{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["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"]], "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"], "primary_key_values": ["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=8AE8748B-2F8F-42FC-8EBD-AA438EDF9A3A"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.412112032994628, "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"}