releases: https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/newswatch/121614
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/newswatch/121614 | News December 16 | 2014-12-16 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Independent | House | VT | Bernard Sanders | S000033 | www.sanders.senate.gov | legacy | News December 16 Tuesday, December 16, 2014 Senator Sanders Sanders: Expand Social Security Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is moving to a new post as top minority member of the Senate Budget Committee, said on Monday that he'll use the position to defend Social Security, which he calls "the most successful government program in history." The Associated Press and WPTZ-TV reported. Sanders said questions about Social Security's long-term solvency are misplaced. The program has a $2.76 trillion surplus and has paid out promised benefits consistently since it was founded nearly 80 years ago, he said in a Senate speech featured on C-SPAN. LINK, VIDEO, VIDEO Budget Committee Senate Republican leaders on Monday announced their conference's new committee assignments for the next Congress. The only race for committee leadership still undecided is for the Senate Budget Committee. Sen. Sanders was selected late last week to become the Budget panel’s ranking member next year, The Hill reported. LINK David Koch is ‘Fascinating’ Barbara Walters of ABC News interviewed conservative donor David Koch as one of her "most fascinating people of 2014." She called him a hero to the right and villain to the left and showed a snippet of a speech by Sen. Sanders. “I don't know if the Koch brothers are nice guys or not nice guys. That's not the issue.” Sanders has criticized the billionaire's efforts to buy elections, according to Newsbusters. LINK Treasury Nominee Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley is joining a growing number of Senate Democrats and Sen. Sanders in expressing concerns about the president's nomination of Antonio Weiss, a Wall Street insider and investment banker, for a top position at the Treasury Department, Business Insider reported. LINK Tar Sands Pipeline Environmental activists are hoping low oil prices will push President Barack Obama to reject the Keystone XL pipeline, Politico reported. Sen. Sanders, a strong opponent of the pipeline, noted the "abundance of oil on the marketplace and prices going down." LINK Funding Bill A $1.1 trillion funding bill was passed the Senate on Saturday over opposition by every senator considering a White House bid, including Bernie Sanders, The Wall Street Journal reported. Rolling back a regulation on risky bank investments was a reason for Sanders’ opposition to the bill, The Huffington Post noted. Sanders proposed legislation to split up banks deemed "too big to fail," PolicyMic reported. LINK LINK, LINK, LINK Pre-K in Vermont Vermont got a big boost last year when it received a $37 million federal grant to move its early-childhood education programs forward. Sen. Sanders, a member of the Senate education committee, worked with the U.S. Department of Education, the congressional delegation and the Shumlin administration to secure the funding to operate the pre-K program, according to an Addison County Independent editorial. LINK White House '16, Iowa Looking more like a longshot candidate for president, Sen. Sanders will visit Iowa Tuesday and address audiences in Ames and near Des Moines along with meetings of labor and women's rights groups in what is his first trip to the leadoff caucus state since the midterm election, AP reported. “The Vermont senator, who is an independent, will be at the Progress Iowa holiday party in Altoona. Sanders is the longest serving registered independent in congressional history, WOI-TV in Des Moines reported. VIDEO White House '16, Polls A new national poll of potential Democratic nominees shows former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leading the field. Sen. Elizabeth Warren drew 6 percent. Sen. Sanders and Vice President Joe Biden tied for third place with 2 percent each, The Washington Post and The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. LINK, LINK White House '16, Warren Democracy for America, which in the past has partnered with Sanders, sent out a mailer supporting Warren, VICE magazine said. LINK White House '16, O’Malley Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley will probably push off an announcement about running for president until spring. He would almost certainly run to Clinton's left but there are likely to be others in the Democratic field, including Sen. Sanders, who will make an appeal to the left wing of the party, according to The Washington Post. LINK World Sydney Attack A gunman's siege of a cafe in the heart of Sydney, Australia ended Monday with two hostages and their captor dead, The Associated Press reported. An Iranian-born gunman burst in, took 17 workers and customers hostage, and forced some to hold a flag with an Islamic declaration of faith above the shop window's festive inscription of "Merry Christmas." LINK Climate Scientists Express Concerns In the wake of an international climate deal, many scientists are concerned that global emissions reductions targets are still too conservative to prevent serious damage to the planet, The New York Times reported. LINK Lawmakers Press for Russia Sanctions A bipartisan group of lawmakers on Monday pressed President Barack Obama to approve new santions on Russia and provide weapons and other assistance to Ukraine, The Associated Press reported. LINK National Senate Confirms Nominee for Surgeon General The Senate on Monday confirmed President Obama’s nominee for surgeon general, ending a long fight over gun control and politics that had left the country without a permanent top doctor for a year and a half. In an early-evening vote, Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, an internal medicine physician, was approved, 51- to 43. The confirmation was one of the last acts of business for the Democratic-controlled Senate, The New York Times reported. LINK Budget Battle Is Likely to Heat Up Next Year Congress last week barely managed to approve a funding bill negotiated by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, working under spending guidelines set by each party’s budget gurus. Next year could get even uglier. After four years of a divided Congress, Republicans will take full control of both chambers in January with hopes of passing individual spending bills under an orderly process rarely seen in recent years, The Wall Street Journal reported. LINK Economic Recovery Spreads to the Middle Class For years, even as the economy recovered and the stock market soared, most American workers saw little evidence of better times in their paychecks. But last month’s surprisingly large increase in both average hourly and weekly earnings, along with other encouraging data, has convinced many economists that falling unemployment and increased hiring are finally about to start paying off in terms of wage gains for a broader swath of workers, according to The New York Times. LINK Vermont UVM Faculty Contract The University of Vermont says its full-time faculty members have approved a new contract thatprovides for performance-based and across-the-board annual increases, as well as salary adjustments when faculty members are promoted, AP reported. Storm Recovery Vermont's largest electric utility says it's restored power to nearly all its customers, but small outages are continuing to occur and heavy snow continues to fall from trees, AP reported. LINK | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |