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Sen. Bernie Sanders
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Bernie Sanders was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006 after serving 16 years in the House of Representatives. He is the longest serving independent member of Congress in American history. Born in Brooklyn, Bernie was the younger of two sons in a modest-income family. After graduation from the University of Chicago in 1964, he moved to the Green Mountain State. Early in his career, Sanders was director of the American People’s Historical Society. Elected Mayor of Burlington by 12 votes in 1981, he served four terms. Before his 1990 election as Vermont’s at-large member in Congress, Sanders lectured at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and at Hamilton College in upstate New York.

The Almanac of American Politics has called Sanders a “practical’ and “successful legislator.” He has focused on the shrinking middle class and widening income gap in America that is greater than at any time since the Great Depression. Other priorities include reversing global warming, universal health care, fair trade policies, supporting veterans and preserving family farms. He serves on five Senate committees: Budget; Veterans; Energy; Environment; and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Born: Sept. 8, 1941, New York, N.Y.

Blog Entries by Sen. Bernie Sanders

The 'Hoax'

(1490) Comments | Posted April 12, 2013 | 5:54 PM

I support Gina McCarthy to be the next Environmental Protection Agency administrator. When her Senate confirmation hearing was held on Thursday, the debate among senators on the Environment and Public Works Committee wasn't really about her qualifications. It was about global warming. It was about whether or not we are...

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Too Big to Jail?

(66) Comments | Posted March 28, 2013 | 3:17 PM

We are supposed to be a country of laws. The laws should apply to Wall Street as well as everybody else. So I was stunned when our country's top law enforcement official recently suggested it might be difficult to prosecute financial institutions that commit crimes because it may destabilize the...

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A Choice for Corporate America: Are You With America or the Cayman Islands?

(1147) Comments | Posted February 9, 2013 | 9:22 AM

When the greed, recklessness, and illegal behavior on Wall Street drove this country into the deepest recession since the 1930s, the largest financial institutions in the United States took every advantage of being American. They just loved their country -- and the willingness of the American people to provide them...

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The Soul of America

(1330) Comments | Posted January 9, 2013 | 9:04 AM

Despite such terminology as "fiscal cliff" and "debt ceiling," the great debate taking place in Washington now has relatively little to do with financial issues. It is all about ideology. It is all about economic winners and losers in American society. It is all about the power of Big Money....

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Transforming Our Energy System: Making Progress, Much More Needs to Be Done

(217) Comments | Posted October 25, 2012 | 11:25 AM

At the second presidential debate, Mitt Romney talked about how a president should be "Mr. Oil, or Mr. Gas, or Mr. Coal." Romney supports continuing the massive $113 billion in federal subsidies for oil, gas and coal over the next 10 years. He has previously referred to sustainable energy as...

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Let's Fight for a Progressive Agenda

(828) Comments | Posted September 29, 2012 | 10:04 AM

There are two major economic and budgetary issues which Congress must address in the lame-duck session or soon afterward. First, how do we reverse the decline of the middle class and create the jobs that unemployed and underemployed workers desperately need? Second, how do we address the $1 trillion deficit...

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As Social Security Turns 77, the Most Successful Program in American History Is Under Fierce Attack

(720) Comments | Posted August 14, 2012 | 2:17 PM

In the 77 years since President Franklin Roosevelt signed Social Security into law on August 14, 1935, the retirement program has been one of the nation's most successful anti-poverty programs. Before Social Security existed, about half of America's senior citizens lived in poverty. Today, less than 10 percent...

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The Road to Oligarchy

(163) Comments | Posted July 24, 2012 | 4:22 PM

The Senate Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights held a hearing Tuesday on "Taking Back Our Democracy: Responding to Citizens United and the Rise of Super PACs" Here is Sen. Bernie Sanders' testimony:

Mr. Chairman, thank you for convening a hearing on the...

