Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, 2016
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 Bernie Sanders |
U.S. Senator (Assumed office: 2007) U.S. Representative (1991-2007) |
2024 • 2020 • 2016 |
- See also: Bernie Sanders
Bernie Sanders is a former Democratic candidate for the office of President of the United States in 2016. On July 12, 2016, he endorsed Hillary Clinton for president but not did formally suspend his campaign.[2]
On July 26, 2016, at the Democratic National Convention, he called for the convention to nominate Clinton by acclamation. "I move that all votes cast by delegates be reflected in the official record, and I move that Hillary Clinton be selected as the nominee of the Democratic Party for president of the United States," said Sanders.[3]
Sanders is an independent member of the U.S. Senate from the state of Vermont. He was first elected to the Senate in 2006. Sanders calls himself a democratic socialist and is a member of the Senate Democratic Caucus.[4][5][6][7]
Sanders made his formal announcement for the Democratic nomination at a press conference on April 30, 2015. His office streamed the announcement live using Periscope, a social media service which allows the streaming of video from smartphones.[8]
On May 26, 2015, Sanders made his first public appearance on the campaign trail where he reiterated his run for the presidency. During the speech, Sanders discussed economic and environmental policy at length. "This great nation and its government belong to all of the people and not to a handful of billionaires, their super PACs and their lobbyists," Sanders remarked.[9]
| Video of Sander's campaign event held on May 26, 2015. |
Previously, in March 2014, Sanders said that he was "prepared to run for President" in 2016.[10][11] Sanders also told Yahoo News that he does "not wake up every morning with a burning desire to be president of the United States. And I think anybody who does should be immediately suspected as probably totally crazy."[12] Sixteen senators have been elected to the presidency, including President Barack Obama (D).[13]
In 2016 candidate rankings, Crowdpac ranked Sanders as a 8.2L (L being liberal) on a scale ranging from 10L to 10C, making him the most liberal Democratic presidential candidate.[14]
On the issues
 |
| Quick facts about Sanders |
|---|
| Birthday: September 8, 1941 |
| Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York |
| Alma mater: University of Chicago |
| Career: U.S. Senator, Vermont (9 years) Member, U.S. House of Representatives (16 years) |
| Spouse: Jane O’Meara Sanders |
| Children: Levi |
| Religion: Jewish |
| Public policy in the 2016 election |
|---|
| Budgets and Taxes Education Common Core Student debt Energy Clean Power Plan Fracking Environment Climate change Healthcare Medicaid and Medicare Obamacare Redistricting Voting Rights Act Voter ID |
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| Hover over the words for information about the issue and links to related articles. |
Economic and fiscal
Taxes
| CANDIDATE SUMMARY | |
- According to an analysis by the Tax Policy Center that was released on May 9, 2016, Sanders’ policy proposals would add $18 trillion to the federal budget deficit over the next decade after $15.3 trillion in new taxes, most of which would come from high-income households, was factored in.[17]
- Before a rally in Appleton, Wisconsin, on March 29, 2016, Fox 6's A.J. Bayatpour asked Bernie Sanders how he would handle businesses moving out of the United States if he implements a higher corporate tax rate. Sanders replied, "We can’t succumb to blackmail. We need a new trade policy that tells corporate America, they just cannot shut down, move abroad, and bring their products back into this country. And that is certainly one of the areas we’re focusing on."[18]
- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D) told reporters January 27, 2016, that House Democrats would not embrace Bernie Sanders' single-payer health plan and the associated taxes needed to implement it. "We're not running on any platform of raising taxes," Pelosi said during a press briefing at the House Democrats' retreat in Baltimore. "We do want to have a fairer tax system, and … we hope that we can do that this year." Pelosi noted that she has supported the single-payer strategy for decades. But the nation's healthcare system has evolved in a different direction, she said, and the political conditions are simply not ripe to scrap the existing infrastructure in favor of Medicare-for-all. "He's talking about a single-payer, and that's not going to happen. I mean, does anybody in this room think that we're going to be discussing a single-payer?" she asked. "I've been for single-payer for 30 years, and it is a very popular idea in our country. But we have made a decision about where we're going on healthcare."[19]
