News from Politicians - I

The Week in Review

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 01:00:00 CDT

As an all-too-real threat approached New Orleans and a convention was covered by the media as if it were a soap opera or football game in St. Paul, Sen. Bernie Sanders toured Vermont to raise awareness of the role juvenile delinquency prevention programs play in our communities; he shone a light on real life slavery taking place on farms in Florida; and he continued the push for desperately-needed home energy assistance. Congress returns from August recess next week. All this while the economy continues to go in the wrong direction.

News Sept. 5

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 01:00:00 CDT

Today's News

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 01:00:00 CDT

Youth Programs Sen. Bernie Sanders has secured money for the tutoring program at Bennington's Mount Anthony Union High School. Sanders, an independent, will be at the high school library today to make a formal announcement with Principal Sue Maguire and tutors and students from the program. "I am proud to support a program that gives at-risk kids the extra help they need to be successful students," Sanders said according to the Bennington Banner. Sanders will also announce federal funding to support juvenile delinquency prevention programs in Vermont during a news conference on in Montpelier, according to The Burlington Free Press online and The Associated Press Daybook.

Heating-Oil Editorial "The high price of heating oil threatens to create a financial crisis for many households in the Upper Valley and across New England. And a heating-oil crisis, though less dramatic than a hurricane or a flood or a wildfire, carries with it the same potential for disastrous consequences," editorialized the Valley News. "To their great credit, a coalition of 20 nonprofit agencies in the Upper Valley has recognized the severity of the situation and is taking steps to contain it... In New England, warmth is every bit as essential as food and shelter, and individual generosity is one way to take the chill out of winter.

Vt. Guard on Hurricane Duty Thirty-one members of the Vermont Air National Guard left the state Wednesday morning to help people on the Gulf Coast recover from Hurricane Gustav. At the same time, 120 members of the Army Guard have been called up to prepare for two other hurricanes that are approaching the U.S. Captain Kate Irish says the members of the Air Guard landed yesterday afternoon in Alexandria, Louisiana, according to Vermont Public Radio.

Russia's Aggression is a Challenge to World Order

Joe Lieberman's Senate Member Office (I-CT) posted a Press Release — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 01:00:00 CDT

WSJ Op-Ed

Sanders Aids Youth Programs 'From Bennington to Highgate'

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 01:00:00 CDT

Youth Programs

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 01:00:00 CDT

Sen. Bernie Sanders toured Vermont to announce federal funding secured to support juvenile delinquency prevention programs throughout the state. "These different programs will impact young people from Bennington to Highgate," Sanders said. These monies will bolster after-school, tutoring and recreation programs in Barre City, Brattleboro and Bennington, as well as on-going statewide efforts by the Vermont Coalition of Teen Centers. "Most parents know that these are tough times in which to raise kids. We worry about drugs, we worry about kids dropping out of school or doing poorly, we worry about kids getting involved in criminal activities."

News Sept. 4

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 01:00:00 CDT

Today's News

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 01:00:00 CDT

Vt. Guard to the Gulf Coast A contingent of about 30 member of the Vermont Air National Guard is expected to leave this morning for hurricane relief duty in Louisiana. Capt. Kate Irish says transportation and logistics were being made in anticipation of Hanna, Ike and other storms that could hit the region, according to The Associated Press.

Admitted Slavery in America Today?

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 01:00:00 CDT

"I think most Americans would find it hard to believe that people in our country are pleading guilty to slavery charges in the year 2008, but that is what is going on in the tomato fields of Florida," said Sen. Bernie Sanders. Tuesday, five residents of Immokalee, Florida pled guilty to what Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Doug Molloy called "slavery, plain and simple." Sanders visited Immokalee earlier this year and chaired a hearing of the Senate labor committee to discuss the situation there. He said, "While slavery is, of course, the most extreme situation in the tomato fields, the truth is that the average worker there is being ruthlessly exploited. Tomato pickers perform backbreaking work, make very low wages, have no benefits and virtually no labor protections."

