8.85 four years ago, according to inflation-adjusted data from the U.S. Department of Labor. That comparison is for what the Labor Department said was the average pay for workers who aren\u2019t on a government payroll and aren\u2019t supervisors.\r\nRead more in The Wall Street Journal\r\nWhat Do You Think?\u00a0Should the minimum wage be raised? Do you support striking fast-food workers? Should states let unions represent public employees? Should workers have a right to join unions?\r\nTake the poll", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=AE5B0C78-B415-4ABD-A146-F435AF50E62D", ": News August 30", "2013-08-30", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News August 30\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tFriday, August 30, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders\r\nIrene Recovery\u00a0The Federal Emergency Management Agency will provide funding to replace much of a state office complex in Waterbury which was destroyed two years ago by Tropical Storm Irene. An agreement was reached with the Federal Emergency Management Agency that will provide nearly $90 million of the $125 million dollar price tag for the new complex. The Vermont project benefited from provisions in legislation passed after Hurricane Sandy. Sen. Patrick Leahy said he and Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Peter Welch worked the halls of Congress to make it happen, the\u00a0Burlington Free Pressreported.\u00a0LINK\r\nVermont Yankee\u00a0Entergy's plan to close the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant may pose new challenges for the local economy in Vernon,\u00a0The Deerfield Valley News\u00a0reported. Sen. Bernie Sanders praised Entergy\u2019s decision as a step in that will allow Vermont to \"focus on leading the nation toward safer and more economical sources of sustainable and renewable energy.\"\u00a0LINK\r\nVermont Yankee\u00a0\u201cWe all need to \u2026 preserve \u2026 jobs and assure the safe storage of highly radioactive waste that will certainly remain at the site for decades to come \u2026 [Sen.] Sanders\u00a0is a high-ranking member of the Senate energy committee \u2026 and can fight for the funds and directives that will force Entergy to decontaminate the Yankee site now to create jobs and ensure community health and safety,\u201d Lissa Weinmann, a World Policy Institute senior fellow, wrote in the\u00a0Brattleboro Reformer.\u00a0LINK\r\nFighting Bob Fest\u00a0Progressives will gather in Madison, Wis., on Sept. 7 for the annual fest that will be crammed with many national and local speakers to discuss the issues facing both Wisconsin and the nation. Sens. Sanders and Tammy Baldwin are on the schedule. Sanders is in the middle of the fight to save Social Security and Medicare from those who want to privatize the two successful programs for the elderly, Dave Zweifel wrote for\u00a0The Capital Times.\u00a0LINK\r\nIntern Pay\u00a0The vast majority of senators who pay interns are Republicans. Of those 35 senators, only 11 are Democrats. Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, pays interns, according to\u00a0The Atlantic.\u00a0LINK\r\nCorporate Welfare\u00a0Conservative columnist John McClaughry should \u201csign up for a fall internship in Bernie Sanders\u2019 office in Washington. There, he might learn [how] corporate welfare \u2026 is bankrupting America,\u201d Phil Stephan wrote in a letter to the editor of theRutland Herald.\u00a0LINK\r\nSinging for Bernie\u00a0Middlebury College graduate Laura Heaberlin is making a splash in Vermont's local music scene. In a video posted online by the\u00a0Burlington Free Press, Heaberlin said she played at a rally for Sen. Sanders when she was just 16 years old.\u00a0\u201cI got to play an anti-war song at the rally, which was really fun for me,\u201d she said.\u00a0VIDEO\r\nWorld\r\nObama Set for Limited Strike on Syria as British Vote No\u00a0President Obama is prepared to move ahead with a limited military strike on Syria, administration officials said Thursday, despite a stinging rejection of such action by Britain and mounting questions from Congress. The negative vote in Parliament was a heavy blow to Prime Minister David Cameron, who had pledged his support to Obama and called on lawmakers to endorse Britain\u2019s involvement in a brief operation to punish the government of President Bashar al-Assad for apparently launching a deadly chemical weapons attack last week that killed hundreds,\u00a0The New York Timesreported.\u00a0LINK\r\nAdministration Tells Lawmakers of Evidence Linking Assad to Attack\u00a0The Obama administration presented its case for possible military action against Syria to congressional leaders, including evidence from an intercepted phone call involving a high-level Syrian official, which a lawmaker said officials offered as proof of a government chemical-weapons attack. The evidence was part of a 90-minute, unclassified briefing delivered to the congressional leaders in a conference call Thursday evening,\u00a0The Wall Street Journal\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nEmerging Markets Pass Advanced Economies\u00a0For the first time ever, the combined gross domestic product of emerging markets has passed the combined measure of advanced economies, according to an International Monetary Fund report cited by\u00a0The Huffington Post.\u00a0LINK\u00a0\r\nNational\r\nFast-Food Strikes\u00a0Thousands of fast-food workers went on strike in over 60 cities Thursday to protest unfair wages,\u00a0Politico\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nWhite House, Republican Senators End Budget Talks\u00a0The Obama administration and a group of Republican senators abandoned efforts Thursday to hammer out a budget deal and avoid a showdown over the national debt, saying they had failed to resolve their long-standing dispute over taxes. \u201cIt\u2019s very evident that there just isn\u2019t common ground at present and we\u2019ve all agreed there\u2019s no reason for these talks to continue,\u201d Sen. Bob Corker told\u00a0The Washington Post\u00a0after attending the group\u2019s final session at the White House.\u00a0LINK\r\nReprimanded Doctors Get VA Bonuses\u00a0The Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded performance-pay bonuses to doctors who were disciplined or reprimanded. A Government Accountability Office report said a $7,663 bonus went to a VA doctor who was reprimanded for practicing medicine with an expired license, for example, and a $11,189 bonus was given to a surgeon suspended without pay for 14 days after leaving an operating room before surgery was completed. \u201cVA's performance pay and bonus system has absolutely nothing to do with performance,\u201d Rep. Jeff Miller, the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs chairman, told\u00a0USA Today.\u00a0LINK\r\nUS Won\u2019t Fight States on Marijuana\u00a0Attorney General Eric Holder announced Thursday that the Department of Justice would not seek a legal challenge at the federal level to laws legalizing marijuana in two states,\u00a0CNN\u00a0reported. . Sen. Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, welcomed the Justice Department decision not to sue to stop the states of Colorado and Washington from allowing the recreational use of marijuana,\u00a0APreported.\u00a0LINK\r\nThe Black Budget\u00a0America spends $52.6 billion on its intelligence agencies, according to \"the black budget,\" a secret fiscal framework obtained by\u00a0The Washington Post. Despite the vast outlays, intelligence agencies reported having critical blind spots in intelligence throughout the world.\u00a0LINK\r\nSnowden\u00a0National security officials told\u00a0NBC News\u00a0that Edward Snowden was able to access thousands of high-clearance files by impersonating the user profiles of ranking security officials. Snowden downloaded a reported 20,000 documents before escaping to Hong Kong. \u201cThe damage, on a scale of 1 to 10, is a 12,\u201d said one former intelligence official.\u00a0LINK\r\nIRS to Recognize Gay Marriages\u00a0Legally married same-sex couples will now be recognized for federal tax purposes,\u00a0The New York Times\u00a0reported. In the wake of a June court decision striking down the Defense of Marriage Act, the Treasury Department announced Thursday that joint income tax returns would be made available to same-sex couples who marry in any of the thirteen states that allow gay marriage.\u00a0LINK\r\nObama Signs Order on Guns\u00a0Four months after a failed drive for additional gun legislation, President Barack Obama signed an executive order Thursday curbing the import of military surplus weapons,\u00a0The Associated Press\u00a0reported. The new policy will end a government practice that lets military weapons be reimported into the United States after they are sold or donated to allied nations.\u00a0LINK\r\nVermont\r\nFEMA to Rebuild State Office\u00a0The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced alongside Sen. Patrick Leahy and Gov. Peter Shumlin Thursday plans to provide $53 million for the rebuilding of the Vermont state office complex in Waterbury that was damaged by Tropical Storm Irene,\u00a0The Associated Press\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=F0DDD414-D706-4B42-91FA-0D4A4BDC5765", "Health Care in America", "2013-08-30", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Health Care in America\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tFriday, August 30, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tThe United States spends more money on health care while getting less in return than all but two other nations in a new Bloomberg ranking of the most efficient countries for health care. Bloomberg ranked 48 countries on life expectancy and per capita health care costs. The U.S. ranked 46th. Only Serbia and Brazil were worse than the U.S. in the chart that highlights the tremendous gap between the soaring cost of medical treatment in the U.S. and its quality and effectiveness. Sen. Bernie Sanders favors a single-payer system that would cover everyone, cost less but get better results. He spoke out for such a Medicare-for-all health care system at a news conference last month on the anniversary of passage of Medicare.\r\nCheck out the Bloomberg chart \u00bb\r\nWatch Sanders\u2019 at the Medicare-for-all news conference \u00bb", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=F7DA378F-58AD-4140-A370-67D1865D4EBD", "VA Accreditation Program Open to Abuse, GAO Says", "2013-08-30", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "VA Accreditation Program Open to Abuse, GAO Says\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tFriday, August 30, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tWASHINGTON, Aug. 30 \u2013 Leaders of the Senate Committee on Veterans\u2019 Affairs and the Special Committee on Aging said today that they are \u201cdeeply troubled\u201d by the Department of Veterans Affairs\u2019 lax oversight of private advisers to veterans applying for pensions and other benefits.\r\nThe senators cited a new report by the Government Accountability Office that faulted the VA for loosely enforcing its own vague rules on accrediting private financial planners, attorneys, insurance agents and others. The nonpartisan congressional agency that audits federal programs also criticized the VA for leaving itself vulnerable to abuses and for keeping veterans in the dark about their rights.\r\nThe\u00a0GAO report\u00a0was cited in a\u00a0letter\u00a0to Secretary Eric Shinseki from Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.), the chairman and ranking member of the veterans\u2019 committee. Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), a veterans\u2019 committee member and former chairman, and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), the Senate Special Committee on Aging chairman, also signed the letter.\r\n\u201cWe are deeply troubled by the findings indicating weaknesses in the accreditation program, which may prevent VA from ensuring that veterans are served by knowledgeable, qualified, and trustworthy representatives,\u201d the senators wrote.\u00a0\r\nThe senators said the accreditation procedures should be strengthened to protect veterans from unscrupulous advisers among the 20,000 approved by the department. They also echoed a GAO recommendation and urged the department to do a better job letting veterans know how to report abuses. Problems with the accreditation program are compounded by a lack of staff and inadequate technology, the senators added.\u00a0\r\nThe latest GAO report builds on an investigation last year that found weak oversight and unclear rules made the VA ripe for abuse. That report found that some firms overcharge veterans for services or sell financial products that end up limiting veteran\u2019s access to the benefits that they deserve.\r\nTo read the GAO report, click\u00a0here.\r\nTo read the senators\u2019 letter to the VA secretary, click\u00a0here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=9A19E4A7-FC91-48FB-A151-EE04A50AA48D", ": News August 29", "2013-08-29", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News August 29\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tThursday, August 29, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders\r\nDecommissioning Vermont Yankee\u00a0A fight is brewing over the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant's lengthy decommissioning process. Entergy CEO Leo Denault said that if the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission agrees, the plant will be mothballed for up to 60 years while its radioactive components cool down before removal. Sen. Bernie Sanders was among those calling for the decommissioning process to commence as soon as possible,\u00a0The Associated Press\u00a0reported. In\u00a0Seven Days, Sanders said the nuclear power plant\u2019s closure will \u201callow Vermont to focus on \u2026 economical sources of sustainable and renewable energy.\u201d\u00a0LINK\r\nEmployee Ownership\u00a0Sen. Sanders is one of the federal government's strongest proponents for employee ownership, according to a\u00a0PBS \u201cNewsHour\u201d online report.\u00a0\u00a0LINK\r\nYouth Jobs\u00a0A youth jobs provision by Sen. Sanders in a Senate-passed immigration bill counters a provision that would bring about 100,000 foreign college students to the United States every year to fill low-wage jobs, a spokesman told\u00a0FoxNews.com. \u201cWe have got to do everything we can to make sure that young Americans have the jobs they need to pay for a college education and to move up the economic ladder,\u201d Sanders said.\u00a0LINK\r\nHealth Care\u00a0\u201cIn about a month, small businesses in Vermont and Vermonters who purchase their own health insurance will begin to enroll in insurance plans offered on Vermont Health Connect. This new and affordable way for many Vermonters to purchase insurance is the key provision of the Affordable Care Act. I was proud to be involved in the passage of this law when I worked as the health policy advisor for Senator Bernie Sanders,\u201d David Reynolds wrote in\u00a0The Caledonian-Record.\u00a0LINK\r\nMoney and Politics\u00a0Many Vermont politicos believe wealthy conservative Bruce Lisman is plotting a challenge to Gov. Peter Shumlin in 2014, Paul Heintz wrote for\u00a0Seven\u00a0Days. Money does not always buy electoral success, Heintz noted, citing another wealthy self-funder who lost in a landslide to Sen. Sanders in 2006.\u00a0LINK\r\nWorld\r\nU.S. Case for Action on Syria\u00a0To bolster its case for a military strike on Syria to an American public deeply skeptical about being drawn into another conflict, the Obama administration will make public, most likely on Thursday, information that officials say will show proof of a large-scale chemical attack by Syrian forces. The White House faces steep hurdles as it prepares to make the most important public intelligence presentation since 2003 when Secretary of State Colin L. Powell made a dramatic and detailed case for war to the United Nations Security Council using intelligence \u2014 later discredited \u2014 about Iraq\u2019s weapons programs,\u00a0The New York Times\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nCongress, White House to Confer on Syria\u00a0Senior White House and national security officials will conduct a conference call today with congressional leaders,\u00a0The Associated Pressreported.\u00a0LINK\r\nRussia: Not So Fast\u00a0Russian officials Wednesday accused Western nations of jumping the gun ahead of a possible strike on Syrian military installments,\u00a0The Washington Post\u00a0reported. A British resolution in the United Nations Security Council condemned the Syrian government for using chemical weapons. Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov called the resolution premature.\u00a0LINK\r\nArab League on Syria\u00a0Leaders of the Arab world on Tuesday blamed the Syrian government for an apparent chemical weapons attack, but declined to back any retaliatory strike,\u00a0The New York Times\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nSyria and Iran Respond\u00a0Syria and Iran responded to escalating war rhetoric Wednesday as the United Kingdom spearheaded an international effort to mobilize nations for a military intervention,\u00a0The Wall Street Journal\u00a0reported. Iranian Maj. Gen. Hassan Firouzabadi said publicly, \"Any attack on Syria would burn down Israel.\"\u00a0LINK\r\nNational\r\nTNationwide Strike Today by Low-Wage Workers\u00a0Fast-food workers across the United States are expected to stage their largest strike to date on Thursday in an almost year-long campaign to raise wages in the service sector. Employees of McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King and others have pledged to walk off their jobs in 50 cities from Boston to Alameda, Calif., organizers say. They are expected to be joined by retail employees at stores owned by Macy's, Sears and Dollar Tree in some cities,\u00a0Reuters\u00a0reported.\r\nDebt-Limit Battle\u00a0House Speaker John A. Boehner is promising a \u201cwhale of a fight\u201d this fall. But a fight over what? That is the $16.7 trillion question as Congress barrels toward another showdown over the federal debt limit.\u00a0House Republicans are trying to figure out how to finesse the deadlines looming after lawmakers return to Washington on Sept. 9. Unless Congress acts, the federal government will shut down on Oct. 1 and, according to the Obama administration, the nation will run out of cash to pay its bills in mid-October, according to\u00a0The Washington Post.\u00a0LINK\r\nKing's Unrealized Economic Dream\u00a0Paying tribute to King's speech, President Barack Obama called on America to come together to address \"the great unfinished business\" of the original March on Washington \u2013 economic justice,\u00a0CBS News\u00a0reported. \"The men and women who gathered 50 years ago were not there in search of some abstract idea,\" Mr. Obama said from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where King stood 50 years before him. \"They were there seeking jobs as well as justice. Not just the absence of oppression, but the presence of economic opportunity. For what does it profit a man, Dr. King would ask, to sit at an integrated lunch counter if he can't afford the meal?\"\u00a0LINK\r\nThe Fed\u00a0A broad coalition of opponents to Larry Summers' potential nomination for the Federal Reserve Chairmanship are gearing up for an aggressive campaign against his would-be Senate confirmation,\u00a0The Huffington Post\u00a0reported. Economists, women's groups, high-level donors and online advocates, such as MoveOn.org, CREDO and Democracy for America are joining forces to oppose Summers' nomination for the post.\u00a0LINK\r\nCorporate Welfare\u00a0More than one-third of the nation's highest paid chief executives were subsidized by American taxpayers according to a new report cited by\u00a0The Huffington Post. \"Financial bailouts offer just one example of how a significant number of America's CEO pay leaders owe much of their good fortune to America's taxpayers,\" the report said. \"Government contracts offer another.\"\u00a0LINK\r\nFederal Workers and Obamacare\u00a0Sen. Dean Heller asked the Office of Management and Budget to require all congressional staff to get health care through the new exchanges. The request comes one day after Sens. Michael B. Enzi and David Vitter announced legislation to require senior executive branch officials and all congressional staff to get their health care through the Obamacare exchanges,\u00a0Roll Call\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nFort Hood Killer Sentenced to Death\u00a0Nidal Malik Hasan, a Army psychiatrist who killed 13 and wounded 32 in a 2009 shooting spree at Fort Hood, was sentenced to death Wednesday,\u00a0The Washington Post\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nVermont\r\nIrene Recovery\u00a0The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency is going to be in Waterbury to discuss plans to rebuild the Vermont state office complex made unusable by flooding from Tropical Storm Irene.\r\nFEMA Administrator Craig Fugate will be joined by Gov. Peter Shumlin and Sen. Patrick Leahy to announce the funding plans to repair the complex,\u00a0The Associated Press\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nChina Trade Trip\u00a0Vermont\u2019s Jay Peak Resort is financing a nine-day trip to China by Gov. Peter Shumlin, Agency of Commerce & Community Development Secretary Lawrence Miller and Becky Fu, the state\u2019s international trade and foreign investment specialist,\u00a0The Caledonian-Record\u00a0reported. Jay Peak co-owner Bill Stenger and project manager Alex MacLean will join the trade delegation. The resort is taking advantage of an investor program that offers green cards to eligible foreigners who invest $500,000 to $1 million in a qualified American business.\u00a0LINK\r\nVeterans\u2019 Memorial\u00a0Construction began Wednesday on South Burlington\u2019s veterans\u2019 memorial, the\u00a0Burlington Free Press\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nTeachers\u2019 Pay Increase\u00a0Burlington School District teachers can expect annual raises averaging 4 percent under a new contract signed Wednesday, the\u00a0Free Press\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=BA0630BB-46FC-4050-9A59-04C021829313", "Fast-Food Workers Protest", "2013-08-29", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Fast-Food Workers Protest\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tThursday, August 29, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tThere were nationwide protests on Thursday in more than 50 cities by low-paid workers at fast-food restaurants like McDonald\u2019s. Many of the protesters are paid only the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. That amounts to about $15,000 a year for full-time employees, but many of the restaurant workers hold only part-time jobs. Sen. Bernie Sanders is a cosponsor of legislation to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, about what it would be if the minimum wage had kept up with inflation over the past 50 years. The minimum wage has been $7.25 since 2009. After one-day strikes were staged earlier this summer, Sanders praised the workers \u201cwho are standing up for justice, who are putting a spotlight on one of the major economic crises facing this country.\u201d While fast-food chains pay what Sanders called \u201cstarvation wages,\u201d he noted that the top executives for the same firms are paid millions of dollars a year.\r\nWatch Sanders' speech \u00bb\r\nRead more about the minimum wage\u00a0\u00bb", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=3FDB6B27-7920-438A-9822-55A734C1320E", ": News August 28", "2013-08-28", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News August 28\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tWednesday, August 28, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders\r\nVermont Yankee to Close\u00a0Entergy Corp. announced Tuesday that it will close Vermont's only nuclear power plant next year. \u201cThe closure will allow Vermont to focus on leading the nation toward safer and more economical sources of sustainable and renewable energy,\u201d Sen. Bernie Sanders said in the\u00a0Brattleboro Reformer\u00a0and\u00a0Bennington Banner, on\u00a0WPTZ-TV\u00a0and in\u00a0The Christian Science Monitor. \u201cI am delighted that Entergy will shut down the \u2026 plant which has had so many problems in recent years,\u201d Sanders said in the\u00a0National Journal\u00a0and\u00a0Burlington Free Press.\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0VIDEO\r\nReactor Shutdown\u00a0A member of the Senate energy and environment committees, Sen. Sanders said Entergy \u201cmust go through a decommissioning process as soon as possible.\u201d He and Sen. Patrick Leahy said they would push the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to require the job to be done promptly,\u00a0The Associated Press,\u00a0Rutland Herald,\u00a0The Washington Post,\u00a0The Commons Online\u00a0and\u00a0VermontBiz.com\u00a0reported.\u00a0The congressional delegation in 2011 wrote to the NRC expressing concerns about a slow shutdown process that gives a utility up to 60 years to complete remediation of a site, the\u00a0Brattleboro Reformer\u00a0reported.LINK,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK\u00a0\r\nMarch on Washington\u00a0As a 22-year-old college\u00a0student, Sen. Sanders rode a bus to D.C. to see the \"I Have a Dream\" speech,\u00a0MSNBC\u00a0reported on Tuesday. The network made a message from the senator with a link to a video of his reflections on the 50th\u00a0anniversary its \u201cTweet of the Day.\u201d Sanders participation in the march half a century ago was noted in reports by Jamie Dupree on\u00a0WDBO-AM\u00a0in Orlando, Fla., and\u00a0WHIO-AM\u00a0in Dayton, Ohio.VIDEO,\u00a0AUDIO,\u00a0AUDIO\u00a0\r\nTropical Storm Irene\u00a0With today marking the second anniversary of Tropical Storm Irene, \u201cVermont\u2019s congressional delegation continues to brag to their Washington colleagues about how everyone pulled together for their community and for their state,\u201d the\u00a0Brattleboro Reformer\u00a0said in an editorial.\u00a0\u201cWhat we witnessed in the days after the disaster struck was Vermont at its best with an outpouring of help for storm victims,\u201d said Sens.\u00a0 Leahy and Sanders and Rep. Welch.\u00a0LINK\r\nYouth Unemployment\u00a0The Labor Department\u2019s annual report pegs unemployment of youth at 16.3 percent, little changed from the year before. The rate for African Americans and Hispanics is even worse at 28 percent and 18 percent respectively. A recent report from the Center for American Progress found there are more than 10 million young Americans between 16 and 24 who are either out of work or underemployed, with an additional 5.5 million both out-of-work and out-of-school. Sen. Sanders is focusing on this issue with his amendment to the immigration reform bill that recently passed the Senate and is awaiting action in the House, according to\u00a0The Huffington Post.\u00a0LINK\r\nWorld\r\nU.S., Allies Prepare to Act as Syria Intelligence Mounts\u00a0Positions hardened in the international standoff over Syria, as U.S. officials said privately that a flood of previously undisclosed intelligence, including satellite images and intercepted communications, erased any last administration doubts that the Syrian regime had used chemical weapons against its own people. French, U.K. and U.S. military officials talked Tuesday about coordinating their response to the alleged attacks,\u00a0The Wall Street Journal\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nUK Wants UN to Condemn Syria\u00a0Britain says it will put forward a resolution Wednesday to the U.N. Security Council condemning the Syrian government for the alleged chemical attack that has killed hundreds of civilians. A statement from Prime Minister David Cameron's office said Britain would seek a measure `'authorizing necessary measures to protect civilians\" in Syria under Chapter 7 of the U.N. charter. Military force is one of the options that can be authorized under that section. The resolution will be presented to the U.N. Security Council in New York later Wednesday, officials said.