Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday voted to stop the Senate from taking up legislation related to a job-killing 12-nation Pacific Rim trade deal. In a speech before the vote, Sanders argued the deal would continue sending American jobs abroad by forcing U.S. workers to compete with laborers in counties earning pennies per hour. On Wednesday, Sanders fought to help veterans suffering with hepatitis C by asking the Department of Veterans Affairs to invoke emergency powers to make treatment available for affordable prices. The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday slapped Spring and Verizon with fines for overcharging customers. “I applaud the FCC for fining Verizon and Sprint for sticking customers with unauthorized charges,” said Sanders. Sanders of Friday taped an interview about trade, college affordability and other major issues for broadcast Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union. Check local listings.

Greed, Recklessness and Illegal Behavior

The financial crisis which led to the worst recession in the United States since the crash of 1929 was brought on by a culture on Wall Street of greed, recklessness and illegal behavior, Sanders has said. On Monday, a federal judge in New York ruled against two banks which made false statements in selling mortgage-backed securities to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ahead of the 2008 financial crisis. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Denise Cote could allow the United States to recover around $450 million. “The magnitude of falsity, conservatively measured, is enormous,” the judge wrote in her opinion concluding that there was misconduct by the banks. Read the ruling. Read more in The New York Times.

‘They Were Wrong Then. They’re Wrong Now’

In a Senate floor speech on Tuesday opposing a proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, Sanders recited a litany of bogus claims by previous trade deal backers which turned out to be wildly inaccurate. Backers of the North American Free Trade Agreement, Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China and other business-backed trade deals claimed that they would generate jobs in the United States. In fact, economists now say, those pacts were a major reason why some 60,000 American factories closed since the turn of the century as manufacturers shifted jobs to low-wage nations overseas. Read more here.

VA Should Acquire Life-Saving Hep-C Drug

Sanders on Tuesday asked the Department of Veterans Affairs to invoke emergency powers to make expensive hepatitis C drugs available at affordable prices to treat tens of thousands of veterans now being denied the most effective care. The VA recently stopped enrolling veterans in successful new treatments for the often deadly liver disease because the department already had spent the more than $400 million it had budgeted for the costly drugs. Read more here. Watch Sanders question VA officials.

No to Job-Killing Trade Bill

Sanders voted “nay” on Thursday as the Senate advanced a proposed 12-nation Pacific Rim trade deal. In a floor speech before the 65-33 roll call vote, Sanders detailed four key reasons why the proposal would be bad for American workers and consumers. The Trans-Pacific Partnership would follow in the footsteps of other disastrous trade pacts. The North American Free Trade Agreement, Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China and other trade deals are a major reason why some 60,000 American factories closed since 2001 as manufacturers shifted jobs to low-wage nations overseas and 4.7 million American jobs disappeared. “Why would we approve another trade deal like those that have failed so miserably,” he asked. Read more here.

FCC Fines Sprint and Verizon

On Tuesday the FCC announced that it would fine telephone carriers Sprint and Verizon for applying extra charges to customer’s bills. “I applaud the FCC for fining Verizon and Sprint for sticking customers with unauthorized charges,” said Sanders. “Ripping off U.S. customers on their phone bills must not and cannot be an acceptable business model. At a time when cell phone costs are already much too high, cheating people simply adds insult to injury.”