- Sanders released a tax proposal as part of an effort to explain how he would pay for his Medicare-for-all, single-payer healthcare plan. Sanders said the plan would cost $1.38 trillion per year—a figure that has been criticized as low[20][21]— and that it would be paid for with a 6.2 percent income-based healthcare premium paid by employers, which is expected to raise $630 billion per year. Sanders' proposal also called for a 2.2 percent income-based premium paid by households, which is expected to raise $210 billion a year. The plan also would raise income tax rates on households making $250,000 and above. Under Sanders' plan, rates would rise to 37 percent on income between $250,000 and $500,000; 43 percent on income between $500,000 and $2 million; and 48 percent on income between $2 million and $10 million. The current highest income tax rate is 39.6 percent. Sanders would also raise taxes on capital gains and dividends for households making over $250,000, which would raise $92 billion per year. Limits on deductions for households making over $250,000 would raise $15 billion per year, and increases to the estate tax—focused specifically on people making more than $250,000 a year or inheriting estates larger than $3.5 million—would yield $21 billion a year. Sanders also said that $310 billion a year would be raised by eliminating several tax breaks that subsidize healthcare, which would become obsolete and disappear under a single-payer healthcare system. Currently, health insurance benefits are exempt from both income and payroll taxes, and some economists believe that, eventually, employer spending on health would translate into higher wages and salaries. Minus what would be needed to pay the 6.2 percent tax, Sanders believes that there would be $310 billion a year in new income and payroll taxes, on average over the next 10 years.[22][23][24][25]
- In an op-ed in The Des Moines Register on December 6, 2015, Sanders called on Congress to stop the merger between drug corporations Pfizer and Allergan and touted the Corporate Tax Dodging Prevention Act, a bill he introduced April 14, 2015. He wrote that Pfizer “wants to merge with a company based in Ireland so that it can dodge its tax responsibilities and pay a lower rate than many teachers and nurses do in this country. This is a phony move. The new company will still be based in New York. It will still earn huge profits in the United States, which will still be its biggest market. Pfizer shareholders will own more than half of the merged corporation. And yet, when tax time rolls around, this company will want us to believe that it is really Irish and not American.”[26]
Banking policy
| CANDIDATE SUMMARY | |
- Bernie Sanders announced on June 2, 2016, that he would be introducing an alternative bill to address the debt crisis in Puerto Rico. According to Fortune, “His bill would allow the Federal Reserve to give the territory emergency loans and provide broad bankruptcy protections, unlike legislation approved by a House committee last week that would create a control board to oversee limited debt restructuring. Sanders’ bill would also boost Medicaid and Medicare payments to the island and designate $10.8 billion to rebuild the territory’s crumbling infrastructure.”[27]
- During the fourth Democratic presidential primary debate on January 17, 2016, Bernie Sanders discussed the difference between his banking reform plan and Hillary Clinton’s: “Well, the first difference is I don't take money from big banks. I don't get personal speaking fees from Goldman Sachs. What I would do...What I would do is understand that when you have three out of the four largest banks today, bigger than they were when we bailed them out because they were too big to fail, when you have the six largest financial institutions having assets of 60 percent of the GDP of America, it is very clear to me what you have to do. You've got to bring back the 21st century Glass-Steagall legislation and you've got to break up these huge financial institutions. They have too much economic power and they have too much financial power over our entire economy. If Teddy Roosevelt were alive today, the old Republican trust buster, what he would say is these guys are too powerful. Break them up. I believe that's what the American people to want see. That's my view.”[28]
- On January 12, 2016, Sanders voted in favor Rand Paul’s proposal to audit the Federal Reserve, which failed to get the 60 votes needed to move forward. In a statement he said, "Requiring the Government Accountability Office to conduct a full and independent audit of the Fed each and every year, would be an important step towards making the Federal Reserve a more democratic institution that is responsive to the needs of ordinary Americans rather than the billionaires on Wall Street.”[29]
- In a January 5, 2016, Wall Street reform policy speech in New York City, Sanders pledged to dismantle the nation's largest financial institutions in his first year in office, the Associated Press reported. Sanders would create a list of companies in the first 100 days of his administration whose failure would pose a significant risk to the U.S. economy without a taxpayer bailout, the AP said. He would force the banks and insurance companies to reorganize within a year.[30] Sanders’ proposal also included: enforcing stricter regulations on banks; capping “automated teller machine fees at $2 a transaction;” limiting credit card interest rates; allowing post offices to “engage in basic banking services; and overhauling “the Federal Reserve by eliminating the central bank’s ‘internal conflicts of interest’ and providing stricter oversight.”[31] In his prepared remarks for the event, Sanders said, “To those on Wall Street who may be listening today, let me be very clear. Greed is not good. Wall Street and corporate greed is [sic] destroying the fabric of our nation. And, here is a New Year’s Resolution that we will keep: If you do not end your greed we will end it for you.”[32]
