Japan Crisis As Japanese workers made frantic efforts to prevent reactor meltdowns, questions about nuclear safety in the United States were raised at a Senate briefing on Wednesday. Reactors with nearly identical designs as the crippled Fukushima plant now operate at 23 U.S. plants, including Vermont Yankee. "People think that a terrible event is unthinkable until the day after that event occurs," Sanders said, mentioning  9/11, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Katrina and other catastrophes. He asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to re-examine whether the reactor in Vernon, Vt., should continue operating. To watch the hearing, click here.

Stopgap Spending The Senate voted 87 to 13 Thursday to keep the government funded for three more weeks. Sanders and three Democrats opposed the resolution.  He wants sensible cuts to be paired with more revenue, such as the $50 billion his millionaire surtax would yield. Nine Senate Republicans voted no because they want even deeper cuts than were in the measure, including a $200 million cut to the Social Security Administration, which would mean delays for seniors and the disabled awaiting benefits; a $276 million cut in funding for pandemic influenza;  a $59 million cut to the Small Business Administration, a $25 million cut to climate change programs; and a  $50 million cut to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. To read the senator's column in The Huffington Post on the need for shared sacrifice, click here.

Defend Social Security Sanders on Tuesday introduced legislation that would safeguard Social Security, the most successful and reliable federal program in our nation's history.  He was joined at a Capitol Hill press conference by cosponsors of his bill to block efforts to cut benefits or raise the retirement age.  "Social Security has never contributed one dime to the federal budget deficit or the national debt.  In fact, Social Security currently has a $2.6 trillion surplus that is projected to grow to $4.2 trillion in 2023.  It is absurd, therefore, to be discussing Social Security within the context of deficit reduction."   To read more, click here. To watch excerpts from the press conference, click here.

Chairman Sanders On Wednesday, Sanders was appointed chairman of a Senate subcommittee on health and aging issues. The panel deals with matters that have been priorities for the senator, including community health centers, home heating assistance, seniors programs, pensions and dental care. "Vermont's champion for the working class has a new pulpit from which to proclaim his belief that average Americans have been bearing the brunt of the crashed economy," the Brattleboro Reformer  said in an editorial congratulating Sanders on the appointment. To read the editorial, click here.  

Big Bonuses are Back CEO bonuses at 50 major corporations jumped 31 percent, the biggest gain in at least three years, according to a study for The Wall Street Journal. One of the big bonuses landed in the wallet of Robert A. Iger, leader of Walt Disney. He earned $13.5 million. Jeffrey Immelt, the chief executive of General Electric, picked up a $4 million cash bonus for 2010. To read more, click here.