Amid more signs of recession, senators worked to improve an economic stimulus package that Senator Bernie Sanders said should include more help for seniors and veterans. The war in Iraq dragged on as the most deadly violence in months erupted in Baghdad. Over objections from Sanders and senators from other border states, Homeland Security tightened checkpoints along the line separating the United States and Canada. Veterans won a long-overdue boost in travel reimbursement. A group of senators tried to put a focus on trade with China. Global warming was the focus of meetings on college campuses in Vermont and around the country. Congress continued trying to craft a surveillance law that would help catch terrorists and protect civil liberties.

Economic Stimulus Employment in the United States unexpectedly tumbled last month for the first time in more than four years, fueling fears that the U.S. economy is slipping into a recession. The Labor Department reported on Friday that the jobless rate in January ticked down to 4.9 percent from 5 percent the month before, but the number of people applying for unemployment compensation last week rose sharply. The Commerce Department issued a report on Thursday showing that consumer spending edged up just two-tenths of a percent in December, much less than the month before. On Capitol Hill, work continued on an economic stimulus package as Sanders pressed for stronger measures than the House had hurriedly approved. Sanders urged senators to increase help for senior citizens and veterans. According to Vermont Public Radio, Sanders wants a $500 bonus for low and middle income seniors.

He also fought for substantial relief for people struggling to pay skyrocketing home heating bills. "We have serious economic problems," Sanders said. "Let's pass an economic stimulus package quickly, but let's make sure we get it right." To listen to the VPR report, click here. To read more, click here.

War in Iraq Twin bombs struck two markets in central Baghdad on Friday, killing dozens in the worst attack in the Iraqi capital for months. Early reports put the death toll at more than 50. President Bush on Thursday insisted that he would not be pressured into making further troop cuts in Iraq beyond the five combat brigades already scheduled to come home by the middle of the summer. In Vermont, war opponents in the state Legislature asserted that the president no longer has the authority to use Vermont Guard troops in Iraq. Brattleboro, Vermont, meanwhile, drew nationwide attention after the Select Board set a March 4 town meeting vote on whether President Bush and Vice President Cheney should be arrested for war crimes if they ever step foot in Vermont. Brattleboro Reformer columnist Joyce Marcel looked into what the Vermont congressional delegations has done to try to end the war and concluded that "before I began this research, I was prepared to excoriate Sanders, Leahy and Welch. Now I think they might be unsung heroes." To read the column, click here.

State of the What Union "I listened intently to President Bush's State of the Union speech. Frankly, I had a hard time understanding what country he was talking about. Certainly, if the State of the Union refers to what is happening to the shrinking middle class of this country, and how we as a people are doing, the president had almost nothing to say that rang true," Sanders wrote for Huffington Post. Lawmakers also reacted with skepticism to Bush's new proposals for veterans, noting that his administration repeatedly underfunded the Veterans Affairs Department. Veterans Affairs' Committee Chairman Akaka and Sanders sent a letter asking the VA for increased funding for the Vermont-headquartered National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. To read the senator's Huffington Post column, click here.

Farm Workers In the State of the Union speech, Bush declared that "we must ensure that all life is treated with the dignity it deserves." But as Katrina vanden Heuvel, the editor of The Nation, pointed out, "he didn't talk about dignity in terms of ravaged pensions, working longer hours for lower wages, and the loss of healthcare…or the rise in poverty... and he certainly didn't talk about dignity when it comes to migrant workers in Immokalee, Florida where - as Senator Bernie Sanders said - ‘the norm is a disaster, and the extreme is slavery." To read her moving piece, click here.

Veterans Benefits Sanders, a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, announced that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs raised travel reimbursement rates from 11 cents a mile to 28.5 cents a mile. It was the first increase in 30 years for the reimbursement rate for veterans traveling to and from medical centers. "At a time when gas prices are now at $3.15 a gallon, this increase in the VA's mileage reimbursement rate is long overdue," Sanders said. "The cost of travel should not discourage our veterans from seeking the health care benefits they have earned through their service. In rural states like Vermont, this is an especially important issue. As a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, I will continue to push for even more improvements in veterans benefits." To read more, click here.

China Trade Sanders was among eight freshmen senators who urged Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to act on China trade issues. They said that unfair Chinese practices were contributing to the imbalance in trade deficit with China and hurting U.S. competitiveness. To read more in Congress Daily, click here.

Border Security Some members of Congress, including Senators Sanders and Patrick Leahy, opposed border security changes put in place on Thursday, saying they interfere with cross-border trade. "You have to be vigilant, but I think this is ill-advised, and will cause economic problems for the northern states," Sanders told The Boston Globe. Some businesses and lawmakers worried that new requirement that travelers show some document other than a driver's license to prove citizenship will create widespread confusion and discourage some people from making the trip. Sanders, Leahy and 18 other senators urged the Department of Homeland Security to reconsider. To read more, click here.

Global Warming Students from Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vt., and at college campuses across the country took part in "Focus the Nation" on Thursday to raise awareness of global climate change. In a videotape, Sanders warned of floods, droughts, hunger and wars if changes aren't made but told the students the good news is that we know how to reverse the trend and reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases. Sanders is the lead sponsor of the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act that would require the United States to reduce its emissions by 80 percent by 2050. To read the Rutland Herald coverage of the meeting, click here.

Spy Law Bush on Thursday signed a 15-day extension for a surveillance law while Congress continued to debate whether to immunize telephone companies from lawsuits alleging invasions of privacy for helping the government conduct warrantless wiretaps. "I will not support a bill that provides immunity for the phone companies," Sanders told a conference of progressive journalists meeting Monday on Capitol Hill. A Republican-led effort to cut off Senate debate and vote a version of the bill the White House wanted failed. Sixty votes were needed to pass the cloture motion, which was defeated 48 to 45. The "no" votes came from Democrats and Sanders.