The Senate set the stage for a major debate in the coming week on Postal Service reform. Sen. Bernie Sanders has led a group pushing for ways to modernize the mail service without closing post offices and throwing tens of thousands of workers out of their jobs.  Also in Washington, Sanders introduced legislation to force emergency action to bring down gas prices. In Vermont, the first week of spring saw record hot temperatures. It was 81 in Burlington on Wednesday, 13 degrees warmer than the record.  "That is freaky," Sanders told Thom Hartmann during the weekly Bruch with Bernie radio and Internet program. "Global warming is absolutely real."

Heat Wave 

The temperature on Wednesday in Burlington smashed the previous record of 68 degrees on the same day in 1946, according to the National Weather Service. The normal high this time of year is 42. "We should be apprehensive about what is happening. This is not a nice, early spring. This is a big deal," Sanders said. 

Gas Prices 

The average nationwide price for a gallon of regular gas was $3.89 on Friday, according to AAA. In Vermont, the price was $3.86. Sanders on Wednesday introduced a bill to make federal regulators invoke emergency powers to curb energy market speculation.  The legislation would set a 14-day deadline for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to implement rules to stop excessive speculation by Wall Street traders in oil futures markets. The measure was prompted by gasoline prices nearing $4 a gallon and the commission's refusal to obey a Wall Street reform law that required trading limits to be in place 14 months ago. "Millions of American consumers are hurting as a result of excessive speculation on the oil futures market and the future of our economy hangs in the balance.  The time to act is now," Sanders said at a news conference in the Capitol. Watch the press conference.

Have We Learned Nothing? 

The Senate on Thursday passed a bill that would exempt some businesses from certain financial disclosure and governance requirements. Sanders joined 25 Democrats who voted no.  "At best, this bill could make it easier for con artists to defraud seniors out of their entire life savings by convincing them to invest in worthless companies," he said. "At worst, this bill has the potential to create the next Enron or Arthur Andersen scandal or an even worse financial crisis. Have we learned nothing? Deregulating Wall Street led to the worst financial crisis since the 1930s.  Now the same people who caused this horrible recession are telling us that more Wall Street deregulation will create jobs.  Give me a break.  I strongly support providing small businesses with the tools they need to create jobs.  Sadly, that's not at all what this bill will do."

Postal Service 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Thursday set the stage for the Senate to take up a U.S. Postal Service overhaul. A group of senators led by Sanders is pushing for changes to the bill. They want a four-year ban on any shift to five-day delivery. They're also trying to prevent a change in first-class delivery standards that would result from the closing or consolidation of as many as 223 mail processing plants and a round of post office closings. "I am delighted that the bill is coming before the full Senate. I and other senators have been working productively with Sens. Lieberman and Carper to make improvements to this important bill. I hope we can agree on a manager's amendment that will go a long way toward saving jobs at the Postal Service, saving rural post offices and maintaining strong mail-delivery standards."