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The American People Are Angry

(828) Comments | Posted June 27, 2012 | 2:42 PM

The American people are angry. They are angry that they are being forced to live through the worst recession in our lifetimes -- with sky-high unemployment, with millions of people losing their homes and their life savings. They are angry that they will not have a decent retirement, that they...

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Label Genetically Engineered Food

(412) Comments | Posted June 19, 2012 | 3:16 PM

In 49 countries around the world, including all of Europe, people have the opportunity of knowing whether or not they are eating food which contains genetically engineered ingredients. In the United States, we don't. That is why I have introduced, along with Sen. Barbara Boxer, an amendment to the agriculture...

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Let's End Polluter Welfare

(488) Comments | Posted May 20, 2012 | 11:05 PM

At a time when we have more than $15 trillion national debt, American taxpayers are set to give away over $110 billion dollars to the oil, gas, and coal industries over the next decade. Clearly, we cannot afford it. When the five largest oil companies made over $1 trillion in...

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United Against the War on Women

(854) Comments | Posted April 30, 2012 | 12:01 PM

The history of American democracy, to say the least, has been checkered. Our nation was founded at a time when people of African descent were held in bondage. After slavery was abolished, they were forced to endure legal discrimination for another 100 years.

When our country was formed, women...

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Vermont Is Helping to Lead the Nation in Transforming Our Energy System

(246) Comments | Posted April 18, 2012 | 5:04 PM

We come from Vermont. We know our small state cannot reverse global warming on our own, but we can provide a model for America which helps lead our nation and the world to a more sustainable and secure energy future.

We see three major imperatives.
...

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Stop the Nuclear Industry Welfare Program

(710) Comments | Posted April 16, 2012 | 7:56 AM

This nation is facing a $15 trillion national debt, and there is no shortage of opinions about how to move toward deficit reduction in the federal budget. One topic you will not hear discussed very often on Capitol Hill is the idea of ending one of the oldest American welfare...

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We the People

(711) Comments | Posted January 20, 2012 | 1:52 PM

If you are concerned about the collapse of the middle class, you should be concerned about how American campaigns are financed. If you wonder why the United States is the only country in the industrialized world not to have a national health care program, if you're asking why we pay...

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America Must Not Back Down on Sustainable Energy

(442) Comments | Posted December 16, 2011 | 11:06 AM

If you read just the headlines these days, you might think renewable energy in America is going the way of Solyndra. Don't take our word for it: a recent headline from Fox News declared "ENTIRE Solar Industry on Brink of Collapse."

We cannot allow long-time opponents of...

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Saving Our Democracy

(2312) Comments | Posted December 8, 2011 | 5:08 PM

The Constitution of this country has served us well, but when the Supreme Court says that attempts by the federal government and states to impose reasonable restrictions on campaign ads are unconstitutional, our democracy is in grave danger. That is why I have introduced a resolution in the Senate calling...

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Making AIDS Treatment Affordable

(81) Comments | Posted December 1, 2011 | 12:03 PM

When World Aids Day was first observed in 1988, there was no truly effective treatment for what was almost always a deadly disease. Today the biggest problem in caring for those with AIDS is no longer mainly a medical or scientific problem. The crisis is access to affordable drugs. Despite...

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Democrats, Stop Caving In

(1107) Comments | Posted November 18, 2011 | 12:29 PM

Here is something we all can agree on: Federal deficits are a serious problem.

Here is something no one seriously disputes: Today's big deficits were caused mainly by big tax cuts for the wealthy, two unpaid-for wars, a horrible recession caused by Wall Street greed, and an expensive prescription...

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The Veil of Secrecy at the Fed Has Been Lifted, Now It's Time for Change

(438) Comments | Posted November 2, 2011 | 2:50 PM

As a result of the greed, recklessness, and illegal behavior on Wall Street, the American people have experienced the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Millions of Americans, through no fault of their own, have lost their jobs, homes, life savings, and ability to send their kids to...

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