Senator Sanders blasted a pharmaceutical company for raising the price of a life-saving drug Monday. On Tuesday, he marched with striking workers, called for an end to budget sequestration, voted against a bill to ban abortion at 20 weeks and welcomed Pope Francis to the United States. After the pope addressed Congress, Sanders applauded the speech and called on his colleagues to put the pontiff’s words into action. He voted Thursday against a bill to cut Planned Parenthood and introduced a bill to stop the so-called Cadillac tax.

Drug Prices

Sanders and Rep. Elijah Cummings sent a letter to Turing Pharmaceuticals Monday, requesting information about a significant and recent price increase for a drug used to treat a life-threatening parasitic infection. The members requested that Turing provide information by October 9, including total gross revenues from sales of this drug; prices paid for all sales of this drug; the prices of this drug in foreign markets; and the identity of company officials responsible for setting the price of this drug. The company cancelled the 4000 percent price surge on the life-saving drug on Wednesday.

Capitol Workers

Sanders spent Tuesday morning speaking to striking Capitol workers, who held a prayer service to call on Congress to raise their wages and give them the right to form a union. “In my view, when we talk about morality and when we talk about justice we have to understand that there is no justice when so few have so much, while so many have so little,” Sanders said . Earlier this year, he led a letter with 17 other senators urging President Obama to issue an executive order to raise the minimum wage for federal contract workers to $15 an hour and make it easier for workers to join a union. Sanders introduced legislation in July to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2020. 

Pope Francis

Sanders welcomed Pope Francis to the United States in a speech on the Senate floor Tuesday. Sanders quoted the pope on the crisis of income and wealth inequality facing the world. “While the income of a minority is increasing exponentially, that of the majority is crumbling,” the pontiff said. “The pope is right in saying all of us must address the grotesque income and wealth inequality we are seeing throughout the world,” Sanders said.

Abortion

Sanders helped stop the latest Republican attack on women “The decision to end a pregnancy should be made in consultation with a doctor without interference or judgment from politicians,” Sanders said Tuesday after a bill to ban abortions after 20 weeks failed on the floor of the Senate.

Budget Sequestration

Sanders voted Tuesday against a bill to increase funding for the Department of Defense in fiscal year 2016. “It is not acceptable to say that we will significantly increase funding for the Defense Department while, at the same time, making drastic cuts in programs desperately needed by the elderly, the children, the sick and the poor,” Sanders said.

Pope’s Address

On Thursday, Sanders applauded Pope Francis’ speech to a joint session of Congress. “Pope Francis is clearly one of the important religious and moral leaders not only in the world today but in modern history,” Sanders said. ”I was especially impressed by the great American leaders he cited, particularly Dorothy Day, the founder of the Catholic Worker movement, a progressive newspaper and organization which protected the poor, organized workers and stood up to the wealthy and the powerful.”

Shutdown

Senate Republicans moved a little closer to forcing a government shutdown Thursday by including a provision in a government funding bill to cut money for Planned Parenthood. Sanders voted against the provision and called on his colleagues to come to their senses. “We know shutting the government down will disrupt the economy and cost us jobs – it did in 2013 and it will if Republicans do it again,” he said.

Cadillac Tax

Sanders, Sen. Sherrod Brown and ten of their colleagues introduced legislation Thursday  to repeal a tax on certain health plans. Sanders opposed the provision when it was included in the Affordable Care Act, which was passed in 2010. “The tax not only punishes hard working Americans, it is simply bad policy.  We should make sure that all Americans receive affordable, high quality health care,” Sanders said. The bill would strike the excise tax while demanding that repeal be paid for.  According to the Congressional Budget Office, this provision would generate $87 billion over 10 years.  Senator Sanders has long advocated that revenue could be raised through a surtax on the wealthiest people in this country, a provision that was included in the House version of the ACA.