\u00a0LINK\r\nSyria Strike Expected\u00a0Western powers have notified the Syrian opposition to expect a military strike against President Bashar al-Assad's forces within days, according to a\u00a0Reutersreport.\u00a0LINK\r\nBiden: \u2018No Doubt\u2019 on Chemical Weapons\u00a0Vice President Joe Biden has said there is \"no doubt\" that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons,\u00a0BBC News\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nFrance 'Ready to Punish' Syria\u00a0President Francois Hollande of France said the European nation stands \"ready to punish those who took the heinous decision to gas innocents\" in Syria,\u00a0The Associated Press\u00a0reported. Hollande spoke with Presidnet Barack Obama on Sunday and told him France, like Britain would support him in a targeted military intervention.\u00a0LINK\r\nIsrael Readies for Syrian Retaliation\u00a0Israelis streamed into distribution centers for gas masks on Tuesday in preparation for possible retaliatory attacks from Syria amid allegations of chemical weapons use,\u00a0USA Today\u00a0reported. \"The time has come to make a joint effort to take out all the chemical weapons from Syria,\" Israeli President Shimon Peres said. \"They cannot remain there, whether in the hands of Assad or the hands of other people.\"\u00a0LINK\r\nNational\r\nMarch on Washington\u00a0Wednesday marks the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous \"I Have a Dream\" speech,\u00a0The New Yorker\u00a0reported. In fact, the full name of the event was the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Fifty years later, the income inequality gulf \"hasn't changed much.\"\u00a0LINK\r\nNew Census Numbers Show Recession\u2019s Effect on Families\u00a0The portion of American households made up of married couples with children under 18 fell to 20 percent from 40 percent from 1970 to 2012, the Census Bureau said Tuesday as it detailed other fundamental changes in family life. The share of people living alone, meanwhile, rose 10 percentage points, to 27 percent. The analysis also found that the recession profoundly affected American families from 2005 to 2011, resulting in a 15 percent decline in homeownership among households with children and a 33 percent increase in households where at least one parent was unemployed,\u00a0The New York Times\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nBoehner Wants Showdown on Debt Limit\u00a0Speaker John Boehner is gearing up for \u201ca whale of a fight\u201d with President Obama over raising the federal debt ceiling, even though Obama has repeatedly said he has no plans to negotiate with Congressional Republicans over the nation\u2019s debt limit and wants it lifted without a political showdown,\u00a0The New York Timesreported. Boehner said he planned to use the need to raise the debt ceiling to gain political leverage and demand \u201ccuts and reforms that are greater than the increase in the debt limit.\u201dLINK\r\nGOP Targets Begich on Carbon Tax\u00a0The National Republican Senatorial Committee Wednesday will launch a robo-call campaign in Alaska targeting Sen. Mark Begich for his support of a carbon tax. NRSC plans to call nearly 70,000 households about what it calls the Alaska Democrat\u2019s \u201csteadfast support for the costly carbon tax,\u201d according to a script of the calls provided to\u00a0Politico. The claims are based on Begich\u2019s support for a non-binding amendment to this year\u2019s budget resolution by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse that would have called for any revenue generated by a carbon tax to be \u201creturned to the American people in the form of federal deficit reduction, reduced federal tax rates, cost savings or other direct benefits.\u201d\r\nLINK\r\nUSPS\u00a0A coalition of magazine, newspaper, printing, and direct-marketing groups warns that the U.S. Postal Service may decide next week to request that postal rates be raised significantly\u2014perhaps by as much as 10 percent\u2014under the claim of \"exigent\" circumstances,National Journal\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nFacebook Reports Surveillance Requests\u00a0Facebook said Tuesday it has received 11,000 to 12,000 requests for personal data from the United States government in the first half of 2013, the \"vast majority\" tied to investigations of crimes,\u00a0Bloomberg\u00a0reported. In response, Facebook honored 79 percent of requests with data.\u00a0LINK\r\nVermont\r\nIrene Recovery\u00a0Two years ago, Dot\u2019s diner was practically wiped out when Tropical Storm Irene poured down on interior New England, causing massive flooding, killing dozens of people in the region and forever altering the landscape. The Wilmington eatery was to be held up as an example of Vermont\u2019s resilience and spirit on Wednesday as the state marks the second anniversary of the deadly storm and celebrates milestones in its recovery,\u00a0AP\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nVernon Worried About Plant Closing\u00a0By early afternoon Tuesday, Nesbitt\u2019s Portside Tavern in Vernon, Vt., was crammed with workers from the nearby Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. Hours earlier, the workers had been told the plant would close next year, an announcement few expected. Released early for the day, they stopped at the restaurant and pub on the banks of the Connecticut River to sip beers and talk about the future. Don Rosinski, a Vernon resident who does not work at the plant, said that the closure would have huge ripple effects. Everybody in the small town knows someone who works at Vermont Yankee. \u201cJust in my neighborhood alone, there are six families,\u201d Rosinski told\u00a0The Boston Globe. \u201cOne just sent their third kid to college. The timing is very bad.\u201d\u00a0LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=91B02352-DED8-4C58-B405-8334E67978E9", "I Have a Dream", "2013-08-28", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "I Have a Dream\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tWednesday, August 28, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\r\nFifty years ago today a 22-year-old college student named Bernie Sanders arrived in Washington D.C. to hear Dr. Martin Luther King's \"I Have a Dream\" speech.\u00a0 As we commemorate the 50th anniversary of King's famous speech, let us not forget that today much of King's vision has still not been fulfilled.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=42AC162C-E7AE-41B7-BC2C-79271FEFAE6C", "Vermont Yankee Shutdown is ?Good News,? Sanders Says", "2013-08-27", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Vermont Yankee Shutdown is \u2018Good News,\u2019 Sanders Says      \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tTuesday, August 27, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tWASHINGTON, Aug. 27 \u2013 Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today welcomed Entergy Corp.\u2019s decision to close the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.\r\n\u201cI am delighted that Entergy will shut down the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant which has had so many problems in recent years. There is a strong desire on the part of the people of the state of Vermont to close the plant that was scheduled to operate for only 40 years,\u201d Sanders said.\r\n\u201cThe closure will allow Vermont to focus on leading the nation toward safer and more economical sources of sustainable and renewable energy like solar, wind, geothermal and biomass,\u201d added Sanders, a member of the Senate energy and environment committees.\r\nWhile welcoming news of the shutdown, Sanders said the jobs of Vermont Yankee employees must be preserved while the plant is safely decommissioned.\r\n\u201cEntergy must go through a decommissioning process as soon as possible, a process which will require many workers,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cClearly there are no people who know the Vermont Yankee plant better than those who are currently employed and they should be given top priority for those new jobs.\u201d\r\nThe company has indicated it favors a decommissioning method that could result in decades of delay. As a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, which oversees the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Sanders said he will work aggressively to make sure the decommissioning process starts as soon as possible.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=5E9DC185-8E95-4825-BF58-2E7E448ED189", "News August 27", "2013-08-27", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News August 27\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tTuesday, August 27, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders\r\nMunicipal Bonds The Bennington Banner published Vermont State Treasurer Beth Pearce\u2019s letter saying that Sen. Sanders and others in the congressional delegation agree with her that the federal government should not tax municipal bonds.\u00a0 LINK\r\nVermont Yankee A letter to the editor in the Brattleboro Reformer and Burlington Free Press responded to Sen. Sanders\u2019 statement that Vermont Yankee should be closed for economic reasons. LINK, LINK\r\nWorld\r\nObama Considering Military Strike President Obama is weighing a military strike against Syria that would be of limited scope and duration, designed to serve as punishment for Syria\u2019s use of chemical weapons and as a deterrent, while keeping the United States out of deeper involvement in that country\u2019s civil war, senior administration officials told The Washington Post. LINK\r\nKerry: Syrian Chemical Attack 'Undeniable'\u00a0Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that the United States would hold the Syrian government accountable for its \u201cundeniable\u201d use of chemical weapons on civilians, an act he called a \"moral obscenity,\" The New York Times reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nCongress and Syria With an increasing drumbeat for military action against Syria, the White House is seeking to build congressional support, The Hill reported. Speaker John Boehner\u2019s office was contacted by the Obama administration Monday for a discussion on Syria. LINK\u00a0\r\nObama Taps Allies on Syria A diplomatic push ahead of a possible U.S.-led military strike on Syria intensified Tuesday as the White House prepared to release intelligence evidence alleging the use of chemical weapons by Bashar Assad's military. President Obama held discussions with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and French President Francois Hollande on Monday \u2013 the latest in a series of phone calls to allies as the United States lays the groundwork for potential military action, NBC News reported. LINK\r\nNSA Spied on UN\u00a0The United States hacked into an internal United Nations video conferencing system in 2012, according to a Der Spiegel report citing National Security Agency documents leaked by Edward Snowden.\u00a0 A UN spokesman told Reuters that well-established law prohibited such spying and that the organization would contact the United States.\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK\r\nIsrael-Palestine Talks Threatened\u00a0Palestinian leaders said peace negotiations were threatened Monday after Israeli security forces killed three Palestinian men at a refugee camp, The Washington Post reported. One Palestinian diplomat said a Monday gathering was canceled in protest, but the State Department denied the claim.\u00a0LINK\r\nNational\r\nDebt Limit The United States Treasury will hit its borrowing limit in mid-October, according to The Wall Street Journal. The timeframe is sooner than many on Capitol Hill had anticipated, meaning there will be extra pressure on Congress to raise the debt ceiling in the coming weeks.\u00a0LINK\r\nVeterans Health Care No government agency has calculated fully the lifetime cost of health care for post-9/11 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but it is certain to be high NBC News reported. \u201cMedical costs peak decades later,\u201d said Linda Bilmes, a Harvard University professor and coauthor of \"The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict.\" LINK\u00a0\r\nVeterans Homelessness\u00a0 \u201cWe`re doing better but we`re not doing well enough,\u201d to eliminate homelessness for veterans, Sen. Sherrod Brown told Ed Schultz on MSNBC.\u00a0\r\nCollege Costs Surge 538% Since 1985\u00a0College tuition costs have risen 538% since 1985, according to a Bloomberg report. Skyrocketing increases in college costs exacerbate income inequality by keeping those of less means from the schooling they need.\u00a0LINK\r\nWhite House Jobs for Women\u00a0In President Barack Obama's administration, the ratio of men to women in high level jobs is where it was two decades ago, The New York Times reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nF-35s\u00a0United Technologies Corp. and the Pentagon have reached an agreement on a contract to build engines for another batch of F-35 fighter jets, Reuters reported. The agreement is worth more than $1 billion.\u00a0LINK\r\nMedal of Honor\u00a0United States Army Staff Sergeant Ty Carter was awarded the Medal of Honor on Monday by President Barack Obama, Reuters reported. Carter left the safety of his Humvee to rescue a badly wounded comrade under enemy fire during a battle in Afghanistan. LINK\r\nVermont\r\nSeniors\u2019 Services Sequestered This year\u2019s federal budget cuts are causing the Central Vermont Council on Aging to end a popular program that helped seniors keep living at home.\u00a0 Beth Stern, executive director of the council, said the agency will be stopping its Neighbor to Neighbor AmeriCorps program at the end of September because of a decrease in funding, the Times Argus reported. LINK\r\nSequester Strikes Geological Survey A federal budget squeeze threatens to cut off funding for equipment that researchers use to predict floods and pinpoint the amount of pollution flowing into Lake Champlain. Ten stream gages in the Champlain watershed are scheduled to be turned off next month because the sequester reduced U.S. Geological Survey funds, Vermont Public Radio reported. LINK\r\nMarijuana Laws\u00a0Sen. Patrick Leahy plans to hold Senate Judiciary Committee hearings in September to examine the conflicts between state and federal marijuana laws, The Associated Press reported. Several states including Vermont have shifted to smaller penalties for marijuana possession.\u00a0LINK\r\nSchools Seek Budget Input\u00a0Burlington's School Board has issued a call for public input on school budgets, The Associated Press reported. Public hearings will be held in December, and school commissioners plan August and September site visits to ask parents and residents for ideas.\u00a0LINK\r\nCactus Leaves? \u201cAutumn in Arizona and why it\u2019s better here than it is in Vermont,\u201d was the headline over an article in a tourism magazine for the \u201cGrand Canyon State,\u201d according to a Vermont AP article that scoffed at the comparison.\u00a0 LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=6A82127D-F7F1-4BC9-A179-7F8BCA4D3ACA", "Vermont Yankee to Close", "2013-08-27", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Vermont Yankee to Close\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tTuesday, August 27, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tThe Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant will shut down by the end of next year, according to an announcement on Tuesday by Entergy Corp., the Louisiana company that has battled the state to keep operating the problem-plagued, aging reactor. \u201cI am delighted that Entergy will shut down the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant which has had so many problems in recent years. There is a strong desire on the part of the people of the state of Vermont to close the plant that was scheduled to operate for only 40 years,\u201d Sen. Bernie Sanders said.\r\n\r\n\u201cThe closure will allow Vermont to focus on leading the nation toward safer and more economical sources of sustainable and renewable energy like solar, wind, geothermal and biomass,\u201d added Sanders, a member of the Senate energy and environment committees.\r\nWhile welcoming news of the shutdown, Sanders said the jobs of Vermont Yankee employees must be preserved while the plant is safely decommissioned.\r\n\u201cEntergy must go through a decommissioning process as soon as possible, a process which will require many workers,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cClearly there are no people who know the Vermont Yankee plant better than those who are currently employed and they should be given top priority for those new jobs.\u201d\r\nThe company has indicated it favors a decommissioning method that could result in decades of delay. As a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, which oversees the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Sanders said he will work aggressively to make sure the decommissioning process starts as soon as possible.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20130827191817/http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=16c890d0-6830-47b7-9d95-7d1f4b1ca08f", "Vermont Yankee Nuke Plant to Close by End of 2014", "2013-08-27", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "By Dave Gram\n\t\t\t\t\n                \n            August 27, 2013\n            \nVermont's only nuclear power plant will shut down by the end of next year, ending a nasty legal battle over the future of the 4-decade-old plant, Entergy Corp. announced Tuesday.\nThe Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station is expected to cease power production after its current fuel cycle and will begin being decommissioned in the fourth quarter of 2014, the company said. The station will remain under the oversight of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission throughout the decommissioning process.\nThe New Orleans-based company has been battling with the state since 2010, when the Vermont Senate voted against a measure that would have authorized a state board to grant Vermont Yankee a permit to operate for an additional 20 years. Lawmakers were concerned about the plant's safety, age and misstatements by plant management about components at the reactor.\n\"This was an agonizing decision and an extremely tough call for us,\" Leo Denault, Entergy's chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement. \"Vermont Yankee has an immensely talented, dedicated and loyal workforce, and a solid base of support among many in the community. We recognize that closing the plant on this schedule was not the outcome they had hoped for, but we have reluctantly concluded that it is the appropriate action for us to take under the circumstances.\"\nContinue reading here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=0A0719F9-E927-4CBA-8EBE-3817274F4137", "News August 26", "2013-08-26", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News August 26\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tMonday, August 26, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders March on Washington Sen. Bernie Sanders was a 22-year-old college student when he stood at the Lincoln Memorial and listened to Dr. Martin Luther King deliver his \"I Have a Dream\" speech. Washington has begun celebrating the 50th anniversary of Dr. King's landmark address, WNYT-TV in Albany, N.Y., reported on Monday. VIDEO\r\nA Marine Remembered The parents of Kyle Gilbert, killed in Iraq a decade ago, wrote a letter to the editor of the Brattleboro Reformer to thank participants in a memorial service. \u201cA particular thanks to Sam Haskins from Sen. Bernie\u00a0Sanders\u00a0office for reading a heartwarming letter, not forgetting Kyle\u2019s sacrifice,\u201d they wrote. LINK\r\nThunder Road In the 35-lap Tiger Sportsman feature, Brendan Moodie of Wolcott raced on the outside of Chris Roberts in his Bernie Sanders/Nathan Brown No. 94 for 14 laps before contact brought out a caution flag. After the race was restarted, Moodie quickly got the upper hand and won, the Times Argus reported.\u00a0 \r\nWorld U.S. Mulls Action in Syria Moving a step closer to possible American military action in Syria, a senior Obama administration official said Sunday that there was \u201cvery little doubt\u201d that President Bashar al-Assad\u2019s military forces had used chemical weapons against civilians last week and that a Syrian promise to allow United Nations inspectors access to the site was \u201ctoo late to be credible,\u201d The New York Times reported.\u00a0 LINK \r\nFood Safety Protesters in the Philippines destroyed a field of genetically modified plants called Golden Rice, which is being developed by a nonprofit group to provide a new source of vitamin A. The vital nutrient could prevent blindness in up to a half-million children each year and strengthen the immune system to prevent two million deaths. The destruction of the field trial earlier this month spurred several thousand scientists to sign a petition venting frustration with groups they see as playing on misplaced fears of genetic engineering. There is \u201cbroad scientific consensus that GMOs are not intrinsically more risky than other crops,\u201d according to The New York Times. LINK\r\nUnemployment in Poland Government figures show that Poland's jobless rate fell to 13.1 per cent at the end of July, compared to 13.2 per cent the month before, thanks to seasonal jobs. The state Main Statistical Office released the figures on Monday. It said that some 2.1 million people, out of a population of 38 million, were out of work at the end of July, The Associated Press reorted. LINK\r\nNational Stagnant Wages Are Crimping Economic Growth Americans are spending enough to keep the economy rolling, but don't expect them to splurge unless their paychecks start to grow. Four years into the economic recovery, U.S. workers' pay still isn't even keeping up with inflation. The average hourly pay for a nongovernment, non-supervisory worker, adjusted for price increases, declined to $8.77 last month from $8.85 at the end of the recession in June 2009, The Wall Street Journal reported. LINK\r\nNSA\u2019s Critics in Congress The latest disclosures over government surveillance programs have emboldened their critics on Capitol Hill, ensuring that the debate over national security and privacy will remain intense when Congress returns this fall. Lawmakers clamored for security officials to provide more information on the surveillance programs after a secret national-security court ruling released Wednesday concluded that some National Security Agency practices violated the Constitution, and new media reports detailed the NSA\u2019s surveillance programs were broader than previously known, according to The Wall Street Journal. LINK\r\nTar Sands Pipeline The State Department's Office of Inspector General said Friday it will release the results of an investigation into a possible conflict of interest in the department's Keystone XL pipeline review in January\u2014a move that could delay a final decision on the project until next year. The OIG is investigating allegations that a consulting firm hired to produce the draft environmental impact statement for the pipeline had ties to TransCanada Corp. and the American Petroleum Institute, both organizations with a key stake in the project, National Journal reported. LINK\r\nVermont\r\nIrene Wednesday is the second anniversary of Tropical Storm Irene, which dropped up to 11 inches of rain on parts of the state, killing six, damaging or destroying 500 miles of roads and 200 bridges and displacing thousands. Gov. Peter Shumlin on Wednesday will be in Wilmington to celebrate the community's recovery by eating chili at Dot's, the iconic restaurant heavily damaged by the storm that is once again in business. On Thursday, Shumlin is going to be in Waterbury where he will announce federal funding for repairs to the Waterbury state office complex, The Associated Press reported. LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=67330205-4852-4CA1-914F-CFBEF87FFC13", "Stagnant Wages Are Crimping Economic Growth", "2013-08-26", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Stagnant Wages Are Crimping Economic Growth\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t By:\u00a0 Neil Shah \n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tMonday, August 26, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tAmericans are spending enough to keep the economy rolling, but don't expect them to splurge unless their paychecks start to grow.\r\nFour years into the economic recovery, U.S. workers' pay still isn't even keeping up with inflation. The average hourly pay for a nongovernment, non-supervisory worker, adjusted for price increases, declined to $8.77 last month from $8.85 at the end of the recession in June 2009, Labor Department data show.\r\nStagnant wages erode the spending power of consumers. That means it is harder for them to make purchases ranging from refrigerators to restaurant meals that account for most of the nation's economic growth.\r\nEconomists blame three factors:\r\nEconomic growth remains sluggish, advancing at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of less than 2% for three straight quarters\u2014below the prerecession average of 3.5%. That effectively has put a lid on inflation, which has been near or below the 2% level the Federal Reserve considers healthy for the economy. With demand for labor low, prices not rising fast and 11.5 million unemployed searching for work, employers aren't under pressure to raise wages to retain or attract workers.\r\nBusinesses are changing how they manage payrolls. Economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco in a recent paper said that, in the past, companies cut wages when the economy struggled and raised them amid expansions. But in the past three recessions since 1986\u2014and especially the 2007-2009 downturn\u2014companies minimized wage cuts and instead let workers go to keep remaining workers happy. As a result, to compensate for the wage cuts that never were made, businesses now may be capping wage growth. \"As the economy recovers, pent-up wage cuts will probably continue to slow wage growth long after the unemployment rate has returned to more normal levels,\" the researchers said.\r\nContinue reading here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=FAA27D8F-A634-4E69-ACFD-83818BEEC32A", "Shrinking Paychecks", "2013-08-26", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Shrinking Paychecks\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tMonday, August 26, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tPaychecks for U.S. workers are not keeping up with inflation. The average hourly pay was $8.77 last month. That level of pay for workers who aren\u2019t on a government payroll and aren\u2019t supervisors is down from $8.85 four years ago, according to inflation-adjusted data from the U.S. Department of Labor. With Labor Day approaching, Sen. Bernie Sanders has co-sponsored legislation to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour.\u00a0 Sanders also has spoken out in support of fast-food workers who have staged one-day walkouts throughout the country to bring attention to what he called the \u201cstarvation wages\u201d and \u201ceconomic injustice.