Chairman Bernie Sanders envisioned an “energy revolution” as he convened his green jobs subcommittee for the first time on Tuesday. Senate leaders put off a vote on health care reform, presenting an opportunity, as Sanders saw it, “to get it right.” Another study showed the gap between the rich and the rest of Americans is still growing. Credit card customers, fed up with high interest rates, staged protests Wednesday in bank lobbies. In Vermont, a state milk commission on Thursday broached the possibility of a fee on milk bottlers to aid hard-pressed dairy farmers.

Health Care Missing an ambitious deadline set by President Obama, Senate Democratic leaders set aside plans to vote on health care reform before Congress’ August recess. “The delay is not something that worries me. What does worry me is that we get it right,” Sanders said. “We are now spending twice as much per person on health care as any other nation. Costs are soaring and tens of millions are uninsured or underinsured. We can do better.  We must do better.”

Green Jobs As the Green Jobs and New Economy Subcommittee came to order for the first time, Sanders talked about ending the United States’ dependence on oil from overseas. Instead of spending $400 billion-a-year importing foreign oil, he envisioned the “incredible impact” on our economy of investing that much money in weatherization, energy efficiency, and producing clean, sustainable energy. “Green investments, green energy, green jobs: this is how we will replace our lost manufacturing jobs,” Sanders said. Up next: Sanders is bringing the Senate panel to Vermont. To watch excerpts of the hearing, click here. To read the senator’s column on Grist, click here.

Dairy Crisis The Vermont Milk Commission on Thursday advocated a fee on milk bottlers to aid hard-pressed dairy farmers. Sen. Sanders and others wrote to urge U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack "to restore a meaningful safety net for America's dairy farmers." Sanders also invited the CEO of Dean Foods to Vermont, and asked the Justice Department antitrust division to investigate the milk processor that controls more than two-thirds of the New England milk market.

Income Gap The gap is growing between the super rich and the rest of Americans. “We have the most unequal distribution of wealth and income of any major country on earth. We have a moral obligation to address that growing gap,” said Sanders. According to a new analysis by The Wall Street Journal, highly paid employees received nearly $2.1 trillion of the $6.4 trillion in total U.S. payrolls in 2007 (the latest figures available). The pay of employees who receive more than the Social Security wage base -- now $106,800 -- increased by 78 percent over the past decade. The paper said Social Security Administration actuaries estimate removing the earnings ceiling could eliminate the trust fund's deficit altogether for the next 75 years. To read the Journal article on the growing pay gap, click here.

Credit Cards Protestors descended on banks in Washington, D.C. to call for a cap on interest rates on credit cards and other consumer loans.  According to The Washington Post, Pauline Charles of Baltimore borrowed $2,000 when she was short on money and by the time she paid it off 18 months later, she had paid $11,000 in interest and fees. Sanders has introduced legislation that would set a 15 percent cap on credit card interest rates. Congress last May passed a credit card consumer rights bill, but Sanders said he would press for passage of a national usury law. “We have got to finally tell banks and credit card companies that it is simply not acceptable to charge people 25 percent, 30 percent or 35 percent interest rates." To read The Washington Post article, click here. Watch the senator talk about credit card outrages here. To read some of the thousands of stories of credit card abuses collected by the senator, click here.