{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/newswatch/123014", "News December 30", "2014-12-30", "2014", "2014-12", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News December 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\tTuesday, December 30, 2014\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders\r\nSanders: Trade Deal is a \u2018Disaster\u2019 Sen. Bernie Sanders said on Monday that he opposes a major trade deal that he says will lead to fewer jobs in the United States. He said the White House hopes to rush a treaty for a 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership through Congress next year. Sanders said treaties like this force American workers to compete against low-wage labor around the world leading to massive U.S. job losses, WFFF-TV and WVNY-TV reported. VIDEO, VIDEO\u00a0\r\nA Progressive Vision\u00a0\u201cThe great moral, economic and political issue of our time is the growing level of income and wealth inequality in our nation,\u201d Sen. Sanders wrote in a column for\u00a0The Huffington Post. Sanders called the disparity \u201ca disgrace to everything this country is supposed to stand for,\u201d MSNBC reported on Tuesday. Sanders said progressives must stay focused on issues of real importance to the American people,\u00a0The Hill\u00a0reported.\u00a0 LINK,\u00a0LINK, VIDEO\r\nRx Prices Escalating prices of some generic drugs are causing raised eyebrows and drained checking accounts. Sen. Sanders, chairman of a Senate health care subcommittee, has been outspoken on the increase in cost of generic drugs, the Herald-Whig in Quincy, Illinois, reported. \"We are talking about the need of the American people to be able to afford the medicine that their doctors prescribe,\" Sanders told the Chicago Tribune. LINK\r\nPhoenix VA A federal administrative law judge upheld the firing of the former Phoenix VA director but rejected charges that she covered up long wait times. The judge concluded that it is \"more likely than not that at least some senior leaders were aware or should have been of nationwide problems getting veterans scheduled for timely appointments.\u201d A Fox News report showed former VA Secretary Eric Shinseki telling Chairman Sanders at a hearing in May that there was not a widespread problem of VA officials \u201ccooking the books.\u201d\r\nWorld\r\nEmbassy in Iran\u00a0President Barack Obama said he wouldn't rule out opening an embassy in Iran if the country can prove it's\u00a0\"actually not interested in developing a nuclear weapon,\"\u00a0CBS News\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nGmail Blocked in China\u00a0Google's Gmail was blocked in\u00a0China\u00a0after months of disruptions to the world's biggest email service. An anti-censorship advocate suggested a government firewall was to blame, Reuters\u00a0reported.\u00a0LINK\r\nNational\r\nObama Warns GOP of Vetoes in 2015\u00a0Bracing to do business with a Congress run solely by Republicans, President Obama is serving notice he has no qualms about vetoing legislation he dislikes,\u00a0The Associated Press\u00a0reported.\u00a0\"I haven't used the veto pen very often since I've been in office,\" Obama said in an NPR interview. \"Now, I suspect, there are going to be some times where I've got to pull that pen out... I'm going to defend gains that we've made in health care. I'm going to defend gains that we've made on environment and clean air and clean water.\"\u00a0LINK\r\nLoan Sharks Prey on Service Members Lenders are exploiting legal loopholes and gouging United States military personnel with pricey financial products, according to a federal consumer watchdog. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said in a report on Monday that laws restricting how much interest firms can charge for payday, auto title and other loans are too narrow. Under the Military Lending Act, lenders are barred from charging U.S. service people more than 36 percent interest for certain short-term loans. But financial firms are effectively skirting the rules by offering longer-term loans to U.S. service people and their families, allowing lenders to hit borrowers with higher rates and heavy fees, CBS News reported. LINK\r\nVermont\r\nVermont Yankee Ends Operations\u00a0Vermont's only nuclear plant stopped sending power to the New England grid Monday following more than 42 years of producing electricity,\u00a0The Associated Press\u00a0reported. LINK\r\nJudge Appointed A Burlington attorney is going to become the newest judge on the Vermont Superior Court. Gov. Peter Shumlin announced the appointment of Nancy Waples on Monday. Waples is currently an attorney with the Burlington law firm of Hoff Curtis where she focuses on criminal defense. She has also served as an assistant United States Attorney in the criminal division.", 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/123014"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3326173648238182, "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"}