While Congress was away from Washington, D.C. for the Presidents' Day recess, Senator Bernie Sanders traveled throughout the state where Calvin Coolidge and Chester A. Arthur were born. In Montpelier, Sanders met with state legislators grappling with global warming and transportation issues. In Rutland, he announced funds to expand dental services. In Bennington, he brought news of a major grant for a transit center that could be a catalyst for downtown redevelopment. In Vergennes, he spoke with high school students. On Capitol Hill, meanwhile, behind-the-scenes work continued on reshaping the federal budget, rewriting an electronic surveillance law, renewing farm programs and reviving the economy. On the budget, Sanders took inspiration from another former president, a sensible Republican no less.

At Home in Vermont Sanders announced a $95,000 grant for the Castleton Health Center to provide greater access to dental care in Rutland County. Access to adequate dental care remains a serious problem in parts of Vermont and in rural areas across the country," the senator said. "We need to expand access so people can get the dental care they need regardless of income." Later the same day in Bennington, he announced $328,300 for a transportation center that could spur a major downtown revitalization effort. "Bennington is undergoing a revitalization of its downtown with new office, housing and retail development, and this transportation center will be an important ingredient in the revitalization efforts," Sanders said. The following day took the senator to Montpelier for meetings with Vermont lawmakers and local town and city officials. To read more in the Rutland Herald, Bennington Banner, Seven Days and WCAX-TV, click here, here, here and here.

On Capitol Hill As Congress prepared to get back to work on Monday, Senate leaders hoped they could attract the 60 votes needed to take up a housing stimulus bill. Senate and House negotiators inched closer to agreement on how much Congress should authorize for farm subsidies, nutrition supports, conservation initiatives and other Agriculture Department programs. In the three weeks before the start of an Easter recess on March 15, Senate leaders also prepared to take up major issues such as the was in Iraq and the budget resolution. A member of the Senate budget committee, Sanders outlined his priorities in a letter to the panel chairman. "Putting our nation's children, veterans', and working families ahead of the wealthy few and a bloated defense budget is not only the right thing to do from a public policy perspective, it is what the American people would support," Sanders said. To read more about the budget, click here.

The Military-Industrial Complex Sanders has been critical of runaway Pentagon spending on Cold War-era military weapons systems that are irrelevant to today's threats to our national security. Appearing Friday on the Thom Hartmann Show on Air America Radio, the senator cited warnings by Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Republican president and a great military leader. Eisenhower spoke in his 1961 Oval Office farewell address about unjustified military spending. "We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex," the 34th president of the United States declared. "Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together." To read or listen to Eisenhower's farewell address, click here. To read his famous "Cross of Iron" speech, click here. To listen to Brunch with Bernie on the Thom Hartmann Show, click here.