Statement: Slavery Verdict in Immokalee, Florida

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 01:00:00 CDT

News Sept. 3

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 01:00:00 CDT

Senators Lieberman and Collins Praise Federal Government's Response to Hurricane Gustav

Joe Lieberman's Senate Member Office (I-CT) posted a Press Release — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 01:00:00 CDT

Senators Led Hurricane Katrina Investigation and Authored FEMA Reforms that Resulted in Better Preparedness and Response

Today's News

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 01:00:00 CDT

Spared a Direct Hit, New Orleans Exhales This nearly deserted city appeared to have escaped threats of full-scale devastation on Monday when Hurricane Gustav came ashore 70 miles to the southwest, bearing winds and rain far less formidable than earlier forecast. The storm smashed through the bayou country of rural Louisiana, raising fears of widespread coastal erosion and damage to fishing villages that state officials were unable to confirm Monday evening. But before making landfall, it was downgraded from a Category 3 hurricane to Category 2 when its winds slowed to 110 miles per hour, from 115 m.p.h., and state officials said they believed that their worst fears had not been realized. Hurricane Gustav weakened to a tropical depression early Tuesday as it moved over central Louisiana, though officials said that it remained a flood threat. Early Tuesday, it was 135 miles northwest of Lafayette, La., and moving toward the northwest. It was forecast to move into northeast Texas late Tuesday, reported The New York Times.

Home Heating Home heating bills are expected to rise dramatically this winter and there is growing concern that the government's Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program aimed at helping poor families cope with energy costs may not be able to meet the needs of cash-strapped households. Expanding LIHEAP's budget remains a "top priority" for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who sponsored the bill in July, and whose office expects that the issue will be revisited when Congress returns from recess next month, wrote CNNMoney.com.

Home Energy Assistance

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 01:00:00 CDT

As winter moves onto the horizon in cold-weather states, the anxiety over how families will afford to keep their homes warm continues to mount. Just as with keeping homes cool in the summer in many warm-weather states, a warm home is not a luxury in Vermont and other cold-weather state; it is a matter of survial. This is why Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced the Warm in Winter and Cool in Summer Act. While the bill was blocked in the Senate this July, it remains a top priority to Sanders. The New York Times editorial page again turned its attention to this growing crisis when it wrote on Labor Day, "If fundamental human needs are not enough to get Congress to do the right thing, perhaps the specter of a worsening recession is. In a recent poll of people 45 and older, more than half said they expected that high energy bills would cause them to spend less during the holidays; 29 percent said energy costs would cut into back-to-school spending."

News Sept. 2

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 01:00:00 CDT

The Week in Review

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 01:00:00 CDT

As the media spotlight on presidential politics turned from Denver to St. Paul, and as a powerful hurricane churned toward a fearful New Orleans, newspapers tucked inside more bad news about the economy. This Labor Day weekend, lower wages and higher prices for essentials like fuel and food are the hard facts facing working families.

News Aug. 29

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 01:00:00 CDT

Incomes Drop Personal incomes plunged in July while consumer spending slowed significantly as the impact of billions of dollars in government rebate checks began to wane. The Commerce Department reported today that personal incomes fell by 0.7 percent in July, the biggest drop in nearly three years and a far larger decline than the 0.1 percent decrease that analysts had expected, AP reported.

Pakistan's Presidential Favorite Under Guard The favorite to be Pakistan's next president has moved into a guarded government compound over security fears, officials said Friday as a militant campaign against the government led to more violence in the country's volatile northwest, according to The Associated Press.

New Orleans Fears Gustav Fear and foreboding gripped still-mending New Orleans as a potential Category 3 hurricane whirled toward the Gulf Coast on the eve of Hurricane Katrina's three-year anniversary, the LA Times reported. Republican officials are considering delaying the start of the GOP convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul because of the storm, and The Washington Post said the threat is serious enough that White House officials are debating whether President Bush should cancel his scheduled convention appearance on Monday.

Today's News

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 01:00:00 CDT

Today's News

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 01:00:00 CDT

Taking on Poverty While new census data on poverty, income and health insurance for 2007 "don't even include the devastation wrought by the housing and credit crisis, and high energy costs, they nevertheless paint a bleak picture with poverty on the rise and working people's pay stagnating despite increased productivity," according to an online column in The Nation. Katrina vanden Heuvel quoted Senator Bernie Sanders saying, "We have the biggest gap between the rich and everybody else since the Great Depression."

Worker Confidence Sinks American workers' confidence in the job market is as low as it was during the 2001 recession, according to a new survey. When asked whether this is a bad time to find a quality job, 65 percent said it was, matching the level of the 2001 recession, according to the survey by Rutgers University released Thursday. With unemployment at 5.7 percent, the highest level since 2004, and with weekly unemployment claims hitting a six-year high earlier this month, workers are worried about everything from their weekly hours to their total pay, The Associated Press reported.