- Sanders wrote an op-ed in The New York Times on December 23, 2015, calling for reform of the Federal Reserve. “We would not tolerate the head of Exxon Mobil running the Environmental Protection Agency. We don’t allow the Federal Communications Commission to be dominated by Verizon executives. And we should not allow big bank executives to serve on the boards of the main agency in charge of regulating financial institutions,” Sanders wrote. He also recommended prohibiting “commercial banks from gambling with the bank deposits of the American people” and increasing loans to “creditworthy small businesses and consumers.”[33]
Government regulations
| "Sanders Calls for Stronger Financial Regulations," March 17, 2010. |
| CANDIDATE SUMMARY | |
- On June 23, 2016, Sanders expressed opposition to a Senate bill that would require the labeling of genetically modified organisms using a more “lenient” standard than Vermont’s requirement that such items be labeled "produced with genetic engineering.” Sanders said, “I am very proud that Vermont has led the country in GMO labeling. This bill would preempt what Vermont and other states have done. GMO labeling exists in dozens of countries around the world. It is not controversial. Already major food companies in our country have begun labeling their products. People have a right to know what is in the food they eat. I am going to do everything I can to defeat this legislation.”[34][35]
- During an interview with Fusion’s Felix Salmon October 14, 2015, Bernie Sanders recommended using post offices to help low-income individuals gain access to banking services. He said, “If you are a low-income person, it is, depending upon where you live, very difficult to find normal banking. Banks don’t want you. And what people are forced to do is go to payday lenders who charge outrageously high interest rates. You go to check-cashing places, which rip you off. And, yes, I think that the postal service, in fact, can play an important role in providing modest types of banking service to folks who need it.”[36].
- During a March 2010 speech on the Senate floor, Sanders blamed Wall Street for the financial recession and proposed implementing strong regulations on corporations to protect the American people.[37]
International trade
| CANDIDATE SUMMARY | |
- In an op-ed on June 28, 2016, Sanders argued that although the “global economy is not working for the majority of people in our country and the world,” the solution to the problem is not electing Donald Trump or following the lead of those who supported the Brexit. Sanders wrote, “But we do not need change based on the demagogy, bigotry and anti-immigrant sentiment that punctuated so much of the Leave campaign’s rhetoric — and is central to Donald J. Trump’s message. The notion that Donald Trump could benefit from the same forces that gave the Leave proponents a majority in Britain should sound an alarm for the Democratic Party in the United States. Millions of American voters, like the Leave supporters, are understandably angry and frustrated by the economic forces that are destroying the middle class.” He then called for the Democratic Party to “stand with those who are struggling and who have been left behind. We must create national and global economies that work for all, not just a handful of billionaires.”[38]
- In an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes on October 6, 2015, Bernie Sanders explained why he believed most trade agreements were not beneficial to Americans. Sanders said, “I think if you look at the history of trade agreements, Chris, what you find, they are written by Wall Street. They are written by corporate America. They're written by the drug companies, written by – they have been, in my view, a disaster for the American worker."[39]
| RT America, "'I will fundamentally rewrite NAFTA' - Sanders rails against TPP & Trade Agreements," March 31, 2016. |
- In an op-ed published on July 8, 2016, Sanders urged the Democratic Party to include an amendment in the party's platform rejecting the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal. He wrote, "In my view, the trade deal would result in job losses in the United States, make the global race to the bottom even worse, harm the environment, undermine democracy and increase the price of prescription drugs for some of the poorest people in the world. This should not be controversial. It is the exact same position that Secretary Clinton and I have taken during the campaign, and opposition to the TPP is the position of the overwhelming majority of Democrats in Congress. One of the major reasons why the middle class has been in a 40-year decline: poverty has been increasing and the gap between the very rich and everyone else has been growing wider and wider due to our disastrous trade policies. You do not need a Ph.D. in economics to understand that our trade agreements have failed."[40]
- On July 5, 2016, Sanders' campaign sent the following tweets opposing the TPP: "It is clear that we need to fundamentally reject our 'free trade' policies and move to fair trade... #StopTPPNow. ... A disastrous trade agreement should not be 'fast-tracked' for a vote on Congress. In fact, it should never be brought to a vote. #StopTPPNow. ... We don't need more unfettered free trade deals that outsource millions of jobs and shut down tens of thousands of factories. #StopTPPNow."[41]
- On July 3, 2016, Sanders tweeted, "On the TPP, we must take the side of unions and environmental groups who oppose it, not multinational corporations trying to outsource jobs."[42]
