Legislation
ECONOMY - [Back to top]
Senator Sanders is committed to fundamentally reforming our economic policies and their inherent inequity which favors large corporations over the needs of middle and working class families. Instead of tax breaks for the wealthy, Sanders believes we should invest in and improve our systems of education and health care. Instead of wasting billions of dollars and burdening our children and grandchildren with debts from ill-advised wars, Sanders knows we need to rebuild our infrastructure here at home, create green jobs, and foster affordable housing. Sanders strongly supports Americans' right to organize and strongly opposed government bailouts of failed financial institutions. LEARN MORE
EDUCATION - [Back to top]
Senator Sanders understands that a quality education for all children, from birth to higher education, is essential to a thriving and prosperous democracy. He believes that every child should have access to all educational opportunities, whether it is enrolling in an early learning program or obtaining a college degree. While serving on the Senate education committee, Senator Sanders has successfully fought to make Head Start stronger, to increase Pell grants for low- and middle-income students going to college, and to institute a new loan forgiveness program for those who enter a wide range of public service careers. In addition, he fought narrow and punitive provisions in the legislation known as No Child Left Behind, and looks forward to reauthorizing a new Elementary and Secondary Education Act that is focused more on the success of students and the support of teachers. LEARN MORE
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT - [Back to top]
Senator Sanders has received high honors for his lifetime pro-environment record and he continues to work to ensure that we leave future generations a vibrant and healthy world. As the only member of the Senate majority to sit on both the Environment and Public Works and the Energy and Natural Resources Committees, and as chairman of the Green Jobs and New Economy Subcommittee, Sanders is uniquely positioned to fight for progressive energy polices and increased environmental protection - issues of great importance to him and to all Vermonters. Sanders has been a leading voice on the need to address global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The first bill he introduced as a member of the U.S. Senate was a greenhouse gas emissions reduction bill, and he continues to press for action to move our nation towards energy independence. He also believes that by increasing our energy efficiency and use of sustainable energy, our nation can create millions of good-paying jobs. LEARN MORE
IRAQ/AFGHANISTAN - [Back to top]
Senator Sanders has been and continues to be a congressional leader in opposing the war in Iraq, and in questioning our military engagement in Afghanistan. On Iraq, as a member of the House in 2003, he voted against the congressional resolution authorizing the war. As a U.S. Senator, he sponsored numerous legislative efforts to safely withdraw American troops from Iraq as soon as possible, proposing that we redeployed almost all our troops within a year. Sanders strongly supports President Obama's determination to withdraw most American troops from Iraq by August 2010. On Afghanistan, Senator Sanders believes there must be serious Senate discussion and debate about what our goals in that nation are, how to achieve those goals, and how to withdraw our forces when our mission there is concluded. LEARN MORE
VETERANS - [Back to top]
Senator Sanders has consistently worked to support and protect America's service members, veterans, and their families. Upon his election to the U.S. Senate, Senator Sanders requested, and received, appointment to the Senate Veterans Affairs' Committee in order to allow him more opportunities to fight for veterans' needs. Since joining the committee, he has worked to develop and fund outreach and readjustment programs to help service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and their families as they make the transition back to civilian life. Sanders strongly supported the new G.I. Bill which increased college aid for veterans who served after September 11, 2001. He has also successfully fought for increased funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs, an expansion of the number of veterans eligible for VA health care, greater local access to care, finding treatments for the 175,000 veterans still ill from their service in the Persian Gulf War, and federal assistance for veterans with serious diseases linked to their exposure to Agent Orange in the Vietnam War. LEARN MORE
CIVIL LIBERTIES - [Back to top]
