Senator Sanders

Health Care Senate Democrats and independents are sparring over how to fix the health care system. "I strongly suspect that there are a number of senators, including myself, who would not support final passage without a strong public option," Sen. Bernie Sanders said, according to The Associated Press, USA Today, WCAX and CQ. Sanders told The New York Times a health care bill with no public option would be "a huge subsidy to private insurance companies," and added in The Christian Science Monitor, "My vote for the final bill is by no means guaranteed." LINK, LINK, LINK, LINK, LINK, LINK, VIDEO

Health Care "They'll face some trouble among liberals, people like Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, so if those liberals say we're not going along with the change on the public option the Democrats will have to reach out again to key Republicans...but keeping this all together is tremendously difficult," ABC News chief Washington correspondent George Stephanopoulos said on "Good Morning America." VIDEO

Health Care Hardball "Sanders is right to play hardball like this, but, at the end of the day, it's hard to imagine he'd cast the vote to kill health care reform. He simply cares too much about the people even a weakened bill would help. The same goes for Sherrod Brown...Their interest in helping their fellow man is, in strategic terms, a great weakness," Jonathan Cohn wrote for The New Republic. LINK  

Single Payer Several panelists spoke in favor of a single-payer health care system at a health care forum Thursday night in Bennington Phil Fiermonte, outreach coordinator for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, said Sanders is seeking an amendment in the Senate health bill that would allow states to receive waivers from the federal government if they want to create their own single-payer systems, the Bennington Banner reported. LINK

Medicaid The federal government would boost Medicaid payments to states under the Senate health care legislation, but Vermont wouldn't get any of that additional money since the state already covers low-income residents well above that level, and none of those residents would be considered "newly eligible" by the bill's definition for the additional federal funding. Vermont Sens. Patrick Leahy and Sanders have asked Reid for more parity in the bill and both are continuing to press for changes, The Burlington Free Press reported. LINK

Market Cop Sen. Sanders blocked Gary Gensler's nomination as chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, saying he wanted to see the commission's top job go instead to "an independent leader who will help create a new culture in the financial marketplace." But Gensler made a point of meeting with -- and winning over -- his critic, USA Today said in a profile. LINK

Credit Cards Sen. Sanders introduced a bill last spring capping most credit-card interest rates at 15 percent, but it was decisively defeated, with the Democratic majority split roughly 50-50...Americans are used to Republicans doing the bidding of their masters in business and industry, but for so many Democrats to join the minority party in protecting the interests of greedy credit card companies is shameful," The Berkshire Eagle said in an editorial.

Foreign Workers Stricter H-1B restrictions are in the offing for IT firms. Two senators Bernie Sanders and Charles Grassley, have introduced legislation that would bar any company that lays off 50 or more workers from hiring guest workers. The legislation could potentially affect a large number of technology firms that have laid off large numbers of workers but continue hiring, the India Times reported. LINK

International

4 US Service Members Die in Afghan Attacks Four U.S. service members were killed in the past 24 hours in Afghanistan, NATO forces said Monday. Three of the Americans died in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, the statement said. Two of them were killed by a bomb attack and the third in a separate firefight, The Associated Press reported. LINK

National

Health Care Fight Swells Lobbying Companies and groups hiring lobbying firms on health issues nearly doubled this year as special interests rushed to shape the massive revamp of the nation's health care system now in its final stretch before Congress, according to USA Today. LINK

Wave of Debt Payments Facing U.S. Government The United States government is financing its more than trillion-dollar-a-year borrowing with I.O.U.'s on terms that seem too good to be true. But that happy situation, aided by ultralow interest rates, may not last much longer, The New York Times reported. LINK

Vermont

Federal Judge Confirmed The U.S. Senate has confirmed Vermont State Judge Christina Reiss to sit as a U.S. District Court judge. The judge from Essex Junction was recommended for the job by Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy who helped steer her through the nomination process. She will be the first woman to serve on the Federal bench in Vermont. She will succeed Judge J. Garvan Murtha who will no longer hear cases full time, The Associated Press reported. LINK

Food Bank U.S. Rep. Peter Welch will start Thanksgiving week with a visit to a food bank in Barre. The Vermont Democrat will hear about the growing problem of hunger in Vermont in his stop at the Vermont Foodbank on Monday, AP reported. LINK