- On June 27, 2016, The Hill reported that Sanders “is urging Democrats to oppose holding a vote on” the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal and “wants the party's platform to make its opposition clear” on the deal. Sanders said, “The Democratic Party must go on record in opposition to holding a vote on the trade deal during the lame-duck session of Congress and beyond. … During the next days and weeks we will reach out to a large grassroots movement of working people, environmentalists, human rights advocates and religious groups to support an amendment to the platform in strong opposition to the TPP. If we succeed, we will be in a very strong position to stop a vote and to fundamentally rewrite our trade agreements in order to end the race to the bottom and to lift up the living standards of people in this country and throughout the world.”[43]
- On June 6, 2016, Sanders tweeted the following in support of more than 450 environmental groups opposing the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP): “We must stop letting multinational fossil fuels corporations rig the system to pad their profits at our expense.”[44]
- After Hillary Clinton said that she supported tougher trade rules to protect auto industry workers during a March 12, 2016, rally in Youngstown, Ohio, Sanders said, "Now she says she wants to make it tougher for automobiles to be imported to this country under the disastrous Trans-Pacific Partnership. That’s the deal she called the 'gold standard' when she was Secretary of State. Well, I have a message for Secretary Clinton: We shouldn't re-negotiate the Pacific trade proposal. We should kill this unfettered free-trade agreement which would cost us nearly half a million jobs. We don't need to tinker with this agreement. We need to defeat it. We need an entirely new trade policy that creates jobs in this country, not more low-wage jobs abroad."[45]
- On March 5, 2016, Sanders criticized the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, and Clinton's stance on trade. He said, "We have had for the last 25 years, disastrous trade policies. What these trade agreements are about, TPP, what these trade agreements are about. They are written by corporate America and big money. They want to have an agreement that enables them to shut down plants. ... The real question is was she [Hillary Clinton] right to support NAFTA? Was she right to support permanent normal trade relations with China? The answer is, she was very, very wrong and millions of families around this country have been suffering as a result of those disastrous trade agreements. These trade agreements were pushed and written to a significant degree by corporate America for corporate America and the results are clear. We're not talking about some academic debate here. The results are clear when you look at Detroit, you look at Flint, you look at my own state of Vermont. We have lost thousands and thousands of decent-paying jobs."[46]
- In a series of tweets on October 5, 2015, Sanders criticized the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal. He tweeted: "We need trade policies that promote the interests of American workers not just the CEOs of corporations #StopTPP. ...I am disappointed but not surprised by the decision to move forward on the disastrous TPP that will hurt consumers and cost American jobs. ...#TPP follows failed trade deals with Mexico & China that have cost millions of jobs & closed tens of thousands of factories across the US."[47] He also promised to fight the TPP in the following tweet:
- On June 24, 2015, by a vote of 60-38, the Senate approved trade promotion authority (TPA) as part of HR 2146 - the Defending Public Safety Employees' Retirement Act. Sanders voted against the bill.[48]
- On May 22, 2015, the Senate passed HR 1314, which was used as a legislative vehicle for trade legislation with the titles "Trade Act of 2015" and the "Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015," by a vote of 62-37. The bill proposed giving the president trade promotion authority (TPA). The bill also included a statement of trade priorities and provisions for trade adjustment assistance. Independent Sens. Angus King (Maine) and Sanders voted against the bill with 31 Democrats and four Republicans.[49][50]
| Bernie Sanders, "TPP: Wall Street Wins, Workers Lose," April 17, 2015. |
- On May 8, 2015, Sanders released the following statement criticizing President Barack Obama's Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal speech at Nike Headquarters: "The president at Nike headquarters told us that every trade union in America is wrong, that progressives working for years for working families are wrong and that corporate America, the pharmaceutical industry and Wall Street are right. I respectfully disagree. This trade agreement would continue the process by which we have been shipping good-paying American jobs to low-wage countries overseas and continue the race to the bottom for American workers."[51]
- On April 22, 2015, Sanders "invoked a Senate rule to stop a morning meeting of the Finance Committee to mark up the so-called fast-track bill," which was part of the TPP negotiations, according to his website. Sanders said, "This job-killing trade deal has been negotiated in secret. It was drafted with input by special interests and corporate lobbyists but not from the elected representatives of the American people. Instead of rubber stamping the agreement, Congress and the public deserve a fair chance to learn what’s in the proposal."[52]
- On the same day, Sanders sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman asking him to address a variety of questions about the TPP.[52]
Budgets
| CANDIDATE SUMMARY | |