Prior to entering the U.S. Senate in 2007, Sanders was one of only 66 members in the U.S. House of Representatives to vote against the USA Patriot Act. He also introduced the first legislation in the House meant to undo some of the unconstitutional provisions in that bill. He earned him the American Library Association’s "Politician of the Year" Award for his efforts to protect personal library and book store records, and his introduction of the "Freedom to Read Protection Act." Senator Sanders believes that international terrorism is a very serious threat to the United States and the world at large, but he also believes strongly that we can and we must combat it without undermining the basic constitutional rights which make us a free country. In the Senate, he has continued to focus on these and other important civil liberty issues, including reining in the NSA’s warrantless wiretap program, restoring Habeas Corpus rights, controlling the use of wide-sweeping presidential signing statements, and putting an end to torture. LEARN MORE
HEALTH CARE - [Back to top]
Recognizing that millions of Americans lack access to adequate and affordable health care, Senator Sanders believes that a single payer health insurance system is the most effective way to provide comprehensive, universal, cost-effective health care. He has introduced legislation for a state-administered, federally-funded single payer plan (S. 703). The senator believes access to quality, affordable health care is a right, not a privilege. In addition, Sanders has worked to significantly expand the highly-effective and highly-efficient community health center program provide comprehensive primary care services to all in their community without regard to ability to pay Health centers provide comprehensive primary care services to all in their community without regard to ability to pay. Currently, over 100,000 Vermonters receive their care at a community health center each year. Sanders also wants to significantly expand the National Health Service Corps which provides scholarships and loan repayment to those health professionals who agree to work in medical and dental under-served areas, a vital resource for overcoming the shortage of health personnel in urban and inner city regions. It is essential that Americans have access to care and the community health center and health service corps programs make significant progress in providing that access. LEARN MORE
PRESCRIPTION DRUGS - [Back to top]
Senator Sanders has long been an active supporter of allowing safe importation of lower-cost prescription drugs. He was the first member of Congress to take his constituents across the Canadian border to buy their prescription drugs at a fraction of the price they were forced to pay in the United States. While a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, he authored major importation legislation which would have lowered the cost of medicine in this country by 30 to 50 percent. Sanders has fought for a strong prescription drug benefit in Medicare which eliminates the "doughnut hole" and enables Medicare to negotiate lower prices. The senator has called for major changes to the way new medicines are marketed and how they are introduced to the market. He has been vocal in his opposition to the level of influence afforded to the pharmaceutical industry's powerful lobby in Washington. LEARN MORE
MEDIA OWNERSHIP & TELECOMMUNICATIONS - [Back to top]
Senator Sanders has long been a leader in the fight against the growing consolidation of media in America. "The consequences of media consolidation go to the heart of the democratic process," Sanders has said. "In my view, it will be very dangerous for our country and communities around America when one company is able to own a local newspaper, television station and radio station. Opposing points of view won't be heard and our democracy will suffer." Sanders has also been a champion for consumer access to diverse communications technologies at reasonable rates. He has fought for fair cable television prices, strong community access programming, and more cell phone and Internet service in rural areas. Sanders also supports so-called "net neutrality" and the openness of the Internet. LEARN MORE
DAIRY & AGRICULTURE - [Back to top]
The name Vermont is synonymous with beautiful rolling hills and small family farms. Senator Sanders has long advocated for small-scale, family-based agriculture and the rural communities they support. Sanders has championed Vermont's dairy industry which has been, and remains, a vital part of the state's economic engine. In 2009, as dairy prices hit their lowest levels in more than 40 years, Sanders proposed and eventually secured $350 million in emergency assistance to help dairy farmers. Sanders also called for government investigations into the anti-competitive practices of large dairy processors and pushed for long-term reforms to help stabilize the tumultuous dairy industry. He has also advocated for the development of more local and sustainable food networks, agritourism, and farm-based alternative energy production. LEARN MORE
TRADE - [Back to top]
Senator Sanders is a leading opponent of our current trade policies and opposed NAFTA, CAFTA, PNTR with China and other such agreements, which have been a disaster for American workers. Senator Sanders supports moving our trade policy in a totally new direction. He believes this policy should protect the needs of ordinary Americans, and not just the large multi-nationals that are shutting plants down in this country, moving to China, and hiring people there for pennies an hour. LEARN MORE
