The Public Record
Bernie Sanders is an American politician and activist who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. A member of the Independent party, Sanders is known for his progressive policies and advocacy for social justice, healthcare reform, and income equality. He previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1991 to 2007, where he was the first independent elected to the House in 40 years. Throughout his career, Sanders has been a vocal critic of economic inequality and corporate influence in politics.
I think it is important to explain why I and a number of us and many Americans think this is a bad agreement and that, in fact, we can do a lot better. Just a few points. No. 1, this country has a $13.8 trillion national debt. Our middle…
But our job is to represent working families, the middle class, and not the wealthiest people in this country. We have a job to do, and if it means staying here through Christmas Eve, through New Year's, that is our job. And let's pass a…
Again, my point is not to just pick on individuals. Every quote I am giving can be multiplied 50, 100 times over. This is what corporate America believes. They believe it is totally appropriate to throw American workers out on the street…
If these tax breaks for the wealthiest people are extended for 2 years, there is a strong likelihood they will be extended for many years beyond those 2 and perhaps even permanently. That brings us back to the Bush-era nonsense of…
I believe we are speaking for the overwhelming majority of the people, not just of Louisiana and Vermont but all over this country, who cannot understand why we give tax breaks to billionaires to drive up the deficit and the national debt…
I want to add the idea that when we think about cutting back on education--whether it is childcare, primary school, or college--we are simply cutting off our noses to spite our faces. The Senator is aware that where, at one time in this…
Whose idea was it? The irony here--and I think Senator Landrieu made this point as well--is that there are plenty of millionaires out there who say: I don't need it. I am more worried about the crumbling infrastructure or our kids out…
If I can interrupt the Senator from Louisiana, because she makes a very important point, we are a democracy and it is the American people who make the decisions. I know she shares with me the belief that the American people have to become…
That is what my understanding is. I think a lot of the folks in the military are very upset about that.
I was mentioning earlier the calls coming in and the e-mails coming into my office are overwhelming: 99 percent against this.
Exactly. The point cannot be understated. What Senator Landrieu is saying is that if you have a collapsing middle class and people are unable to purchase anything, it impacts the entire economy. The economy can't grow. We can't grow jobs…
Senator Landrieu is asking a simple question, and millions of people are asking the same question. The wealthiest people are becoming much richer, the middle class is declining, and poverty is increasing. Who decided? Who said billionaires…
I want to reiterate this point. I am not here to pick on George W. Bush, but during his 8 years, the wealthiest 400 Americans--pretty high up guys; that 'ain't' the middle class no matter how broadly you define that--their income more than…
Clearly, we have a number of Republicans who want to make that extension permanent. Whether it will ever be made permanent I don't know. But the point is, when you hear folks say it is only a 2-year extension, I suggest you take that with…
Talk about the kind of priorities we have seen in the Senate recently, where just a couple of days ago the Senator and I worked very hard to try to make sure seniors on Social Security and disabled vets were able to get a $250 check at a…
I think the essence of what he is saying is that today there are millions of Federal employees, people in the Armed Forces, who are doing the very best they can. In many instances, they are doing a great job to protect our country, to keep…
These people who are worth hundreds of millions of dollars, maybe they've got to go back to the Bible or whatever they believe in understanding that there is virtue in sharing, in reaching out, that you can't get it all.
when the rich get richer . . . they say: 'I am not rich enough. I need to be richer.' What motivates some of these people is greed and greed and more greed.
On Capitol Hill today, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent, talked for more than eight hours in a solo tirade against President Obama's tax cut deal.
Most of us--I am sure Senator Brown has received a lot of calls from people in Ohio--I know seniors who are hanging on by their fingernails, trying to pay their bills, heat their homes, pay prescription drug costs, and take care of their…
Absolutely. We won 53 to 45, but around here the majority does not rule. The Republicans filibustered, as they almost always do on anything of substance, and we could not get the 60 votes because we did not get one Republican vote. The…
I thank the Senator for his very strong ethics in trying to get that $250 emergency check out to senior citizens on Social Security and disabled vets--over 15 million people. Mr. BROWN from Ohio. One more point. A majority of Senators…
It is, in my view, a bad deal, and I think we can do a lot better. ... 99 percent of those calls were against this agreement. ... I vigorously oppose the deal that has been cut and how we have to move in a very different way if we are…
Greed is, in my view, like a sickness. It's like an addiction. We know people on heroin. They can't stop. They need more and more.
Politicians like Bernie Sanders
