Press Releases

The Senate passed energy legislation that would boost fuel efficiency standards for cars and light trucks to 35 miles per gallon by 2020. The measure includes provisions by Senator Bernie Sanders to promote energy efficiency and to train workers for green-collar jobs. “Given the crisis we’re facing in global warming, the passage of this energy bill is an important step forward,” Sanders said. “Much more has to be done in the future, but raising fuel efficiency standards and helping states, cit

The Arctic Ocean is melting. The volume of Arctic sea ice by the end of summer was half what it was just four years earlier, according to NASA satellite data obtained by The Associated Press. “The Arctic is screaming,” Mark Serreze, senior scientist at the government’s snow and ice data center, told the AP. Senator Bernie Sanders cited the report in a speech on the Senate floor about the importance of wind technology, one significant way to reduce reliance on coal, oil and other fossil fuels th

Vermont, like other states around the country, is struggling to fulfill the growing needs of people who are hungry. The Vermont Food Bank has said its supply of food had fallen by 50 percent from last year. Burlington’s food shelf has seen a dramatic increase in employed clients in need of help this year. As winter closes in and home heating bills stack up, still more Vermonters are turning to the food support network in Vermont for help. Senator Sanders signed onto legislation that would i

14 Senators Urge Majority Leader to Take Up Senate Judiciary Committee Version of FISA Bill Washington DC – As the Senate prepares to consider legislation to update the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a group of senators is urging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to make the FISA bill passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) the base bill to

Republican filibusters and presidential vetoes have created a backlog of important legislation stalled in Congress. The president continues to veto, and threaten to veto, critical legislation that would make a real difference in the lives of Americans. Senator Sanders said, “I find it very objectionable that President Bush, who signed every piece of legislation passed by the Republican controlled Congress, now wants to veto bills because we’re trying to expand children’s health insurance or ma