Senator Sanders

Cuts Hit Nutrition Programs In what Sen. Bernie Sanders called a "real blow to millions and millions of families," billions of dollars in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program took effect on Friday, CBS News reported. The typical family of four will lose about $35 a month in food stamps. “For some people it doesn't seem like a lot of money, let's go out to lunch, $35 for lunch. For other people it is a question of whether you adequately feed your kids. It's whether you have milk for your children, so $35 is a lot of money for families in need," Sanders said on WCAX-TV. Sanders said many families on food stamps include people who work full-time in minimum-wage jobs and still don’t make enough to buy groceries, according to WTOP-AM, the all-news station in Washington, D.C., WPTF-AM in Raleigh, N.C., and other CBS affiliates. LINK, LINK, VIDEO, VIDEO, AUDIO, AUDIO

Budget Negotiations Select House and Senate negotiators met this week to exchange ideas on the federal budget. Sen. Sanders, one of the conferees, told colleagues that the budget should focus primarily on lowering unemployment. "The most important issue on peoples' mind is not the deficit," Sanders told The Thom Hartmann Program on Friday. "What people are telling me is that jobs are the most important issue." AUDIO

Save Social Security President Obama has expressed worry about the long-term viability of entitlement programs. Liberals in Congress are watching that issue closely to stop proposals to cut benefits for the elderly and disabled. Sen. Sanders, who is a member of the new budget committee, said on The Wall Street Journal Report on KLIF-AM in Dallas that the president “is wrong on this issue and I hope he rethinks it.”  AUDIO

VA Budget The Department of Veterans Affairs this week announced its opposition to a proposal which would protect veterans programs in the event of a government shutdown, The Hill reported. Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Sanders supports the legislation and intends to mark up the bill in the coming weeks. "This is one pill that the VA is just going to have to swallow," said Alexander Nicholson, legislative director of the Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America. LINK

Obamacare and Congress Vermont’s congressional delegation will participate in Obamacare, WCAX-TV reported. Sens. Patrick Leahy and Sanders and Rep. Peter Welch – and members of their office staffs – will all buy their insurance through the D.C. exchange. VIDEO

Sanders in the South Vermont's progressive voice in Washington, D.C., recently ventured into the Deep South and implored audiences to forget about red and blue states and instead focus on what is in their own best interests. "In every state in this country, the majority of the people are of the middle and working class who are struggling very hard to keep their heads above water in these tough economic times," Sanders told the Brattleboro Reformer on Friday. "That's true in Mississippi, Vermont, California and Alabama." LINK

From a Surplus to Deficits Los Angeles Times readers responded to Sen. Sanders' recent column on the federal budget. "I truly hope Sanders' place on the special congressional committee to avoid another government shutdown leads to some good recommendations," said Larry Yarchever of Carlsbad, Calif. "The freeloaders who are milking this country to the bone want more, and Sanders appears ready to give it to them as long as it's not his money," Dick Perlman of Beverly Hills wrote. LINK  

Vermont Choral Concert About 400 people packed the Montpelier High School auditorium on Oct. 26 as students from eight schools took to the stage to perform with their choral groups in a concert celebrating music and arts education in public schools. Hosting the event was Sen. Sanders, who told the Burlingon Free Press that he is inspired by pupils doing positive things around the state. LINK

Dental Tourism Because even the insured face out-of-pocket costs after dental appointments, many Americans cross the borders for dental care, Fox News reported. Some 130 million Americans live without dental insurance, according a 2012 report to Congress called Dental Crisis in America from Sen. Sanders. LINK

Workplace Discrimination Against Gays A bill that would make it illegal for most employers to discriminate against gay and transgendered employees is scheduled for a Senate vote before Thanksgiving. The Salem, Ore., Statesman Journal reported that every member of the Senate Democratic caucus, including Sen. Sanders, supports the legislation. LINK

