Press Releases

“At a time when poverty is increasing, the middle class is shrinking and the distribution of wealth and income is more unequal than at any time since the 1920s, it is imperative that Congress initiate progressive tax reform which asks the rich and large corporations to start paying their fair share of taxes. This tax reform certainly should include raising the tax rate on private-equity firms and hedge funds from the current 15 percent,” Senator Bernie Sanders said on Tuesday. The hedge fund ta

Senator Bernie Sanders is traveling across Vermont this week holding a series of town meetings. About 200 people attended “Brunch with Bernie” on Sunday in South Burlington, where the senator told reporters, “The reason that I like doing these events is that it’s important for me to hear what is on peoples’ minds.” He added, “It’s amazing how often you learn things that you did not know.” Summing up events in Washington, Sanders said, “The good news is, we passed a higher education funding bi

The Senate voted to expand services for veterans. The legislation includes a provision by Senator Bernie Sanders for a national veterans outreach program. Also on Capitol Hill, safety concerns about the aging Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant were aired at a Senate oversight hearing. At the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, President Bush made good on his threat to veto a children’s health insurance program, a move Sanders called “beyond comprehension.” There was good news. A 101-year-old Ver

Costa Rica on Sunday will become the first country where citizens have the opportunity to vote for or against a trade agreement. Despite being heavily outspent by the moneyed interests, despite opposition from the Costa Rican government and the U.S. ambassador, despite an extremely hostile media, the latest polls show momentum building for the opposition to the Central American Free Trade Agreement. The Wall Street Journal editorial page, the voice for the wealthy and powerful in the United Stat

The Senate approved $10 million for a national outreach program to assist returning service members and their families. The program, proposed by Senator Bernie Sanders, is modeled on a first-of-its-kind program in Vermont funded with $1 million previously secured by Sanders. “We have a moral responsibility to reach out to these soldiers and their families and to help them,” Sanders

“I would hope the people of Vermont would have confidence in the NRC,” Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Dale Klein told Senator Bernie Sanders at a Senate hearing on Wednesday. “They don’t,” Sanders interjected. Seated before a dramatic photograph of a cooling tower that collapsed on August 21 at the power plant in Vernon, Vt., the senator also mentioned a recent reactor shutdown at Vermont Yankee. “It does cause people to have concern,” the NRC chairman allowed. Sanders said the recent e