- At a campaign event on December 28, 2015, in Iowa, Bernie Sanders discussed wasteful government spending. He said, "What it does mean is taking a hard look at an agency which recieves [sic] $600 billion per year where there is an immense amount of waste and fraud. We have massive cost overruns with defense contractors, we've got deployment after deployment for our soldiers, and we've got military families on food stamps."[53]
- In an interview with The Washington Post, Sanders stated, "The deficit is a significant issue but it is important to know how we got into a deficit and our national debt. Very often at budget hearings you will hear me say as the major deficit hawk in the committee — and I refer to myself as that because I voted against the war in Iraq, I voted against tax breaks for millionaires, I voted against the Medicare prescription drug program, I voted against the deregulation of Wall Street, which has caused so many problems. The question is how do you do deficit reduction in a way that is fair. I’m a deficit hawk when I say we have to ask the wealthiest people and the largest corporations to pay their fair share. That’s a deficit hawk."[54]
- Sanders voted for H.R.2775 - the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2014, which, among other things, raised the debt ceiling and ended the 2013 government shutdown.[55]
- In 1995, Sanders voted against H.J.Res.1 - Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States.[56]
Agricultural subsidies
| CANDIDATE SUMMARY | |
- In a December 2, 2015, Iowa Public Radio interview, Bernie Sanders commented on the new Renewable Fuel Standard level for 2016, which reduced the minimum amount of ethanol to be blended with gasoline. He said, “Well, I share that concern of Iowa corn growers, and I’ll tell you why. I happen to believe that climate change is the great environmental crisis that we face, and what the scientist [sic] tell us is that if we do not get our act together in the near future, a bad situation will become much worse. And what that means is that we have got to do everything we can to break our dependence on fossil fuel, move to energy efficiency and move to sustainable energy. I know Iowa has done a really great job in terms of wind, and in terms of biofuels, so I think we have to be supportive of that effort. And take every step that we could, and in every way we can including the growth of the biofuels industry to break our dependency on renewable fuels."[57] The Renewable Fuel Standard is important to Iowa, where farmers, ethanol producers and the rural economy are tied to the mandate. Iowa is the nation’s largest producer of the renewable fuel.[58]
- In 1996, Bernie Sanders voted against H.Amdt.935 to H.R.2854, which proposed to "phase out price supports for butter, powdered milk, and cheese over five years; consolidate federal milk marketing orders to 10-14 orders by the year 2001; allow the State of California to maintain its own fluid milk standards; and repeal the federal milk standards that would mandate adding milk solids to fluid milk."[59]
- In 1996, Sanders voted against H.Amdt.934 to H.R.2854, which "sought to phase out the sugar price support program over five years."[60]
Federal assistance programs
| CANDIDATE SUMMARY | |
- In 2011 and 2013 Bernie Sanders sponsored the Keeping Our Social Security Promises Act with the purpose of protecting Social Security for future generations. S.1558 and S.500 proposed amending "the Internal Revenue Code to apply employment and self-employment taxes to remuneration up to the contribution and benefit base and to remuneration in excess of $250,000."[61][62]
- In March 2013, Sanders threatened to "filibuster any grand bargain that cuts entitlement benefits," while Congress negotiated a deal to replace the sequester.[63]
- Sanders voted against H.R.3734 - the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, which reformed the welfare system and created some work requirements in order to receive welfare. It became law on August 22, 1996.[64]
Labor and employment
| CANDIDATE SUMMARY | |
- On May 10, 2016, after winning West Virginia’s primary, Bernie Sanders discussed income inequality and criticized Hillary Clinton. According to The Oregonian, “Sanders noted that the Waltons, who own Walmart, are one of the richest families in the country. He added that Walmart employees are sometimes paid so little that they have to seek public assistance in the form of food stamps and Medicaid to make ends meet. He closed the anecdote by saying that one of the Waltons has donated ‘thousands and thousands of dollars’ to Clinton's campaign. Addressing the Walton family directly, Sanders added this zinger: ‘Instead of making campaign contributions to Secretary Clinton, pay your workers a living wage.’”[65]
- During a campaign event in Indiana on May 3, 2016, Sanders criticized “United Technologies, the parent company of Carrier” for their decision to “relocate 1,400 Indianapolis jobs to Monterrey, Mexico.” Sanders said, “I am going to tell United Technologies, you are not going to get away with this. You are not going to give former CEO a $171 million severance package. This is the type of greed that in fact is destroying the middle class in this country. … This is not a case where people think the workers here are not productive. The company acknowledges that. It is simply greed. They can make more money moving to Mexico paying people $3 to $4 an hour. It is unacceptable. … I think that the taxpayers of this country do not feel good about awarding profitable defense contracts to a company that is in the business of destroying thousands of lives. And I think that should be taken into consideration.”[66]
