Sen. Bernie Sanders detailed his family values agenda on Thursday, introducing a bill that would guarantee paid vacation time and endorsing legislation to provide family and sick leave to working families. “It is time we showed the people of this country that we are not just a nation that talks about family values but that we are a nation that is prepared to live up to these ideals,” Sanders said. Continuing his fight to defend the American middle-class, Sanders voted against reauthorization of the Export-Import bank on Wednesday and applauded the House of Representative’s vote to thwart a disastrous trade deal with 11 other Pacific Rim nations. Sunday morning at 10:30 AM ET, Sanders will be on CBS’s Face the Nation to discuss college affordability, trade, and other issues.

Sanders Outlines Family Values Agenda

On Thursday, Sanders announced his family values agenda, a package of legislation to provide family and medical leave, paid sick leave, and paid vacation to America’s working families. “When you look at what other wealthy countries are doing, what you find is that the United States of America is the only advanced economy that does not guarantee its workers some form of paid family leave, paid sick time or paid vacation time,” said Sanders. “That is wrong.” Sanders’ legislation, the Guaranteed Paid Vacation Act, would provide 10 days of paid vacation for employees who have worked for an employer for at least one year. He also called for at least seven paid sick days a year and 12 weeks of paid leave if an employee has a child or is diagnosed with a serious medical condition. Read more here.

Sanders Votes Against Ex-Im Bank

A longtime opponent of the Export-Import Bank, Sanders voted against a five-year reauthorization of the bank on Wednesday. Sanders argued that our focus should be on creating decent-paying jobs in America, not providing corporate welfare to multi-national corporations. “Instead of providing low-interest loans to multi-national companies that are shipping jobs to China and other low-wage countries, we should be investing in small businesses and worker-owned enterprises that want to create jobs in the United States of America.  If the Export-Import Bank cannot be reformed to become a vehicle for real job creation in the United States, it should be eliminated,” Sanders said. Read more here.

House Scuttles Trade Deal 

Following the House’s vote Friday stymieing the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, Sanders, one of the leading voices in opposition to the disastrous trade deal, said, “I applaud the House of Representatives for the vote today.  While the fight will no doubt continue, today’s vote is a victory for America’s working people and for the environment. The trade deal pushed by corporate America and Wall Street is the continuation of disastrous trade policies which have cost us millions of decent-paying jobs as large corporations shut down in this country and move to low-wage countries abroad.” Read more here.