Senator Sanders

Budget Conference to Focus on Jobs Democratic lawmakers will argue at budget conference negotiations for a jobs package that would include billions of dollars in new investment, setting up a contrast with Republicans as House and Senate conferees meet for the first time on Wednesday. Sen. Bernie Sanders is on the special panel that he said, in a column published in Tuesday’s Miami Herald, will try to “draft a federal budget that creates jobs, makes our country more productive, protects working families and lowers the deficit.” LINK    

Save Social Security “Despite the fact that poll after poll shows that the American people overwhelmingly do not want to cut Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid, very powerful big money interests and campaign contributors are pushing Congress and the president to do just that,” Sen. Sanders said in a column published in Wednesday’s Rutland Herald and Monday’s St. Albans Messenger. “As a member of a Senate and House committee that meets for the first time on Wednesday to begin work on a new long-term budget, my job is to represent the needs of ordinary Americans, not powerful special interests,” he concluded. LINK

NSA Spying The National Security Agency monitored telephone conversations of at least 35 world leaders as part of a sweeping surveillance dragnet that also tracked phone, email and Internet use by hundreds of millions of Americans. Sen. Sanders called the NSA "out of control" and told Public Radio International that the "massive distrust" the surveillance policies engender is having a negative impact on our relations with the international community, The Eagle in Addison County, Vt., reported. LINK

CEO Pay “It’s clearly time to rein in excessive CEO pay. But it’s also time to rein in their excessive political power,” Heather Gautney blogged for CNN online. Increased disclosure of political donations would be a “crucial” step, she says. Sen. Sanders has introduced a constitutional amendment to reverse a Supreme Court ruling that equated money with political speech. LINK

World

NSA: We Didn't Spy on Europeans Testifying before the House Intelligence Committee Tuesday, Gen. Keith Alexander said that the NSA has not collected millions of French and Spanish phone records, CBS News reported. He called recent foreign press reports "completely false." LINK

Assad Sacks Deputy Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fired his Deputy Prime Minister, Qadri Jamil, for being absent without leave and holding unauthorized meetings abroad, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. The move follows media reports that Jamil had met with a United States diplomat for Syria on Saturday in Geneva to discuss proposed peace talks. LINK

WHO Confirms Polio Outbreak A cluster of 10 young Syrian children has been infected with polio, the World Health Organization said Tuesday, according to The Washington Post. The infections have sparked fear of a major regional outbreak amid mass migration and the collapse of Syria’s health services under the pressures of civil war. LINK

National

Spy Games With a list of co-sponsors that goes across partisan and ideological lines, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy on Tuesday introduced new legislation aimed at curbing electronic surveillance by federal intelligence agencies, The Associated Press reported. LINK

Health Chief Sebelius on Hot Seat Today Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will face intense questioning Wednesday from a House committee, as she testifies for the first time since the troubled rollout of the national health care law and its plagued enrollment website, USA Today reported. LINK

Health Official Apologizes for Web Problems Marilyn Tavenner, the head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, apologized Tuesday before a congressional panel for the botched launch of HealthCare.Gov, The Hill reported. “I want to apologize to [the American people] that the website has not worked as well as it should,” she said, noting that its implementation has been unacceptable for the American people. LINK

Canceled Policies Heat Up Health Fight Problems surrounding the launch of the federal health-care law broadened Tuesday, as concerns that thousands of Americans are getting insurance-cancellation notices bubbled over at a hearing on Capitol Hill, The Wall Street Journal reported. Highlighting a growing number of such notices, Republicans trained their fire on President Obama, who said in 2009, “If you like your health-care plan, you will be able to keep your health-care plan. Period.” LINK

Filibuster Change? Senate Democrats plan to force a vote this week to fill a vacancy on the court widely considered the country’s second highest, threatening to reopen the bitter fight over limiting the filibuster if Republicans follow through on their pledge to block the nomination. Unless one party backs down, the battle could escalate, The Washington Post reported. LINK

New FCC Chief Confirmed The Senate voted unanimously on Tuesday to confirm President Obama’s two nominations to the Federal Communications Commission, overcoming obstacles by Republican lawmakers. The vote came after Senator Ted Cruz lifted a hold earlier in the day on the nomination of Tom Wheeler as chairman. Cruz said he had received assurances that the commission would not immediately pursue changes for political advertising on television, The New York Times reported. LINK                                                                                                                                                  

Labor Board Counsel Confirmed The Senate confirmed Richard Griffin as the National Labor Relations Board's general counsel, putting the former union lawyer in the powerful role of deciding when to investigate and prosecute companies and unions charged with unfair labor practices, according to The Wall Street Journal. LINK

Immigration Lobby Targets House Business leaders on Tuesday helped mobilize an army of advocates to pressure House Republicans into taking action on immigration reform. According to The Hill, the Chamber of Commerce brought together more than 600 activists from around the country for the campaign. LINK

Lawmakers Push to Delay Flood Insurance Hikes A handful of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle unveiled legislation Tuesday that would delay large rate hikes under the federal government's flood insurance program, The Associated Press reported. LINK

Vermont

Vernon Looks Beyond Yankee Development groups are asking for $2.3 million in state aid to deal with the impact of the closing of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, The Associated Press reported. Local officials in Vernon say the county needs help coping with the potential loss of hundreds of well-paying jobs and millions of dollars in local taxes. LINK

ACLU Surveillance Conference The Vermont chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is going to be hosting a daylong conference on government surveillance. The Wednesday meeting is going to be held at the Pavilion Auditorium in Montpelier. Last month the Vermont ACLU released a report about how many modern day conveniences, such as cell phones, make it possible for people to be tracked, AP reported.

Construction Recycling Vermont contractors will soon be able to recycle construction materials in a special new recycling center set to open in Colchester on Wednesday, The Associated Press reported. The center will reduce the amount of debris sent to landfills and create jobs. LINK