Senator Bernie Sanders welcomed indications that President Obama is reconsidering the focus of United States forces in Afghanistan. Congress began to reconsider a post-9/11 domestic surveillance law, while health care reform continued to top the agenda in Congress. A New York Times/CBS News poll published Friday found that 65 percent of respondents want a public health care option, while only 26 percent opposed such a plan. How could such a popular idea be so controversial on Capitol Hill? Watch this week’s Web video Senator Sanders Unfiltered. It’s called Who Owns Congress?
 
Afghanistan Sanders applauded the Obama administration for exploring alternatives to a major troop buildup in Afghanistan. “My great fear is that we will get bogged down into a never-ending quagmire there with more and more loss of life and billions more spent,” Sanders said. “We need to be a lot clearer as to what our goals in Afghanistan are, and what our exit strategy will be. I am glad that President Obama is rethinking our options there and looking at alternatives to a major increase in troops. Obviously, we have to be vigilant in the fight against terrorism, but we’ve got to do it in a smart way.” The White House let it be known that a review was underway just two days after a call by the U.S. military commander in Afghanistan for more troops received a skeptical reaction on Capitol Hill. “We need a national debate about what our goals are,” Sanders said of the eight-year-old war that already has lasted twice as long as the American involvement in World War II. “I don't think the alternatives are simply to pull out tomorrow, or to put in tens of thousands of more troops.”

Domestic Surveillance Sanders cosponsored legislation by Senator Russ Feingold that would curb many of the sweeping powers of the USA Patriot Act that are set to expire. As a member of the House of Representatives, Sanders voted against the surveillance law that was passed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The Feingold-Sanders bill, The Justice Act, would lift telecommunication companies' immunity from civil claims arising from the Bush administration's warrantless wiretaps. Other provisions would ensure that the government has the powers it needs to fight terrorism and collect intelligence, while protecting the constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans. “We have got to do everything we can to protect the American people from terrorist attacks, but we can do that and uphold the rule of law," Sanders said. He also cosponsored similar legislation by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy of Vermont.  To read more, click here.

Too Big to Exist Warning that the White House was sewing the seeds of future bailouts, a top economic adviser on Thursday criticized the administration for clinging to the notion that some companies are “too big to fail.” Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker said the expectation is being created that giant firms will enjoy government backing in tough times. In testimony prepared for a congressional committee, Volker distanced himself from that approach for non-bank behemoths like the insurance company, American International Group. Sanders would go further. He has called for the breakup of big banks and other businesses so big that their failure would drag down the economy. “If an institution is ‘too big to fail,’ it is too big to exist.” Sanders said. “In an orderly fashion, we must begin to break up big banks like Citigroup, Bank of America, and JP Morgan Chase; and insurance companies like AIG, so that taxpayers will not have to bail them out again if they fail.” To read more, click here.

Smoking The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday banned cigarettes with fruit, candy or clove flavors that lure teenagers into smoking. "Almost 90 percent of adult smokers start smoking as teenagers. These flavored cigarettes are a gateway for many children and young adults to become regular smokers," said Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg, the FDA commissioner.  She also noted that 17-year-old smokers are three times as likely to use flavored cigarettes as smokers older than 25.  President Obama last June signed the legislation allowing the FDA to regulate tobacco. “This bill is a very good step forward,” Sanders, a member of the Senate health committee, said at the time. “Our goal has got to be for these companies to stop pushing their dangerous and addictive product onto our people, especially our kids. Our goal has got to be to come up with programs to make it as easy as possible for people to get off of their addiction.” To read more, click here.

Health Care Reform A New York Times/CBS poll published Friday found that 65 percent of respondents want a public health care option, while only 26 percent opposed such a plan. In our online survey, those favoring a single-payer system or a strong public option outnumber opponents by 10 to one. To take our new survey on health care, Afghanistan, and the economy, click here. To see the complete Times/CBS poll results, click here.