Senator Sanders

Health Care - Public Option Senate Democrats reached tentative agreement to abandon the government-run insurance plan in their health care bill and expand Medicare coverage to some people ages 55 to 64. "What you're looking at is tradeoffs which, in fact, at the end of the day, may be stronger than the very weak public options," Sen. Bernie Sanders told Rachel Maddow on MSNBC. VIDEO

Health Care - Medicaid "The other part of the tradeoff...may also be an expansion of Medicaid. And if you add to Medicaid the development of many new community health centers, you will be providing a lot more health care access to lower income people. If you do an opt-in for people 55 years of age through Medicare, you're also providing a significant benefit," Sanders added. VIDEO

Health Care - Dean Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean said opening up Medicare to people 55 to 64 years old gives momentum to the quest for a health care overhaul. On MSNBC, Dean told Keith Olbermann, "Bernie Sanders was [saying] if you can't get a public option, you ought to expand the public programs...It makes a lot of sense." VIDEO       

Health Care - Choice The Senate on Tuesday voted against adding tougher abortion insurance restrictions to the health care bill. "We have done the right thing by millions of women in this country who have fought off right-wing Republican attempts to limit their freedom of choice," Sen. Sanders told MSNBC's Ed Schultz. VIDEO

Health Care - Rx Drugs The Senate planned Wednesday to debate a proposal to allow the import of lower-cost prescription drugs. The Food and Drug administration sent senators a letter saying the plan raises "significant safety concerns." Sen. Sanders cosponsored the proposal. "It is totally absurd that the same exact prescription drug is sold for a fraction of the rice in Canada or in Europe and that we as Americans end up paying by far the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs," he said on WCAX. VIDEO  

Fed Chairman Vote Set The Senate Banking Committee on Dec. 17 will vote on Ben Bernanke's nomination to run the Federal Reserve for another four years. Sen. Sanders has said he's so upset about bank bailouts he plans to try to block Bernanke's nomination by putting a "hold" on it when it reaches the Senate floor, The Associated Press reported. "The president obviously stands by his nomination," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. LINK and LINK

Bernanke Hold "I cannot vote to confirm Ben Bernanke for another term as chairman of the Federal Reserve and have placed a hold on his nomination in the United States Senate," Sen. Sanders wrote in an op-ed published today by the Rutland Herald and Bennington Banner. LINK and LINK

Confirmation Coalition "There's a slim - but distinct - possibility that [Bernanke's] reappointment can actually be successfully thwarted...Between Sens. Sanders Jim Bunning and Jim DeMint, you've got the entire political spectrum in the U.S. Senate represented in the opposition: Progressive, Establishment Republican, and Tea Party," David Sirota wrote on The Huffington Post. LINK

Jobs President Obama said on Tuesday that the country must provide new incentives for hiring. In a speech at the Brookings Institution, Obama proposed more money for infrastructure projects, tax cuts and credit access for small businesses.  "I think we can put a lot of people to work rebuilding our infrastructure which is in absolutely disastrous condition," Sen. Sanders told WDEV's Mark Johnson.

Trade Secrecy U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk defended the high degree of confidentiality in negotiations on an international Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. In a sign of mounting criticism over the alleged secrecy of the negotiations, Sens. Sanders and Sherrod Brown last month wrote to Kirk saying that the public has a right to monitor the negotiations, the Bureau of National Affairs reported. LINK

Colbert Nation "Sir, I know you are a very busy man. Your time is precious. Let's get right to it after these messages from my corporate sponsors," Stephen Colbert said in opening an interview about "people like Bernie Sanders who want to pull down the Fed's pantaloons and look at its fiscal naughty parts." VIDEO  (Starts at 2:51)

International

Afghanistan Will Need U.S. Help for 15 to 20 Years, Karzai Says Afghanistan's security forces will need U.S. support for another 15 to 20 years, President Hamid Karzai said Tuesday in the latest in a series of indications that U.S. involvement there is likely to last far into the future, the Los Angeles Times reported. LINK

National

Health Deal Struck The agreement would empower the Office of Personnel Management to put in place a new low-cost national health plan, The Wall Street Journal reported. The office now administers plans for federal employees. The new national plan would be run by nonprofit, private entities. If no private insurers offer a national plan, the office would be authorized to implement a government-run plan. LINK

Obama Lays Out Strategy for Jobs President Obama outlined a response to the nation's intensifying job crisis Tuesday that encourages businesses to hire new workers by easing the flow of credit and implementing a series of tax cuts, but leaves important details -- including the cost of the plan -- to be hashed out by Congress, The Washington Post reported. LINK

Bailout Watchdog: Crisis Response Worked, Somewhat The government's $700 billion bailout of the financial system helped prevent an all-out panic last fall but hasn't met many of the targets Congress set out, a watchdog panel says, according to The Associated Press. LINK

Congress Readies Huge Year-End Spending Bill Congressional negotiators sealed agreement Tuesday night on sweeping spending legislation that boosts housing and heating subsidies but curbs President Barack Obama's requests for aid to Afghanistan and Pakistan, AP reported. LINK

It's Coakley vs. Brown Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley easily captured the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate last night and took a giant step toward smashing the state's political glass ceiling, as she parlayed her straightforward style and strong appeal among women into an overwhelming victory against a trio of male opponents, The Boston Globe reported. LINK

Vermont

Leahy, Guard and Firefighters Professional firefighters of Vermont are chipping in to help Vermont National Guard members and their families as soldiers deploy to Afghanistan. The group is hosting a chili supper on Friday in South Burlington to benefit the Vermont National Guard Charitable Foundation. Sen. Patrick Leahy is expected to attend, The Associated Press reported. LINK

Disaster Funds The federal government says it distributed nearly $80 million to New England states in disaster relief funds, including $1.3 million for Vermont, following a devastating ice storm a year ago.  The storm one year ago knocked out power to an estimated 1.4 million electric customers in the region. Some were without power for almost two weeks, AP reported. LINK

School Lunches A new national report showed a dramatic increase in the number of Vermont school children receiving free lunches - a boost that is the result of both eligibility changes and the poor state economy. The report said that, on average, 15,000 Vermont children receive free school food each day, an increase of 15.5 percent over the previous year, according to the Vermont Press Bureau. LINK