11/16/2009 - Bernie on the Road

#1-3 - Senator Sanders recently visited the beautiful campus of Lyndon State College. While there he met with the college leadership, announced federal funding for a solar project at the school, and spoke to over 60 students. Some photos from the visit are below.

#4 - Cathedral Square does an excellent job of developing affordable senior housing in Vermont and Bernie Bernie recently had a chance to help them open the newly renovated Fourwinds Apartment in St. Albans. There are 44 perpetually affordable unites at Fourwinds and 69 percent of the residents are 70 years of age or older. Congratulations to Cathedral Square for their continued efforts at making affordable senior housing available in Vermont.

11/04/2009 - Panel Republicans Boycott Climate Change Bill

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee tried to overcome a Republican boycott of a major climate bill. Only one Republican senator even showed up for the meeting, and he stayed just long enough to ask for a five-week delay and more study. Senator Bernie Sanders lamented the obstruction tactics by what he called “the party of no.” The stalling strategy has so far blocked action on critical issues ranging from health care to global warming.  Sanders, the chairman of the Green Jobs and the New Economy Subcommittee, called the delaying tactics “a sad state of affairs.” The country, Sanders added, has gone from a electing a new president one year ago whose uplifting promise was “yes we can” to the spectacle of a small but stubborn rump group of senators whose motto is “no we won’t.” To watch Senator Sanders at the environment committee hearing, click here.

10/28/2009 - Sanders Meets With Lyndon State College President

Sen. Bernie Sanders, a member of the Senate education committee, met with Lyndon State College President Carol Moore in his Washington, D.C. office.

10/26/2009 - Sanders Visits Barre Businesses

Senator Sanders toured SB Electronics and Northern Power Systems in Barre, Vermont.

10/26/2009 - Support for Law Enforcement

Sen. Sanders held a news conference today at the Vermont Department of Public Safety headquarters in Waterbury to announce $944,000 in federal funding for state law enforcement and first responders. Featured in the attached photograph are, left to right, Paul Duquette, Chief of the Newport Police Department; Thomas Tremblay, Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Public Safety; U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders; and Tom L’Esperance, Colonel of the Vermont State Police.

10/21/2009 - Obama Signs Dairy Bill

President Barack Obama signs the Agriculture Appropriations bill in the Oval Office, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009. Watching the President are, from left: Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wisc., Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Rep Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and Rep. Mark Schauer, D-Mich. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) A larger version is available here.

10/20/2009 - Helping the Vermont State Hospital

Sen. Bernie Sanders meets in his U.S. Senate office in Washington, D.C., with (L to R) Cynthia Mann, director of Medicaid and State Operations for the U.S. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Commissioner Michael Hartman of the Vermont Department of Mental Health, and Angela Brice-Smith, deputy director of surveys and certification for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Photo by the U.S. Senate Photo Studio.

10/17/2009 - Bernie Visits Tangletown Farm

Senator Bernie Sanders visited the very impressive Tangletown Farm in Middlesex. Owners Dave Robb and Lila Bennett raise organic pasture-based chickens, ducks, pheasants, turkeys, pork, beef, and rabbit. These native Vermonters and their kids are working hard to develop sustainable agriculture in Vermont. To learn more about Tangletown Farm visit their web site at http://www.tangletownfarm.com/ .

10/08/2009 - Vermont Student Leaders Visit Senator Sanders in Washington

Felicia Graham of Springfield, Vt., Hannah Isham of Essex Junction, Vt., and Elizabeth Nunnikhoven of South Londonderry, Vt. met with Senator Sanders in his Washington office on October 8, 2009. The students were in DC to participate in the National Youth Leadership Conference.

10/07/2009 - FCC Commissioner Michael Copps

Senator Sanders met with FCC Commissioner Michael Copps in his Washington office.

10/07/2009 - Vermonters Discuss Food Safety

Gabrielle Meunier and Susan Vaughn Grooters of Burlington met with Sen. Sanders to discuss food safety legislation.

10/05/2009 - New Firefighter Training Facility at Vermont Tech

Participating in a groundbreaking ceremony for a new firefighter training building at Vermont Technical College, Sen. Bernie Sanders called the facility a major step forward in assuring high-quality training for firefighters across the state. Sanders secured $406,962 for the project, which includes a specialized structure called a live-burn building. Many of these pictures came courtesy of Vermont Technical College.

10/05/2009 - Vermont Student Visits Senator Sanders in Washington

Senator Sanders met with Nolan Pritchard from Castleton, Vt. on October 1st in his Washington, D.C. office. Nolan was visiting Washington for the National Youth Leadership Conference.

10/05/2009 - Vermonters Biking for a Cause

Senator Sanders met with Brita Climate Riders Karen Sentoff and Emily Berry, from Burlington, Vt., who rode their bikes from New York City to Washington, D.C. to raise funds and awareness about the need to address global warming.

09/30/2009 - Global Warming Bill Introduced

Sens. Sanders, Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), John Kerry (D-Mass.) and eight supporters kicked off the global warming debate in the Senate with a rally releasing their comprehensive climate bill. The Boxer-Kerry bill sets a 20 percent emission reduction target by 2020, over 2005 levels. The legislation also retains the Environmental Protection Agency's authority under the Clean Air Act to clean up the oldest and dirtiest power plants.

09/30/2009 - Helping Seniors

Sen. Sanders hosted a Capitol Hill press conference at which he and Rep. Peter DeFazio welcomed more than 120,000 signatures from seniors supporting their bill to provide a one-time, $250 payment next year to more than 50 million seniors so Social Security benefits do not shrink. Unless Congress acts, benefits will drop for the first time in decades because there will be no cost-of-living adjustment while Medicare prescription drug premiums, which are deducted from Social Security, will go up. The petition was collected by the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare who brought with them to the event Esther Lenett, 91, a Social Security recipient from Bethesda, Md.

09/19/2009 - Dairy Market Concentration Hearing

The Justice Department's top antitrust enforcer at a September 20 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in St. Albans, Vt., told a packed hall of dairy farmers that increased concentration in the dairy industry merited a closer look by the department. Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney said the department is reviewing market concentration, the relationship between dairy co-ops and milk processors, “and how we've evolved to the point where the co-ops are basically captive of one distributor. I want to understand how we got there and what kind of competition exists."

09/15/2009 - Dairy Crisis Press Conference

Sens. Sanders and Leahy welcome Maggie, an Ayrshire cow from the Maple Lawn Farm in Fulton, Md., to a press conference this morning on Capitol Hill regarding the dairy crisis.

09/09/2009 - Senator Sanders Meets Vermont Veterans Leader

Senator Sanders met with Milt Willis, National Vice Chairman, Legislative Council, of the Vermont American Legion. Mr. Willis and Senator Sanders discussed ways to improve services for Vermont veterans. Mr. Willis was in Washington to attend the House and Senate Committees on Veterans’ Affairs joint hearing to receive the legislative presentation of the American Legion’s new National Commander, Clarence Hill.

09/09/2009 - Sanders Seeks Vets' Clinic for Northern Vermont

Sen. Bernie Sanders met with Veterans Affairs Department Secretary Eric K. Shinseki to urge him to open a VA community health clinic in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom.