Opinion

BURLINGTON, Dec.22 – U.S. Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today welcomed a Department of Veterans Affairs announcement that the state-run Vermont Veterans’ Home in Bennington is in line for a nearly $1 million federal matching grant.

The Bennington facility is on the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs’ priority list for construction grants during the coming year.

“I am committed to working with the state and the VA to ensure the veterans’ home can make these much-needed repairs,” said Sanders. “The men and women who have served our country in uniform deserve quality care in a safe home.”

You’re not alone.

Pew Research has just published a report that shows Public Trust in Government plummeting between 1958-2014

See more here:

BURLINGTON, Vt., Dec. 18 – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement today after FairPoint Communications CEO Paul Sunu snubbed a request from the Vermont congressional delegation for the North Carolina company to negotiate an end to a two-month strike by about 1,700 New England workers:

“I am deeply disappointed, but not surprised, with the response from Mr. Sunu. His letter confirms what I have long suspected. FairPoint wants to slash wages and benefits for Vermont workers and it refuses to negotiate in good faith. In essence his letter says FairPoint’s bargaining posture is ‘take it or leave it, we want it our way, and we’re not going to make any compromises.’

Official Appearance Schedule for Congressman Welch
Tuesday, December 16th, 2014

9:15 a.m.
WTSA Radio Food Drive: Brattleboro
Rep. Welch will join WTSA radio for the Project Feed the Thousands food drive to benefit local area food pantries.
WTSA-AM Studio, 464 Putney Road

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has launched his annual State of the Union essay contest. The contest is designed to engage Vermont’s high school students on the major issues facing the country.

The U.S. Constitution calls for the president to “give to the Congress information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.” As the president prepares to deliver his State of the Union speech to a joint session of Congress next month, Sanders’ essay contest asks Vermont’s high school students to write an essay of 250 words to 500 words detailing their own view of the state of the union.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said he will introduce legislation to break up Wall Street megabanks that are using a bill before the Senate today to put taxpayers on the hook for the banks’ risky investments.

Sanders outlined the proposal as the Senate, in a rare Saturday session, prepared to take up a House-passed bill that would roll back a law limiting risky investments like those that caused the financial crisis of 2008 and the recession that followed.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement on a massive $1.01 trillion spending bill that the Senate plans to take up later today:

“At a time when the middle class continues to disappear, and the gap between the very rich and everyone else grows wider, this bill comes nowhere close to reflecting the needs and priorities of America’s working families.

“Instead of helping to strengthen Social Security, Medicare and other programs that help working families, this bill would allow the Pentagon to spend almost as much as the rest of the world combined on our military and seemingly never-ending wars in the Middle East.”

WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a national leader in efforts to increase affordable housing, welcomed a move today that could free up hundreds of millions of dollars to expand affordable rental housing nationwide.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency ended its temporary suspension of contributions to funds designed to allow more renters to find the homes they need at prices they can afford. The agency that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ordered those companies to begin to make payments to affordable housing funds next year. The money will go into a fund to provided dedicated revenue for low-income housing. States and local agencies then could apply for the money and use it to finance very-low-income rental housing construction or rehabilitation projects.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 – The Senate today advanced a Department of Defense bill that would authorize $560 billion for the military. The vote was 85-14. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) voted “no” and issued the following statement:

“I am voting no because I have very serious concerns about our nation’s bloated military budget and the misplaced national priorities this bill reflects.

“At a time when our national debt is more than $18 trillion and we spend nearly as much on defense as the rest of the world combined, the time is long overdue to end the waste and financial mismanagement that have plagued the Pentagon for years.

What was released today is not the full 6000-page report but rather the redacted executive summary of the report by the Senate Intelligence Committee.  IMHO it is only a matter of time until someone releases the entire report.

I thought some here might appreciate links to coverage other than MSM.

The Intercept of course is all over this.  Glenn Greenwald is ‘live-blogging’ it:

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today issued the following statement on a Senate Intelligence Committee investigation which found that the Central Intelligence Agency misled the White House and Congress about the brutal interrogation of terrorism suspects:

“A great nation must be prepared to acknowledge its errors. This report details an ugly chapter in American history during which our leaders and the intelligence community dishonored our nation’s proud traditions. Of course we must aggressively pursue international terrorists who would do us harm, but we must do so in a way that is consistent with the basic respect for human rights which makes us proud to be Americans.