Press Releases

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

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

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

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

Snow fell on Washington during the lighting ceremony for this year’s Capitol Christmas Tree. The 55-foot Balsam fir was harvested from the Green Mountain National Forest. It stands on the Capitol’s sloping west lawn overlooking the National Mall. The Mount Anthony Union High School Chamber Singers from Bennington performed before Bradley Young, a 6th grade student from Randolph Elementary, joined

For the first time, a bill calling for mandatory limits on greenhouse gases was approved by a Senate panel. The Environment and Public Works Committee voted 11 to 8 for legislation to cap emissions of heat trapping gases. The measure was strengthened by provisions added by Senator Bernie Sanders, including a $300 billion commitment over the next four decades to encourage the development of renewable sources energy like solar, wind and geothermal power.