News November 14
November 14, 2011
Senator Sanders
Fix the Fed "Americans deserve a Federal Reserve that works for them and not just the chief executive officers on Wall Street," Sen. Bernie Sanders wrote in a column published Sunday by the Rutland Herald and Times Argus. LINK and LINK
Veterans Sen. Sanders told a Veterans Day ceremony in Burlington on Friday that veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan often need a hand. "We are making some progress. We do have a long way to go. But on this day let us never forget the unbelievable sacrifices that veterans and their families have made," he said on WPTZ-TV. VIDEO
Social Security Sen. Sanders proposed extending the payroll tax that funds Social Security to those with incomes over $250,000. "That leaves the program balanced in 75 years. The money is easily there," Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, told Occupy D.C. on Friday in remarks on C-SPAN. VIDEO
Postal Service Sen. Sanders and postal worker union leadership maintain that pre-payments Congress mandated for retirement benefits are what is pushing the Postal Service so far into the red, The (Ames, Iowa) Tribune said in an editorial. LINK
Citizens United Sen. Sanders held a well-attended forum last spring on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that companies had the same free speech rights as individuals, Professor Cheryl Hanna of the Vermont Law School in Royalton noted in a Vermont Public Radio commentary on Friday. LINK
World
Obama Talks Up Free Trade at Asia-Pacific Meeting President Obama made job creation the theme of an annual trade summit meeting on Sunday as the United States, for the first time in nearly two decades, hosted leaders of Pacific Rim nations, The New York Times reported. LINK
National
Deficit Panel With a little over a week left to reach a deal, members of the congressional deficit reduction panel are looking for an escape hatch that would let the panel decide on the amount of new revenue to be raised but leave it to the tax-writing committees of Congress to fill in details next year, The New York Times reported. LINK
Vermont
Home Heating The governors of Vermont and Massachusetts are urging Congress not to cut in half a federal program that provides home heating assistance for low income families. Govs. Peter Shumlin and Deval Patrick are spearheading a bipartisan call to urge level-funding for the low-income home heating program, AP reported. LINK
Occupy City Hall Park The Burlington Free Press said protesters agreed over the weekend to remove their tents from Burlington's City Hall Park, or at least allow police to do so, after a man staying with the protesters apparently shot and killed himself last week. LINK
FEMA Deadline More than 6,894 Vermont individuals and families have registered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency since President Obama declared a disaster on Sept. 1 due to Tropical Storm Irene. The deadline for others to sign up is Nov. 15, the Burlington Free Press reported. LINK
