Senator Sanders

Overtime Pay Sen. Bernie Sanders hailed the Obama administration’s proposed overtime regulations as a “long overdue…step in the right direction and good news for workers,” MSNBC, The Hill, Consumer Affairs, and The Times-Picayune (New Orleans) reported. Sanders, a long-time proponent of the idea, added, “Businesses no longer will be able to shirk their responsibility to pay fair wages.” LINK, LINK, LINK, LINK 

Ex-Im Bank Nearly every Democrat in Congress, with the exception of Sen. Sanders, is backing reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank, which is set to expire just after midnight on Tuesday, according to The Hill. In the past the bank, which helps to finance overseas projects involving American companies, has enjoyed bi-partisan support. However, in recent months, the bank has become a target of the conservative wing of the GOP, which derides the bank as doling out “corporate welfare.” LINK  

Marriage Equality Sen. Sanders' 1996 vote against the Defense of Marriage Act was hardly the first time he went to bat for the LGBTQ community. When gay rights organizers planned Burlington's first-ever pride parade in June 1983 Sanders supported the proclamation despite harsh opposition. "It is my very strong view that a society which proclaims human freedom as its goal, as the United States does, must work unceasingly to end discrimination against all people," Sanders wrote, according to Seven Days. LINK  

Gun Control Sen. Sanders is taking the middle ground on gun control. Sanders has said that U.S. must come up with "sensible gun control legislation" to overcome a "cultural divide" separating rural and urban areas, USA Today reported. A ban on assault weapons should be part of the approach, along with strong background checks for firearms buyers, including at gun shows, said Sanders. LINK  

Paid Sick Leave Paid sick leave legislation has been gaining momentum across the country in recent years. "Today, the vast majority of Americans believe paid sick leave should be guaranteed, and... Hillary Clinton and Sen. Sanders...are lending their voices to the cause," Katrina vanden Heuvel wrote in The Washington Post. LINK  

Free College Tuition “Sen. Sanders has proposed what many consider a highly unrealistic, if not radical, plan: Make college free for all Americans. The idea isn’t that radical, though. Germany already offers all Americans free college. American enrollment in German universities has been increasing steadily over the past decade,” Quartz said. LINK

Virginia Sen. Sanders is scheduled to be a special guest speaker at a policy forum in Arlington next week. The discussion, entitled “Rebooting Our Policy Agenda To Reclaim The American Dream,” will take place from 7-9 p.m. at the National Rural Electrical Cooperative Association, according to ARLnow.  LINK   

World

Iran Nuclear Talks President Barack Obama said he is prepared to walk away from a nuclear deal with Iran unless Tehran accept a tight monitoring regime as negotiators extended talks for a week past Tuesday’s deadline to conclude a comprehensive agreement. The decision to extend talks gives the two sides until July 7 to complete a landmark accord, according to The Wall Street Journal. LINK

Greece Bailout Greece is expected late Tuesday to add its name to a roster that includes some of the world’s poorest and worst governed nations, including Iraq, Sudan, Somalia and Zimbabwe. Those are a few of the countries that have missed payments to the International Monetary Fund — as Greece is likely to do Tuesday. The deadline for the loan payment of 1.6 billion euros, or $1.8 billion, is 6 p.m. Washington time, The New York Times reported. LINK 

National

Supreme Court to Hear Union Fees Case The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a challenge to the way public-sector unions finance their operations. Union officials said a ruling against them would deal a blow to organized labor. The challengers say that some collective bargaining with a government employer amounts to lobbying and that forcing them to pay for those activities violates their First Amendment rights, The New York Times reported. LINK

Vermont 

US Supreme Court to Review VT Health Care Database Case The United States Supreme Court announced they will review a court's decision regarding VHCURES, Vermont's all-payer health care database. According to the Vermont Attorney General's Office, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company filed a lawsuit in 2011, arguing that a federal law known as ERISA barred Vermont from collecting claims data from that company's self-insured health plan, WVNY-TV reported. LINK