- During the ninth Democratic debate on April 14, 2016, Bernie Sanders was asked how he would promote American businesses around the world and promote the creation of jobs for Americans. Sanders replied, “There are some great businesses who treat their workers and the environment with respect. Verizon happens not to be one of them. And what we need to do is to tell this guy Immelt, who’s the head of General Electric, he doesn’t like me, well, that’s fine. He has outsourced hundreds of thousands of decent-paying jobs throughout the world... — cut his workforce here substantially and in a given year, by the way, it turns out that both Verizon and General Electric, in a given year, pay nothing in federal income tax despite making billions in profits. ...Well, for a start, we’re going to raise the minimum wage to 15 bucks an hour. And number two, while it is true we may end up paying a few cents more for a hamburger in McDonald’s, at the end of the day, what this economy desperately needs is to rebuild our manufacturing sector with good-paying jobs. We cannot continue to sustain the loss of millions of decent-paying jobs that we have seen over the last 20, 30 years, based on trade agreements of which Secretary Clinton has voted for almost every one of those. That has got to change.”[67]
- Sanders released a statement on September 7, 2015, to commend President Obama for issuing an executive order requiring paid sick leave for employees of federal contractors. Sanders said, “We have got to end the international embarrassment of the U.S. being the only major country on earth that does not guarantee paid leave to workers. Not only do workers need paid sick leave, they also need at least 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave and at least two weeks of paid vacation. In the richest country on earth, no one should force mothers to go back to work days or weeks after giving birth.”[68]
- Sanders joined workers from an Iowa food processing plant in a picket line on September 4, 2015. “We are sick and tired of the war against working families," Sanders said to the crowd, calling “corporate greed” unacceptable.[69]
Foreign affairs
| CANDIDATE SUMMARY | |
Iran nuclear deal
- Speaking on the floor of the Senate on September 9, 2015, Bernie Sanders expressed his support for the Iran nuclear deal and suggested his Republican colleagues were hawkish. “It is my firm belief that the test of a great nation with the most powerful military on earth is not how many wars it can engage in, but how it can use our strength and our capabilities to resolve international conflicts in a peaceful way. I believe it is incumbent upon us to give the negotiated agreement the chance to succeed,” Sanders said.[70]
- On July 14, 2015, Sanders called the final deal on Iran's nuclear program "a victory for diplomacy over saber-rattling." He went on, praising those who participated in the deal, "I congratulate President Obama, Secretary [John] Kerry and the leaders of other major nations for producing a comprehensive agreement to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon."[71]
- On April 2, 2015, Sanders said, "While much more work remains to be done this framework is an important step forward. It is imperative that Iran not get a nuclear weapon. It also is imperative that we do everything we can to reach a diplomatic solution and avoid never-ending war in the Middle East. I look forward to examining the details of this agreement and making sure that it is effective and strong."[72]
Military preparedness and budget
- Paul Rieckhoff, founder and CEO of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said October 14, 2015, that Bernie Sanders ignored problems with the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2014 when it was first reported that there were severe delays in healthcare for veterans leading to deaths across the country. Rieckhoff said, "For far too long he was apologizing for the VA. He was refusing to acknowledge the severity. He was positioning it as a smaller issue than it was while veterans were dying waiting for care.”[73]
- Defending his opposition to war on September 3, 2015, Bernie Sanders said, “War should be in my view, the last resort of a great nation. We should explore every other option – and I know that opens up the political types: ‘Oh, you’re wimpy. You don’t want to go to war.’ Well, I don’t accept that. I’ve talked to too many people who came home without legs, without eyesight, with traumatic brain injury.”[74]
- Sanders’ campaign confirmed to ABC News on August 31, 2015, that Sanders filed for conscious objector status during the Vietnam War. The confirmation followed a column in The Des Moines Register where the author, Steve Wikert, asked, “My question as a Vietnam veteran is: How on earth could a person claiming to be a conscientious objector become the commander in chief of the most powerful military in the world?"[75]
- Sanders served as chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs from 2013 to 2014. During his tenure, Sanders said, "Some may not be aware that some tens and tens of thousands of young healthy men and women have come home from those wars with traumatic brain injury and post traumatic brain disorder. We have a moral responsibility that all those veterans — and all veterans — get the best quality health care that we can possibly provide."[76][77]
National security
