This week Sens. Bernie Sanders and John McCain came to an agreement on a bill to improve the Department of Veterans Affairs.  Sanders, chair of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs said “While this is not the bill that I would have written, we have taken a significant step forward with this agreement.” At a press conference on Monday, Sanders discussed two bills he introduced to help workers who want to form their own businesses or to set up worker-owned cooperatives. The EPA announced new rules this week to reduce coal-fired power plant emissions 30% by 2030. “I applaud the EPA’s proposal for common-sense standards to reduce the carbon pollution that causes global warming,” said Sanders.

Sanders, McCain Agree on Veterans Bill: Sens. Sanders and McCain reached a bipartisan agreement to improve veterans’ access to health care and address serious problems facing the Department of Veterans Affairs. At a time when VA medical facilities in parts of the country have waiting lists that are too long, this legislation would give veterans access to  private doctors, community health centers, Department of Defense medical facilities and facilities funded by the Indian Health Service. The bill would provide for the immediate firing of incompetent high-level officials but also includes an expedited appeals process to prevent the new authority from being abused for political purposes or other reasons.

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Watch Sens. Sanders and McCain speak about the bill here.

Climate Change: The Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday that it will seek to cut greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants 30 percent by 2030. It is one of the most ambitions efforts by the Obama administration to address climate change. Sanders welcomed the initiative, but he said real progress on global warming has been blocked by Republicans in Congress who have thwarted every measure to confront a planetary crisis that they deny is happening.  “I applaud the EPA’s proposal for common-sense standards to reduce the carbon pollution that causes global warming. Much more must be done to avoid a planetary crisis, but reducing emissions from dirty coal-fired power plants is a good step. Shutting down old, dirty power plants and replacing them with solar, wind and other renewable and sustainable sources of energy will also create hundreds of thousands of jobs and save consumers billions of dollars,” Sanders said. Read more here.

Stop Oil Speculators: The first of three nominees to a board that regulates oil and gas markets was confirmed Tuesday on a narrow 48-46 Senate vote. Sanders voted no on the nomination of Sharon Y. Bowen to a seat on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Moments later, the two other nominees were confirmed by voice votes. Sanders issued a statement explaining his opposition to all three Wall Street-connected nominees. “We need regulators who will have the courage to stop the largest Wall Street banks in this country from driving up oil prices in the energy futures market.  After reviewing her record and those of two other nominees, I am afraid that none of them will make sure that the price of gasoline and heating oil is based on supply and demand and not Wall Street greed.” Read more here.

Democracy in America: “We are at a pivotal moment in American history. The democratic foundations of our country are now facing the most severe attack, both economically and politically, that we have seen in modern times,” Sen. Sanders and Rep. Ted Deutch said on Tuesday in testimony submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Sanders and Deutch are the sponsors of proposed constitutional amendments in the Senate and House to undo Supreme Court rulings that voided campaign funding limits. “The 2010 Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission opened the floodgates for a rush of secret money to flow into elections, and those of us interested in clean and fair elections saw our worst fears play out in during the 2010 and 2012 cycles,” Sanders and Deutch said. Read more here.

Worker-Owned Businesses: Legislation to help workers who want to form their own businesses or to set up worker-owned cooperatives was introduced on Monday by Sanders. Employee ownership increases employment, productivity, sales and wages. The two-bill package was filed in the Senate on the same day Sanders held a news conference in Burlington, Vermont, with representatives of worker-owned businesses. “At a time when corporate America is outsourcing millions of decent-paying jobs overseas and with the economy continuing to struggle to create jobs that pay a livable wage, we need to expand economic models that help the middle-class,” Sanders said. Read more here.