Bernie Buzz

The president’s decision yesterday to reduce the outrageous level of student debt in our country is an important step forward in providing real financial help to a struggling middle class. Yesterday’s announcement to reduce up to $10,000 in student debt for working class Americans and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients will eliminate student debt for some 20 million Americans and reduce debt for some 43 million. The result of this decision is that millions of Americans will now be in a better position to start families, or buy the homes and cars they have long needed. As someone who’s fought for years to cancel student debt, this is a big deal. But we have got to do more.

I wish very much that I could tell you that the Covid pandemic was over, and that we no longer had to worry about it into the future. But that would not be true. The good news, however, is that as a result of vaccines and improved treatments the death rates and hospital admission rates from Covid today are far lower than they were at the height of the pandemic. Further, a great deal of research is now taking place to create new and better vaccines and treatments.

Friday, July 29, 2022 was an historic day for Vermont. On that day, train service returned to Burlington for the first time in nearly 70 years. Vermonters can now take the train from Burlington to New York City with stops in Ferrisburgh/Vergennes, Middlebury, and Rutland.

As you may know, the Senate passed a reconciliation bill on Sunday called the “Inflation Reduction Act.” The vote was 51-50. I voted for it. Let me be honest with you in saying that I have very ambivalent feelings about this legislation.

I wanted to share with you that we have rescheduled the livestreamed Q&A discussion with White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha for this week. I hope you’ll be able to join us THIS Thursday, August 11 at 5:00 p.m. to discuss what’s going on with the pandemic, what the future may hold, and some of the best ways to stay safe and healthy.

I want to tell you today about a major piece of legislation for Vermont’s veterans that passed Congress this week. The PACT Act is the most comprehensive expansion of health care for our nation’s veterans in a generation. It adds 23 burn pit and toxic exposure-related health conditions to the VA’s list of presumptive conditions to include numerous cancers and respiratory illnesses.