The Senate opened debate on an $859 billion bill to reshape the nation's health care system.  Senator Bernie Sanders spelled out measures to strengthen the legislation. Meanwhile, across Capitol Hill proposals to reregulate Wall Street moved ahead. Two measures similar to Sanders' bills were approved by the House Financial Services Committee.  One would break up financial institutions considered too big to fail. Another proposal would lift the shroud of secrecy at the Federal Reserve.

Health Care Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Wednesday unveiled his bill to reshape the nation's health care system.  Senator Bernie Sanders, a member of the health committee, said, "This is a long and complicated bill and I won't know how I'll be voting on final passage until I see what happens in the amendment process.  While the Senate bill contains some excellent provisions, the middle class must be assured that there are strong cost-containment provisions, that it is affordable and that it is paid for in a fair and equitable way." Interviewed on Friday by nationally-syndicated radio host Thom Hartmann, Sanders cautioned: "We have to be careful about passing something that is a handout to the insurance companies."  To read the bill, click here. To read more about ways the senator wants to strengthen the bill, click here.

Drug Prices The pharmaceutical industry has raised prices on brand-name prescription drugs by about 9 percent this year.  The run-up in prices comes at a time when prices for most consumer products are falling. Industry critics told The New York Times that drug makers are jacking up prices before Congress passes legislation designed to curb drug spending in coming years. "At a time when health care costs are soaring, I find it extremely distressing that the pharmaceutical industry is leading the pack and has raised prices for brand-name drugs by about 9 percent in the last year," Sanders said. "In Vermont and throughout this country, significant numbers of people, including many seniors, cannot afford to fill the prescriptions their doctors are writing.  Any serious health care reform package must control the costs of prescription drugs." The higher prices for prescription medicine tacked more than $10 billion onto the nation's drug bill, according to industry analysts. To read the article published Monday in the Times, click here.

Financial Regulation There was growing momentum behind two Sanders proposals to hold Wall Street and federal regulators accountable for their role in bringing about the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. The House Financial Services Committee on Thursday voted 43 to 26 to approve a measure sponsored by Representative Ron Paul that would direct the Government Accountability Office to audit the Federal Reserve. Earlier in the week, the same panel voted 38 to 29 for a proposal to expand federal powers to preemptively break up so-called too-big-to fail firms. That amendment was offered by Representative Paul Kanjorski, the No. 2 Democrat on the committee. Also in the House, Rep. Maurice Hinchey on Thursday introduced a companion bill to Sanders' legislation to break up banks that are too big to fail. In the Senate, Sanders is the chief sponsor of a bill to dismantle financial institutions if the Treasury secretary determines their failure would trigger a broader economic collapse. He also is the sponsor of bills to audit the Fed and to require the central bank to divulge which banks have received more than $2 trillion in secret loans.

Credit Cards As credit card customers rebel at outrageous hikes in interest rates, Sanders' proposal to impose a 15 percent cap on how much card issuers may charge was front-page news on Wednesday in The Boston Globe. Consumer groups say the problem of skyrocketing interest rates has worsened as banks scramble to boost rates in advance of a new rule scheduled to take effect in February, requiring banks to give consumers a 45-day advance notice of rate increases. "People are disgusted. We bailed these [companies] out and they then had the gumption to raise interest rates on the American people,'' Sanders told the Globe. Sanders said many of the credit cards in the hands of American consumers are issued by four banks that received taxpayer bailout money after last year's economic meltdown: Citigroup, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, and Wells Fargo. "Industry officials say government should leave the free market alone. That would be the same government that saved the banking industry with unprecedented market intervention. Credit card debt wasn't the economy's only problem, or even its biggest. But it inflicted real harm and interest rate caps would push banks to do better," Globe Columnist Steven Syre wrote in Friday's paper. To read the article, click here. To read the column, click here.