\u201d\r\nWatch the Senate floor speech \u00bb", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=2DB914B7-4885-492A-8881-4392CA9F7B07", ": News August 25", "2013-08-25", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News August 25\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tSunday, August 25, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders March on Washington Sen. Bernie Sanders was among the more than 200,000 people who gathered at the Lincoln Memorial for the March on Washington 50 years ago to hear the Rev. Martin Luther King deliver his \"I Have a Dream\" speech. Since then, Sanders said, there has been some real progress in breaking down barriers of discrimination and segregation, including the election and re-election of an African-American president. But Sanders said the country is worse off than it was in 1963 in unemployment, low wages and more wealth disparity, according to an Associated Press report in the Times Argus, Rutland Herald and Brattleboro Reformer. In the Valley News, Sanders said the anniversary is a time to reflect on progress that has occurred but also to realize that the country has a long way to go. LINK, LINK, LINK\r\n\u2018I Have a Dream\u2019 Sen. Sanders credits King\u00a0with shaping\u00a0the values he\u00a0holds to this\u00a0day, he told WPTZ-TV. He spoke about his experience at the march. \u201cIt\u00a0was just a huge\u00a0crowd of every kind\u00a0of people \u2013 African-\u00a0Americans, whites.\u00a0There was a real\u00a0sense of joy and\u00a0optimism because\u00a0the success had\u00a0already occurred before King\u2019s speech just\u00a0by huge numbers who\u00a0showed up. It was\u00a0very positive day.\u201d Fox 44 and ABC 22 aired video of Sanders at the Lincoln Memorial. \u201cWe have come a long, long way in a lot of areas in fulfilling some of the visions that this great man had. But on the other hand let us not forget for one second that a lot of his dreams still have not been fulfilled.\u201d VIDEO, VIDEO\r\nMoran Plant Plans\u00a0Redevelopment plans for the 1950s-era Moran power plant on the Burlington waterfront range from a showcase for the arts to an expansion of the Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center.\u00a0\u201cThe most successful ones advance the idea that the heart of this thing is the community,\u201d said Peter Owens, the city\u2019s director of Community and Economic Development.\u00a0Owens worked in the 1980s with then Mayor Sanders on waterfront redevelopment, the Burlington Free Press reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nVermont Attractions A Burlington Free Press profile of Katharine Montstream said the Burlington artist studied at the University of Colorado and stayed for a couple years after college. But she missed the East and started thinking about a place to move. \u201cBurlington attracted her for several reasons: The big lake; Bernie Sanders; a handful of colleges; skiing; and the location being four hours from her parents. Not necessarily in that order.\u201d LINK\r\nWorld Syria The Syrian government accused rebels of using chemical weapons Saturday and warned the United States not to launch any military action against Damascus over an alleged chemical attack last week, saying such a move would set the Middle East ablaze. The accusations by the regime of President Bashar Assad against opposition forces came as an international aid group said it has tallied 355 deaths from a purported chemical weapons attack on Wednesday in a suburb of the Syrian capital, The Associated Press reported. LINK\r\nNational March on Washington Tens of thousands of people gathered on the National Mall Saturday to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 March on Washington, listening as political and civil rights leaders reflected on the legacy of racial progress over the last half-century and urged Americans to press forward in pursuit of King's dream of equality. The event was sponsored by the Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network, Martin Luther King III and the NAACP, CBS News reported. LINK\r\nA Veteran\u2019s Suicide Army veteran Daniel Somers service in Iraq, including multiple combat missions as a turret gunner, left him with severe post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. Somers felt frustrated in his efforts to get mental health and medical care from the Department of Veterans Affairs. And he was caught in VA\u2019s notorious disability claims backlog. When Somers, 30, shot himself in the head, his case seeking full disability for his PTSD had been awaiting resolution for 20 months, according to The Washington Post. His parents, Howard and Jean Somers, have been meeting with VA officials and congressional staffers to tell their son\u2019s story. LINK\r\nVermont    March on Washington \u201cThe anniversary of the March on Washington reminds us of what is possible when people look past their differences and work toward a shared goal. When President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law, he declared: \u201cThrough this act, and its enforcement, an important instrument of freedom passes into the hands of millions of our citizens,\u201d Sen. Patrick Leahy wrote in a Burlington Free Press column. LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=1A608139-5E05-4B6A-ADAF-73BAE2D026A9", "News August 21", "2013-08-21", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News August 21\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tWednesday, August 21, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders\r\nVA Backlog\u00a0The Department of Veterans Affairs is chipping away steadily at a disability claims backlog. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs Chairman Bernie Sanders said the latest figures show progress but \"we must remain aggressive and we intend to closely monitor the situation to ensure that the progress continues,\" The Washington Post reported.\u00a0Rep. Jeff Miller, chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, said the decrease is \"a welcomed statistic,\" but he questioned whether the progress will continue, according to the article also published by the Valley News. LINK, LINK\r\nWall Street\u00a0\"The center of establishment and big-money power is Wall Street,\" Sen. Sanders said on The Ed Show Tuesday. With assets equal to two-thirds of the nation's gross domestic product, Wall Street entities enjoy enormous political power in Washington. Sanders has proposed legislation to break up \u201ctoo-big-to-fail\u201d banks. AUDIO\r\nMarch on Washington A young Bernie Sanders attended the March on Washington that featured Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream\" speech. The future senator said King was just as interested in economic justice and wanted to end the Vietnam war, stands that turned much of the political establishment against King. \u201cSanders relates to that and credits King with shaping the values that have defined his own career,\u201d WPTZ-TV reported. LINK, VIDEO\r\nEgypt\u00a0The White House disputed news reports citing Sen. Patrick Leahy\u2019s claim that the U.S. has secretly suspend most forms of military aid to Egypt. Leahy argued for an aid cutoff after a military coup toppled the democratically-elected president. Sen. Sanders also criticized the coup by Egypt\u2019s military but voiced concern that an aid cutoff could cost the U.S. leverage in its attempt to restore democracy, WCAX-TV reported.\u00a0LINK, VIDEO\r\nUSPS Regular mail delivery could be cut to five days a week - or less - and door-to-door delivery would be phased out under provisions of the U.S. Senate's latest attempt at Postal Service reform. Co-sponsored by Sens. Tom Coburn, the bill already has drawn fire from postal employees who fear it will further degrade service standards and make the Postal Service less competitive by eliminating jobs and closing sorting stations. Postal worker unions back a bill by Sen. Sanders, according to the Tulsa (Okla.) World. LINK\r\nIncome Inequality \u201cAfter a bankrupt Wall Street was resurrected in 2008, it became clear that capitalism is killing America\u2019s soul,\u201d Paul B. Farrell wrote for The Wall Street Journal\u2019s MarketWatch. He said Sen. Sanders said it best: \u201cThere is a war going on in this country \u2026 waged by the wealthiest people in America on the disappearing and shrinking middle class of our country. The nation\u2019s billionaires \u2026 want more, more, more. Their greed has no end and they are apparently unconcerned for the future of this country if it gets in the way of their accumulation of power and wealth.\u201d LINK\r\nPlainspoken\u00a0Sen. Sanders \"believes in the principles he's arguing and defends them with his logic,\" conservative radio personality Jim Vicevich said Tuesday on WTIC-AM in Hartford, Conn. \"I don't agree with him, but if everybody in Congress were as plainspoken as Bernie Sanders on both sides of the aisle, you might actually get something done.\"\u00a0AUDIO\r\nWorld\r\nSyrian Gas Attack Anti-government activists accused the Syrian government of pounding areas east of Damascus, the capital, with rockets carrying poison gas early Wednesday, saying that people had been killed in their sleep and that local hospitals were filled with casualties, The New York Times reported. LINK\r\nU.S. Weighs Military Aid to Egypt The White House is poised to cancel a shipment of U.S.-made attack helicopters to Egypt, but the Obama administration remains opposed to a wholesale halt of military aid to the country, according to U.S. officials. President Obama convened a meeting on Tuesday with Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and other national-security aides to discuss U.S. aid to Egypt in the aftermath of the military ouster of President Mohammed Morsi and the crackdown on his supporters, administration officials told The Wall Street Journal. LINK\r\nEgyptian Opposition Leader Arrested\u00a0Egypt's interim military government Tuesday arrested key Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Mohamed Badie, CNN reported. LINK\r\nRadioactive Water Leak in Japan\u00a0Three hundred tons of highly contaminated water leaked from a storage tank at the destroyed Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, The New York Times reported. The spill raised further concerns over the site's safety, prompting regulators to declare a radiological release incident for the first time since the 2011 disaster. Recent leaks are at \"crisis levels\" according to the plant's operator.\u00a0LINK\r\n\u00a0National\r\nDemocrats to Sue IRS over Tax-Exemptions A top House Democrat plans to file a lawsuit in federal district court Wednesday challenging the Internal Revenue Service\u2019s interpretation of a law that governs whether groups qualify for tax-exempt status as so-called social welfare organizations. Rep. Chris Van Hollen said Tuesday that he will serve as lead plaintiff in the case, which addresses one of the main concerns that surfaced with the recent IRS targeting controversy: differences between federal law and the IRS rules on eligibility for 501(c)(4) candidates. LINK\r\nNew Details Show Broader NSA Surveillance Reach The National Security Agency\u2014which possesses only limited legal authority to spy on U.S. citizens\u2014has built a surveillance network that covers more Americans' Internet communications than officials have publicly disclosed, current and former officials say. The system has the capacity to reach roughly 75 percent of all U.S. Internet traffic in the hunt for foreign intelligence, including a wide array of communications by foreigners and Americans. In some cases, it retains the written content of emails sent between citizens within the U.S. and also filters domestic phone calls made with Internet technology, The Wall Street Journal reported. LINK\r\nSummers, Yellen Allies Wage Effort for Federal Reserve \u00a0The opposing camps have waged high-profile media campaigns, featuring dueling op-eds in the nation\u2019s top newspapers, interviews defending their candidates and comments on social media. But the battle also has played out behind the scenes, The Washington Post reported. LINK\r\nImmigration Reform Analysis from center-right think tank American Action Network says that the Senate-passed immigration bill would add 14,000 new jobs on average in each congressional district over the next decade, ABC News reported. The report claims that more than six million American jobs would be created if the bill were passed and signed into law.\u00a0LINK\r\nKerry Clears State Dept. Employees\u00a0Secretary of State John Kerry has cleared four State Department employees put on administrative leave last December in the fallout of a terrorist attack on the United States mission in Benghazi, NBC News reported. Following a review of the Accountability Review Board, Kerry reassigned the four employees to different roles within the department.\u00a0LINK\r\nHealth Care Costs\u00a0Analysis of health care premiums for employer-sponsored coverage indicates that cost increases have slowed since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation report cited by Think Progress.\u00a0LINK\r\nVermont\r\nSolar Power Citing a new report on global warming, a Rutland Herald editorial said Green Mountain Power has been a solar booster but noted that small, electric co-ops have put restrictions on solar power generation. \u201cIt is time for clever people to think up ways to enlist the enthusiasm and interest of the customers of small utilities, like Washington Electric, to allow for maximum production of solar power,\u201d the editorial said. LINK\r\nFarmers Oppose Food Rules Farmers from Vermont and New Hampshire told federal officials Tuesday that sweeping food safety rules could sweep them out of business.\u00a0 About 200 farmers, consumers and others attended a session Tuesday hosted by the Food and Drug Administration at Dartmouth College to discuss proposed rules for implementing the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act, The Associated Press reported. LINK\r\nCanadian Border\u00a0 The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has dropped plans for a major expansion of the port of entry from Canada at the northern end of Interstate 91 in Derby Line, local officials said. Derby Line Village Trustee Keith Beadle said that rather than a full-scale expansion that would re-route traffic, Customs and Border Protection plans to expand a building within the existing footprint, AP reported. LINK\r\nObesity Vermont is now the sixth least obese state in the nation, according to a new report cited by the Burlington Free Press.\u00a0LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=302B12D2-1E22-4AE9-AD94-97B232F70F1E", "Sanders Pushes for Wall Street Reforms", "2013-08-20", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Sanders Pushes for Wall Street Reforms\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tTuesday, August 20, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tAs the United States nears the fifth anniversary of the financial crisis next month, Sen. Sanders addressed the need for regulators to implement Wall Street reforms.\u00a0 In an\u00a0interview on the Ed Schultz radio program, Sen. Sanders said \u201cIf we are ever going to be successful in rebuilding a collapsing middle class, and dealing with poverty, and creating the jobs that we desperately need in this country, you have to deal with Wall St. You just can\u2019t push it aside.\u201d Sanders also told the radio audience that Wall Street banks \u201cwrite two-thirds of the credit cards in America, half of the mortgages in America, 95 percent of the derivatives in America, and they play a huge role in the oil futures market and their speculation there drives up oil prices that the average driver sees at the gas pump.\u201d\u00a0\r\nListen to the radio interview \u00bb", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=30CCA60B-3DF2-46DC-A03C-1914BE95EB00", "Veterans home will continue to receive state, federal payments", "2013-08-20", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Veterans home will continue to receive state, federal payments\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tTuesday, August 20, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tBENNINGTON \u2014 The Vermont Veterans Home has passed an inspection by agents of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and is no longer in danger of losing its certification to receive Medicare and Medicaid funding, according to the home\u2019s administrator, Melissa Jackson. The home, which is the only state-run nursing home for veterans in Vermont, was at risk of losing Medicare and Medicaid funding after a series of inspections which identified deficiencies that needed to be corrected. The home was notified about the deficiencies in March and, while they were corrected in follow-up inspections, new deficiencies were noted. The centers, also known as CMS, notified officials at the home that they would not be able to receive Medicare or Medicaid funding after Aug. 26. However, the home was given another inspection before the deadline. Jackson said two inspectors from the Vermont Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living\u2019s division of licensing and protection and an official with CMS arrived at the home on Monday morning. Officials at the home were expecting an inspection before Aug. 26 but didn\u2019t know when it would take place.\r\n\r\nContinue reading here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=776C8374-4F2B-4E80-B2E8-338A2C6E660A", "Vt. Bernie Buzz: Saving the U.S. Postal Service", "2013-08-20", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Saving the U.S. Postal Service\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tTuesday, August 20, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tThe U.S. Postal Service is one of the most important institutions in America. It is enormously important to our economy, providing a vital service to tens of millions of Americans and businesses. It also provides hundreds of thousands of decent-paying jobs.\u00a0\r\nUnfortunately, for political reasons, the USPS has been under a major attack for many years \u2013 primarily by those who don\u2019t like government and who would like as much privatization as possible.\u00a0\u201cThere are those in Congress and in the Postal Service leadership who would like to slow mail delivery significantly, end door-to-door service, shut down thousands of rural post offices, end Saturday mail and, in the process, eliminate tens of thousands of jobs,\u201d Bernie said.\r\n\r\nOne of the arguments for these massive cuts is that the Postal Service is losing substantial sums of money. The reality, however, is that is far from true.\u00a0 Since 2007, nearly 80 percent of the financial losses at the Postal Service is the result of an unprecedented and onerous financial burden, pushed by the Bush Administration in 2006, which forces the Postal Service to pay 75 years of future retiree health benefits in a 10-year period. This burden costs the Postal Service about $5.5 billion a year.\r\nThe most recent quarterly financial report from the Postal Service shows that without that burden the Postal Service would have earned a $660 million profit in the third quarter of this year and a $330 million profit since last October.\r\nBernie believes that there needs to be significant changes in the way the Postal Service operates to help it thrive in the digital age. But the answer is not simply to cut, cut, cut. He has proposed legislation, which has 29 Senate co-sponsors, that would give the Postal Service the tools it needs to be financially viable while providing quality and timely service to allow the Postal Service to continue to play a vital role in our economy.\r\nMany Vermonters agree with Bernie. \u201cSaturday mail is important because we need to get our bills on time and be able to pay before they are due,\u201d said Peg Grimaed, 75, of Windsor, Vt.\r\n\u201cNot everyone can use or has a computer to pay their bills online, nor would they trust the online way due to hacking and identity theft,\u201d writes 52-year-old Maria Rogers.\r\n\u201cDoor to door delivery is what I rely on,\u201d said Bert Thompson, 58, of Johnson, Vt.\r\nShare your thoughts about strengthening the Postal Service with Bernie\r\nRead more", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=7778EE0C-8778-49E4-8E2A-A168E541E739", "News August 20", "2013-08-20", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News August 20\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tTuesday, August 20, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders\r\nVeterans Health Care Sen. Bernie Sanders urged veterans to take advantage of cutting-edge health care available from the Department of Veterans Affairs. \"My message today is that for the men and women in the state of Vermont who have put their lives on the line to defend this country, we have some excellent facilities available for you,\" Sanders said at a news conference. He was joined by officials from the White River Junction VA hospital, WCAX-TV, WPTZ-TV, ABC 22, Fox 44, The Associated Press, Burlington Free Press, Rutland Herald, Times Argus, The Caledonian-Record, Brattleboro Reformer and Bennington Banner reported. LINK,\u00a0LINK, LINK, LINK,\u00a0LINK, VIDEO, VIDEO, VIDEO\r\nVeterans Health Care Sen. Sanders cited the use of telemedicine and the VA\u2019s embrace of holistic and preventative approaches as well as a new women\u2019s clinic at White River VA, Vermont Public Radio reported. The White River Junction medical center serves about 25,000 vets from Vermont and the four contiguous counties in New Hampshire, but the VA system in Vermont has the capacity to serve more eligible veterans across the state and parts of New Hampshire, WAMC-FM reported.\u00a0 LINK, LINK,\r\nVermont Veterans Home Sen. Sanders on Monday welcomed good news from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that the Bennington facility passed a recent inspection. The state-run home had faced with an Aug. 26 deadline for the loss of federal funding after failing earlier CMS inspections, AP, the Burlington Free Press, Valley News and WPTZ-TV reported. The Rutland Herald and Times Argus said Sanders brought together Gov. Peter Shumlin\u2019s administration with federal officials to preserve funding. The home\u2019s president told the Bennington Banner that he shares Sanders\u2019 goal to make the home the best in the nation. LINK, LINK, LINK, LINK, VIDEO\r\nEgypt\u00a0Sen. Sanders urged the United States to use military aid to Egypt as leverage to move the country toward democracy and protect civil liberties, Vermont Public Radio reported. \u201cIt\u2019s easy to say \u2018let\u2019s cut off aid tomorrow.\u2019 Fine. What happens the next day? Does the country descend into civil war? With aid the United States continues to have some leverage. The question is how we use that leverage,\u201d Sanders remarked. LINK\r\nDebit-Card Fees\u00a0United States District Court Judge Richard Leon tossed out a Federal Reserve rule governing debit-card fees last week after banks overcharged customers for fees, the Addison County Independent reported. The ruling was a stern criticism of the Federal Reserve board, forcing the Fed to rewrite the rule to limit 'interchange fees' to ensure they reflect actual costs. Sen. Sanders \"continues to be one of the few who rails against such injustices, but he needs the public's continued support on these issues if his voice is resonate,\" Angelo Lynn wrote in an editorial.\u00a0LINK\r\nWorld\r\nGlobal Warming An international panel of scientists has found with near certainty that human activity is the cause of most of the temperature increases of recent decades, and warns that sea levels could conceivably rise by more than three feet by the end of the century if emissions continue at a runaway pace. The scientists, whose findings are reported in a draft summary of the next big United Nations climate report, largely dismiss a recent slowdown in the pace of warming, which is often cited by climate change doubters, attributing it most likely to short-term factors, according to The New York Times. LINK\r\nMubarak May be Freed\u00a0Egypt's former leader Hosni Mubarak could soon be freed from jail after a court ruled Monday that he could no longer be held in custody on a corruption charge, Reuters reported.LINK\r\nMusharraf Charged in Bhutto Death A court in Pakistan indicted former president and army chief Pervez Musharraf and six others in the 2007 death of Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, according to the country's government-run radio station, Radio Pakistan. LINK\r\nNational\r\nFast-Food Workers Plan Nationwide Walkout Low-wage fast-food and retail workers are calling for a national day of strikes on Aug. 29. The workers, backed by local community groups and national unions, have held one-day walkouts in cities such as New York, St. Louis and Detroit. The workers are calling for a wage of $15 an hour and the right to form a union. Organizers of the walkout say cashiers, cooks and crew members at fast-food restaurants are paid a median wage of $8.94 an hour, The Washington Post reported. LINK\r\nUnemployment Uneven The national unemployment rate ticked down in July, but more than half the states saw an increase in the percentage of out-of-work job seekers over the last month, The Washington Post reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nWhite House College Tour\u00a0President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden plan to take a bus tour to several colleges to discuss ways to reign in the skyrocketing costs of a college education, The Hill reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nVA Claims Backlog Critics of the Department of Veterans Affairs will culminate a four-month petition drive Tuesday by demanding the president take immediate action to end the million-veteran disability claims backlog.The problem? The backlog is already under 500,000 cases, and has been falling fast since the drive began. Supporters of the VA have dismissed the petition, organized by the conservative Concerned Veterans for America, as little more than a political stunt, according to Stars and Stripes. LINK\r\nEd Schultz Moves Back to Weekdays\u00a0MSNBC's Ed Schultz will return to weekdays after a brief hiatus, Politico reported. \"Ed Schultz is a force of nature and an important voice to the MSNBC audience. I can\u2019t wait to have him back on weeknights,\" said MSNBC President Phil Griffin.\u00a0LINK\r\nAl Jazeera America\u00a0Al Jazeera America launches Tuesday, promising 14 hours of straight news every day, The New York Times reported. Representatives of the Qatari-owned network say the news channel will offer hard-hitting documentaries, worldwide correspondents and fewer commercials than any other news channel.\u00a0LINK\r\nVermont\r\nUnemployment Up\u00a0Unemployment in Vermont remained the fourth-lowest in the country but climbed to 4.6 percent in July, the third consecutive month with an increase, according to The Associated Press.\u00a0LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=C27F175E-622D-4FAD-B769-90944CE5E790", "The Guardian: How low can you get: the minimum wage scam", "2013-08-20", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "How low can you get: the minimum wage scam\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t By:\u00a0 Heidi Moore \n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tTuesday, August 20, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\r\nYou'd think the exceptionally low minimum-wage \u2013 $7.25 an hour \u2013 would be the shame of a country like the\u00a0United States\u00a0that prides itself on its economic leadership. Half of minimum-wage jobs are held by adults over 25 years old, and asking adults to live on $7.25, or $14,500 a year, doesn't leave them with enough to rent an apartment, commute to work, raise a child and participate in society in any meaningful way.