Senator Sanders

Single Payer Sen. Bernie Sanders' plan to create a single-payer health insurance system was withdrawn after Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma demanded that Senate clerks read all 767 pages aloud, The Burlington Free Press, The New York Times and others reported.  Sanders accused Republicans of trying to bring the U.S. government to a halt in a moment of crisis. He cited widespread support for his plan, which he said will eventually become law when Congress has the "courage" to stand up to those who "profit off human sickness." LINK, LINK, LINK  

Bernanke Hold Sen. Sanders vowed to block the confirmation of Ben Bernanke for a second four- year term as Federal Reserve chairman, one day before the Senate Banking Committee votes on the nomination. "I don't believe that he deserves another four years," Sanders, a Vermont independent, said today at a Washington news conference. "I'm going to do everything that I can to see that he is not reappointed." Sanders is using a procedural tool to delay action on the nomination, Bloomberg and Market News reported. LINK, LINK

Bernanke: 2009 Man of the Year Fed Chair Bernanke has been named Time magazine's man of the year for 2009. Though Bernanke's actions have been criticized from the right and the left, and Sen. Sanders has put a hold on his nomination, according to the Credit Union Times, Seattle Post Intelligencer and CNN. LINK, LINK, LINK

Too Big to Fail, Too Big to Exist The Obama administration is talking tough but acting tame with respect to Wall Street. But a pair of senators is coming out swinging. Today, Maria Cantwell and John McCain are taking a step towards proactive reconstruction of the banking sector by introducing the Banking Integrity Act of 2009. Sen. Sanders certainly paved the way for Cantwell and McCain last month, when he introduced his "Too Big To Fail, Too Big to Exist' bill, The Daily Beast reported. LINK

Stop Smoking Benefits When Massachusetts began offering virtually free treatments to help poor residents of the state stop smoking in 2006, proponents hoped the new Medicaid program would someday reap benefits. Several United States senators and antismoking advocates using the data to push for similar new Medicaid coverage for tobacco addiction in the national health care legislation. Sens. Sanders and Richard J. Durbin of Illinois have introduced an amendment that would do so, the New York Times reported. LINK

International

Pakistan Corruption Cases Restored The Supreme Court struck down a controversial amnesty on Wednesday that had dismissed allegations of corruption against thousands of Pakistan's politicians, including President Asif Ali Zardari, effectively restoring the cases against them, The New York Times reported.  LINK

National

Obama: U.S. Would go Bankrupt Without Health Care Bill President Obama told ABC News that the federal government "will go bankrupt" if Congress does not pass a health care bill, among other problems.  "Your premiums will go up, your employers are going to load up more costs on you ... Potentially they're going to drop your coverage, because they just can't afford an increase of 25 percent, 30 percent in terms of the costs of providing health care to employees each and every year." LINK

Fed Winding Down Emergency Programs The Federal Reserve will allow several of its special programs supporting credit markets to expire early next year, winding down some of the unconventional efforts to prop up the financial system during the depths of the 2008 crisis, The Washington Post reported. LINK

Vermont

Truck Weights Raised President Barack Obama has signed a bill that allows trucks weighing more than 80,000 pounds to travel I-95 north of Augusta, Maine, as well as on interstate highways in Vermont, The Associated Press reported. LINK

Temporary Bridge Opens A temporary bridge has opened to truck traffic over the Connecticut River between Lebanon and Hartford, Vt., until a new bridge is built. The Route 4 bridge, which is a key route for trucks serving area businesses, opened on Wednesday. Heavy trucks have been banned from the original bridge since 2008 when an inspection found extensive corrosion, AP reported. LINK