Senator Sanders

Spying on Allies European leaders united in anger at a summit overshadowed by reports of widespread U.S. spying on its allies — allegations German Chancellor Angela Merkel said had shattered trust in the Obama administration. Sen. Bernie Sanders wrote to President Barack Obama on Thursday about National Security Agency electronic surveillance of some of America's closest allies. “It’s outrageous,” Sen. Sanders told WDEV-AM’s Mark Johnson who first asked about reports that the NSA spied on heads of state in Brazil, Mexico, France and Germany. Sanders worried that such activities will harm the ability of the U.S. to gain its allies' full cooperation in combatting international terrorism, The Associated Press and WCAX-TV reported. LINK, VIDEO

Obamacare There was finger-pointing over the troubled HealthCare.gov site as a House committee on Thursday grilled contractors involved in developing the site. “Clearly the rollout has not been good,” Sen. Sanders told WDEV-AM, but he was confident that “at the end of the day the program will get its act together.” Sanders voted for the Affordable Care Act, but he said “it’s too complicated.” He prefers a Medicare-for-all, single-payer system.

Budget Conference Congress’s budget conference committee will hold its first public hearing on Wednesday, beginning a six-week process that could frame Washington’s budget debate for the rest of the year. Sen. Bernie Sanders expressed hope that “some of the non-crazy Republicans” on the panel will listen to the overwhelming public sentiment for greater tax fairness and reasonable defense cuts without imperiling Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, Sanders told radio host Ed Schultz. Sanders is one of 29 lawmakers on the committee, according to The (Rockland, Maine) Free Press. VIDEO, LINK

The Sound of Music Sen. Sanders is hosting a Saturday evening concert at Montpelier High School bringing together school choirs from throughout Vermont. “We have some great musical programs in our schools,” Sanders told WDEV-AM.  He told the Rutland Herald that he conceived the concert as a way to give music students the kind of recognition that student athletes receive. He promised not to sing, but Terry Frey, the choral director at Barre City Elementary and Middle School, wrote a song for the occasion in honor of Sanders. “He’s looking it over and we’d be thrilled if he sings it with us,” Frey said. LINK

Vermont GOP Vermont Republicans have at least two, maybe three, candidates for the party chairmanship up for nomination at a Nov. 9 meeting, the Burlington Free Press reported. One of those candidates is John MacGovern of Windsor, who challenged and lost to Sen. Sanders in 2012, the Vermont Press Bureau reported. LINK, LINK

World

NSA Monitored 35 World Leaders The National Security Agency has reportedly monitored the phone conversations of at least 35 world leaders, according to documents leaked to The Guardian. After German Chancellor Angela Merkel's allegations of wiretapping surfaced this week, newly revealed pieces of leaker Edward Snowden's trove show that the United States has been encouraging other departments to hand over known phone numbers for international officials. Surveillance of these leaders produced "little intelligence," according to the documents. LINK

National

Both Parties Seek Small Budget Deal Republicans and Democrats will use budget talks that start next week to try to minimize or reorder broad spending cuts that began in March, with both sides Thursday playing down the possibility of a "grand bargain" that would address the nation's long-term fiscal problems. In de-emphasizing the likelihood of a larger deal, both parties appeared to be looking for limited areas of agreement in order to bypass the next round of the automatic spending cuts known as the sequester and buy time to deal with tax reform, entitlement cuts and other big-ticket items next year, The Wall Street Journal reported. LINK

Reid: ‘There’s Not Going to Be a Grand Bargain’ Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday that he expected little more from the formal House-Senate budget conference than some relief from automatic spending cuts under sequestration. He called the suggestion of a “grand bargain” including an overhaul of entitlement programs “happy talk.” “I hope that we can do some stuff to get rid of sequestration and go on to do some sensible budgets — budgeteering,” Roll Call reported. LINK

Obama, in Brooklyn, to Tout Education as Pathway to Middle-Class Jobs  President Obama will argue Friday that the joint budget conference committee tasked with recommending a 2014 spending plan should prioritize schools that provide educational and vocational training. The president will be visiting Pathways in Technology Early College High School, a Brooklyn institution where students graduate with both a high school diploma and an associate's degree in computers or engineering, The Hill reported. LINK

Botched Health Care Rollout Topic of House Hearing Private contractors and lawmakers played the blame game at a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on problems with the Affordable Care Act's website, The Washington Post reported. Contractors told lawmakers that they did not have enough time to test the website. Republicans insisted that the web glitches were indicative of larger problems with the health law, and Democrats accused Republicans of attempting to undermine the public trust in the law for political reasons. LINK

Obama Pushes Immigration President Barack Obama reignited a push for comprehensive immigration reform in a Thursday speech, CNN reported. Meanwhile, House Republican aides say that “expectations are low” on the possibility of an immigration bill passage. LINK

FDA Seeks Tighter Prescription Controls In light of rampant prescription painkiller abuse, the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday recommended tighter controls on doctor prescriptions for such drugs, The New York Times reported. LINK

Koch-Tied Group Admits Campaign Finance Violations A secretive nonprofit group with ties to the billionaire conservative businessmen Charles and David Koch admitted to improperly failing to disclose more than $15 million in contributions it funneled into state referendum battles in California, state officials there announced Thursday, The New York Times reported. LINK

Citizens United Strikes Again A federal appeals court on Thursday ruled that a conservative group supporting Joseph J. Lhota, the Republican nominee for mayor of New York City, can immediately begin accepting contributions of any size because New York State’s limit on donations to independent political committees is probably unconstitutional. Similar laws have been struck down in other states, after the Supreme Court’s landmark campaign finance decision in the Citizens United case, according to The New York Times. LINK

Vermont

Clean Energy Vermont will be working with the company that manages the regional power grid throughout New England to encourage expanding the use of clean energy in the grid, The Associated Press reported. LINK

Vermont Health Connect Gov. Peter Shumlin told a news conference on Thursday that the state's Vermont Health Connect marketplace is improving to get rid of slowness and glitches on the website, The Associated Press reported. LINK

F-35s Business leaders in Burlington are calling a new city council proposal to limit the noise level allowed from planes at Burlington International "reckless," according to the Burlington Free Press. The proposal is aimed at keeping the Air Force's new F-35 fighter jets from basing in the city. “We are really concerned with some of the resolutions that councilors have proposed,” Executive Director of the Greater Burlington Industrial Corp. Frank Chioffi said at a news conference. “They could have, potentially, economically devastating consequences. They’re not thought through.” LINK