\r\nMany US states have higher minimum-wage requirements than the government, with Washington State\u00a0leading the pack at $9.19 an hour. That's a start, but many large, international companies will only pay the minimum the federal government requires. As a result, the federal minimum wage keeps an entire class of people trapped in economic servitude, focusing their attention on survival rather than growth, barring their ability to save enough or pay for education that would allow them to rise to the middle class.\r\nIncome inequality is as bad as it has ever been \u2013 and the reason is simple.\r\nLow-wage workers can't even care for their own health without giving up some other necessity. According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, it took a minimum-wage worker 130 hours to earn a year's worth of health\u00a0benefits\u00a0in 1979. That is only three-and-a-half weeks of full-time, minimum -age work. By 2011, the same health coverage cost 749 hours, or 19 weeks of full-time, minimum-wage work. Working nearly half the year to afford only healthcare, and nothing else, is a ridiculous demand to make of low-wage workers.\r\nContinue reading here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=A1E58B5D-A58F-4D7F-8841-9FA2761B9078", ": News August 19", "2013-08-19", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News August 19\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tMonday, August 19, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders Veterans Health Care Sen. Bernie Sanders will be discussing veterans' health care needs at a news conference in Burlington today. Sanders, chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, will be joined by the director and co-acting chief of staff of the VA Medical Center in White River Junction. Sanders' office says the VA now serves about 8,600 veterans at clinics in Colchester, Brattleboro, Rutland, Bennington and Newport, The Associated Press and WPTZ-TV reported. LINK, VIDEO\r\nStudent Loans \u201cThe massive earnings the government gets on student-loan programs amount to a crude backdoor tax increase disguised by cynical legislators (who hesitate to ask constituents with more powerful lobbies to help cut the deficit) as an investment in America's youth,\u201d according to Rolling Stone. \u201cIt's basically a $185 billion tax hike on middle-income and low-income citizens and their families,\u201d said Warren Gunnels, senior policy adviser for Sen. Sanders, one of the few legislators critical of the recent congressional student-loan compromise. LINK\r\n\u2018I Have a Dream\u2019 Reflecting Sunday on the upcoming 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, Sen. Sanders said there have been \u201cmixed results\u201d in the decades since the historic march led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders. A 22-year-old college student in 1963, Sanders rode a bus to Washington, D.C, to participate in the march. There has been significant progress in the past half century \u201cbreaking down the barriers of discrimination and segregation,\u201d Sanders said on MSNBC, but \u201cin terms of economic justice, I would say that in many ways we are worse off.\u201d VIDEO\r\nStafford and the Environment Bruce S. Post, who was U.S. Sen. Robert Stafford\u2019s state director, questioned in a Rutland Herald column why Stafford was left off a list of key environmentalists compiled by the executive director of the Vermont Natural Resources Council. LINK\r\nWorld Egypt A day after the Egyptian government acknowledged that its security forces had killed 36 Islamists in its custody, suspected militants were reported on Monday to have killed at least 24 police officers in an attack on their minibuses in the restive northern Sinai region.The new bloodletting, on the sixth day of a state of emergency imposed after security forces killed hundreds of supporters of deposed president Mohamed Morsi last week, punctuated a continued political stalemate in Egypt\u2019s crisis as military leaders and their Islamist foes vowed to keep up their fight over the country\u2019s future, The New York Times reported. LINK\r\nU.S. Aid The State Department has put a hold on financing for economic programs but whether to cut off the remaining $585 million in military aid available to Egypt this year was one of the questions that awaited President Obama as he returned to Washington from a vacation in Martha\u2019s Vineyard, The New York Times reported. LINK\r\nNational Obama, Financial Regulators to Meet on Monday President Obama will meet with top financial regulators Monday at the White House \u201cto discuss the progress that has been made in strengthening the financial system, including the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act,\u201d the White House said Sunday evening according to The Wall Street Journal. LINK\r\nSequester Cuts Head Start Head Start programs across the country eliminated services for 57,000 children in the coming school year to balance budgets diminished by the federal sequester, cutting 1.3 million days from Head Start center calendars and laying off or reducing pay for more than 18,000 employees, according to federal government data scheduled for release Monday. The Washington Post said the cuts will affect tens of thousands of poor families across the country who rely on Head Start for early learning programs, day care and a network of social services and medical care. LINK\r\nSequester Grounds Federal Workers Five months after gridlock in Washington triggered the deep spending cuts known as sequestration, much of the United States government is grounded. Most government travel budgets have been cut this year by 30 percent, the result of an administration directive forcing managers to make difficult policy decisions about whom to send, where to send them and for how long, The New York Times reported. LINK\r\nNSA Violations \u2018Just the Tip of a Larger Iceberg,\u2019 Say Wyden, Udall Two Democratic senators say new reporting by The Washington Post about invasions of privacy by U.S. intelligence is \u201djust the tip of a larger iceberg.\u201d The senators made that statement in response to a Post report outlining violations of privacy rules by the National Security Agency, according to Roll Call, after the Post published a copy of a top secret internal NSA audit report identifying thousands of \u201cincidents\u201d in which the NSA ran afoul of court orders and other rules governing intelligence collection. LINK\r\nVermont\r\nLeahy on NSA Spying Sen. Patrick Leahy announced he would convene yet another hearing on the National Security Agency\u2019s surveillance programs. Leahy\u2019s announcement came hours after the Washington Post reported on an NSA audit that revealed the agency had improperly obtained thousands of private communications, the Vermont Press Bureau reported. LINK\r\nLeahy at GE in Rutland It could have been mistaken for a campaign stop, if not for the fact it\u2019s not an election year. But there was Sen. Leahy working the crowd, or in this case, GE workers, who lined up to greet Vermont\u2019s senior senator on a tour of the massive GE Aviation plant last week. Leahy, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, is pushing the Navy to develop a new version of the F414 engine \u2013 the GE-built engine that powers the F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter and the E/A-18 Growler, an electronic attack aircraft, which can jam enemy air defense systems, the Rutland Herald reported. LINK\r\nIrene Recovery Some cities and towns are continuing to recover from Tropical Storm Irene. But federal funds are still available to municipalities and nonprofits with unfinished community recovery projects. The money comes from the Competitive Grants Program, part of the Community Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds, provided by HUD, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Vermont Public Radio reported. LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=C34D9AEC-10F1-4804-AA28-9426D5193956", "Sanders Welcomes Good News for Vermont Veterans? Home", "2013-08-19", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Sanders Welcomes Good News for Vermont Veterans\u2019 Home  \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tMonday, August 19, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tBURLINGTON, Vt., Aug. 19 \u2013 U.S. Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today welcomed a finding by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that the state-run Vermont Veterans Home passed an inspection and is no longer in danger of losing Medicare and Medicaid funding.\r\n\u201cI am very pleased that CMS found the Vermont Veterans\u2019 Home \u2018in compliance\u2019 and that federal funding will not be withdrawn from that facility,\u201d Sanders said.\r\n\u201cAs chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans\u2019 Affairs, I am pleased at the progress we are seeing at the veterans\u2019 home. I am committed to making sure the men and women who have served our country in uniform receive the benefits they have earned and deserve. The veterans of our state and region are entitled to the best quality nursing care possible, and that is what the veterans\u2019 home must provide,\u201d Sanders said.\r\nSanders on Aug. 8 hosted a meeting in Montpelier with senior officials in Gov. Peter Shumlin\u2019s administration and representatives from the home, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and CMS to look at ways to prevent an interruption in the home\u2019s funding.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=D0D8B69B-BADC-4BDC-B0C5-9C76E336962E", "'A Moral Responsibility'", "2013-08-19", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "'A Moral Responsibility'\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tMonday, August 19, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSen. Bernie Sanders, who chairs the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, said we have \"a moral responsibility\" to provide quality care for our veterans. During a news conference this morning with the director of Vermont\u2019s White River Junction VA Medical Center, Sanders highlighted the state-of-the art health care that is available for veterans in Vermont and throughout the country. \u201cThe fact of the matter is that we can never really repay people who put their lives on the line for this country,\u201d he said.\r\nRead more in the Burlington Free Press \u00bb\r\nOnline resources for veterans \u00bb", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=2D7EC943-19CD-4AB3-AB94-21D4D9D82267", "News August 17", "2013-08-17", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News August 17\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tSaturday, August 17, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders\r\nDomestic Spying\u00a0The National Security Agency has overstepped its legal authority and violated the privacy of thousands of Americans, according to an audit cited in published reports. \"We have to defend the American people from the very real threat of terrorism,\" Sen. Bernie Sanders told radio host Thom Hartmann on Friday, \"but there are ways to do that without undermining basic privacy and constitutional rights.\"\u00a0AUDIO\r\nPostal Service\u00a0A plan to allow the Postal Service to ship beer and wine could generate $50 million in revenue for the agency, according to FOX 44. Sen. Sanders supports the idea, but said the Postal Service\u2019s larger fiscal issues are more deeply rooted in a burdensome congressional mandate that requires the agency to overpay a fund for future retiree benefits. VIDEO\r\nStudent Loans The Senate passed legislation that will provide relief on student loan interest rates \u201cbut it is far from perfect,\u201d Sen. Carl Levin wrote in an op-ed published by the Hillsdale (Mich.) Daily News. \u201cThe student debt problem \u2026 requires a carefully \u2026 long-term solution \u2026 But this legislation is not it. That is why I supported an amendment \u2026 by Sens. Jack Reed and Elizabeth Warren and another by Sen. \u2026 Sanders that would have mitigated some of the long-term damage of this legislation.\u201d\r\n\u2018I\u2019ll Take Bernie\u2019 \u201cI will take independent Sen. Bernie Sanders any day,\u201d a caller told C-SPAN during a Saturday morning call-in program that asked. \u201cWho best represents your political party?\u201d Maggie from Texas added that she prefers Sanders because \u201che is a man of principle. He stands up for the little people. He does not represent the 1 percent in this country. He represents the other 99%.\u201d\u00a0 VIDEO\r\nWorld\r\n'Day of Rage'\u00a0Supporters of former president Morsi in Egypt promised a 'Day of Rage' on Friday as thousands took to the streets to protest a military crackdown, USA Today reported. At least another 60 people were killed Friday. The Muslim Brotherhood has called for a week of more protests.\u00a0LINK\r\nNational\r\nEPA to Revise Fuel-Economy Standards\u00a0Environmental Protection Agency regulators plan to revise labeling rules from the 1970s to resolve disparities among miles-per-gallon ratings for hybrid and electric vehicles on the market, The New York Times reported. Changes sought by the agency would ensure that government fuel-economy stickers advertise the most accurate gas mileage information.\u00a0LINK\r\nPaid Sick Days Decrease\u00a0American workers receive fewer paid sick days than they did two decades ago, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report cited by Think Progress. About 40 percent of private sector workers cannot take a paid day off to care for themselves or a family member when illness strikes, the report said.\u00a0LINK\r\nPA Voting Law Halted by Judge\u00a0Pennsylvania Judge Bernard McGinley on Friday barred enforcement of Pennsylvania's new strict voter-identification law in the November general election, according to The Huffington Post. The constitutionality of the law is being challenged by voting rights advocates who say voter ID laws unfairly disenfranchise potential voters.\u00a0LINK\r\nCIA Declassifies Area 51 Documents\u00a0Central Intelligence Agency officials have declassified documents regarding the nation's top secret \"Area 51\" location, The Guardian reported. Conspiracy theorists will likely be disappointed by the documents, which attribute unidentified flying object sightings to the testing of U-2 spy planes in the area during the 1950s and 1960s.\u00a0LINK\r\nRepublicans to Boycott CNN, NBC for Debates\u00a0Republican party officials elected to boycott any 2016 presidential debates sponsored by CNN or NBC if the networks continue with plans to show special film programs on Hillary Clinton, Reuters reported. Delegates to a meeting of the Republican National Committee voice voted unanimously for the boycott, saying that the programs would be \"little more than extended commercials promoting former Secretary Clinton.\"\u00a0LINK\r\nNew York to Appeal 'Stop-and-Frisk' Ruling\u00a0New York City moved Friday to appeal a federal judge's ruling that its police department's controversial stop-and-frisk policy is unconstitutional, according to Reuters. The department's stop-and-frisk strategy, in which patrol officers in high-crime areas have stopped millions of people on the basis of \"reasonable suspicion\" that they could be engaged in criminal activity, disproportionately targeted racial minorities, according to the federal judge who ruled on the case.\u00a0LINK\r\nVermont\r\nSolar Power Billing\u00a0Vermont's smaller electric utilities are pushing back on solar panels that allow customers to feed power back into the grid, according to a Burlington Free Press report. Utilities say that households with photovoltaic panels pay less than a fair share for line maintenance and efficiency programs.\u00a0LINK\r\nCounseling Program Grant\u00a0A Vermont school district has received a grant of over $204,000 from the federal Department of Education to establish or expand counseling programs, The Associated Press reported. Milton school district will use the funds to help hire qualified mental health professionals to work on behalf of students.\u00a0LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=53BD6338-69C4-4CCD-AA47-743021761DE1", "The Week in Review", "2013-08-16", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "The Week in Review\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tFriday, August 16, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tThe National Security Agency has overstepped its legal authority, according to an audit cited in published reports on Friday. \u201cWe have got to do everything we can to combat terrorism and protect the American people,\u201d Sen. Bernie Sanders said on The Thom Hartmann Program, but he renewed his call for legislation to limit surveillance to cases when intelligence and law enforcement authorities have specific reasons to be suspicious of someone. Around the world, it was a week of bloodshed in Egypt as government security forces cracked down on demonstrations loyal to the elected leader deposed by the military. In this country, Sanders applauded students who gathered petitions from people all over Vermont supporting legislation to require labels on food made from genetically engineered ingredients. He pressed the case for modernizing the Postal Service instead of cutting services. And in a Monday op-ed written with Sen. Elizabeth Warren for The Huffington Post, Sanders and weighed into the debate over the Federal Reserve\u2019s role in restoring full employment.\r\nNSA Domestic Spying The Washington Post broke the story on National Security Agency infractions based on top-secret documents provided by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. The violations, many\u00a0 of them accidental, mostly involved unauthorized surveillance of Americans or foreign intelligence targets in the United States. Both are restricted by law and executive order. Sanders has introduced the Restore Our Privacy Act to put strict limits on sweeping powers used by the NSA and Federal Bureau of Investigation to secretly track telephone calls by millions of innocent Americans who are not suspected of any wrongdoing. \"We must give our intelligence and law enforcement agencies all of the tools that they need to combat terrorism but we must do so in a way that protects our freedom and respects the Constitution's ban on unreasonable searches,\" Sanders said. Sign a petition supporting Sanders\u2019 bill\u00bb\r\nBloodbath in Egypt Dozens of people were reportedly killed in renewed clashes on Friday as thousands of followers of the embattled Muslim Brotherhood took to the streets of Cairo and other cities facing police officers authorized to use lethal force if threatened. President Obama announced Thursday that the United States had canceled joint military exercises with Egypt in the wake of a crackdown on Wednesday by security forces left 640 people dead.\u00a0 Obama asked his staff to \u201creassess\u201d U.S. aid to Egypt, but he held back from actually reducing or canceling the $1.3 billion in annual aid, much of which goes to the military.\r\nFood Labels Vermont Public Interest Research Group organizers on Thursday celebrated the largest-ever summer outreach campaign. VPIRG canvassers went door-to-door in cities, towns and villages throughout Vermont and collected about 30,000 signatures in support of legislation to require labels on food that contain genetically modified organisms. Sanders, who introduced legislation in Washington to make it clear that states have the right to require GMO food labels, spoke to the volunteers outside the Statehouse in Montpelier. \u201cThe truth of matter is that labeling of GMOs is not radical concept. It's done throughout Europe and dozens and dozens of countries throughout world, so if people tell you it can't be done \u2013 it's too complicated \u2013 they're not telling you the truth,\u201d the senator said. Watch a report on WPTZ-TV \u00bb\r\nUSPS The Postal Service would have posted a profit for last quarter without the \"unnecessary burden\" imposed during the Bush administration that it must sock away more than $5 billion a year in a fund that already has more than enough set aside to pay for future retirees\u2019 health care, Sen. Sanders told Ed Schultz on Thursday. Listen to the interview\u00bb\r\nThe Fed As President Obama weighs a replacement for Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Sens. Sanders and Elizabeth Warren said the next central banker must address whether the Fed\u2019s top priority is meeting its full-employment mandate, whether to break up \u201ctoo-big-to-fail\u201d banks, whether the deregulation of Wall Street contributed to the recession and whether $2 trillion that financial institutions have parked at the Fed should be used to help small- and medium-size businesses create jobs. Read the column for The Huffington Post \u00bb\r\nVermont Students Head to Pine Ridge Reservation Seven students and a teacher from Mt. Mansfield Union High School in Jericho, Vt., are leaving on Saturday for a trip to one of the poorest counties in the United States. Their goal is to help the Oglala Lakota Sioux on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Working with a non-profit organization, the Vermont students will spend several days learning about the history and people of the South Dakota Black Hills. Senior Ana Wright said she wanted to make the trip because these families \u201care living in terrible conditions\u201d and \u201cwe should definitely help them because no one should be living like this.\u201d Sanders praised the students for their willingness to confront such challenges. Read a Vt. Bernie Buzz article \u00bb", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=54724ED3-4811-4FA5-8511-CB143F0A9C48", "News August 16", "2013-08-16", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News August 16\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tFriday, August 16, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders\r\nGMO Labeling\u00a0Vermont Public Interest Research Group on Thursday held a Statehouse rally to unveil some 30,000 signatures in support of labeling foods that contain genetically modified organisms. Sen. Bernie Sanders told the crowd it\u2019s a matter of consumers having the right to know what\u2019s in their food, WPTZ-TV, FOX44, ABC 22, Vermont Public Radio and vtdigger.org reported.\u00a0Sanders tried unsuccessfully to push through a farm bill amendment that would have allowed states to approve such laws, the Brattleboro Reformer reported. VIDEO, LINK, LINK, LINK, LINK\r\nUSPS\u00a0The Postal Service would have posted a profit for last quarter without the \"unnecessary burden\" imposed during the Bush administration that it must sock away more than $5 billion a year in a fund that already has enough set aside to pay for future retirees\u2019 health care, Sen. Sanders told Ed Schultz on Thursday. AUDIO\r\nThe Fed \u201cOne reason passions run so strong about the next Fed chair is that this is more than a choice between Larry Summers and Janet Yellen. It's also a debate between the \"Wall Street Wing of the Democratic Party\" -- represented by Robert Rubin, Larry Summers, Timothy Geithner and Gene Sperling -- and the \"Main Street Wing\" of the party -- represented by Sherrod Brown, Jeff Merkley, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren,\u201d Bill Press wrote in a syndicated column in the Anchorage Daily News. LINK\r\nWorld\r\nEgypt Braces for More Bloodshed Egypt is bracing for more violence after the Muslim Brotherhood called for nationwide marches after Friday prayers and a \"day of rage\" to denounce this week's unprecedented bloodshed in the security forces' assault on the supporters of the country's ousted Islamist president that left more than 600 dead. The government authorized the use of deadly force against protesters targeting police and state institutions, CBS News reported. Egyptian State TV reported Friday that army troops had been deployed to guard \"vital installations\" around the country. LINK\u00a0\r\nObama: Violence in Egypt 'Needs to Stop'\u00a0President Barack Obama announced Thursday that the United States had canceled joint military exercises with Egypt in the wake of a devastating crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood protesters, The New York Times reported. \u201cThe Egyptian people deserve better than what we\u2019ve seen over the past several days,\u201d the president said, adding that the \u201ccycle of violence and escalation needs to stop.\u201d\u00a0LINK\r\nSyrian Hacker Group Targets Washington Post\u00a0Hackers from a group sympathetic to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have targeted The Washington Post website as well as other American media outlets.LINK\r\nNational\u00a0\r\nNSA Routinely Broke Privacy Rules, Audit Finds\u00a0The National Security Agency has broken privacy rules or overstepped its legal authority thousands of times each year since Congress granted the agency broad new powers in 2008, according to an internal audit and other top-secret documents. Most of the infractions involve unauthorized surveillance of Americans or foreign intelligence targets in the United States, both of which are restricted by statute and executive order. Documents provided to The Washington Post by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden include details and analysis that is not routinely shared with Congress or the special court that oversees surveillance. LINK\r\nWounded Veterans Feel Budget Cuts\u00a0Wounded veterans at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center are bearing the burden of federal budget cuts, according to a Fox News report. The Army decided this month to invalidate meal tickets for recovering veterans and reduce hours the center's dining facility. The decision means recovering vets who would normally have a government-funded meal just down the hall must travel nearly a half-mile across the Walter Reed campus to the temporary \"food trailer\" for breakfast, lunch and dinner.\u00a0LINK\r\nVA Sued Over Same-Sex Couples Benefits An 18-year Navy veteran from Norwich is joining forces with U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal to try to persuade the federal Department of Veterans Affairs to abide by a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling concerning gay marriage and extend all federal benefits to veterans with same-sex spouses. Carmen Cardona filed the lawsuit after being denied a $150 increase in her monthly disability compensation from the VA, something she would\u2019ve automatically received if she\u2019d married a man, Military Times reported. LINK\r\nPentagon Unveils Plan to Combat Sex Assualts\u00a0The Pentagon announced a plan Thursday to combat sexual assaults, USA Today reported. Among the initiatives included in the plan: establishing a victim advocacy program to provide legal advice for those bringing complaints, giving commanders the authority to transfer accused offenders to another unit and regular reporting from the inspector general on investigations of sexual assaults in the ranks.\u00a0LINK\r\nChild Rearing Expenses Rise\u00a0Raising a child from birth to age 17 costs $241,080, according to data from a new Department of Agriculture study cited by CBS News. Sending a child to college could cost parents double that amount. In 1960, children cost their parents 23 percent less, a total of $195,690 in inflation-adjusted dollars.