The Wall Street reform bill was signed into law on Wednesday. A new report Friday on huge bonuses for bailed-out bankers showed why more needs to be done.  The bankers' greed is "one of the reasons why the American people are as angry as they are," said Senator Bernie Sanders. In a letter to President Obama, he pressed for the appointment of Elizabeth Warren to head a new consumer protection bureau created by the new law regulating financial institutions.  As prospects dimmed for a major Senate bill to fight global warming, odds brightened for a Sanders solar power bill.

Wall Street Reform Sanders urged President Obama to pick Harvard Professor and leading consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren to be the first director of a new financial consumer protection bureau. In a letter sent to the White House on Monday, Sanders wrote that "at a time when doubts about Wall Street and its practices run very deep ... American consumers need a federal government that is looking after their best interests." Conceived by Warren, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau may have more direct impact on ordinary Americans than any other provision in the Wall Street reform bill. Along with a budget of about $500 million, the financial reform law gives the new bureau the power to write and enforce rules for mortgages, credit cards, student loans and debt collection. To view the senator's petition supporting Elizabeth Warren, click here. To watch Bernie at a Capitol Hill press conference on Thursday, click here.

Bank Bonuses Sanders reacted to Friday's Treasury Department report that 17 banks gave their top executives $1.6 billion in bonuses while receiving billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded bailouts.  The greed on Wall Street, he said, is "one of the reasons why the American people are as angry as they are." He said the bonuses for "these people whose jobs were saved by taxpayers" were "irresponsible."  It showed that the bankers are "incredibly greedy" and "have total contempt, not only for the American people, but for the economy. He also said that "it is disappointing that we cannot claw that money back." For the Treasury Department report, click here.

Climate Change Conceding there aren't enough votes for an energy bill that would curb greenhouse gas emissions, Senate Democrats on Thursday abandoned efforts to put together a comprehensive bill. Senate Majority Leader Reid said he would pursue a more limited measure focused on responding to the Gulf oil spill and tightening energy efficiency standards. Sanders is a long-time advocate for strong measures to reverse global warming. He was among a dozen senators who wrote to Reid on Wednesday advocating an ambitious energy bill that would include some form of carbon cap. "If you don't have any Republican votes, it is very, very difficult to do anything serious," Sanders conceded. "And then you have some conservative Democrats who have their own problems. That's the reality."

Global Warming The disappointing news on climate change legislation came days after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported on Monday that June was the hottest on record. March, April, and May 2010 also were the warmest on record. In fact, according to government data, June was also the 304th consecutive month with a global temperature above the 20th century average. To watch a recent Sanders' floor speech on climate change, click here.

Let the Sun Shine The Senate energy committee on Tuesday voted 13 to 10 for a Sanders bill to encourage the installation over 10 years of 10 million solar systems in American homes and businesses. The program  would create hundreds of thousands of new jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It would authorize $250 million for competitive grants in 2012 and additional funding through 2021. "We are losing the race for solar jobs, and falling behind other nations in solar installations. That must change," said Sanders, chairman of the Senate's green jobs subcommittee. "The question is whether we will take advantage of clean, renewable solar energy or let other countries create solar jobs using technology developed in America. I think we can lead, this bill will help us do that."

Unemployment President Obama on Thursday signed a six-month extension of emergency jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed, restoring aid to some 2.5 million people whose checks have been cut off since the program expired in early June. Sen. Sanders says the plan will help about 860 Vermonters. "In the midst of the worst recession since the 1930s, it would be immoral to turn our backs on millions of Americans who, through no fault of their own, have lost their jobs and are unable to find new ones," Sanders said. Checks could begin flowing again as early as next week to job hunters who lost up to seven weeks of unemployment benefits in a congressional standoff. Sanders voted with a 60-to-40 Senate majority to overcome the Republican filibuster.  The vote ending the standoff came shortly after the swearing in on Tuesday of Senator Carte Goodwin to fill a vacancy left by the death of Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia.

No to Oligarchy Hedge fund billionaire Julian Robertson joined Disney heiress Abigail Disney in a press conference on Wednesday to urge Congress to restore a hefty estate tax. Sens. Sanders, Tom Harkin and Sheldon Whitehouse introduced a bill that would restore the estate tax - but only on the top 0.3 percent of Americans - retroactively to the start of 2010. "Not content with huge tax breaks on their income; not content with massive corporate tax loopholes; not content with trade laws enabling them to outsource the jobs of millions of American workers to low-wage countries and not content with tax havens around the world, the ruling elite and their lobbyists are working feverishly to either eliminate the estate tax or substantially lower it," Sen. Sanders wrote for The Nation.