March 1, 2013

President Obama and congressional leaders met Friday at the White House without agreeing on an alternative to $85 billion in across-the-board spending cuts. Sen. Bernie Sanders called it “a real tragedy” and said the cuts could “contract the economy in the midst of a terrible recession” and cost the country 700,000 jobs.  Over Sanders’ objection, a new treasury secretary was confirmed by the Senate on Wednesday. The House on Thursday sent to the White House a Senate-passed bill reauthorizing a landmark 1994 bill that helps victims of domestic violence. And Sanders on Friday was among 212 members of Congress who urged the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act. The State Department late Friday cleared the way for President Obama to approve the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline. He should reject the project, Sanders said.

Tar Sands Pipeline Sanders renewed his call on Obama to reject the pipeline that would transport the dirtiest oil on Earth from the tar sands region of Alberta, Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast. “No one who is serious about protecting the future of our planet and reversing global warming could support this project. President Obama spoke eloquently in his Inaugural Address and State of the Union about the need to take action to reverse global warming. It’s now time to turn words into action. It is bad enough that some people in Washington deny the overwhelming scientific evidence and claim that global warming is a hoax and a Hollywood conspiracy. In my view, it would be equally absurd to claim concern about global warming while then approving decisions that will literally throw fuel on the fire of this planetary crisis.” Read more

Sequester The process for implementing spending cuts that started Friday is called a sequester. It was authorized by a 2011 budget deal that Sanders voted against. Interviewed Thursday night on Vermont Public Television, the senator worried that the cuts will “contract the economy in the midst of a terrible recession” and may eliminate 700,000 jobs nationwide. Perhaps worse, Sanders said, is that Republicans in Congress refuse to ask the wealthy and profitable corporations to pay their fair share. In poll after poll, large majorities of Americans agree that the way to lower deficits is to stop letting the wealthiest Americans and profitable corporations use offshore tax shelters and other loopholes to evade taxes. The American people also are clear that they do not want cuts in Social Security, Medicare, education and other important programs. “It's unfortunate,” Bernie told MSNBC’s Chris Jansing on Wednesday, “that Congress is not listening.” Watch the MSNBC interview »

Treasury Secretary The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Jacob Lew to be Treasury secretary. Sanders voted no. “We need a secretary of the Treasury who does not come from Wall Street, but is prepared to stand up to the enormous power of Wall Street,” Bernie said in The New York Times. '”Do I believe that Jack Lew is that person? No, I do not.”

Wall Street Tax A tax on Wall Street speculators responsible for the worst recession since the 1930s was proposed Thursday. Sanders cosponsored a bill that Sen. Tom Harkin introduced in the Senate. A companion measure by Rep. Peter DeFazio was filed in the House. “Both the economic crisis and the deficit crisis are a direct result of the greed, recklessness, and illegal behavior on Wall Street,” said Sanders. “This bill will reduce gambling on Wall Street, encourage the financial sector to invest in the job-creating productive economy, and significantly reduce the deficit. At a time when we have a record-breaking national debt, the very least we can do is demand that Wall Street pay its fair share in taxes.”  Read more»

Social Security and Veterans Benefits At a Thursday hearing of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Chairman Sanders questioned veterans group leaders about a proposal he said “would mean very significant cuts for Social Security beneficiaries as well as for disabled veterans.” Sanders asked veteran service organizations leaders for their assessment of the so-called chained CPI, a new way to cut benefits by reducing cost-of-living adjustments. “A terrible idea,” said Tom Tarantino, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America policy chief. H. Gene Overstreet, president of the Non-Commissioned Officers Association, said “veterans have paid their due.” Charles Susino, a World War II veteran and national commander of the American Ex-Prisoners of War, had one word for the proposal: “Unconscionable.” Watch hearing highlights»

VA Claims Backlog Sanders told the American Legion on Tuesday that he is troubled by unacceptable backlogs in processing veterans’ disability claims. “I refuse to accept the status quo,” Sanders told the Legion’s annual conference on Tuesday at the Washington Hilton hotel. While the Department of Veterans Affairs has processed more than 1 million claims a year for each of the past three years, the number of new claims has outpaced the department’s ability to process the paperwork. Watch the full speech.

Global Warming Sanders refuted claims by the National Association of Manufacturers that a tax on carbon emissions to fight global warming would hurt the U.S. economy. “The price that America cannot afford to pay is the price of doing nothing to reverse global warming,” Sanders said. Congress just spent $60 billion in disaster relief for victims of Superstorm Sandy, he noted. Sanders’ bill also came under fire from American Petroleum Institute CEO Jack Gerard. The top lobbyist for the oil industry said the power of big money will keep the legislation from coming to the Senate floor for a vote. But Senate environment committee Chairman Boxer promised her panel will take up the bill that she cosponsored. Read more »

Violence Against Women Act The House on Thursday approved the Senate-passed Violence Against Women Act and sent the bill to President Obama. The 1994 law that helps victims of domestic and sexual violence “has been extremely successful in Vermont and across the country,” Sanders said. “While the incidence of domestic violence has been reduced, too many women and girls are still suffering from domestic violence and sexual abuse. I applaud Sen. Leahy for leading the effort to reauthorize this extremely important law.” 

Gay Marriage With the Supreme Court set to hear arguments this month on challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act, Sen. Bernie Sanders and other members of the Senate and House today filed a friend-of-the court brief Thursday arguing that the federal law is unconstitutional. The justices are considering whether the federal government may, as the law requires, legally discriminate against gay and lesbian couples even if they were married in Vermont, eight other states or the District of Columbia where same-sex marriage is now legal. Sanders voted against the law when it passed the House in 1996. Today, he is a cosponsor in the Senate of legislation to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.