\u00a0LINK\r\nPrescription Drug Abuse\u00a0An ongoing Reuters study said that one in 10 Americans admit taking prescription drugs they have not been prescribed. One quarter of those people have used prescription drugs to get high. For some, using others' prescription drugs is a way to save on healthcare costs. Those without insurance are often unable to receive the medicine they need, so they turn to friends and family members for drugs.\u00a0LINK\r\n'Meet The Press' Ratings Fall Ratings for \"Meet the Press\" have plummeted to their lowest level in 21 years, according to The Huffington Post. After disappointing numbers, NBC News is dismissing rumors that host David Gregory could be dropped from the show.\u00a0LINK\r\nVermont\r\nStudent Immunizations\u00a0Vermont's Health Department announced Thursday that 87 percent of students going into kindergarten have had a full round of vaccines, The Associated Press reported. Less than six percent of kindergarten students did not get at least one of the vaccine shots because of a philosophical exemption. Vermont has the second highest rate of philosophical exemptions in the country.\u00a0LINK\r\nLeahy Photo Exhibit Sen. Partrick Leahy was guest of honor at the kickoff reception for a photo exhibition at the Catamount Film and Arts Center in St. Johnsbury, Vt. Leahy has become recognized as the senator with a camera forever fused to his hand, who \"hovers and cranes over\" historic events while his colleagues step back to take it in. \u201cI've often joked that if I could do whatever I wanted to do, it'd be a photographer full-time,\" Leahy - the most senior senator on Capitol Hill and third in the line of presidential succession - told CBS News. LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=74496C45-733E-4D06-95FF-B4D11D8673C1", "The Washington Post: NSA broke privacy rules thousands of times per year, audit finds", "2013-08-16", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "The National Security Agency has broken privacy rules or overstepped its legal authority thousands of times each year since Congress granted the agency broad new powers in 2008, according to\u00a0an internal audit\u00a0and other top-secret documents.\r\nMost of the infractions involve unauthorized surveillance of Americans or foreign intelligence targets in the United States, both of which are restricted by statute and executive order. They range from significant violations of law to typographical errors that resulted in unintended interception of U.S. e-mails and telephone calls.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe documents, provided earlier this summer to The Washington Post by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, include a level of detail and analysis that is not routinely shared with Congress or the special court that oversees surveillance. In\u00a0one of the documents, agency personnel are instructed to remove details and substitute more generic language in reports to the Justice Department and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIn one instance, the NSA decided that it need not report the\u00a0unintended surveillance of Americans. A notable example in 2008 was the interception of a \u201clarge number\u201d of calls placed from Washington when a programming error confused the U.S. area code 202 for 20, the international dialing code for Egypt, according to a \u201cquality assurance\u201d review that was not distributed to the NSA\u2019s oversight staff.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=06982CAA-41FD-4EBD-AC85-4A2ECAC3B783", "Food Labels", "2013-08-15", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Food Labels\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tThursday, August 15, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tDozens of Vermont Public Interest Research Group organizers on Thursday celebrated the group\u2019s largest-ever summer outreach campaign. VPIRG canvassers went door-to-door in cities and towns and villages throughout Vermont and collected about 30,000 signatures in support of legislation to require labels on food that contain genetically modified organisms. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who introduced legislation in Washington to make it clear that states have the right to require GMO food labels, spoke to the young volunteers outside the Statehouse in Montpelier. \u201cThe truth of\u00a0matter is that\u00a0labeling of GMOs is\u00a0not radical concept.\u00a0It's done throughout\u00a0Europe and\u00a0dozens and dozens\u00a0of countries\u00a0throughout world,\u00a0so if people tell you\u00a0it can't be done \u2013 it's too complicated\u00a0\u2013 they're not telling\u00a0you the truth,\u201d the senator said.\r\n\r\nLeah Marsters, one of VPIRG\u2019s canvas directors, talked about the importance of taking the campaign to people throughout Vermont. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to overstate the importance of direct, face-to-face conversations with people, especially in an age of non-stop social media,\u201d she said. \u201cYou learn a lot about what matters to people if you take the time to talk with them, and collectively we\u2019ve talked with about 50,000 Vermonters over the past 14 weeks. One thing we\u2019ve learned for sure is that Vermonters believe they have a right to know about GMOs.\u201d\r\nRead more \u00bb\r\nWatch a report on WPTZ-TV \u00bb", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=51521964-76E5-4BD4-8142-B11BD89B203F", ": News August 15", "2013-08-15", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News August 15\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tThursday, August 15, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders\r\nSocial Security Wednesday marked the 78th anniversary of the signing of the Social Security Act by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Since its inception, Social Security has changed society and drastically reduced senior poverty. Sen. Bernie Sanders has been \"reliably the staunchest defender of Social Security in Congress,\" according to The Huffington Post.\u00a0LINK\r\nPriority Mail\u00a0Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe announced Wednesday plans to revamp the United States Postal Service's priority mail in order to boost revenues, The Hill reported. A recent financial report said the agency had lost $3.9 billion so far this year. Sen. Sanders argued that the service would have posted a profit for the past three months without a requirement to deposit $5.5 billion a year into a retiree fund that already has more than enough to pay future health benefits.\u00a0LINK\r\nPrison Transfers on Hold\u00a0Federal officials temporarily suspended a plan to turn the Danbury women's prison into a facility for men, The Associated Press reported. The move came after 11 senators from the Northeast, including Sen. Sanders, wrote the Bureau of Prisons to say that the transfers would leave the region with no federal prison beds for women. The senators said the move would unnecessarily disrupt the lives of inmates and their family members.\u00a0LINK\r\nHomelessness With federal budget cuts, more than 2000 low-income Vermonters may be forced from their homes by the end of the year, according to Seven Days. Sen. Sanders' policy adviser David Weinstein called the sequestration cuts to Section 8 housing \"a real crisis that's not been visible.\"\u00a0LINK\r\nDomestic Surveillance\u00a0In the wake of Edward Snowden's National Security Agency leaks, lawmakers have proposed several bills aimed at curbing domestic surveillance programs, Truth-Out reported. One bill from Sen. Sanders would require the government to provide a special court \"specific and articulable facts\" supporting each surveillance order. The bill also would limit the purposes of surveillance to specific FBI investigations of international terrorism.\u00a0LINK\r\nThe Fed The White House is not happy with liberals\u2019 pre-emptive efforts to stop Larry Summers from becoming the Federal Reserve chairman. In a recent Huffington Post article, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Sanders laid out a set of criteria for the selection of a Fed chairman that seemed specifically to exclude Summers, according to The Washington Examiner. Sanders has recommended the Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich as possibilities for Fed chairman.\u00a0LINK\r\nAmerican Progressives\u00a0Progressives ask for too little in the age of plutocratic rule, according to John Nichols and Robert McChesney who discussed their new book Dollarocracy with Truth-Out. Sen. Sanders said the authors \u201cinvite Americans to \u2026 to fully recognize the threat that the combination of big money and big media poses to the promise of self-government.\"\u00a0LINK\r\nWorld\r\nEgypt in Turmoil\u00a0Supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi called Thursday for protest marches after a violent government crackdown left more than 500 people dead. The Muslim Brotherhood, which backs Morsi, urged followers to demonstrate late Thursday in Cairo near a mosque that was the scene of some of the worst violence Wednesday. The Brotherhood issued the call in defiance of a state of emergency declared by the military-backed interim government, which took power following a July 3 coup that deposed the country\u2019s first democratically elected president, The Washington Post reported. LINK\r\nU.S. Condemns Egypt Crackdown\u00a0President Barack Obama's administration called for an immediate end to the Egyptian military crackdown on pro-Morsi protestors, The Wall Street Journal reported. \"Today's events are deplorable and they run counter to Egyptian aspirations for peace, inclusion and genuine democracy,\" Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday.\u00a0LINK\r\nNational\r\nWhite House \u2018Heartened\u2019 by Reid Remark on Fed Nominee Amid Democratic infighting over who should be nominated as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve, the White House was \u201cheartened\u201d by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid\u2018s statement that he will support whomever President Barack Obama chooses, spokesman Josh Earnest said Wednesday, according to The Wall Street Journal. LINK\r\nJesse Jackson Jr. and Wife Sentenced to Prison The former Chicago congressman received 30 months in prison for spending $750,000 from his campaign on personal items, The New York Times reported. Jackson had admitted that he conspired with his then-Chicago alderman wife, Sandra, to use campaign credit cards to buy personal items like restaurant meals and airfare. Mrs. Jackson was sentenced to 12 months in prison for omitting $580,000 in income from the couple\u2019s tax returns. LINK\r\nTwo Charged in J.P. Morgan 'Whale' Trades\u00a0Federal prosecutors filed charges Wednesday against two former J.P. Morgan traders accused of hiding losses that cost the bank more than $6 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported. Prosecutors also reached an agreement with former J.P. Morgan trader Bruno Iksil, a Frenchman who executed the trades and who was known as the \"London whale,\" in which he would not be criminally prosecuted for his conduct.\u00a0LINK\r\nBradley Manning\u00a0Pfc. Bradley Manning apologized Wednesday for leaking hundreds of thousands of government files to the Wikileaks organization, The New York Times reported. Ahead of his sentencing, Manning told the judge he believed the leak \"was going to help people, not hurt people,\" but now realizes he was wrong. He faces up to 90 years in prison for the leak.\u00a0LINK\r\nPentagon Opens Benefits to Same-Sex Couples\u00a0On the heels of the Supreme Court's ruling that a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional, the Pentagon announced Wednesday that it will extend spousal benefits to same-sex married couples starting in September, according to NBC News.\u00a0LINK\r\nVermont\r\nCourt Rules Against Vermont in Yankee Case\u00a0A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday against the state of Vermont in a case concerning efforts to shut down the Vermont Yankee power plant, the Free Press reported. The court held that state legislators undertook an illegal effort to shut down the plant based on safety issues, which are supposed to be regulated at the federal level.\u00a0LINK\r\nRevenue Forecast\u00a0Vermont's July general fund revenues were just about on target with their forecast, coming in less than a third of a million dollars shy of their target of $103.5 million, according to The Associated Press.\u00a0LINK\u00a0\r\nBurlington Trespass Law Challenged\u00a0A Burlington law that lets police remove drug offenders and other public nuisances from the Church Street Marketplace is being challenged in a lawsuit filed Wednesday, the Burlington Free Press reported. Sandy Baird, the complainant, claims the ordinance unfairly curtails legal activities in the downtown area.\u00a0LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=193CECD3-80ED-4E8C-BDE2-DCD4976A4D9A", "News August 14", "2013-08-14", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News August 14\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tWednesday, August 14, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders\r\nThe Fed\u00a0\u201cThe next Fed chair will have enormous power and influence over our entire financial system and the direction of the economy \u2026 The president's nominee \u2026 must be committed to improving the lives of working Americans who are still struggling through the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression,\u201d Sens. Sanders and Warren wrote in a column posted on OpEdNews. On the Seeking Alpha website, a financial services advisor responded to questions for the Fed nominee that were posed by Sanders and Warren.\u00a0LINK,\u00a0LINK\r\nThe Fed\u00a0\u201cThis is really a battle inside the Democratic Party,\u201d Bill Press said on Current TV of a debate over who should replace Ben Bernanke as the head of the central bank. \u201cIt's the Wall Street wing of the party versus the consumer wing of the party, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders on that side and then over here you have Chuck Schumer.\u201d Bob Cusack, managing editor of The Hill, agreed. \u201cI think that's a very accurate read and the problem for the White House is the left is not going to be happy and Bernie Sanders is not going to go mute if [Lawrence] Summers is appointed.\u201d AUDIO\r\nF-35s\u00a0Opponents of a plan to base the Air Force's F-35 fighter planes at the Burlington International Airport spoke during a public comments period at this week's Burlington City Council meeting. Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger, as well as Gov. Peter Shumlin, Sens. Sanders and Patrick Leahy and Rep. Peter Welch, have said the plane is important to the state\u2019s economy, according to an Associated Press report in the Rutland Herald.\u00a0LINK, LINK\u00a0\r\nWorld\r\nEgyptian Forces Storm Pro-Morsi Sit-Ins Security forces moved on Wednesday to clear two camps in Cairo occupied by supporters of the ousted president, Mohamed Morsi, deploying armored vehicles, bulldozers, tear gas, snipers and helicopters in a sustained and bloody operation that seemed to surprise some protesters with its resolve and to deepen an already profound gulf in Egyptian society, The New York Times reported. LINK\r\nIsraelis Release Palestinian Prisoners\u00a0In a show of good faith ahead of peace negotiations, Israel began the release of 26 Palestinian prisoners on Tuesday, USA Today reported.\u00a0LINK\u00a0\r\nNational\u00a0\r\nSenate Pressure on Fed Pick Irks White House Surprised and irritated to see Senate Democrats touting a preferred candidate for Federal Reserve chairman, White House officials have moved behind the scenes to quash the campaign and are insisting President Barack Obama not be pressured as he mulls whom to nominate, people familiar with the effort told The Wall Street Journal. LINK\r\nDeported Veterans\u00a0After serving in the military with a green-card, veterans who committed minor crimes after returning to civilian life have been deported from the United States, according to The Washington Post. An advocacy group said that at least hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of veterans have been deported in recent years. Some committed felonies; others were deported for drug possession, bar fights, theft or forgery.\u00a0LINK\u00a0\r\nNSA to Cut System Administrators\u00a0After a devastating leak from former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, the agency plans to cut 90 percent of its system administrators, The Washington Post reported. The move, NSA Director Army Gen. Keith Alexander said, is designed to make \"networks more defensible and more secure.\u201d\u00a0LINK\r\nObamacare Delays\u00a0President Barack Obama's administration has delayed until 2015 a significant consumer protection in the law that limits how much people may have to spend on their own health care, The New York Times reported. Federal officials have granted a one-year grace period to some insurers, allowing them to set higher limits in 2014.\u00a0LINK\r\nAirline Merger Blocked\u00a0The Justice Department and several U.S. state attorneys general on Tuesday challenged a proposed $11 billion merger between US Airways Group Inc. and American Airlines' parent company, CBS News reported. Critics of the deal say it would result in reduced competition for commercial air travel.\u00a0LINK\r\nVA Claims Backlog Sen. Sherrod Brown, who serves on the Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee, called on the VA to train more people to process a claims backlog and reach out to returning veterans to alert them to benefits they may be entitled to claim. \"We have seen some progress in eliminating the backlog,\" Brown said at a news conference at the Montgomery County Veterans Service Commission in Dayton, Ohio, The Associated Press reported.\r\nVermont\r\nSolar Power Limited Washington Electric Co-op said Tuesday it will limit the size of future solar installations on its system, effectively shutting out customers who had hoped to begin generating excess power and selling it to the utility, a popular practice called net metering. The co-op will continue to allow solar installations on its system, but effective Oct. 1 it will limit the size of new solar installations to 5 kilowatts. That decision angered environmental groups around the state, the Times Argus reported. LINK\r\nShumlin Returns Land\u00a0Gov. Peter Shumlin has returned land he bought from neighbor Jerry Dodge at a steep discount, The Associated Press reported. Dodge will be allowed to pay Shumlin back about $30,000 over five years for repairs, taxes and other payments.\u00a0LINK\r\nShumlin Goes on Vacation Gov. Shumlin is heading off on a two-week vacation at a home he owns on Cape Breton in Nova Scotia, the Times Argus reported. LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=95DD4692-0E66-4418-8517-5C22AED905B5", "?A Remarkable Success Story?", "2013-08-14", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "\u2018A Remarkable Success Story\u2019\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tWednesday, August 14, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tPresident Franklin Roosevelt signed Social Security into law on August 14, 1935. \u201cSince its inception 78 years ago, through good economic times and bad, Social Security has paid out every penny owed to every eligible beneficiary. This is a remarkable success story,\" said Sen. Bernie Sanders, the head of the Senate\u2019s Defending Social Security Caucus. Unfortunately, senior White House aides this summer reportedly have held secret meetings with Senate Republicans to revive President Obama\u2019s proposal to cut future benefits for retirees, disabled veterans and others. That, Sanders said, would be \u201ca huge mistake.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe senator thinks the deficit must be lowered. He has proposed ways to reduce red ink. He also has noted that this year is on track to have the smallest deficit in five years thanks to rising revenue and spending cuts. But at a time when corporations are enjoying record profits and the gap between the very rich and everyone else is growing wider, Sanders has said that there are better ways to reduce the deficit than cutting programs for the elderly, veterans and the sick.\r\nPresident Obama in his budget proposal for the new fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 called for lowering cost-of-living adjustments for millions of retirees, widows, orphans, disabled veterans and others by shifting to a so-called \u201cchained\u201d Consumer Price Index. Under the proposal, a person 65 years old today would earn $658 a year less in Social Security benefits once they turn 75. Benefits would be cut by more than $1,100 a year once they turn 85. In addition to taking money out of the pockets of some 50 million retirees, a chained C.P.I also would cut benefits for more than 3 million disabled veterans and their families. A veteran who began receiving VA disability benefits at age 30 would have benefits reduced by $1,425 at age 45 and by $3,231 at age 65, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The chained C.P.I. also would result in across-the-board tax increases with a disproportionate impact on working families.\u00a0 Many provisions in the tax code (tax brackets, the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit) are automatically adjusted each year to ensure that taxes don\u2019t go up just because incomes rise with inflation.\u00a0 According to the Congressional Budget Office, switching to a chained C.P.I. would increase taxes by $124 billion over the next decade. Three-quarters of the new revenue raised by the year 2021 would come from Americans making less than $200,000 a year.\u00a0 Those making between $30,000 and $40,000 would be hit the hardest while those making more than $1 million would see virtually no change.\r\nInstead, Sanders wants to implement what President Obama proposed when he was a candidate in 2008: Lifting the cap on Social Security payroll taxes to make the wealthy contribute the same percentage of their income as other workers. \u201cToday, someone making $10 million a year contributes the same amount of money as someone making $113,700. That is absurd,\u201d Sanders said.\r\nTo read Sanders\u2019 bill, cosponsored by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, click here.\r\nTo read a fact sheet on the Keeping Our Social Security Promises Act (S.500), click here.\r\nTo read more about Sanders\u2019 tax proposals, click here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=387FA003-200A-4E2B-8621-01C3E14A441B", "News August 13", "2013-08-13", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News August 13\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tTuesday, August 13, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders\r\nUSPS\u00a0Sen. Bernie Sanders argued Monday that the Postal Service would have posted a profit for the past three months without the requirement to deposit $5.5 billion a year into the retiree fund, The Hill, Fox 44 and ABC 22 reported. \"The Postal Service has experienced financial problems and changes need to be made to bring it into the 21st century, but I am convinced that proposals to slow down mail delivery and provide less service are the wrong way to go,\" Sanders said.\u00a0Counting the contribution to the already-flush retirement fund, the Postal Service reported a net loss of $740 million in the quarter which ended June 30. LINK, AUDIO, AUDIO\r\nThe Fed\u00a0Sens. Sanders and Elizabeth Warren want potential candidates for the Federal Reserve Board to address whether the Fed's top priority is meeting its full-employment mandate, American Banker reported. The two senators are \u201cmaking the right demands and asking the right questions,\u201d John Nichols wrote for The Nation.\u00a0The senators are considered two of the most aggressive critics of Wall Street\u2019s influence in the federal government, according to The Washington Examiner. It called their column \u201can implicit rebuke to [Lawrence] Summers, who many liberals believe helped generate the financial crisis by pushing for deregulatory measures as Bill Clinton\u2019s Treasury secretary in the late 1990s and early 2000s.\u201d LINK, LINK, LINK\r\nThe Fed\u00a0\u201cThe next Fed chair will have an opportunity to get our economy back on track and to help rebuild America\u2019s middle class. But that will require the right temperament and a willingness to take on Wall Street CEOs when necessary.\u00a0 It is critical that the next Fed chair make a genuine, long-term commitment to supporting those who don\u2019t have armies of lobbyists and lawyers to advance their interests in Washington \u2013 working and middle-class families,\u201d Sens. Sanders and Warren wrote in their column posted on TruthDig, Daily Kos, MichaelMoore.com, Reader Supported News and Green Mountain Daily. LINK, LINK, LINK, LINK,\u00a0LINK\r\nThe Fed\u00a0On Current TV, radio host Bill Press said Sanders, like former Rep. Ron Paul, would abolish the Fed. \u201cNo, no. Bernie\u2019s for keeping it but he just wants it under some constraints. He wants it audited, for example,\u201d corrected Robert L. Borosage, president of the Institute for America\u2019s Future. AUDIO\r\nIrene Recovery\u00a0Moretown has been awarded $700,000 in federal funds to build a new municipal building to replace the old one that was damaged in Tropical Storm Irene, Vermont Business Journal reported online. The funding was the result of a provision in the federal budget bill championed by Sens. Sanders and Patrick Leahy as well as Rep. Peter Welch.\u00a0LINK\r\nF-35s\u00a0Skeptics of the planned basing of the Air Force's F-35 fighter jets at Burlington International Airport planned to make their case at Monday's City Council meeting, the Burlington Free Press reported. Sens. Sanders and Patrick Leahy, Rep. Peter Welch, Gov. Peter Shumlin and Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger say the basing is important to the economy.\u00a0LINK\r\nWorld\r\nMexican Oil\u00a0Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has proposed historic changes to his nation's state-run energy sector Monday, cracking open the door for global oil giants such as Exxon Mobil and Shell to invest in extracting more oil from Mexico, The Washington Post reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nU.K. Threatens Legal Action Over Gibraltar\u00a0The United Kingdom said Monday that it was considering legal action at the European Union against Spain over what it sees as excessive checks at the border with Gibraltar, The Wall Street Journal reported. Both nations claim rights to the territory, which has been contested since 1704.\u00a0LINK\r\nNational\r\nStop-and-Frisk A federal judge ruled Monday that the stop-and-frisk tactics of the New York Police Department violated the rights of minorities in the city, The New York Times reported. The stops demonstrated a widespread disregard for the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures, according to the decision.\u00a0LINK\r\nLeahy on Drug Sentencing\u00a0Sen. Patrick Leahy said Monday he was pleased that Attorney General Eric Holder is calling for a review of mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes, The Associated Press reported. Leahy plans to hold a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee on the issue next month.\u00a0LINK\r\nObama Bus Tour President Barack Obama will hit the road next week for the first bus tour of his second term, the White House announced Monday. He will spend two days on the road talking about the economy at stops in New York and Pennsylvania, a White House official told The Wall Street Journal.