The Senate returned to Washington for the first time since the Nov. 4 election and on Wednesday put the gears in motion for votes in the coming week on domestic surveillance abuses by the National Security Agency and construction of the Tar Sands oil pipeline.  Sen. Bernie Sanders announced a hearing on skyrocketing prices for some generic drugs. The Postal Service announced on Friday that revenue grew by more than half a billion dollars in the past year but USPS still plans to cut service and eliminate thousands of workers. Sanders and President Obama on Monday both urged the Federal Communications Commission to treat the Internet like a utility in order to protect the concept called net neutrality. 

Net Neutrality Sanders on Monday urged the Federal Communications Commission to protect free and open access to the Internet. In a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, Sanders said the commission should act decisively.  Sanders sent the letter on the same day President Barack Obama urged the FCC to preserve net neutrality by treating the Internet as a public utility. “President Oama has made a strong statement on net neutrality and the importance of preserving a free and open Internet,” Sanders wrote to the chairman. “I strongly agree with him and so do the American people.” The commission is considering a proposal to let some companies pay for faster Internet access. Until now, most Internet providers have treated all traffic the same, the principle known as net neutrality. Sanders last July 15 submitted to the FCC more than 40,000 comments sent to the senator’s website opposing the FCC proposal.

Drug Prices Sanders on Wednesday announced that he will chair a hearing to explore why the costs of certain generic drugs are skyrocketing.  Rep. Elijah Cummings, who has worked with Sanders on this issue, will testify at the Nov. 20 hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging. Price hikes for generic drugs also reportedly have come under scrutiny by the U.S. Department of Justice. Subpoenas recently were issued to two generic drug makers seeking information about their interactions with competitors, The Wall Street Journal disclosed on Monday. “It is unacceptable that Americans pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. Generic drugs were meant to help make medications affordable for the millions of Americans who rely on prescriptions to manage their health needs and now some of them are becoming unaffordable.” Watch CBS News

Tar Sands Pipeline The Senate on Wednesday cleared the way for a vote in the coming week on a proposed pipeline to carry some of the dirtiest crude oil on the planet from Canada’s tar sands region in Alberta to refineries along the Gulf Coast in Texas. Sanders is a leading opponent of the project. “The scientific community is virtually unanimous in saying that climate change is real, it is already causing devastating problems in our country and around the world, and if we do not transform our energy system away from fossil fuels that situation is only going to get worse in terms of floods and drought and extreme weather disturbances,” Sanders said in an interview Friday on CNN. Backers of the pipeline say it will create jobs. In fact, according to the Canadian company that wants to build it, only about 50 workers would operate the completed pipeline.

Postal Service Profits Rise as Cuts Loom Calling on the Postal Service to avert damaging service cuts and job losses, Sanders pointed to a new report on Friday that revenue for the mail delivery service rose by $569 million during the fiscal year that just ended. It was the second year in a row that profits rose, mainly because of increases in package deliveries to online shoppers. Despite almost $1 billion in revenue growth over the past two years, the Postal Service is forging ahead with plans to shut down as many as 82 mail processing plants beginning in January. The closings would put 15,000 jobs in jeopardy. “Despite increased revenues and some very positive trends, Postal Service management seems hell-bent on slowing down mail delivery which is a self-destructive path that could put it into a death spiral,” Sanders said. Megan J. Brennan was appointed to be the new postmaster general Friday. Sanders hopes she understands Postal Service clearly needs to rethink its current approach. “If it is going to be competitive and successful in the modern era, it cannot simply cut, cut and cut more.  It needs to be creative and strengthen services that the American people need.” Sanders said.