{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/newswatch/102716", "News October 27", "2016-10-27", "2016", "2016-10", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News October 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\tThursday, October 27, 2016\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tAT&T-Time Warner Merger Sen. Bernie Sanders called on the Justice Department Wednesday to block the $85 billion AT&T-Time Warner merger. Sanders warned in a letter to the department's antitrust division that the combination could result in a \"gross concentration of power\" in news media, and suggested that blocking the deal would help \"preserve our democratic discourse,\u201d CNBC and The Associated Press reported.\r\nFears of Growing Progressive Power Hillary Clinton\u2019s lead in presidential-election polls has Wall Street increasingly focused on the battle for control of Congress\u2014and bracing for a less friendly environment if Democrats retake the Senate and give new clout to the party\u2019s left wing led by Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, The Wall Street Journal reported. Republicans in Congress are also worried about the power of progressives, The New York Times reported.\r\nLiberal Priorities Buoyed by the strength of Sanders in the primary and the enduring star power of Warren, liberal Democrats are expected to push hard for new curbs on Wall Street and dig in on policy issues including trade, health care, taxes and college tuition, The Wall Street Journal reported. Liberal Democrats are already looking past Election Day \u2014 and relying on arren to become the thorn in chief in Mrs. Clinton\u2019s side, scrutinizing her appointments and agenda, The New York Times reported.\u00a0\r\nHELP Committee Sanders, who is wielding newfound influence that he gained during his presidential bid, continues to signal interest in the HELP gavel, though he is in line to become chairman of the Senate Budget Committee should Democrats come back into power, Politico reported.\r\nExecutive Action on Drug Prices A group of progressive Democratic lawmakers, including Sanders and Warren, agree that under a thirty-six-year-old law, the Bayh-Dole Act, the executive branch is empowered to get pharmaceutical companies to reduce prices on drugs invented with the help of federal research funds, Washington Monthly reported.\r\nColumn: Pressure from the Left \u201cPressure from Sanders and other progressives \u2014 Warren being the most prominent among them \u2014 can give Clinton cover to propose more liberal policies. Sanders\u2019s (and Warren\u2019s) popularity with voters can also help shift the public debate on Clinton\u2019s proposals to the left,\u201d James Downie wrote for The Washington Post. \u201cIt will drive a Clinton White House crazy sometimes, but active pressure from Sanders is much more likely to help Clinton and the Democratic Party than to hurt them.\u201d\r\nWorld\u00a0\r\nRefugees There are 67 days left in 2016, but on Tuesday the number of people who have died this year trying to reach European shores via smuggling routes across the Mediterranean Sea surpassed last year's grim total. A spokesman for the United Nations' refugee agency said that 3,800 had died attempting the voyage this year, The Washington Post reported.\r\nNational\r\nTrump Voters Talk Revolution Big crowds still mob Donald J. Trump when he comes to town, with fans waiting in long lines to attend his rallies, where they eagerly jeer his Democratic rival and holler happily at his message, The New York Times reported.\u00a0 Some worry that they will be forgotten, along with their concerns and frustrations. Others believe the nation may be headed for violent conflict.\r\nVermont\u00a0\r\nAll-Payer Vermont\u2019s Green Mountain Care Board voted Wednesday morning to sign an agreement with the federal government designed to transform the state's health-care payment system.\u00a0 The new model would reimburse participating providers for health outcomes, rather than for every procedure they perform. Seven Days reported.\r\nHydroelectric The final report of the Vermont Hydroelectric Power Acquisition Working Group, issued Tuesday, recommends that the state should not pursue buying the TransCanada\u2019s dams or even enter into a partnership with potential buyers, VTDigger reported.", 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://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/newswatch/102716"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.263813279569149, "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"}