\u00a0LINK\u00a0\r\nA Limit on Consumer Costs Is Delayed in Health Care Law In another setback for President Obama\u2019s health care initiative, the administration has delayed until 2015 a significant consumer protection in the law that limits how much people may have to spend on their own health care. The limit on out-of-pocket costs, including deductibles and co-payments, was not supposed to exceed $6,350 for an individual and $12,700 for a family. But under a little-noticed ruling that the administration tried to obscure, federal officials granted a one-year grace period to some insurers, allowing them to set higher limits, or no limit at all on some costs, in 2014, The New York Times reported. LINK\r\nVoting Rights Rollback North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed into law Monday a sweeping elections bill which would create a strict voter identification requirement and cut early voting by a week, MSNBC reported. The American Civil Liberties Union and civil rights groups condemned the legislation, calling it a \"new low\" that would deprive \"many of our most vulnerable citizens from being able to easily exercise a constitutional right.\"\u00a0LINK\r\nClinton Calls for Action to Protect Voter Rights Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton waded into the battle over voting rights on Monday in the first of a series of speeches in which she says she plans to address some of the most pressing issues in Washington. In remarks delivered at the American Bar Association conference, Clinton condemned the recent Supreme Court ruling on the Voting Rights Act, which has paved the way for states to pass laws that would require voters to present government-issued photo identification at the polls, The New York Times reported. LINK\r\nFed's Yellen Says Stance on Banks HardenedJanet Yellen, a top contender to lead the Federal Reserve, has evolved\u2014in her own words\u2014from a slightly \"docile\" regional bank regulator into a proponent of hard and clear rules designed to make banks less risky. The change was prompted by her six years as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco during a torrid period in financial history. As part of that job, Yellen oversaw scores of banks, some of which failed as the housing market collapsed, The Wall Street Journal reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nBudget Deficit Shrinks The U.S. government is posting the strongest revenue since before the recession, buoyed by higher tax rates and a slowly improving economy, leaving the federal budget on track for its narrowest deficit in five years. Revenue from October to July, the first 10 months of the government's fiscal year, totaled $2.287 trillion, the Treasury Department said Monday. That is up about 14 percent from a year earlier and about 8 percent from the first 10 months of 2007, the next highest year for revenue. Meanwhile, government spending is down slightly, largely due to across-the-board cuts called the sequester that went into effect March 1. LINK\r\nNLRB at Full Strength Four new members of the National Labor Relations Board were sworn in on Monday, marking the first time since 2003 the independent agency has had a full five Senate-confirmed members, The Hill reported. The Senate confirmed Democrats Kent Hirozawa and Nancy Schiffer last month as part of a deal that ended a threat by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to change the chamber's filibuster rules. LINK\r\nAir Force to Shut Down 'Space Fence'\u00a0Due to sequestration-related budget cuts, the Air Force said Monday it will cancel a space surveillance system that tracks satellites and other orbiting objects, Reuters reported. Deactivating the surveillance system, nicknamed \"Space Fence\" because it transmits a virtual fence of radar energy into space, will save the Air Force $14 million annually. Newer technology will provide more accurate observations.\u00a0LINK\r\nVermont\r\nShumlin Defends Green Energy Plan\u00a0Gov. Peter Shumlin said Monday that Tropical Storm Irene was \"just a little warning of what lies ahead\" with climate change and defended his administration's goal to move Vermont to 90 percent renewable energy by 2050, The Associated Press reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nIrene Damage\u00a0Towns in Vermont have been awarded $22 million and expect an additional $18 million from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to help rebuild after Tropical Storm Irene, The Associated Press reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nCompost Tax\u00a0Compost processor Karl Hammer is appealing three years worth of back taxes on compost sales, arguing that they should fall under the tax exemption for agricultural products, The Associated Press reported. State lawmakers are considering options to add compost to an exemption list to prevent a rise in agriculture prices and food products.\u00a0LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=D3120CA3-64C2-4987-B1BA-078C1C60D1C8", "?No One Should be Living Like This?", "2013-08-13", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "\u2018No One Should be Living Like This\u2019\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tTuesday, August 13, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSeven students and a teacher from Mt. Mansfield Union High School in Jericho, Vt., leave Saturday for a trip to one of the poorest counties in the United States. Their goal is to help the Oglala Lakota Sioux on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.\r\nWorking with a non-profit organization, the Vermont students will spend several days learning about the history and people of the South Dakota Black Hills. Senior Ana Wright said she wanted to make the trip because these families \u201care living in terrible conditions.\u201d \u201cWe should definitely help them because no one should be living like this,\u201d she said.\u00a0\r\nSen. Bernie Sanders praised the students for their willingness to confront such challenges.\r\nRead a Vt. Bernie Buzz article \u00bb\r\nRead a New York Times article about how budget cuts have affected the reservation \u00bb", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=18D75946-1193-4B7A-B1B7-DBB3D7C21311", "Congress Must Not Hobble Postal Service Rebound", "2013-08-12", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congress Must Not Hobble Postal Service Rebound\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tMonday, August 12, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tBURLINGTON, Vt., Aug. 12 \u2013 With revenue rebounding, the U.S. Postal Service would have posted a profit for the past three months without an unprecedented requirement that it sink $5.5 billion a year into future retiree health care, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said today.\u00a0\r\nThe latest quarterly report on Postal Service finances showed a $740 million loss, but all of that red ink would have been eliminated and a $660 million profit would have been posted had the Postal Service not been forced to sink money into a system that already has set aside enough to meet the health care needs of retirees for decades to come.\r\n\u201cThe good news is that the Postal Service made a profit except for the unfair, onerous burden that no other company or agency is required to pay,\u201d said Sanders. \u201cThe Postal Service has experienced financial problems and changes need to be made to bring it into the 21st century, but I am convinced that proposals to slow down mail delivery and provide less service are the wrong way to go,\u201d Sanders added.\u00a0\r\nSanders was referring to legislation that would hamstring the Postal Service by clearing the way to end Saturday mail service, significantly slow down delivery, close more processing plants and eliminate door-to-door deliveries.\r\nSanders on Feb. 13 introduced legislation, which now has 28 cosponsors, to modernize the Postal Service, save Saturday mail and repeal the crippling law responsible for at least 80 percent of the mail system\u2019s funding woes. Similar legislation introduced in the House by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) now has 166 cosponsors.\r\nThe legislation by Sanders and DeFazio also would let the Postal Service look for innovative ways to attract more customers by taking advantage of email and Internet services, for example. A commission made up of successful business innovators, small business and labor leaders would make additional recommendations on ways the Postal Service could generate new revenue. The bill also would reinstate overnight delivery standards to speed mail delivery and prevent shutdowns of mail sorting centers. Safeguards also would be put in place to protect rural post offices.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=872391E5-B902-4FC9-8C35-3F83A8A339CB", "Four Questions for Fed Chair Candidates", "2013-08-12", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Four Questions for Fed Chair Candidates\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tMonday, August 12, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tAs President Obama weighs a replacement for Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren said the next central banker must address whether the Fed\u2019s top priority is meeting its full-employment mandate, whether to break up \u201ctoo-big-to-fail\u201d banks, whether the deregulation of Wall Street contributed to the recession and whether $2 trillion that financial institutions have parked at the Fed should be used to help small- and medium-size businesses create jobs.\r\nRead the column for The Huffington Post \u00bb", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=C2B2E49C-725F-4116-AFC3-0C9AA687FC0C", "News August 12", "2013-08-12", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News August 12\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tMonday, August 12, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders The Fed As President Obama weighs a replacement\u00a0 for Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke after his term runs out on Jan. 31, Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren said the next central banker must address whether the Fed\u2019s top priority is meeting its full-employment mandate, whether to break up \u201ctoo-big-to-fail\u201d banks, whether the deregulation of Wall Street contributed to the recession and say what should be done with $2 trillion that financial institutions have parked at the Fed. Writing in The Huffington Post, Sanders and Warren proposed using those resources to help small- and medium-sized businesses create jobs.\u00a0 LINK\r\nWorld Embassies Open American diplomatic outposts reopened throughout the Middle East on Sunday, easing the sense of imminent danger that has preoccupied the Obama administration since it learned of a possible terrorist attack from communications between two high-ranking officials of Al Qaeda two weeks ago. But the one embassy that remained closed \u2014 in Sana, the capital of Yemen \u2014 underscored the challenges President Obama faces in trying to wind down the nation\u2019s decade-long campaign against Al Qaeda and its affiliates, The New York Times reported. LINK\r\nNational Sentencing Reform to Cut Prison Population Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. is set to announce Monday that low-level, nonviolent drug offenders with no ties to gangs or large-scale drug organizations will no longer be charged with offenses that impose severe mandatory sentences. He is also expected to introduce a policy to reduce sentences for elderly, nonviolent inmates and find alternatives to prison for nonviolent criminals. Justice Department lawyers have worked for months on the proposals, which Holder wants to make the cornerstone of the rest of his tenure, according to The Washington Post. LINK\r\nVermont\r\nDisaster Aid Emergency management officials will hold public meetings this month for Vermont communities that are eligible for federal reimbursement to cover damage from this summer\u2019s rain and flooding. Communities in Caledonia, Chittenden, Orange, Orleans, Rutland, Washington and Windsor counties can submit reimbursement requests to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to cover 75 percent of the costs of damage to roads and infrastructure from rain and flooding from June 25 to July 11, The Associated Press reported. LINK \r\nTeam Rubicon This past weekend, 23 members of Team Rubicon responded to locations in East Wallingford, Mount Holly and Shrewsbury to clear away wreckage that still remained nearly two years after Tropical Strom Irene. Formed in 2010 to respond to the earthquake in Haiti, the ranks of Team Rubicon \u2014 which includes veterans from the U.S. Army, Marines, Navy and Coast Guard \u2014 have grown from six members to more than 10,000, all with the mission to provide disaster relief and perform community service, the Rutland Herald reported. LINK\r\nDeath Law Vermont\u2019s largest hospital likely won\u2019t come up with a policy to implement the state\u2019s new aid-in-dying law until around the end of the year. Dr. Stephen Leffler of Fletcher Allen said the hospital will soon hold the third in a series of meetings to ask medical staff members to offer their views on how best to implement the law, AP reported. LINK\r\nBattle Day Vermont on Friday will celebrate the anniversary of a Revolutionary War battle called the Battle of Bennington with a state holiday to commemorate 1777 battle, in which Gen. John Stark and colonial troops fought British troops to protect military supplies stored in Bennington. But the battle took place in New York, AP reported. LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=DBB084B8-C4CD-4041-A4A4-966E09CBA918", "Huffington Post: Four Questions for Fed Chair Candidates", "2013-08-12", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Four Questions for Fed Chair Candidates\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t By:\u00a0 Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) & Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) \n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tMonday, August 12, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tThe decisions made by the next chair of the Federal Reserve will have a powerful impact on the economic well-being of every person in America.\r\nWhile the largest financial institutions and corporations in this country have been bailed out and are now back to making enormous profits and rewarding their executives with outsized compensation packages, recovery hasn't gone so well for the rest of America. Middle class families have continued to lose ground economically, the number of Americans living in poverty is near an all-time high, and the gap between the very rich and everyone else is growing wider.\r\nThe next Fed chair will have enormous power and influence over our entire financial system and the direction of the economy. The Fed is responsible not only for our country's monetary policy, but it is also a key regulator of financial institutions. In our view, the president's nominee for Fed chair must be committed to improving the lives of working Americans who are still struggling through the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.\r\nTo that end, we think any Fed chair nominee should be able to answer the following four questions:\r\nQuestion 1:\u00a0Do you believe that the Fed's top priority should be to fulfill its full employment mandate?\r\nThe U.S. continues to face a major crisis in unemployment. When Wall Street was on the verge of collapse, the Fed acted aggressively and with a fierce sense of urgency to save the financial system. Will you act with the same sense of urgency to combat the unemployment crisis in America today, and will you make clear what specific actions you will take? What rate do you think is acceptable and should be the Fed's target?\r\nQuestion 2:\u00a0If you were to be confirmed as chair of the Fed, would you work to break up \"too-big-to-fail\" financial institutions so that they could no longer pose a catastrophic risk to the economy?\r\nThe financial institutions that are too-big-to-fail played a major role in undermining the American economy and driving our country into a severe recession in 2008. Yet today the four biggest banks are 30 percent bigger than they were then, and the six largest financial institutions now have assets equivalent to two-thirds of our GDP. By any measure, \"Too Big\" has gotten bigger. The risk they pose is clear. As Richard Fisher, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, said last year, \"institutions that amplified and prolonged the recent financial crisis remain a hindrance to full economic recovery and to the very ideal of American capitalism ... Achieving an economy relatively free from financial crises requires us to have the fortitude to break up the giant banks.\"\r\nQuestion 3:\u00a0Do you believe that the deregulation of Wall Street, including the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act and exempting derivatives from regulation, significantly contributed to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression?\r\nThe next chair of the Federal Reserve will play an important leadership role in dealing with too-big-to-fail banks and in shaping the rules that govern them, so it is important to assess the Fed chair's views toward deregulation, particularly toward the massive deregulations of the 1980's and 1990's that permitted the TBTF banks to take on huge risks. There is a lot more work to do in implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act and to minimize the risk of future crises, and the Fed will play a critical leadership role.\r\nQuestion 4:\u00a0What would you do to divert the $2 trillion in excess reserves that financial institutions have parked at the Fed into more productive purposes, such as helping small- and medium-sized businesses create jobs?\r\nFive years ago, the Fed bailed out the largest financial institutions in the country but put no restrictions on the funds to make sure that lending increased for small businesses. At the same time, the Fed began paying interest on excess reserves, and the excess reserves parked at the Fed have skyrocketed as a result rather than going into productive lending. The reality is that, despite promises and intentions that the Fed's efforts would help support small businesses, much more work needs to get done to move money from Wall Street to Main Street.\r\nThe next Fed chair will have an opportunity to get our economy back on track and to help rebuild America's middle class. But that will require the right temperament and a willingness to take on Wall Street CEOs when necessary. It is critical that the next Fed chair make a genuine, long-term commitment to supporting those who don't have armies of lobbyists and lawyers to advance their interests in Washington -- working and middle-class families.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=01F819B9-54C8-40BA-B8A9-FEFD45D459FC", "News August 11", "2013-08-11", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News August 11\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tSunday, August 11, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders Obama on VA Claims Backlog President Obama, addressing the annual convention of the Disabled American Veterans on Saturday, said his administration is making progress on reducing a backlog of disability claims that shrank by nearly one-fifth since peaking at more than 600,000 just a few months ago. CNN reported that the backlog built up as new waves of claims were coming in. The VA completed more than 1 million claims each of the last three years, according to Sen. Bernard Sanders, the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee. LINK\r\nLocal Legends Sen. Sanders, Vermont\u2019s first woman governor, Madeleine Kunin, Phish members and Ben & Jerry of ice cream fame are among an eclectic crowd of people featured in a new book, \u201cLegendary Locals of Burlington\u201d by Robert Resnik, himself something of a local legend, according to a Burlington Free Press book review. LINK\u00a0\u00a0\r\nSenate Independents Sen. Angus King, who rode Maine's penchant for \"independent\" politicians to a Senate victory last fall, has amassed a solidly Democratic record during his first seven months in Congress. King and Sen. Dick Durbin, the Democratic whip, voted the same way 89.8 percent of the time. King was on the same page as John Cornyn, the Republican whip, 35 percent of the time. The Senate's other independent, Sanders, voted with Durbin 92.4 percent of the time and with Cornyn on just 25 percent of votes, the Portland Press Herald reported. LINK     World Drug Kingpin Released in Mexico President Enrique Pe\u00f1a Nieto will have to handle furious fallout after Caro Quintero, one of Mexico's major drug cartel leaders, was freed Friday after serving 28 years for the kidnapping, torture and murder of a U.S. narcotics agent, Enrique \"Kiki\" Camarena, in 1985, the Los Angeles Times reported. LINK\r\nNational Obstacles Limited Congressional Oversight of NSA Surveillance Some members of the intelligence and judiciary committees say briefings on a massive telephone surveillance program were one-sided affairs, with lawmakers hearing only from government officials steeped in the legal and national security arguments for aggressive spying. \u201cIn terms of the oversight function, I feel inadequate most of the time,\u201d Rep. Jan Schakowsky, a member of the House Intelligence Committee and an NSA critic, told The Washington Post. Bulk surveillance \u201ccertainly was approved by Congress. Was it approved by a fully knowing Congress? That is not the case.\u201d LINK\r\nU.S. to Charge Two Who Worked With 'London Whale' U.S. authorities are preparing to file criminal charges against a former supervisor and colleague of the J.P. Morgan Chase trader known as the \"London whale\" as they ramp up a probe of the supersize bets that backfired into more than $6 billion in losses, said people familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal reported. LINK\r\nVermont\r\nF-35s A resolution critical of basing F-35 fighter jets at Burlington International Airport has been withdrawn from Monday\u2019s City Council agenda for lack of support, its sponsor said Friday. \u201cI was unable to draw substantive support for it from across the political spectrum,\u201d City Councilor Thomas Ayres said. Ayres said he was unable to win support for his resolution from any of the other six Democrats or four Progressive councilors on the panel, even though the state Progressive Party recently came out against the plane, the Burlington Free Press reported. LINK\r\nBorder Guards Wanted U.S. Customs and Border Protection is looking for Vermonters who would like to work at ports of entry along the Vermont-Quebec frontier. The agency is seeking applicants from across the country, but is hoping to find Vermonters who would like to apply. A new CBP employee in Vermont would make just over $31,000 a year in one of these positions and about $69,000 annually within four years, The Associated Press reported. LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=346024CA-DA00-4264-973D-0C963B7615A6", "News August 10", "2013-08-10", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News August 10\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tSaturday, August 10, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders Vermont Veterans Home Sen. Bernard Sanders brought officials together with employees of the Vermont Veterans Home in the office of Gov. Peter Shumlin to keep the home from losing state and federal funding after federal inspectors found deficiencies at the home. David Weinstein, a senior policy adviser for Sanders, said the senator and Jeb Spaulding, the secretary of the Agency of Administration, led the meeting to look for ways to keep the home running without losing its primary source of funding, the Rutland Herald reported. LINK World Diplomatic Missions Reopen Eighteen of the 19 U.S. embassies and consulates that were closed in the Middle East and Africa because of a terrorist threat will reopen Sunday, the State Department said. The U.S. Embassy in Yemen will remain closed. The consulate in Lahore, Pakistan, which was closed Thursday because of what officials say was a separate credible threat, also was not scheduled to reopen, The Associated Press reported.\r\nNational President Justifies Surveillance President Barack Obama on Friday released a detailed legal justification for domestic spying and called for more openness and scrutiny of the N.S.A.\u2019s programs to reassure a skeptical public that its privacy is not being violated, The New York Times reported. LINK\u00a0\r\nEmail Service Closes Lavabit, an email service reportedly used by Edward J. Snowden, the leaker who had worked as a National Security Agency contractor, announced the suspension of its service Thursday. In a blog post, the company\u2019s owner suggested that he had received a secret search order and shut the service to avoid being \u201ccomplicit in crimes against the American people,\u201d The New York Times reported. LINK\r\nThe Fed President Obama said Friday that he\u2019s still considering a range of candidates to be the next chairman of the Federal Reserve and that whoever gets the job will need to focus in the near term on reducing unemployment. Obama said during a White House news conference that former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers and current Fed Vice Chairman Janet Yellen are both highly qualified for the job, and that he\u2019s also considering others, according to AP. LINK\r\nStudent Loans President Obama signed into law Friday a measure that will charge students more to borrow for college this year than they paid for the past two years. Interest rates are expect to climb in the future.\r\nObama to Address Veterans President Obama will cite progress in reducing the backlog of disability claims when he addresses a gathering of disabled veterans on Saturday. The White House says Obama also will discuss research into traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide among veterans and troops, as well as efforts to help veterans earn college degrees or get the credentials needed to compete for high-skilled jobs during his an appearance before the Disabled American Veterans' convention in downtown Orlando, Fla., AP reported.\u00a0\r\nBill Signed to Ease Airport Screening for Vets The White House says President Obama has signed into law a bill making it easier for wounded or disabled members of the military and veterans to get through airport security screening. Obama signed the bill Friday, a week after it received final approval in the House. The measure requires the Defense Department and Veterans Affairs to work with the Transportation Security Administration on a new protocol, AP reported.\u00a0\r\nVermont    Historic Downtowns About a dozen fires have devastated downtowns from one end of Vermont to the other since 2000. Sen. Patrick Leahy says he has a plan to prevent more destruction by encouraging building owners to install sprinkler systems in older buildings, AP reported. LINK\r\nNorris Hoyt, 76 Norris \u2018\u2018Norrie\u2019\u2019 Hoyt, a former Vermont state representative who served in top offices in the administrations of both Republican and Democratic governors for almost three decades, died Sunday at his home in Norwich, AP reported.\u00a0 LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=1A70BD5D-8EA9-42B4-BC1A-9DC182563A8C", "The Week in Review", "2013-08-09", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "The Week in Review\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tFriday, August 9, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tPresident Obama on Friday signed legislation that the White House disingenuously ballyhooed as providing big savings for students. The law sets rates right away that are greater than they were for the past two years. What\u2019s worse is that the cost of borrowing for college is projected to nearly double within five years. Sen. Bernie Sanders voted against the bill. Last year was among the 10 warmest on record, according to a report issued Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The report also said there were record greenhouse gas emissions in 2012. Sanders on Wednesday praised Postal Service unions for putting up a fight against proposals in Congress that would cut service and cut jobs.