I concur with a lot of what my colleague from North Dakota said, and I applaud his leadership on this whole issue of outrageously high energy prices. A few weeks ago, I sent an e-mail out to constituents in the State of Vermont, and…

about a month ago on my Web site, which is sanders.senate.gov, I requested that Vermonters e-mail me about what the collapse of the middle class means to them personally--not in esoteric economic terms but in a sense of what they are going…

in the last several weeks in a number of venues, I have met with hundreds, in fact thousands, of Vermonters, and to nobody's great surprise, the issue that is uppermost on their minds is the very high price of gas and the price of oil. I…

I think virtually everyone in America understands our country is in extremely difficult straits; that the middle class is collapsing; that poverty is increasing; and that one of the immediate factors that is driving so many Americans over…

I commend my friend from North Dakota. He is exactly right. The middle class in our country is in deep trouble. Some would argue the middle class is collapsing. And the people of our country are looking to Washington, to us, to get…

last Saturday, I held two town meetings in Vermont on the collapse of the middle class, and both of them were very well attended. Our guest speaker was Elizabeth Warren, who is a professor of law at Harvard Law School and one of the…

Every Member of the Senate knows this is a huge issue. In their heart, every Senator knows there is something immoral, that there is something outrageous about hard-working people paying 25, 30 percent, especially at a time when the Fed is…

Unfortunately, in many cases interest rates for consumers are going up at the worst possible time. One of the reasons for this is the virtual lack of regulation when it comes to interest rates. For example, credit card companies are able…

I congratulate Majority Leader Reid and Minority Leader McConnell, as well as Committee Chairman Dodd, and ranking committee member Shelby for their hard work in beginning the process of trying to bring relief to families who are…

this amendment is extremely important because it addresses not only the foreclosure crisis we are seeing in this country, but it is also an issue that impacts millions and millions of Americans every single day of their lives well above…

I find it interesting that almost every candidate for President today is talking about change. It is not only the candidates for President. For candidates at every level across this country, the mantra out there is: change, change, change…

The richest people in this country are earning far more than they used to, while the middle class is shrinking and poverty is increasing. For example, according to Forbes magazine, the collective net worth of the wealthiest 400 Americans…

the Senator from Arizona has just left the floor, unfortunately. But I did want to make two points. He has referred to something called the death tax, which is what we call the estate tax, which was developed by President Teddy Roosevelt…

if one watches the Presidential campaign, one finds that virtually all of those who have run for President and those who remain in the campaign are talking about change, change, and change. While I think each of them may differ with the…

Let me begin by thanking my friend the Senator from Arkansas and my friend the Senator from Maine for their fine work on this very important issue in trying to protect the needs of our kids. I thank them very much. What I wish to talk…

I wonder why it would be that when we face a dire crisis all across this country, we cannot move forward vigorously in providing relief to seniors and low-income people who need this help. I would love to have a response to that, Madam…

I think, again, we want to move and pass, I hope, the Indian health bill. But I think if we are honest--obviously, if people want to bring up 30 amendments, that would kill the Indian health bill, but if that is not the desire, if there…

I commend subcommittee chairman Senator Harkin, subcommittee ranking member Senator Specter, Appropriations chairman Senator Byrd, and ranking member Senator Cochran for providing a total of about $2.6 billion in funding for LIHEAP in the…

let me concur with Senator Reid. The American people want us to begin to get work done for them. It is high time we did that. I also congratulate the Senator from North Dakota and share his concerns about many of the points he made, not…

Let me begin by stating how dismayed I was by the budget President Bush has provided us today. Frankly, this budget is unconscionable and reflects priorities that are almost impossible to comprehend. While providing hundreds of billions of…

let me congratulate the Senator from Arkansas on her fine and important work on the Finance Committee. Let me also congratulate Majority Leader Reid for his leadership, and Senator Baucus, Senator Grassley, and the other members for taking…

I think it is clear to the vast majority of the American people, if not to the President of the United States, that the middle class in our country is shrinking; tens of millions of people are working longer hours for low wages; workers…

last night I listened intently to President Bush's State of the Union speech, and, frankly, I had a hard time understanding what country the President was talking about and what reality he was talking about. Certainly, if the State of the…

This amendment, which would increase LIHEAP funding by $800 million, also has the support of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, the National Fuel Funds Network, the American Gas Association, the National Association of…

this is actually one of the more absurd debates that I have ever heard in my life, and I think anybody who turns on the television and wonders what is going on here in Congress will then conclude that the reason that this institution is…