- Sanders released a statement on Tuesday morning regarding the terrorist attacks in Brussels. He said, “We stand with our European allies to offer any necessary assistance in these difficult times. Today's attack is a brutal reminder that the international community must come together to destroy ISIL. This type of barbarism cannot be allowed to continue."[78]
- During the fifth Democratic primary debate on February 4, 2016, Bernie Sanders discussed his thoughts on leaving soldiers in Afghanistan: “Well, you can’t simply withdraw tomorrow. Wish we could, and allow, you know, the Taliban or anybody else to reclaim that country. But what we must do, and what we have seen in recent months, is some progress in Iraq, where finally the Iraqi army, which has not been a particularly effective fighting force, retook Ramadi. ISIS has lost I think 40 percent of the territory that it held in the last year. Hopefully, and you know, one can’t predict the future, that maybe our training and their fighting capabilities are improving and we are going to make some progress in destroying ISIS.”[79]
- During a Democratic forum in South Carolina, November 6, 2015, Sanders discussed his opposition to President Obama's decision “to deploy special operation forces to Syria to help battle ISIS. Pointing out he had opposed the Iraq war from the beginning, unlike Clinton, the Vermont senator said he did ‘not want to see us get in — sucked into a quagmire of which there may be no end,’” according to NPR.[80]
- During the first Democratic debate, October 13, 2015, Sanders was asked how he could be commander-in-chief given that he was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War. Sanders responded, "I am not a pacifist... I supported the war in Afghanistan. I supported President Clinton's effort to deal with ethnic cleansing in Kosovo. I support air strikes in Syria and what the president is trying to do. Yes, I happen to believe from the bottom of my heart that war should be the last resort that we have got to exercise diplomacy. But yes, I am prepared to take this country into war if that is necessary.”[81]
International relations
- Bernie Sanders was one of 17 U.S. senators who declined to sign a letter advocating for an increase in the amount of military aid given to Israel. The country receives $3 billion per year, more than any other nation.[82]
- On March 20, 2016, Sanders commented on President Obama’s trip to Cuba in a statement, saying, “I applaud President Obama for making history by traveling to Cuba and moving relations between our two countries into a new era. I continue to stand by his calls for Congress to fully lift the failed embargo. … fifty years of cold war is enough. It is time for Cuba and the United States to turn the page and normalize relations.”[83]
- Sanders announced on March 18, 2016, that he would not attend the American Israel Public Affairs Committee Conference on Monday due to a scheduling conflict, making him the only major presidential candidate not to attend the conference. He wrote in a letter to the organization that "issues impacting Israel and the Middle East are of the utmost importance to me, to our country and to the world."[84]
- In response to North Korea’s claim that it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb, Bernie Sanders said January 6, 2016, the U.S. “is going to have to lean on China.” He continued, “China is North Korea's closest ally and they're going to have to push North Korea to start adhering to international agreements.”[85]
- Sanders wrote a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman on September 28, 2015, asking the Obama administration to support a proposal that would make some of the world’s poorest countries exempt from restrictions that hike drug prices. Sanders wrote, "Making sure people in poor countries have access to life-saving medicine is our moral responsibility. I respectfully ask you to reconsider this position."[86]
ISIS and terrorism
- At the third Democratic primary debate on December 19, 2015, Bernie Sanders discussed the feasibility of forging greater alliances against ISIS in the Middle East: “This is a war for the soul of Islam. The troops on the ground should not be American troops. They should be Muslim troops. I believe that countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar have got to step up to the plate, have got to contribute the money that we need, and the troops that we need, to destroy ISIS with American support. … My plan is to make it work, to tell Saudi Arabia that instead of going to war in Yemen, they, one of the wealthiest countries on Earth, are going to have to go to war against ISIS. To tell Qatar, that instead of spending $200 billion on the World Cup, maybe they should pay attention to ISIS, which is at their doorstep.”[87]
- Sanders said on December 6, 2016, that “Muslim nations” should lead the effort to combat the Islamic State with support from the U.S., the United Kingdom, France, Russia and Iran. "It is the Muslim nations that are fighting for the soul of Islam who have got to lead the effort in crushing ISIS,” he said.[88]
- During a speech at Simpson College in Iowa on November 15, 2015, Sanders recommended that Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia join the U.S. in fighting the Islamic State. He said, “We have different points of view ... but Russia has got to join us. We are concerned about Iran, but Iran has to join us. We have concerns about Saudi Arabia, but Saudi Arabia has to join us. If all over the world these attacks are taking place, the world has got to come together."
