Before breaking for a weeklong Memorial Day recess, Congress passed and President Obama signed a credit card bill of rights. Senator Bernie Sanders supported the bill, but he would have strengthened it by limiting interest rates. The Senate on Thursday approved $91 billion for wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Sanders was among only three senators who voted no. There also was progress last week on global warming, health care and efforts to reduce Pentagon waste.

Credit Cards New rules for the credit card industry designed to protect consumers are included in a bill that President Obama signed on Friday. Sanders supported the bill that puts in place consumer protections that he had championed for years, but he faulted the measure for not limiting interest rates (He proposed a 15 percent cap) and for a nine-month lag time before the law takes effect. "That's too much of an opportunity for the credit card companies to do mischief." The Senate rejection of Sanders' interest ceiling was cited by USA Today as an example of how "Congress may have missed its chance to enact stronger consumer protections." The St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorialized that Sanders' proposal "would have made sense."

War Funds The Senate backed President Barack Obama's efforts to ramp up the war in Afghanistan, granting his request for $91.3 billion for military and diplomatic operations there and in Iraq. The spending bill, approved on an 86-to-3 vote Thursday night, goes to congressional negotiators to work out a compromise with a similar measure that the House passed. Voting against the measure were Sens. Tom Coburn, Russ Feingold, and Bernie Sanders.

Guantánamo Bay President Obama plans to transfer some detainees from Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to top-security facilities in the United States. "I agree that Guantanamo must be shut down - and I want it shut down as soon as possible," Sanders said. "I want to make sure that torture is never again part of America's interrogation practices and that all detainees are treated under the rules of the Geneva Conventions."

Pentagon Waste The Defense Department inspector general is examining allegations that inadequate oversight by federal officials allowed American Insurance Group and other major insurance companies to deny medical benefits due civilian contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan. The examination, undertaken in response to Sanders' request, comes after a joint investigation by the Los Angeles Times, ABC News and ProPublica found that AIG and other carriers denied nearly half of claims for serious injuries to contractors working in overseas.

Separately, the Air Force pledged to reduce its purchases of unneeded spare parts, which could save taxpayers $50 million next year. The commitment came in response to a request by Sens. Sanders, Russ Feingold and Sheldon Whitehouse, The Pentagon wastes money on parts that even by the services own accounting are not needed.

For more information on spare parts, click here.

To read more about the AIG investigation, click here.

Global Warming President Obama announced tough new nationwide rules for automobile emissions and mileage standards on Tuesday, embracing standards that Vermont, California and other states sought to enact for years over the objections of the auto industry and the Bush administration. "President Obama is boldly moving us in the right direction," said Sanders, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. "The Bush administration sided with polluters and failed to get out of the way of states like Vermont that wanted to do the right thing. Now, President Obama is putting the entire country behind the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."

Health Care Proponents of a single-payer plan argue it is the best solution for the nation's health care system. Sanders, the lone Senate sponsor of single-payer legislation, discussed the idea on National Public Radio's Diane Rehm Show.

Meanwhile, 28 senators, including Sanders, introduced a resolution calling for the inclusion of federally-backed health insurance option in health care reform. The say any reform should give consumers a choice of an affordable, public option to provide comprehensive care and contain costs. The Vermont Public Interest Research Group released a report showing premiums for health insurance plans rose 3.7 times faster than wages over seven years and blamed a lack of competition among the state's three main health insurance companies.

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids applauded Sanders for voting to approve legislation that gives the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulatory authority over tobacco products, including the authority to crack down on tobacco marketing and sales to kids. Senator Sanders is a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, which sent the bill to the full Senate. Sanders also is a cosponsor of the legislation. "From a moral sense, I don't understand people who manufacture products which kill people," he said at the committee markup. "Thanks to Senator Sanders's leadership, we are a critical step closer to enacting this historic legislation to protect our children from tobacco addiction and save lives. FDA regulation of tobacco products, the nation's number one cause of preventable death, is an essential step toward improving health and reducing health care costs in the United States," said Matthew L. Myers, president Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

To read the resolution, click here.

To listen to Bernie on The Diane Rehm Show, click here.

For more from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, click here.