Climate Change

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 01:00:00 CDT

A giant crack that is now 7 miles long and about half a mile wide is spreading in part of a massive glacier in northern Greenland, worrying scientists that a major portion of the largest floating glacier in the Northern Hemisphere could fall apart within a year. The crack is in a huge chunk of ice almost the size of Chittenden County that broke off the Petermann glacier in July. "As we see this phenomenon occurring further and further north -- and Petermann is as far north as you can get -- it certainly adds to the concern," Waleed Abdalati, director of the Center for the Study of Earth from Space at the University of Colorado, told The Associated Press. Scientists are studying whether the glacier fracture is part of normal stress or an effect of global warming. In the south of Greenland, the fastest retreating glacier in the world, set new records for how far it has moved inland, according to satellite images.

News Aug. 28

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 01:00:00 CDT

Today's News

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 01:00:00 CDT

Scientists Report Further Shrinking of Arctic Ice Arctic sea ice has shrunk to the second-lowest level since record-keeping began three decades ago, a group of international researchers determined yesterday, a revelation underscoring how rapidly climate change is transforming ecosystems in northern latitudes. The Washington Post said the extent of Arctic sea ice is now 2 million square miles below the long-term average for Aug. 26, according to the International Arctic Research Center and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, a figure that is within 400,000 square miles of the all-time record low set in September 2007.

Fewer Lack Health Insurance The number of people lacking health insurance dropped by more than 1 million in 2007, the first annual decline since the Bush administration took office, and the overall poverty rate held steady, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday. The number of Americans without health insurance fell to 45.7 million, down from 47 million in 2006, largely because more people were covered through government programs, The Associated Press reported.

US Census: Vt. Household Income Declines New U.S. Census Bureau figures indicate Vermont's median household income has been dropping through the middle of this decade. Census figures show that median household income in Vermont dropped from $52,902 in 2004-2005 to $50,423 in 2006 and 2007. That 4.7 percent decline was the second-steepest drop in the country, topped only by North Carolina, The Associated Press reported.

Vermont Household Income

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 01:00:00 CDT

New Census Bureau data released this week on poverty, income and health insurance painted a bleak picture of the American economy in 2007, a year before the housing market collapsed and energy prices soared. In Vermont, the median household income dropped to $50,423, a 4.7 percent decline that was the second-steepest in the country, according to the Associated Press. Meanwhile, the rich are getting richer. Jared Bernstein of the Economic Policy Institute agreed with Senator Bernie Sanders that the income gap hasn't been so wide since the Great Depression, The Nation reported online on Wednesday. Bernstein said the concentration of wealth in the richest 1 percent of Americans is greater than at any time since 1928, and while the economy expanded in the 2000s, that growth clearly failed to reach most households. "Never before has poverty been higher and median income for working-age households lower at the end of a multi-year economic expansion than at the beginning," added Robert Greenstein, executive director of the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.

News Aug. 27

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 01:00:00 CDT

Today's News

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 01:00:00 CDT

Sanders at Democratic Convention Senator Bernie Sanders is using his role as an independent to gather support for Democrat Barack Obama. Vermont Public Radio said Sanders will join "Vermont Edition" host Jane Lindholm from the Democratic convention in Denver to look at the role of independent voters. (Live at noon)

Rural Challenges Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders will moderate a forum this afternoon about the challenges facing rural America. Participants will discuss how rural Americans have a difficult time developing their local economies -- since many are still struggling to get internet access, WCAX News reported.

Sanders, Obama, Biden Bill on Global Warming Environmentalists note that Biden's proposals dovetail with those Obama has put forward. Like Obama, Biden has called for capping greenhouse-gas emissions at 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, and he signed on as a cosponsor of the Boxer-Sanders Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act, the toughest climate bill in the Senate, Grist reported.

The Economy

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 01:00:00 CDT

Another 800,000 Americans slipped into poverty last year bringing the total to 37.3 million, according to new figures compiled by the Census Bureau. Since President Bush has been in office, 5.7 million more people fell into poverty. The median income for working-age Americans rose by $266 last year, but is still down by $2,175 since the beginning of the decade when adjusted for inflation. "We have the biggest gap between the rich and everybody else since the Great Depression," Sanders said Tuesday on the Vermont Public Radio program Vermont Edition.

News Aug. 26

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 01:00:00 CDT

The War in Iraq

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 01:00:00 CDT

Is agreement near on a new security agreement that would pave the way for a U.S. military exit from Iraq? Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Monday that the agreement must include a specific deadline for the withdrawal of American troops. Iraq insists on setting 2011 as the target date for the withdrawal of the last U.S. soldier. The Bush administration, after years of denouncing timetables for a US withdrawal from Iraq, is now talking of "flexible goals" and "time horizons," which The Associated Press said is unacceptable to the Iraq government. "The American people want to bring our troops home," Senator Bernie Sanders told Air America Radio. "The Iraqi people have to take responsibility for their own country."

