The Week in Review
Sanders on Friday went to Alabama for this weekend’s 50th anniversary of civil rights marches and demonstrations that led to passage of the Voting Rights Act. He wants Congress to restore a key provision of the landmark law which was gutted two years ago by the Supreme Court. In what Sanders saw as a signal that the United States is beginning to take climate change seriously, the Senate on Wednesday sustained President Barack Obama’s veto of a bill that would have allowed construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. At a hearing on Thursday, Sanders said melting permafrost and rising sea levels threaten the existence of Arctic Circle villages in Alaska. The VFW on Wednesday gave the former veterans’ committee chairman an prestigious award for ushering through Congress a bill to improve health care services at the Department of Veterans Affairs. In a bellicose speech to Congress on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faulted U.S.-led efforts to stop Iran from developing a nuclear bomb. Sanders skipped the speech timed to Israeli elections later this month. The House on Tuesday overcame a group of extreme right-wing holdouts who wanted to shut down the Department of Homeland Security because they disagree with the White House on immigration policy.
Sanders in Selma “It smacks of hypocrisy” that many Republican lawmakers who will attend a historic voting rights commemoration in Alabama this weekend don’t support legislation to restore the Voting Rights Act, Sanders said. “To stand up and say ‘Well, isn’t it wonderful and brave what happened 50 years ago’ while you’re actively participating in voter suppression today is to me extremely hypocritical,” he added. Sanders wants Congress to replace a key provision of the Voting Rights Act which was struck down by a 5-4 Supreme Court majority in 2013. The provision had made states with a history of voting-related discrimination first get federal permission to change election laws. In the years since the court ruling, states have enacted laws designed to suppress voter turnout by African-Americans, young and low-income voters.
Read more in the Burlington Free Press
Homeland Security “After weeks of an unnecessary, self-made crisis, the House finally has agreed to fund the Department of Homeland Security," Sanders said after the House relented and passed legislation funding the Department of Homeland Security through this September. “With growing threats from ISIS and other terrorists around the world, it was beyond belief that Republicans in the House were even thinking of shutting down the department. I hope that Speaker Boehner’s belated step means that he will no longer give free-rein to the most petulant right-wing extremists in his caucus.”
Pipeline Veto Sustained Sanders said the vote “sent an important message that the United States finally is listening to the scientific community and recognizing that global warming poses a real threat to our planet. At a time when we should be doing everything we can to promote the development of clean sources of energy, it would have been crazy to let a Canadian oil company ship some of the dirtiest oil on the planet across the United States,” he added.
Global Warming Sanders expressed concern about how climate change is impacting the Arctic region and questioned witnesses from Alaska who want more Arctic oil development. “You are, some of you at least, are in favor of more production of fossil fuel, which is ultimately destroying the very communities your people live in. That does not make a lot of sense to me.” He noted that the village of Newtok, Alaska, near the Arctic Circle, may be underwater by 2017, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. More than 180 other native Alaskan villages also are at risk because of climate change, Sanders added. “It would seem to me that if one is concerned about preserving your way of life, that one must be a leader in the fight against climate change. I understand the economic implications of it, but how can we be talking about producing more oil, which causes climate change, which would be devastating to the communities of native Alaskans?”
Netanyahu’s Speech After the Israeli prime minister addressed Congress, Sanders renewed his support for diplomatic efforts by the United States and other world powers to negotiate an agreement to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. “It goes without saying that Iran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon. It goes without saying that the United States will stand by our long-standing friendship and support for the nation of Israel. Unfortunately, Prime Minister Netanyahu did not offer any serious alternatives to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Sanders didn’t attend the speech because it was arranged behind the White House’s back and was timed for two weeks before a closely-contested election in Israel. Sanders reacted to the speech in a Tuesday night appearance with Wolf Blitzer and Jake Tapper on CNN.
VFW Congressional Award Sanders on Wednesday was given the Veterans of Foreign Wars prestigious Congressional Award. At a ceremony in the Senate’s Kennedy Caucus Room, Sanders said he was “extremely honored” by the award presented for his eight years of service on the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, including his time as the panel’s chairman during the last session of Congress. He remains a senior member of the committee. VFW National Commander John Stroud noted that Sanders played a leading role in winning passage last year of major legislation to improve health care services at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
