Press Releases

Do-Nothing Regulators Branded as Outlaws U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Thursday he will introduce legislation to force federal regulators to curb unbridled speculation in crude oil markets that experts blame for driving up gasoline prices. “We cannot allow Wall Street speculators to continue to rip off the American people at the gas pump any longer,” Sanders told a press

Senator Sanders called Tuesday for a “sense of urgency” by President Obama to make federal commodity regulators enforce a law against excessive speculation in crude oil markets. In an interview on MSNBC, Sanders cited economists who blame much of the pump price for gasoline on oil speculators. Sanders first staked out his case in a letter to the president last

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Sunday awarded Willie Nelson the 2011 Vermont Free Spirit Award. The senator made the presentation during a weekend concert by the country music legend at the Champlain Valley Expo in Essex Junction, Vt. The award was given to Nelson “in honor of your tireless support of our nation’s family farmers, and in honor of

BURLINGTON, Vt., May 27 –Vermont’s congressional delegation tonight sent a letter to President Barack Obama supporting Gov. Peter Shumlin’s request for federal disaster assistance in the wake of severe flooding across Vermont. The delegation letter sought help “in the wake of unprecedented rainfall, spring runoff and turbulent storms that included high winds and hail.” Vermont “is completely saturated to an

Calls Meeting with Federal Regulator ‘Very Disappointing’   WASHINGTON, May 26 – With the summer vacation season beginning this Memorial Day weekend as gas prices hover near $4 a gallon, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) Thursday pressed the top federal commodities regulator to enforce a law that would stop speculators from artificially driving up oil prices. A member of the Senate energy committee, Sanders hosted

WASHINGTON, May 26 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today voted against a four-year extension of government surveillance powers. “I voted against extending the Patriot Act today for the same reason I voted against enacting it in 2001: it gives the government far too much power to spy on innocent United States citizens and provides for very little oversight or disclosure.  While we must aggressively pursue