News Aug. 25

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 01:00:00 CDT

The Week in Review

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 01:00:00 CDT

At home in Vermont, health care, energy costs, after-school programs and cable television ripoffs all were high on Senator Bernie Sanders' agenda. Around the world, after years of stubborn refusal, the Bush administration agreed on "aspirational goals" for pulling troops out of Iraq. In quadrennial rites of summer, the Beijing Olympics wound down as Americans geared up for back-to-back presidential nominating conventions.

News Aug. 22

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 01:00:00 CDT

Speculators Drive up Oil Prices

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 01:00:00 CDT

The feckless Commodity Futures Trading Commission took a closer-than-usual look at a private Swiss energy conglomerate and found that the firm, Vitol, held oil contracts as a profit-making investment rather than to line up the actual delivery of fuel. At one point in July, Vitol held 11 percent of all the oil contracts on the regulated New York Mercantile Exchange, according to a report published Thursday by The Washington Post. "It confirms to me that you have huge companies speculating," Senator Bernie Sanders said. Some economists say speculators, not supply-and-demand forces, have driven up crude oil prices by 25 percent to 50 percent. Sanders said he was glad the commission finally got its act together. "If you had an administration concerned about protecting consumers rather than big speculators this is something that would have been investigated years ago," he said.

A Few Speculators Dominate Vast Market for Oil Trading (Washington Post)

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 01:00:00 CDT

News Aug. 21

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 01:00:00 CDT

The broke, broken in America (Universal Press)

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 01:00:00 CDT

Todays News

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 01:00:00 CDT

Morrisville Health Center Recognized Sen. Bernie Sanders announced Tuesday that Community Health Services of the Lamoille Valley had been awarded $487,500 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is in line to receive $650,000 a year from now on, The Associated Press reported in an article published by the Times Argus, Rutland Herald and others.

Sanders Seeks More Health Centers Sanders would like to see three more centers established in Vermont-- in Windsor, Addison and Bennington counties, WCAX News and Vermont Public Radio reported. The Burlington Free Press added that Sanders introduced a bill that would expand the health center program from 1,100 to more than 4,000 comprehensive primary care centers over five years. "Every dollar spent in a program like this results in savings," Sanders said. "In the long run, this will make us healthier and save us money."

Home Heating The Low Income Heating Assistance Program is the primary aid for Vermonters and those in other northern states who can't afford their heat without help. This year, applications to the program are running 20 percent higher, "I have received hundreds and hundreds of e-mails and phone calls from Vermonters who are very, very worried about what will happen this winter," said U.S. Sen. Bernard Sanders. "There is no issue higher on my agenda," he told the Times Argus.

Meet the Bloggers

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 01:00:00 CDT

Sen. Bernie Sanders discussed the economy and the disappearing middle class in America on this week's cutting-edge Web-based show Meet the Bloggers. "Sanders pulled no punches as he ripped apart Bush administration policies he says have led to an increasingly stratified American society," according to the show's producers. He was joined by a panel of bloggers -- including Isaiah Poole of TomPaine

News Aug. 20

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 01:00:00 CDT

Community Health Centers

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 01:00:00 CDT

Flanked by doctors and Lamoille County community leaders, Senator Bernie Sanders announced today that a community health center based in Morrisville is now a full partner in a nationwide program that provides basic medical care, dental services, and low-cost prescription drugs. Community Health Services of the Lamoille Valley was awarded $487,500 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to make it the seventh Federally Qualified Health Center in Vermont. In addition, Sanders put a provision in the department budget for this year adding another $71,000 for the Morrisville center's outreach program to expand mental health services. In the future, the center will be in line for $650,000 a year under the cost-effective and successful federal program.

News Aug. 19

Bernie Sanders's Senate Member Office (I-VT) posted a Press Release — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 01:00:00 CDT

Sanders: Community Health Centers to Expand Senator Bernie Sanders planned a news conference Tuesday about a new Federally Qualified Health Center in Vermont, The Burlington Free Press reported. "I can't tell you how fortunate Lamoille County is for getting a program like this, Kevin Kelley, the center director, told the News & Citizen. "Senator Bernie Sanders played a large role in security the grant for this area," the weekly newspaper reported.