More and more Americans are feeling the pinch from across-the-board spending cuts that Washington budget wonks call sequestration. Sen. Bernie Sanders voted against the automatic cuts that a big majority now also opposes. Bio-tech and food industry giants won a victory on Thursday when the Senate rejected a Sanders amendment on labeling genetically-engineered foods. On Wednesday, he offered another amendment to the farm bill to make federal regulators crack down on oil market speculators that drive up gas prices.  An immigration reform bill that emerged Tuesday from a Senate committee got mixed reviews from Sanders. A bill to reauthorize the landmark Older Americans Act was introduced on Thursday at a seniors’ summit that he organized. And in a Memorial Day weekend edition of C-SPAN’s Newsmakers program, Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Sanders talked about making certain veterans get the benefits they deserve.

Furlough Friday A new poll out on Friday found that nearly four in 10 Americans say they have been affected by sequestration. According to a poll for ABC News and The Washington Post, most Americans disapprove of the cuts in programs ranging from Head Start for children to Meals on Wheels for seniors. The cuts are happening because Congress wouldn’t pass a budget that brings down deficits while closing loopholes that let one in four profitable corporations avoid paying any U.S. income tax. Sen. Bernie Sanders voted against sequestration. On Friday alone, 115,000 employees, 5 percent of the federal workforce, had to stay home form their jobs at the Internal Revenue Service, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Office of Management and Budget. Read about the new poll.

Food Labels The Senate on Thursday rejected a Sanders amendment that would have allowed states to require labeling of genetically modified foods. Sanders promised to continue working on GMO labeling. Although Sanders’ amendment lost 27-71, Politico’s David Rogers noted that, with one exception, “top Democratic leadership in the Senate now appears sympathetic to greater GMO labeling.” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid supported Sanders’ amendment. So did Sen. Chuck Schumer, the No. 3 Senate leader. Sen. Patrick Leahy, Sanders’ Vermont colleague and the Senate President Pro Tempore, also voted for the amendment.

Gas Prices Sanders called on Tuesday for an investigation into oil price manipulation.  He also proposed a 30-day deadline for federal regulators to use emergency powers to curb excessive speculation in crude oil markets.  Over the past five months, the national average price for a gallon of gasoline has gone up, as of Friday, by more than 46 cents. The price hikes come at a time when U.S. oil inventories reached a three-decade high while demand for gasoline is lower than four years ago when prices averaged less than $2.30 a gallon. Sanders spoke about rapidly rising gas prices during a Senate floor speech on two amendments he proposed to the farm bill. Watch the speech. Take the poll.

Older Americans Act As chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging, Sanders on Thursday introduced legislation to reauthorize and strengthen the Older Americans Act. The landmark law first enacted in 1965 supports Meals on Wheels and other critical programs for seniors. “With 10,000 Americans turning 65 every day, our country’s growing population of seniors includes many who rely on these critical programs to help them stay in their own homes and communities,” Sanders said at an Older Americans Summit on Capitol Hill. The measure recommends a 12 percent increase in support for seniors programs. Watch Sanders at the summit. Read a fact sheet on the bill. Read the bill. Read letters of support.

Immigration Reform Sanders, whose father emigrated to the United States when he was 17, supports finding a way for 11 million immigrants living in the United States to become citizens. He also is enthusiastic about helping the children of illegal immigrants go to college or join the military. He is concerned, however, about what he sees as “an all-out effort” by American employers “to bring in cheap labor” and take jobs away from U.S. workers. “A whole lot of kids in this country need summer jobs,” he said, but employers would rather pay less to hire foreigners as lifeguards or ski instructors. And in Sanders’ view, high-tech companies should offer better pay to attract American engineers instead of taking advantage of skilled foreign workers.   

Tax Evaders A Senate investigation found Apple avoided paying billions of dollars in U.S. income taxes. The tech giant put about $102 billion of its $145 billion in cash in offshore tax shelters, according to the report by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. “It is a total scam,” Sanders told Ed Schultz on Tuesday. “It’s not just Apple. Virtually every major multi-national corporation has used these offshore tax havens,” Sanders added. He has introduced legislation that would take away the tax breaks and yield $600 billion in revenue over a decade. Listen to the interview. Read more about Sanders’ legislation.

Citizens United Voters in Los Angeles on Tuesday passed a resolution instructing local and state officials to get behind a movement to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. Sanders and Rep. Ted Deutch have proposed a constitutional amendment to undo the ruling that lifted restrictions on campaign spending by corporations and wealthy individuals. Thirteen states and hundreds of cities and town have passed resolutions backing efforts to reverse the ruling.

Memorial Day. The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee chairman talked about key issues facing veterans during an interview to be broadcast by C-SPAN on Sunday at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Eastern Time. He credited VA Secretary Eric’s Shinseki for setting “a very ambitious goal” to eliminate a “completely unacceptable” disability claims backlog. Sanders has introduced legislation that would require quarterly progress reports. Watch the interview now.