‘Bernie Sanders has real influence’: Vermont’s longtime outsider has become a trusted voice in the Biden White House

By Ashley Semler, CNN At first glance, they seem like an odd couple — Sen. Bernie Sanders, the progressive and quintessential outsider, and President Joe Biden, moderate politician and political insider.And yet, the 79-year-old Vermont senator has become a key voice in the Biden administration: called upon, consulted and indispensable in keeping the liberal Democratic flock in line.After 30 years in Congress

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Sanders vows tougher oversight of defense contractors as Budget Committee chairman

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) vowed Wednesday to use his perch as the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee to impose tougher oversight of the Pentagon and defense contractors. At a budget hearing titled “Waste, Fraud, Cost Overruns, and Auditing at the Pentagon,” the vocal progressive noted that the Department of Defense’s (DOD) budget of about $740 billion is the largest in the

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Sen. Bernie Sanders blasts defense contractors over soaring costs, vows tougher oversight

By: Aaron Gregg; The Washington Post Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a former Democratic presidential candidate, says he will use his powerful new position atop the Senate Budget Committee to exercise tougher oversight over America’s vast national security establishment, including the private-sector organizations that profit from taxpayer-funded defense contracts. In an exclusive interview with The Washington Post ahead of a Wednesday

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Sanders: Drug companies should give up rights to COVID-19 vaccines

By: John Bowden; The Hill Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is calling on the World Trade Organization (WTO) to grant a patent waiver allowing countries to manufacture generic versions of Pfizer and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines, saying it is “morally objectionable” that poor countries are experiencing massive surges of the virus while rich countries recover. In an interview on Sunday with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Sanders said that public

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Bernie Sanders: U.S. Should Have a Say in How Israel Uses Military Aid

By: Ben Samuels; Haaretz Sen. Bernie Sanders will tell the J Street 2021 National Conference on Monday that the United States should be able to determine how Israel uses the aid it gives to the state, and should restrict aid in response to moves that would undermine the peace process. “I strongly believe that we must also be willing to

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Progressives Propose Tripling Housing Commitment in Infrastructure Plan

By: Emily Cochrane; The New York Times Top liberal lawmakers unveiled legislation on Monday that would pour more than $100 billion over a decade into modernizing the public housing system and starting a transition to renewable energy, as progressives seek to prod President Biden to expand his far-reaching infrastructure plan. The legislation, led by Senator Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent, and

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