As the spotlight on health care reform turned to the Senate, Senator Bernie Sanders made the case for cost-effective reforms and a strong public option that would help hold down spiraling private insurance premiums.  "In my view," Sanders said, "the real solution to the problem of how to reform health care in this country is a Medicare-for-all, single-payer system.  We are going to try to at least give states the option to go forward and move toward a single-payer system. Whether it's Vermont or somewhere else, if one state pulls it off it will spread around the country." Watch all of this week's Web video, Senator Sanders Unfiltered, for more about this crucial stage of the health care debate.

Health Care "An overwhelming majority of Americans want a strong public option," Sanders told the Today Show. On Tuesday, former President Bill Clinton met with senators.  Afterward, Sanders said Clinton made the very important point that because the United States today spends far more per capita on health care than any other nation we are disadvantaged in the global economy.  "His point was that we have got to bring cost containment to the health care system so that we are more competitive economically around the world."  The House passed a health care bill late last Saturday that included a provision limiting women's right to choice. "I find it impossible to believe the Democratic Party is going to do this," Sanders told USA Today.

Break 'Em Up Sanders' legislation to make the Treasury secretary identify too-big-to-fail financial giants and break them up picked up support.  Katrina vanden Heuvel wrote in The Nation that "when it comes to understanding the real economy and the struggles of ordinary Americans, Sen. Bernie Sanders always seems to be ahead of the curve and fighting like hell for Congress to show leadership and be responsive. Now he's doing it once again with his legislation to break up the too-big-to-fail financial institutions that pose a threat to our entire economy." Rachel Maddow told viewers on MSNBC "that little two-page bill make as lot of sense to me. " To read more from the editor of The Nation, click here.  To see Rachel Maddow's take on the bill, click here. 

Sign the Petition and Take the Poll The government paid billions of dollars to rescue financial companies that the government considered "too big to fail" because, if they failed, the entire financial system might collapse. Should the government have the power to break up banks and financial companies that it believes are too big to fail? In just one week, 4,870 of you who took our survey answered yes.  There were 202 who said the government shouldn't interfere with private business and another 121 who were unsure. To take the survey, click here. To sign the petition, click here.

Deregulation Decade It was 10 years ago this week that President Clinton signed legislation that deregulated Wall Street. The Financial Services Modernization Act swept away a law passed in the wake of the Great Depression that had protected consumers by separating investment banking and insurance companies from the commercial banks that make loans and secure deposits. Then-Congressman Bernie Sanders voted no, saying in a 1999 House floor speech that "this legislation, in its current form, will do more harm than good. It will lead to fewer banks and financial service providers; increased charges and fees for individual consumers and small businesses; diminished credit for rural America; and taxpayer exposure to potential losses should a financial conglomerate fail.  It will lead to more mega-mergers; a small number of corporations dominating the financial service industry; and further concentration of economic power in our country." Within a decade, the law that swept out safeguards in place since the Great Depression was a major cause of the Great Recession. To read a Brattleboro Reformer editorial, click here.

Solar Power Vermont's Lyndon State College soon will be adding some solar power to its energy mix.  During a visit to the campus on Wednesday, Sanders announced a $32,000 U.S. Department of Energy grant for a 5-kilowatt solar power array. He spoke about the need to address global warming and greenhouse gasses and the benefits of becoming energy independent.