\u00a0 Sanders also took on a growing movement among congressional Republicans to abolish the minimum wage. The Voting Rights Act, signed 48 years ago last Tuesday, is now in jeopardy because of a June Supreme Court ruling that already being used by states to make it harder for minorities to vote.\r\nGlobal Warming The Arctic warmed at about twice the rate of lower altitudes and lost record amounts of sea ice last year, according to the NOAA report that examined the impact of our changing climate. \u201cThe findings are striking,\u201d Kathryn Sullivan, NOAA\u2019s acting administrator, told reporters during a conference call on Tuesday. To Sanders, the report is the latest evidence that bold action is needed. \u201cOur planet as a whole is becoming a warmer place. Global warming is the most serious environmental crisis facing the world today. It demands bold action to preserve our planet for our children and grandchildren.\u201d Sanders and Sen. Barbara Boxer, chairman of the Senate environment committee, have introduced legislation to tax carbon and methane gas emissions to reduce the use of fossil fuels that are causing climate change. Their measure also would encourage U.S. companies to move to cleaner forms of energy and increase efficiency of existing fossil fuels. Rebates to consumers would reduce the impact of the tax on their energy bills. The revenue raised also would be used to help invest in clean energy technologies and solve our budget problems.\r\nStudent Loans Under the legislation that Obama signed on Friday at the White House, it will cost more to borrow this year than it did for the last two years and college borrowing costs are projected to balloon in coming years. The law sets a 3.9 percent interest rate for undergraduates taking out subsidized and unsubsidized loans this year. That rate is greater than a 3.4 percent cap in place for the past two years. \u00a0The interest rates are projected to go up and hit 7.25 percent for undergraduate loans in five years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Graduate loans would go up to 8.8 percent and parents would be charged 9.8 percent on loans for their children to attend college, according to the analysis by the non-partisan agency that provides economic data for Congress. \u201cThis legislation is going to make an already bad situation of student indebtedness even worse,\u201d said Sanders, a member of the Senate education committee. He said he will fight to make college more affordable when the committee rewrites the Higher Education Act next year.\r\nMinimum Wage One-day strikes by fast-food workers this summer have highlighted the need to raise the minimum wage, which has been $7.25 since 2007. Sanders is a cosponsor of legislation to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, about what it would be if the minimum wage had kept up with inflation over the past 50 years. Some in Congress don\u2019t just oppose raising the minimum wage. They want to abolish it. During a recent Senate labor committee hearing, Sen. Lamar Alexander told Sanders he favors doing away with the minimum wage. He\u2019s not alone. \"I don\u2019t think a minimum wage law works,\" Sen. Marco Rubio told CBS News earlier this year. Remarkably, 28 Republican senators went on record in 2007 and voted to abolish the minimum wage. Republican Party platforms in Texas, Iowa, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and Oregon call for the minimum wage to be abolished.\r\nPostal Service Sanders on Wednesday agreed with unions representing Postal Service workers opposed to legislation likely to end Saturday mail service, significantly slow down delivery, close processing plants and eliminate door-to-door deliveries. A bill by Sens. Tom Carper and Tom Coburn was called \u201ca serious threat\u201d to the Postal Service in a joint letter signed by leaders of the American Postal Workers Union, National Association of Letter Carriers, National Postal Mail Handlers Union and the National Rural Letter Carriers Association. The labor leaders said the Carper-Coburn legislation would dismantle mail processing and delivery networks, slash 80,000 jobs and retain elements of an onerous congressional mandate to pre-fund health benefits for future retirees. That mandate makes the Postal Service set aside $5.5 billion a year in a fund that already has more than enough to cover future benefits. Financing that mandate, which is unlike any in private business or other public-sector employers, accounts for about $4 out of every $5 in Postal Service debts. Sanders applauded the unions and questioned why the Carper-Coburn proposal retreats from a measure that passed the Senate one year ago with 62 votes.\r\nVoting Rights Tuesday marked the 48th anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act. That landmark law which protected voters from discrimination for decades is now in jeopardy. The Supreme Court on June 25 invalidated a key portion of the act which prohibited states and localities with histories of racial discrimination from altering voting laws without federal approval. Sanders said the court's decision \"turned back the clock on equality in America.\" In the weeks since the court ruling, Florida, North Carolina and other states have moved quickly to put in place restrictive laws designed to tamp down voter turnout. \u201cWe must make it easier, not harder, for poor and working people to vote and to participate in the political process,\" Sanders said. \"Using unfounded scare tactics and isolated cases of voter fraud to weaken the public's faith in elections and to disenfranchise millions of eligible voters is reprehensible.\"", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=6363D5E0-E362-4BEA-931F-83CB84DC543F", "Student Loan Law Raises College Costs, Sanders Says", "2013-08-09", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Student Loan Law Raises College Costs, Sanders Says     \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tFriday, August 9, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tBURLINGTON, Vt., Aug. 9 \u2013 U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders said legislation that President Barack Obama signed today will let college borrowing costs balloon.\r\n\u201cThis legislation is going to make an already bad situation of student indebtedness even worse,\u201d said Sanders, a member of the Senate education committee. He said he will fight to make college more affordable when the committee rewrites the Higher Education Act next year.\r\nUnder the bill that Obama signed, interest rates are projected to hit 7.25 percent for undergraduate loans in five years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Also by 2018, graduate loans would go up to 8.8 percent and parents would be charged 9.8 percent on loans for their children to attend college, according to the analysis by the non-partisan agency that provides economic data for Congress.\r\nThe legislation sets a 3.9 percent interest rate for undergraduates taking out subsidized and unsubsidized loans this year. Even that figure is greater than a 3.4 percent cap that was in place for the past two years.\r\n\u201cAt a time when the average student is graduating from a four-year college $27,000 in debt, when hundreds of thousands of capable young people no longer see college as an option because of high costs and when the U.S. is falling further and further behind our economic competitors in terms of the percentage of young people graduating from college, this legislation will make college even less affordable than it is today,\u201d Sanders said.\r\nSanders also cited a Congressional Budget Office report that the revenue raised from the steeper loan rates will mean \u201chuge profits\u201d for the federal government totaling some $184 billion over the next decade.\r\n\u201cWe have a middle class which is disappearing. The number of Americans living in poverty is near an all-time high. We have millions of families struggling to be able to send their kids to college. So what is the United States government doing? We are helping to balance the budget by saying to middle-class, working families that if you want to borrow money to send your kids to college we are going to make $184 billion in profits off of you. Let me go on record as saying I think that that is a very counterproductive idea. It is a dumb idea,\u201d Sanders said at the time the Senate voted on the legislation.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=99C6AB0F-204E-4961-9890-CBBF578F0ECD", "Student Loan Rates Rising", "2013-08-09", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Student Loan Rates Rising \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tFriday, August 9, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tPresident Barack Obama was set to sign legislation this afternoon that will let college borrowing costs balloon. \u201cThis legislation is going to make an already bad situation of student indebtedness even worse,\u201d said Sanders, a member of the Senate education committee. He said he will fight to make college more affordable when the committee rewrites the Higher Education Act next year.\r\nUnder the new law, interest rates are projected to hit 7.25 percent for undergraduate loans in five years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Also by 2018, graduate loans would go up to 8.8 percent and parents would be charged 9.8 percent on loans for their children to attend college, according to the analysis by the non-partisan agency that provides economic data for Congress.\r\nThe legislation sets a 3.9 percent interest rate for undergraduates taking out subsidized and unsubsidized loans this year. Even that figure is greater than a 3.4 percent cap that was in place for the past two years.\r\n\u201cAt a time when the average student is graduating from a four-year college $27,000 in debt, when hundreds of thousands of capable young people no longer see college as an option because of high costs and when the U.S. is falling further and further behind our economic competitors in terms of the percentage of young people graduating from college, this legislation will make college even less affordable than it is today,\u201d Sanders said.\r\nSanders also cited a Congressional Budget Office report that the revenue raised from the steeper loan rates will mean \u201chuge profits\u201d for the federal government totaling some $184 billion over the next decade.\r\n\u201cWe have a middle class which is disappearing. The number of Americans living in poverty is near an all-time high. We have millions of families struggling to be able to send their kids to college. So what is the United States government doing? We are helping to balance the budget by saying to middle-class, working families that if you want to borrow money to send your kids to college we are going to make $184 billion in profits off of you. Let me go on record as saying I think that that is a very counterproductive idea. It is a dumb idea,\u201d Sanders said at the time the Senate voted on the legislation.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=AB0F495B-7DA4-440E-A024-0384A4939AEB", "News August 9", "2013-08-09", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News August 9\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tFriday, August 9, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders\r\nMilitary Sexual Assaults President Barack Obama hasn\u2019t formally met with senators who\u2019ve made the issue of sexual assault in the military a priority. He hasn\u2019t endorsed any of their proposals and top aides have made no commitment to lawmakers and victims groups. In an op-ed in The Hill, former Clinton White House lawyer Lanny Davis asked why Obama was missing in action on a proposal supported by Sens. Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders, Politico reported. \u201cThis purple moment when Paul and Sanders agree on something doesn\u2019t happen very often,\u201d Davis wrote. LINK, LINK\r\nUSPS Sen. Tom Carper has proposed legislation that would allow the post office to eliminate Saturday service in a year and reduce the number of mail-processing centers in two years. The American Postal Workers Union has taken to the airwaves, with an ad urging Congress not to cut employees but to change the way the Postal Service funds retirees\u2019 health care. The union supports a bill sponsored by Sen. Sanders that would end the post office's prefunding requirement, National Public Radio reported on \u201cAll Things Considered.\u201d LINK\r\nVeterans Home An independent report on the Vermont Veterans Home in Bennington called the only state-run nursing home for veterans \u201cfundamentally a good home,\u201d but found \u201cperceived weakness or incompetence\u201d by administrators and cited distrust and a lack of communication with the staff. The home could lose federal Medicare and Medicaid payments on Aug. 26 unless it corrects deficiencies uncovered in a separate inspection by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Administration Secretary Jeb Spaulding told state lawmakers that Sen. Sanders and a representative from CMS met Thursday morning in Montpelier, the Rutland Herald reported. LINK\r\nJeff Bezos\u00a0Political scientists studied Fortune 500 executives to map out where they donated and found that new Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos sits in the middle of the spectrum, according to The Washington Post.\u00a0The Koch brothers are the most conservative. Google's founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin were rated the most liberal, although they are still more conservative than Sen. Sanders and, for that matter, President Barack Obama. LINK\r\nIncome Inequality PolitiFact, the newspaper feature that checks the veracity of statements made by politicians and other public officials, recently scrutinized statements made by Sen. Sanders that six out of 10 Americans believe that money and wealth should be more evenly distributed in the United States. Turns out that the percentage holding that view is and has been that high for roughly the last three decades, according to Dave Zweifel, the editor emeritus of the The (Madison, Wis.) Capital Times. LINK\r\nWorld\r\nU.S. Evacuates Pakistani Consulate The United States has evacuated most of its staff from its consulate in Pakistan's second largest city, Lahore, a U.S. Embassy spokeswoman in Islamabad confirmed to CBS News Friday.\"We received information regarding a threat to our consulate in Lahore,\" said Meghan Gregonis. \"As a precautionary measure, we have undertaken a drawdown for all but emergency personnel in Lahore.\" LINK\r\nMore Drone Strikes in Yemen\u00a0American drone strikes killed an additional eight suspected militants in Yemen Thursday, according to Reuters. The latest round of attacks brings the number of drone killings to at least 25 in less than two weeks.\u00a0LINK\r\nNational\r\nObama to Sign Student Loan Bill President Obama was scheduled to sign legislation Friday at the White House that lets undergraduates borrow at a 3.9 percent interest rate for subsidized and unsubsidized loans this year, but each year's loan could be more expensive than the last. Under the deal, interest rates could climb to 8.25 percent for undergraduates and 9.5 percent for graduate students. Parents' rates would top out at 10.5 percent, The Associated Press reported. LINK\r\nNSA Searches Messages to and From Americans\u00a0According to a New York Times report, the National Security Agency is searching the contents of vast amounts of Americans' email and text messages into and out of the country. Aiming to track down people with connections to foreign targets, the agency has been systematically surveilling private data without warrants.\u00a0LINK\r\nWhite House: NSA Monitors 'Very Small Amount' of Web Traffic\u00a0White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Thursday that the National Security Agency examines \"only a very small percentage\" of the world's Internet traffic, The Hill reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nBusinesses Want More Low-Skill Visas As Congress considers an immigration overhaul, an eclectic group of businesses is eager to take advantage of new categories of low-skilled immigrant laborers the legislation would allow. Proposals in both the House and Senate would allow hundreds of thousands of foreign workers to take on a broader set of U.S. jobs, opening a path for more immigrants to work on dairy farms, in meatpacking plants and on golf courses, The Wall Street Journal reported. LINK\r\nFlorida Voters Gov. Rick Scott ordered state officials to resume controversial efforts to remove noncitizens from voting rolls, The New York Times reported. The state previously failed to receive federal clearance for changes to its voting laws, but a June ruling from the Supreme Court has emboldened those seeking to purge voter rolls in the state. Critics argue that removal efforts will disproportionately affect minority voters.\u00a0LINK\r\nCapitol Power Plant\u00a0Just two miles from the White House and blocks from the Capitol building, the Capitol Power Plant remains the largest single source of carbon emissions in the nation's capital, according to The New York Times. This dirty plant exists as a concrete example of the government\u2019s inability to green its own turf.\u00a0LINK\r\nMinority-Owned Small Businesses Get Fewer Gov. Contracts\u00a0Minority-owned small businesses receive fewer federal contracts, according to a Bloomberg study of $98.2 billion worth of small business contracts. Businesses owned by African-Americans won only 7.2 percent of contracts, or $7.1 billion.\u00a0LINK\r\nFannie May Posts $10.2 Billion Profit Fannie Mae, the nation's largest mortgage finance company, will send another big payment of more than $10 billion to the United States Treasury, according to Reuters. Fannie's second-quarter profit nearly doubled, mainly driven by a housing recovery that has lifted home prices.\u00a0LINK\r\nMcConnell Stinks, His Campaign Manager Says Jesse Benton, the manager of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell\u2019s reelection campaign, told a conservative activist in a phone call early this year that he took the job \u201cholding my nose\u201d because it would help Kentucky\u2019s other senator, fellow Republican Rand Paul, in a 2016 presidential run. \u201cBetween you and me, I\u2019m sort of holding my nose for two years because what we\u2019re doing here is going to be a big benefit to Rand in \u201916, so that\u2019s my long vision,\u201d Benton said, according to a recording of the call obtained by The Washington Post. LINK\r\nVermont\r\nWind Power\u00a0Weaknesses in the rural system linking wind turbines to the power grid mean that wind companies are routinely taken offline during heat waves and bad weather, according to The Associated Press. More than $1 billion has been spent on wind turbines in Vermont, northern Maine, and New Hampshire over the past decade. But getting wind energy to market remains a challenge in rural areas.\u00a0LINK\r\nHeroin, Opiate Addictions\u00a0Heroin and opiate abuse remains an epidemic in Chittenden County and around Vermont, the Burlington Free Press reported. A six-person expert panel hosted a \"community conversation\" on the issue this week. Bob Bick, director of mental health and substance abuse services at the HowardCenter, said 832 people are on a waiting list for treatment at his facility.\u00a0LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=0DFD8E38-43DD-4B66-ACF4-195855D3FF17", "Vt. Bernie Buzz: Honoring a Vermont Hero", "2013-08-08", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Honoring a Vermont Hero\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tThursday, August 8, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tThe Senate passed legislation, introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders, that would name the post office in Danville, Vt., after Thaddeus Stevens, the Vermont native who led the fight in Congress during the Civil War to abolish slavery.\r\nSanders sponsored the bill honoring Stevens after last year\u2019s Academy Award-winning movie \u201cLincoln\u201d revived interest in his important role in history.\r\nIn addition to leading the fight for passage of the 13th Amendment to end slavery, the progressive Republican who represented Pennsylvania in the House of Representatives also is credited with shepherding through Congress the 14th and 15th Amendments, which originally were intended to protect the rights of former slaves.\r\n\u201cThaddeus Stevens became a fighter not only for civil rights and the abolition of slavery, but for low-income and working families throughout his entire life,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cHe relentlessly pursued equal rights and freedom for the disadvantaged as a member of the House of Representatives during a tumultuous period in our nation\u2019s history.\u201d\r\n\u201cRenaming the post office in Danville after Thaddeus Stevens will help Vermonters and people throughout the country understand the important legislative battles won in the halls of Congress during the Civil War and Reconstruction-era. As Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Stevens was one of the most powerful members of Congress during that crucial period of American history,\u201d Sanders said.\r\nSen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) cosponsored Sanders\u2019 resolution in the Senate. Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) introduced identical legislation in the House of Representatives, where it is being considered by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The measure passed the Senate Aug. 1.\r\nSanders in May hosted a free showing of the movie in St. Johnsbury. More than 300 people attended the town meeting, which included student presentations and a panel discussion featuring two Vermont historians.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=1C14BB88-5D19-4803-9D4E-7D72B583D754", "Fast-Food Fight", "2013-08-08", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Fast-Food Fight\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tThursday, August 8, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tOne-day strikes by fast-food workers this summer have highlighted the need to raise the minimum wage, which has been $7.25 since 2007. A Thursday editorial in The New York Times called the protests \u201ca just cause.\u201d Sen. Bernie Sanders also has congratulated the workers for speaking out against \u201cstarvation wages.\u201d He is a cosponsor of legislation to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, about what it would be if the minimum wage had kept up with inflation over the past 50 years. The effort to pass that legislation is running up against those in Congress who don\u2019t just oppose raising the minimum wage. \u201cThis will shock you but this is the truth,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cThey want to abolish the minimum wage.\u201d During a recent Senate labor committee hearing, Sen. Lamar Alexander told Sanders he favors doing away with the minimum wage. He\u2019s not alone. \"I don\u2019t think a minimum wage law works,\" Sen. Marco Rubio told CBS News earlier this year. Remarkably, 28 Republican senators went on record in 2007 and voted to abolish the minimum wage. Republican Party platforms in Texas, Iowa, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and Oregon call for the minimum wage to be abolished.\r\nWatch Sanders on The Ed Show \u00bb", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=7862BFFF-C9BD-4431-8FDB-514F508BD657", "News August 8", "2013-08-08", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News August 8\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tThursday, August 8, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders\r\nUSPS Sen. Bernie Sanders Wednesday came out in support of Postal Service unions that oppose legislation likely to end Saturday mail, significantly slow delivery, close processing plants and eliminate door-to-door deliveries.\u00a0 A bill by Sens. Tom Carper and Tom Coburn was called \u201c\u2018a serious threat\u2019 to the Postal Service in a joint letter signed by leaders of four labor organizations. Sanders questioned why the Carper-Coburn proposal retreats from most of the items agreed upon last year by 62 senators. \u201cWe also wonder what\u2019s to gain from this backpedalling,\u201d the Brattleboro Reformer said in an editorial. LINK\r\nDomestic Surveillance When the House recently considered an amendment that would have dismantled the NSA\u2019s bulk phone records collection program, the White House swiftly condemned the measure. But only five years ago, Sen. Barack Obama was part of a group of legislators that supported substantial changes to NSA surveillance programs. The 2007 measure Obama surrported is also similar to current proposals introduced by Rep. John Conyers and Sen. Sanders, according to a Probublica report in The Atlantic and Salon online and in the Philadelphia Daily News. LINK, LINK\r\nMedicare for All\u00a0 Public Citizen sponsored a congressional briefing and press conference with last Wednesday Sen. Sanders and Reps. Conyers, Mark Takano and Keith Ellison to advocate single-payer health insurance for all Americans. President Obama should meet with progressives before negotiating on policy issues when Congress gets back from its August break, Pearl Korn wrote for The Huffington Post that.\u00a0LINK\r\nVA Cybersecurity The Veterans Affairs Department has done little over the last two months to satisfy House lawmakers' concerns about the security of the data of more than 20 million veterans. The House committee's frustration with VA's answers boiled over at a July 12 briefing with House and Senate committee staff members. A spokesman for the Senate committee said aides to Sens. Sanders and Richard Burr are concerned about the issue, Federal News Radio on WTOP-AM in Washington, D.C., reported. LINK, AUDIO\r\nVote \u201cThink it doesn\u2019t matter? Sanders gained his first election victory, as mayor of Burlington, by 10 votes,\u201d Steve Costello wrote in a Rutland Herald op-ed on good citizenship. LINK\r\nCampaign Finance\u00a0Sen. Patrick Leahy's Green Mountain PAC raised $197,000 in donations over six months, 70 percent of which came from interest groups. Unlike Sen. Sanders, Leahy has not eschewed corporate PAC donations, according to Paul Heintz of Seven Days.\u00a0LINK \r\nWorld\r\nObama Cancels Putin Meeting\u00a0President Barack Obama canceled a planned meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid mounting anger over Russia's decision to grant National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden temporary asylum, The Washington Post reported. The president said he was \"disappointed\" in Russia's decision to allow Snowden to stay in the country.\u00a0LINK\r\nAl-Qaeda Plot Foiled\u00a0Yemeni authorities told CNN Wednesday that an al-Qaeda plot to attack oil pipelines, ports, and gas facilities was foiled by government forces. News of the plan comes days after the United States evacuated embassies in the area, citing alarming terrorist threats.