WASHINGTON, DC, November 24 - In order to stimulate the economy and meet pressing infrastructure needs, the Vermont congressional delegation is seeking to waive the state and local match requirement for all federally-funded highway, transit and rail projects through September 2009.

Washington, DC - Rep. Peter Welch uncovered, investigated and has now officially closed a multi-billion dollar loophole proposed by the Bush administration that allowed overseas government contractors to avoid disclosing fraud.

In response to a law passed by Welch this summer, the Office of Management and Budget issued a rule late last week mandating that government contractors report any suspected instances of waste, fraud, abuse or overpayment to investigators general. The move caps a months-long effort led by Welch to restore accountability to government contracts and crack down on a misguided loophole crafted by the Bush administration.

This is getting depressing. Rising unemployment and growing worries about recession pushed retail sales down by a record amount in October, the Commerce Department reported on Friday. Sales were off 2.8 percent from September and down 4.1 percent from one year ago. The number of newly laid-off workers seeking unemployment benefits jumped last week to a seven-year high, according to a Labor Department report on Thursday. The number of homeowners caught in the wave of foreclosures in October grew 25 percent nationally over the same month in 2007. The Treasury Department on Wednesday officially abandoned the original strategy behind a $700 billion effort to bail out the financial system. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said he hoped to put in place a major new lending program that would be run by the Federal Reserve aimed at unlocking the frozen consumer credit market. What will Congress do about it all when senators and representatives return to Capitol Hill in the coming days?

Auto Bailout Doubtful Prospects of a government rescue for the foundering American automakers dwindled Thursday as Democratic Congressional leaders conceded that they would face potentially insurmountable Republican opposition during a lame-duck session next week. Senator Bernie Sanders told Politico, "The government shouldn't help the auto industry without making sure it changes its ways." He cited "disastrous" policies that shuttered American plants and lowered wages for American workers. Detroit built too many gas guzzlers and too few cars to lower greenhouse gas emissions, he added.

Rebuild America Vermont's congressional delegation is supporting a plan to quickly rebuild the country's transportation infrastructure. "If we're serious about rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure if we're serious about putting people to work in doing that it makes no sense to delay these projects because states are running deficits now and don't have the money to put up their matching portions," Sanders told Vermont Public Radio.

Sen. Sanders attended the "Reaching a Global Deal on Climate Change and Clean Energy" meetings in London earlier this week. Sanders, the only member of the Senate majority on both the energy and environment committees, discussed with British and American officials a coordinated response to climate change. The United Kingdom is expected to curb emissions of greenhouse gases by 80 percent by 2050 - compared to 1990 levels - , the same goal as a Sanders' bill in the U.S. Senate. "What was considered aggressive when I introduced that legislation is now understood to be the minimum we need to do." Meeting with members of Parliament and advisors to the prime minister, Sanders returned to Washington optimistic that our friends across the Atlantic share many of our goals for cooperative efforts to confront climate change and the potential for significant job creation. Sanders said, "At meetings in London between some of us in the U.S. Senate and leaders of the British government, there was widespread consensus that it is imperative that the two governments cooperate in moving away from fossil fuels to energy efficiency and sustainable energy and that, by doing that, we can not only address the crisis of global warming but create millions of good-paying jobs."

Jobless Claims Rocket to 7-Year High The number of newly laid-off individuals seeking unemployment benefits unexpectedly jumped last week to a seven-year high. The Labor Department said Thursday that jobless claims increased 32,000 to a seasonally adjusted 516,000. That is the highest total since just after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and second-highest since 1992, The Associated Press reported.

Foreclosures Mount The number of homeowners caught in the wave of foreclosures in October grew 25 percent nationally over the same month in 2007, data released Thursday showed, AP reported.

International Recession Fears Europe's stock markets opened lower Thursday after further Asian losses, following more downbeat U.S. corporate news and confirmation that Germany is officially in recession, The Associated Press reported.

The federal government has mandated that at midnight on February 17, 2009, television stations across the country will stop broadcasting in what are known as analog television signals and begin broadcasting in digital format.  "Television is not a luxury today," wrote Sen. Sanders.  "I am concerned that, because of poor government planning and policy, lower-income people may not be able to afford the cost and installation of a roof antenna and that seniors, people with disabilities, and others may have a hard time handling this transition on their own."  Households reliant upon over-the-air, "free" television should apply now for a federal government coupon to help pay for the necessary converter box.  If you currently receive your TV signal through cable or satellite service you will not be impacted by this transition.  Sanders will be introducing legislation to require the availability of basic, affordable cable, satellite, or other paid television service so that everyone can still afford to receive the same broadcast channels that they had before the transition, after the transition. 

Rx Costs Rising Elderly and disabled people in Medicare prescription drug plans with the largest enrollments will pay 43% more on average in monthly premiums next year than when the drug program began in 2006, and some enrollees will see increases of as much as 329 percent, two analyses show. The rising costs "are wreaking havoc on seniors' wallets and are simply not sustainable in the long run," says Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., who chairs the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, according to USA Today.

Lobbyists Swarm Treasury Of the initial $350 billion that Congress freed up out of the $700 billion in bailout money, the Treasury Department has committed all but $60 billion. The shrinking pie and the growing uncertainty over who qualifies has thrown Washington's legal and lobbying establishment into a mad scramble. The Treasury Department is under siege by an army of hired guns for banks, savings and loan associations and insurers, The New York Times reported.

Consumer Confidence While the panic on Wall Street eased in the last few weeks, American households fell into a defensive crouch. The numbers are pretty incredible. Sales of new vehicles have dropped 32 percent in the third quarter. Consumer spending appears likely to fall next year for the first time since 1980 and perhaps by the largest amount since 1942. With Wall Street edging back from the brink, this crisis of consumer confidence has become the No. 1 short-term issue for the economy, The New York Times reported.