Press Releases

WASHINGTON (Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011) – U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) introduced legislation Thursday to make the fraudulent sale of maple syrup a felony offense.  The legislation is cosponsored by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).  The bill is called the Maple Agriculture Protection and Law Enforcement (MAPLE) Act. “Vermonters take pride in the natural products our state produces, and I have been alarmed by

WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 – Hundreds of defense contractors that defrauded the U.S. military received more than $1.1 trillion in Pentagon contracts during the past decade, according to a Department of Defense report prepared for Sen. Bernie Sanders. Sanders (I-Vt.) called the report “shocking.” He said aggressive steps must be taken to ensure taxpayer dollars aren’t wasted. “The ugly truth is that virtually all of the major

WASHINGTON, Oct. 19 – A new audit of the Federal Reserve released today detailed widespread conflicts of interest involving directors of its regional banks. “The most powerful entity in the United States is riddled with conflicts of interest,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said after reviewing the Government Accountability Office report. The study required by a Sanders Amendment to last year’s Wall Street reform law examined

WASHINGTON, Oct. 19 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the founder of the Senate’s Defending Social Security Caucus, issued the following statement today after the Social Security Administration announced a 3.6 percent cost-of-living adjustment for next year: “I am glad to see the millions of people who depend on Social Security will get a modest cost-of-living adjustment after two years with no increase in benefits at all.  However,

WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 – In the midst of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, millions of American seniors have seen a decline in their standard of living and are struggling to survive.  Unemployment among older workers doubled since 2007 while household incomes fell and medical costs rose, according to a report released today at a Senate hearing chaired by Sen. Bernie Sanders

WASHINGTON, Oct. 17 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said the Commodity Futures Trading Commission should adopt a rule with real teeth to limit oil speculators, not a watered-down measure set for a vote on Tuesday. The commission is slated to consider a rule that Sanders said “will do little or nothing” to limit traders who artificially drive up gasoline and home heating oil prices. “At a