\u00a0LINK\r\nNational\r\nHill Health Care It started out a political \u201cgotcha\u201d \u2014 an amendment to President Obama\u2019s health care law requiring members of Congress and staffers to get the same coverage offered to uninsured Americans. Wednesday, the administration tossed it back in the lap of Congress. Proposed rules say lawmakers\u2019 offices should individually decide whether staffers are subject to a health law provision that would require them to switch their insurance from the federal plan to new coverage coming next year under Obama\u2019s overhaul. The proposal does clarify that the government will continue to pay its standard share of premiums, but questions remain about retiree coverage and definitions of residency, The Associated Press reported.\r\nVA Backs Benefits in Agent Orange Case The Department of Veterans Affairs has reversed its denial of Agent Orange-related disability benefits for an Air Force veteran who flew on potentially contaminated C-123 aircraft after the Vietnam War, a decision advocates describe as the first of its kind for veterans seeking compensation for postwar exposure to the toxic defoliant. Sens. Richard Burr and Jeff Merkley asked the VA Office of Inspector General to review whether the department was \u201cinappropriately\u201d denying disability compensation to veterans who say they were sickened by postwar contamination, The Washington Post reported. LINK\r\nIndustry Influence Threatens Food Safety\u00a0Analysts cited by Reuters said Wednesday in a report that United States food companies exert \"undue influence\" in vouching for the safety of common food additives.\u00a0LINK\r\nSEC Hunt Winds Down\u00a0 Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement officials have decided not to pursue a key case against Magnetar Capital, a hedge-fund firm instrumental in the lead up to the financial crisis. The dropping of this case \"means the government is almost certain to conclude its crisis-related enforcement efforts without charging any of the hedge funds\" that reaped billions of dollars in profits prior to the Great Recession, according to The Wall Street Journal.\u00a0LINK\r\nOne in 25 Arrested in 2011\u00a0One in 25 Americans was arrested in 2011, according to a Federal Bureau of Investigation report cited by The Huffington Post. Groups on the political right and left are engaged in a discussion about over-criminalization in America and some argue that we have too many laws, too broadly enforced.\u00a0LINK\r\nFeds: JPMorgan Also Inflated Aluminum Prices\u00a0Hot off the heels of a damning New York Times report accusing Goldman Sachs of manipulating aluminum market prices, Reuters reported that other major firms including JPMorgan Chase may have engaged in similar conduct. A federal lawsuit against JPMorgan, Glencore Xstrata and Goldman Sachs says that the companies purchased commodity storage facilities to artificially lower supply of aluminum in order to increase prices.\u00a0LINK\r\nVermont\r\nWind Power Vermont\u2019s largest electric utility knew the limits of its Lowell Mountain wind project and that it would be asked to keep electricity generated there off the grid from time to time, the head of New England\u2019s electric grid wrote in a letter to Gov. Peter Shumlin. Gordon van Welie, the president of grid operator ISO New England, was responding to a letter from Shumlin last month in which Shumlin said he felt ISO New England needlessly kept Lowell Mountain power off the grid at a time of high demand, a heat wave July 19, The Associated Press reported. LINK\r\nSolar Power Vermont's largest electric utility is helping three nonprofit groups in the Rutland area go solar. The three organizations will receive $20,000 matching grants to help build solar projects that are part of a broader effort by Green Mountain Power to make Rutland the solar capital of New England. GMP says the grant winners are the Vermont Farmer's Food Center on West Street, Rutland Regional Community Television on Scale Avenue in Howe Center, and Good Shepherd Lutheran Church on Hillside Road, AP reported.\r\nSchools Manage Allergies and Asthma Well\u00a0Vermont schools received high marks in their management policies for students with allergies and asthma, according to a new report cited by the Burlington Free Press.\u00a0LINK\r\nWastewater Plant Dumps 500,000 Gallons in River\u00a0Worker error caused a wastewater treatment plant in Essex Junction to dump 500,000 gallons of partially untreated sewage into the Winooski River, AP reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nGoswami to Vermont Press Bureau At the end of this week we will say good-bye to Senior Staff Writer Neal P. Goswami, a Bennington native who has called the Banner his home away from home for the past 7.5 years. Neal has served the bulk of those years skillfully covering the Town of Bennington and the legislature. We wish Neal well in his new endeavor in Montpelier covering the state house for the Vermont Press Bureau, a Bennington Banner editorial said.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=16098291-AC96-4178-AA94-1FCD736A49CD", "Global Warming", "2013-08-07", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Global Warming\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tWednesday, August 7, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tLast year was among the 10 warmest on record, according to a report issued Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The report also said there were record greenhouse gas emissions in 2012. The biggest changes in the climate last year were recorded in the Arctic and in Greenland. \u00a0The Arctic warmed at about twice the rate of lower altitudes and lost record amounts of sea ice. \u201cThe findings are striking,\u201d Kathryn Sullivan, NOAA\u2019s acting administrator, told reporters on a conference call. To Sen. Bernie Sanders, the report is only the latest evidence that bold action is needed. \u201cOur planet as a whole is becoming a warmer place. Global warming is the most serious environmental crisis facing the world today. It demands bold action to preserve our planet for our children and grandchildren.\u201d\r\nSanders and Sen. Barbara Boxer, chairman of the Senate environment committee, have introduced legislation to tax carbon and methane gas emissions to reduce the use of fossil fuels that are causing climate change. Their measure also would encourage U.S. companies to move to cleaner forms of energy and increase efficiency of existing fossil fuels. Rebates to consumers would reduce the impact of the tax on their energy bills. The revenue raised also would be used to help invest in clean energy technologies and solve our budget problems.\r\n\u201cThe point has to be made that we now have the technology in terms of energy efficiency, in terms the decreased price for solar panels, in terms of the need for wind. Geothermal is going all over the country, biomass. We now can do it,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cIf there was a political will in the White House and in the Congress, we can transform the energy system. We can create millions of jobs. We could lead the world and be an exporter around the world of that type of technology.\u201d\r\nRead the new NOAA report \u00bb\r\nRead a summary of the Sanders, Boxer bill \u00bb", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=46CECF46-95A4-4414-BDF3-79C33A9B3707", "Sanders, Postal Unions Oppose Bill to Weaken Mail Service, End Saturday Deliveries, Slash Jobs", "2013-08-07", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Sanders, Postal Unions Oppose Bill to Weaken Mail Service, End Saturday Deliveries, Slash Jobs  \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tWednesday, August 7, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tBURLINGTON, Vt., Aug. 7 \u2013 U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders said today he agrees with Postal Service unions that oppose legislation likely to end Saturday mail service, significantly slow down delivery, close processing plants and eliminate door-to-door deliveries.\r\nA bill by Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) was called \u201ca serious threat\u201d to the Postal Service in a joint letter signed by leaders of the American Postal Workers Union, National Association of Letter Carriers, National Postal Mail Handlers Union and the National Rural Letter Carriers Association.\r\nThe labor leaders said the Carper-Coburn legislation would dismantle mail processing and delivery networks, slash 80,000 jobs and retain elements of an onerous congressional mandate to pre-fund health benefits for future retirees. That mandate makes the Postal Service set aside $5.5 billion a year in a fund that already has more than enough to cover future benefits. Financing that mandate, which is unlike any in private business or other public-sector employers, accounts for about $4 out of every $5 in Postal Service debts.\r\nSanders applauded the unions, and said he will continue to work with them. And he questioned why the Carper-Coburn proposal retreats from a measure that passed the Senate one year ago with an overwhelming, bipartisan majority.\r\nThe Senate on April 25, 2012, voted 62-37 for a bill that had the support of 13 Republican senators. \u201cIt is hard for me to understand why the Senate should go backward and settle for a significantly weaker bill that, while not as strong as I would have liked, got an impressive 62 votes,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cThat makes no sense.\u201d\r\nUnlike last year\u2019s Senate-passed bill, the Carper-Coburn proposal would allow the Postal Service, over a short period of time, to shut mail processing plants, end Saturday delivery and open the door to additional weekday mail service cutbacks.\r\n\u201cWhile we all understand that the Postal Service is experiencing financial problems and that changes need to be made, I am convinced that substantially slowing down mail delivery and providing less service wouldn\u2019t save the Postal Service, it would send it into a death spiral,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cThat is why I am strongly opposed to this legislation that in the midst of a severe recession would lead to the elimination of tens of thousands of decent-paying jobs \u2013 many of them held by military veterans.\u201d\r\nSanders on Feb. 13 introduced his own legislation, which now has 28 cosponsors, to modernize the Postal Service, save Saturday mail, and repeal the crippling law responsible for about 80 percent of the mail system\u2019s funding woes. Similar legislation introduced in the House by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) now has 166 cosponsors.\r\nTheir legislation also would let the Postal Service look for innovative new ways to attract more customers by taking advantage of email and Internet services, for example. A commission made up of successful business innovators, small business and labor leaders would make additional recommendations on ways the Postal Service could generate new revenue. The bill also would reinstate overnight delivery standards to speed mail delivery and prevent shutdowns of mail sorting centers. Safeguards also would be put in place to protect rural post offices.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=888FAE00-4132-4CD5-A861-58B47AACB08B", "A Death Spiral", "2013-08-07", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "A Death Spiral\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tWednesday, August 7, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday agreed with unions representing Postal Service workers opposed to legislation likely to end Saturday mail service, significantly slow down delivery, close processing plants and eliminate door-to-door deliveries. A bill by Sens. Tom Carper and Tom Coburn was called \u201ca serious threat\u201d to the Postal Service in a joint letter signed by leaders of the American Postal Workers Union, National Association of Letter Carriers, National Postal Mail Handlers Union and the National Rural Letter Carriers Association.\r\nThe labor leaders said the Carper-Coburn legislation would dismantle mail processing and delivery networks, slash 80,000 jobs and retain elements of an onerous congressional mandate to pre-fund health benefits for future retirees. That mandate makes the Postal Service set aside $5.5 billion a year in a fund that already has more than enough to cover future benefits. Financing that mandate, which is unlike any in private business or other public-sector employers, accounts for about $4 out of every $5 in Postal Service debts.\r\n\r\nSanders applauded the unions, and said he will continue to work with them. And he questioned why the Carper-Coburn proposal retreats from a measure that passed the Senate one year ago with an overwhelming, bipartisan majority.\r\nThe Senate on April 25, 2012, voted 62-37 for a bill that had the support of 13 Republican senators. \u201cIt is hard for me to understand why the Senate should go backward and settle for a significantly weaker bill that, while not as strong as I would have liked, got an impressive 62 votes,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cThat makes no sense.\u201d\r\nUnlike last year\u2019s Senate-passed bill, the Carper-Coburn proposal would allow the Postal Service, over a short period of time, to shut mail processing plants, end Saturday delivery and open the door to additional weekday mail service cutbacks.\r\n\u201cWhile we all understand that the Postal Service is experiencing financial problems and that changes need to be made, I am convinced that substantially slowing down mail delivery and providing less service wouldn\u2019t save the Postal Service, it would send it into a death spiral,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cThat is why I am strongly opposed to this legislation that in the midst of a severe recession would lead to the elimination of tens of thousands of decent-paying jobs \u2013 many of them held by military veterans.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=0387B3DF-E65F-40F9-9309-A420B0DF01E2", "News July 26", "2013-07-26", "2013", "2013-07", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News July 26\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tFriday, July 26, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders\r\nNSA Surveillance\u00a0The House on Wednesday narrowly defeated an effort to stop the federal government from systematically gathering telecommunications metadata, but Congress is considering other ways to reform a National Security Agency surveillance program, according to ProPublica. Sen. Sanders has introduced legislation to raise the standard for what records are considered \"relevant\" to national security investigations.\u00a0LINK\r\nCollege Costs\u00a0Interest rates on federal student loans would rise under legislation passed by the Senate. Sen. Sanders was one of 18 senators to oppose the bill, according to MSNBC. \"We ask more of parents and young people to go to college than any other major country on earth,\" Sanders told Ed Schultz on Thursday.\u00a0In the Burlington Free Press online, Sanders said \u201cthe idea of passing legislation that in a few years is going to make an already bad situation of student indebtedness even worse is absolutely absurd.\u201d LINK, LINK, AUDIO\r\nLoan Scams \u201cIn a bizarre turn of events this week, the Senate approved a bill with the potential of turning student loans into the kind of teaser loans that devastated the housing market a few years ago, with interest rates that would balloon to high levels in later years. Sens. Sanders and Patrick Leahy were having none of it. \u201cWhat I don\u2019t understand is when you have a Democratic president, a Democratically-controlled U.S. Senate, why we are producing a bill which is basically a Republican bill,\u201d Sanders said in an editorial published by the Times Argus and Rutland Herald. LINK\r\nGlobal Warming\u00a0New Jersey Rep. Rush Holt, a candidate for the U.S. Senate, this week claimed \"millions will die\" if the nation fails to address global warming aggressively enough, The Daily Caller reported. Holt advocates a carbon tax like one Sens. Sanders and Barbara Boxer have introduced.\u00a0LINK\r\nSolar Power Energy Co-op of Vermont is expanding a solar water heating program to Addison County. The program is designed to help Vermont homeowners and businesses save money and energy through heating their water with solar power. Support from high-profile officials such as Sen. Sanders was instrumental in getting the program off the ground, the Times Argus and Rutland Herald reported. LINK\r\nUSPS Sen. Sanders said a House bill to end door-to-door mail delivery is part of a \u201cradical\u201d Republican effort to eliminate the U.S Postal Service. \u201cIt will cost us up to 100,000 workers. It will slow down the delivery of first class mail. It will lead to the closing of half of the processing plants in the country. It will eliminate Saturday mail. It will lead to the possibility of shutting down thousands of rural post offices. Let\u2019s understand that the people who wrote this bill in the House do not believe government should be doing anything. They believe the private sector should be doing it all,\u201d Sanders told Ed Schultz. AUDIO\r\nVA Benefits\u00a0The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on Wednesday passed legislation that would make it easier for veterans traumatized by sexual assault in service to gain VA disability compensation and require public or state-run colleges and universities to charge veterans who use the GI Bill their lower in-state tuition rates, according to Military.com and Stars and Stripes.\u00a0LINK, LINK\r\nMilitary Sexual Assaults\u00a0Top Obama administration officials, including Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, have opposed a bill from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand that give independent military prosecutors, rather than commanders, the power to decide which sexual assault cases should be tried in military court, reported Fox News. The proposal has attracted wide support from senators on the left and right, including Sen. Sanders.\u00a0LINK\r\nQuiet Time\u00a0Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio has his staff and other members of Congress joining him for daily meditation sessions on Capitol Hill, The Huffington Post reported. The head of the Quiet Time Caucus is focused on making the \"mind-body connection\" more central in policymaking. Recently, his office has been working with staff for Sen. Sanders to incorporate alternative medicine into veterans' health services.\u00a0LINK\r\nWorld\r\nEgypt\u2019s Morsi Charged with Espionage Egyptian prosecutors have charged deposed President Morsi with espionage and colluding with the militant group Hamas in provocative accusations ahead of rival rallies planned Friday by Islamists and largely secular opposition forces. The charges against Morsi, who has been in army custody since his overthrow on July 3, are certain to infuriate tens of thousands of his Islamist supporters who have been demonstrating in Cairo and other cities, the Los Angeles Times reported. LINK\r\nSnowden Sanctions\u00a0The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved an amendment that would set penalties against nations that help National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden avoid extradition to the United States, The Associated Press reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nSyria\u00a0United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday increased the death toll in Syria's bloody civil war to more than 100,000, according to The Associated Press.\u00a0LINK\r\nNational\r\nVoting Rights\u00a0In the wake of a Supreme Court decision striking down a key portion of the Voting Rights Act, Attorney General Eric Holder announced Thursday a federal lawsuit to require Texas to get permission from the federal government before making changes to the state's voting regulations in the next decade, The New York Times reported. Since the Supreme Court ruling, sates across the South, from Texas to North Carolina, have been rushing to enforce and enact new restrictions on voting eligibility.\u00a0LINK\r\nThe Fed A group of Democratic senators will send the White House a letter today calling for Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Janet Yellen to succeed Ben S. Bernanke as head of the U.S. central bank. One-third of the 54-member Senate Democratic caucus has signed the letter led by Sen. Sherrod Brown. The letter demonstrates the support that Yellen is gaining and the uphill struggle that former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers could face in winning Senate confirmation, if nominated, Bloomberg reported. LINK\r\nLabor Leaders Seek Government Aid for Detroit Top leaders of the A.F.L.-C.I.O., the nation\u2019s main federation of labor unions, on Thursday called on President Obama and the Congress to offer an immediate financial infusion to Detroit, which last week became the largest American city ever to file for bankruptcy. The executive council of the A.F.L.-C.I.O, holding meetings at its headquarters in Washington, also called on the state of Michigan to provide a comparable amount of financial support to Detroit, its most populous city, The New York Times reported. LINK\r\nU.S. Prison Populations Decline The prison population in the United States dropped in 2012 for the third consecutive year, according to federal statistics released on Thursday, in what criminal justice experts said was the biggest decline in the nation\u2019s recent history, signaling a shift away from an almost four-decade policy of mass imprisonment. The New York Times said the number of inmates in state and federal prisons decreased by 1.7 percent, to an estimated 1,571,013 in 2012 from 1,598,783 in 2011, according to figures released by the Justice Department. Although the percentage decline appeared small, the fact that it followed decreases in 2011 and 2010 offers persuasive evidence of what some experts say is a \u201csea change\u201d in America\u2019s approach to criminal punishment. LINK\r\nCollege Enrollment Falls The long enrollment boom that swelled American colleges \u2014 and helped drive up their prices \u2014 is over. College enrollment fell 2 percent in 2012-13, the first significant decline since the 1990s, but nearly all of that drop hit for-profit and community colleges; now, signs point to 2013-14 being the year when traditional four-year, nonprofit colleges begin a contraction that will last for several years. The college-age population is dropping after more than a decade of sharp growth, and many adults who opted out of a forbidding job market and went back to school during the recession have been drawn back to work by the economic recovery, The New York Times reported. LINK\r\nHedge Fund Fraud\u00a0Federal prosecutors announced criminal charges on Thursday against hedge fund SAC Capital, The New York Times reported. Authorities claim the company \"enabled and promoted\" securities fraud and wire fraud on a scale \"without known precedent in the hedge fund industry.\" The indictment slammed billionaire owner Steve Cohen, saying he \"fostered a culture that focused on not discussing inside information too openly, rather than not seeking or trading on such information in the first place.\"\u00a0LINK\r\nTax Reform Secrets\u00a0Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus and Ranking Member Orrin Hatch promised senators this week that any suggestion for new tax reforms would remain confidential for fifty years, The Hill reported. The move illustrates the enormous pressure being brought to bear by K Street lobbyists, who are working to protect their clients and the tax provisions that benefit them.\u00a0LINK\r\nVermont\r\nPower Grid Shuts Down Wind With electricity demand near all-time high last week in New England, the operator of the regional electric grid ordered the Lowell, Vt. wind project to cut its power output. The move baffled the utility and wind developers. They question why a renewable energy project was scaled back when polluting power plants everywhere in the region were told to run full blast, Vermont Public Radio reported. LINK\r\nBurlington is a Great Place Burlington ranked second on Kiplinger Personal Finance's annual list of the 10 greatest places to live in America, the Burlington Free Press reported.\u00a0LINK", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=0F46E0FB-6AF6-40AB-8A91-9BE14907C3EE", "Vermont Public Radio: 93 Mile Rail Trail Underway", "2013-07-26", "2013", "2013-07", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "93 Mile Rail Trail Underway\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t By:\u00a0 Charlotte Albright \n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tFriday, July 26, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\r\nWork is finally about to start on a four-season recreation trail \u00a0proposed \u00a0to span northern Vermont. The Lamoille Valley Rail Trail has been on the drawing board \u00a0for over a decade, and on Friday there was a ground-breaking ceremony in St. Johnsbury.\r\nFrom 1877 to 1994, \u00a0trains rumbled \u00a0through this \u00a0corridor between St. Johnsbury and Swanton. Now the railbed is \u00a0covered with weeds. But in a few years, organizers, including the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers, or VAST,\u00a0 hope it will be a gravel thoroughfare for \u00a0all kinds of \u00a0travelers- on foot, bikes, snowmobiles, skis, horses\u2014even dogsleds.\r\nAt the groundbreaking, Senator Bernie Sanders recalled \u00a0the many financial and regulatory obstacles that have slowed progress. \u00a0\u00a0But he sees a bright future for the scenic multi-use trail.\r\nContinue reading here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "truncated": false, "filtered_table_rows_count": 309, "expanded_columns": [], "expandable_columns": [], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "units": {}, "query": {"sql": "select url, title, date, year, month, party, chamber, state, member_name, bioguide_id, domain, scraper, source, date_source, text, has_text, collected_at, updated_at from releases where \"party\" = :p0 and \"state\" = :p1 and \"year\" = :p2 order by date desc limit 101", "params": {"p0": "Independent", "p1": "VT", "p2": "2013"}}, "facet_results": {"party": {"name": "party", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?party=Independent&state=VT&year=2013", "results": [{"value": "Independent", "label": "Independent", "count": 309, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?state=VT&year=2013", "selected": true}], "truncated": false}, "chamber": {"name": "chamber", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?party=Independent&state=VT&year=2013", "results": [{"value": "House", "label": "House", "count": 309, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?party=Independent&state=VT&year=2013&chamber=House", "selected": false}], "truncated": false}, "state": {"name": "state", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?party=Independent&state=VT&year=2013", "results": [{"value": "VT", "label": "VT", "count": 309, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?party=Independent&year=2013", "selected": true}], "truncated": false}, "year": {"name": "year", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?party=Independent&state=VT&year=2013", "results": [{"value": "2013", "label": "2013", "count": 309, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?party=Independent&state=VT", "selected": true}], "truncated": false}}, "suggested_facets": [], "next": "2013-07-26,https~3A~2F~2Fsanders~2Esenate~2Egov~2Fnewsroom~2Fnews~2F~3Fid~3D0F46E0FB-6AF6-40AB-8A91-9BE14907C3EE", "next_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?party=Independent&state=VT&year=2013&_next=2013-07-26%2Chttps~3A~2F~2Fsanders~2Esenate~2Egov~2Fnewsroom~2Fnews~2F~3Fid~3D0F46E0FB-6AF6-40AB-8A91-9BE14907C3EE&_sort_desc=date", "private": false, "allow_execute_sql": true, "query_ms": 135.85282629355788, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}