Robin Hood Tax Economist Jeffrey Sachs briefed members of Congress on the so-called Robin Hood tax, which calls for a small fee on Wall Street trades, WND reported. Attempts to pass legislation on the trade-fee were made without success last year by Rep. Peter DeFazio in the House and by Sen. Sanders in the Senate. LINK

World

Germany to Consult Snowden Germany's top security official said Friday he will try and find a way for Edward Snowden to speak to German officials about the U.S. National Security Agency's activities, including the alleged surveillance of Chancellor Angela Merkel's cellphone, The Guardian reported. This announcement comes after a German lawmaker traveled to Moscow to meet with Snowden and returned with a letter attributed to the NSA leaker. LINK 

Pakistani Taliban Chief Dead by Drone The chief of the Pakistani Taliban was killed by a U.S. drone strike on Friday, Reuters reported. "We confirm with great sorrow that our esteemed leader was martyred in a drone attack," a senior Taliban commander said. LINK

Global Warming Climate change will pose sharp risks to the world’s food supply in coming decades, potentially undermining crop production and driving up prices at a time when the demand for food is expected to soar, scientists have found. The warnings come in a draft of a report under development by a United Nations panel, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, The New York Times reported. LINK

National 

HealthCare.gov Memo Shows Slow Start Only six people enrolled on HealthCare.gov on Oct. 1, with five different issuers, according to the notes from morning-after meeting between officials and contractors, The Wall Street Journal reported. Health and Human Services spokeswoman Joanne Peters said Friday that the documents were notes and didn’t reflect “official enrollment statistics” and said again that the administration was concerned about enrollment data.  LINK

Court Strikes Birth Control Mandate The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday struck down the birth control mandate in the Affordable Care Act, concluding the requirement trammels religious freedom, The Hill reported. The 2-1 ruling by the second most influential court in the land favored business owners fighting the requirement that they provide employees with health insurance that covers birth control.LINK

States Resist Issue of Military LGBT Spouse Benefits Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced Thursday night he had ordered the head of the National Guard Bureau to take action against states that have refused to comply with the Pentagon's new policies regarding gay soldiers and their spouses, The Associated Press reported. LINK

Tech Leaders Confront NSA Six leading technology companies sent a letter to two senators and two congressmen on Thursday reflecting the sharpening industry strategy, The Washington Postreported. The letter praised a bill the lawmakers have sponsored that would check and balance National Security Agency actions. LINK

Texas Abortion Restrictions Reinstated Days after a judge blocked restrictions including limiting medication-induced abortions and making doctors at abortion clinics have admitting privileges at hospitals, an appeals court lifted the injunction until the full case is heard in January, the Los Angeles Times reported. LINK

Unearned Overtime Abuse Whistleblowers say that federal employees at the Department of Homeland Security routinely pad their pay with overtime without earning it, The Washington Post reported. LINK

Climate Change Task Force President Barack Obama issued an executive order Friday creating a “Task Force on Climate Change Preparedness and Resilience,” USA Today reported. The group will “advise the Administration” on dealing with climate change. LINK

Shooting at LAX An armed gunman opened fire at Terminal 3 checkpoint in the Los Angeles International Airport on Friday morning, CNN reported.  The shooting prompted airport evacuations and resulted in multiple victims. The suspect has been shot and is in police custody. LINK 

Vermont

Energy Policy Democrats in Vermont's Caledonia County want the Legislature and Gov. Peter Shumlin to re-evaluate the state's energy policy, including the protection of high-elevation areas from wind development projects, The Associated Press reported. LINK

Medical Marijuana Dispensary Approved The Vermont Department of Public Safety has conditionally approved the fourth and final medical marijuana dispensary in the state, The Associate Press reported. LINK

Congregational Church Clock ‘Salvageable’ Officials say the bell in the steeple of the College Street Congregational Church damaged by fire is still in good shape, but the 1878 clock in the tower needs some work to be restored, The Associated Press reported. LINK