- When CBS' Democratic debate moderator John Dickerson asked Sanders if he still believed that "the greatest threat to national security was climate change," Sanders replied, "Absolutely. In fact, climate change is directly related to the growth of terrorism. And if we do not get our act together and listen to what the scientists say, you're going to see countries all over the world—this is what the CIA says—they're going to be struggling over limited amounts of water, limited amounts of land to grow their crops ask you're going to see all kinds of international conflict. But, of course, international terrorism is a major issue that we have got to address today. And I agree with much of what the Secretary and the Governor have said. But let me have one area of disagreement with the Secretary. I think she said something like the bulk of the responsibility is not ours. Well, in fact, I would argue that the disastrous invasion of Iraq, something that I strongly opposed, has unraveled the region completely and led to the rise of al-Qaeda and to ISIS. Now, in fact, what we have got to do—and I think there is widespread agreement here—is the United States cannot do it alone. What we need to do is lead an international coalition which includes very significantly the Muslim nations in that region who are going to have to fight and defend their way of life."[89]
- When asked to clarify his comments about Clinton's vote to go to war in Iraq, Sanders said, "I don't think any sensible person would disagree that the invasion of Iraq led to the massive level of instability we are seeing right now. I think that was one of the worst foreign policy blunders in the more than history of the United States."[89]
- Sanders also discussed how to approach the chaos in the Middle East during the debate. He said, "But here's something that I believe we have to do as we put together an international coalition, and that is we have to understand that the Muslim nations in the region—Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, Jordan—all of these nations, they're going to have to get their hands dirty, their boots on the ground. They are going to have to take on ISIS. This is a war for the soul of Islam. And those countries who are opposed to Islam, they are going to have to get deeply involved in a way that is not the case today. We should be supportive of that effort. So should the UK, so should France. But those Muslim countries are going to have to lead the effort. They are not doing it now."[89]
Syrian refugees
- In an interview with Yahoo Global News anchor Katie Couric published on November 17, 2015, Sanders discussed how the U.S. should respond to the terrorist attacks in Paris. He said, “What we have got to be is not just strong and tough, but we have got to be smart. I think in terms of the refugees, clearly it goes without saying that any refugee coming into this country has got to be vetted, but to simply say that when hundreds of thousands of people are fleeing Syria, are fleeing Afghanistan, that we or Europe or the Gulf region will turn our backs on those people, I don’t think that’s what America is about.”[90]
Domestic
Federalism
| CANDIDATE SUMMARY | |
Judiciary
- On March 16, 2016, Bernie Sanders issued a statement on the nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. “Judge Garland is a strong nominee with decades of experience on the bench. My Republican colleagues have called Judge Garland a ‘consensus nominee’ and said that there is ‘no question’ he could be confirmed. Refusing to hold hearings on the president’s nominee would be unprecedented. President Obama has done his job. It’s time for Republicans to do theirs. I call on Sen. Grassley to hold confirmation hearings immediately and for Leader McConnell to bring the nomination to floor of the Senate if Judge Garland is approved by the Judiciary Committee,” he said.[91]
- Bernie Sanders released the following statement on Scalia's death on February 13, 2016: "While I differed with Justice Scalia’s views and jurisprudence, he was a brilliant, colorful and outspoken member of the Supreme Court. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and his colleagues on the court who mourn his passing."[92]
- In response to oral arguments earlier this week in the Supreme Court case, Evenwel v. Abbott, Sanders' campaign released a December 9, 2015 statement: “We need to preserve a fair system of representation in this country that does not disadvantage communities of color and our children. Evenwel tragically makes invisible a large segment of the American people, including young people under 18. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Latinos are the nation’s youngest ethnic group. As a result, areas with large Latino populations will be adversely impacted when it comes to representation in state legislatures. Evenwel could result in 55 percent of the Latino population nationwide being underrepresented. Once again, we have people trying to rig the electoral system to try to dictate an outcome in favor of the right wing.”[93]
- On September 28, 2015, Sanders said that one measure for a potential Supreme Court nominee would be whether he or she would prioritize overturning Citizens United. "I do not exaggerate when I tell you that the foundations of American democracy are being undermined," Sanders said. "American democracy is not supposed to be about billionaires buying elections."[94]
- In December 2011, Sanders said, "In my view, history will record that the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision is one of the worst decisions ever made by a Supreme Court in the history of our country."[95]
- In August 2010, Sanders voted to confirm Elena Kagan as a United States Supreme Court Justice.[96]
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- On July 28, 2015, Bernie Sanders said he supported unionization and neutrality checks for the media. “It is hard to have a vibrant democracy, where people are hearing all kinds of ideas from different perspectives, when you have a handful of multinational corporations controlling the flow of information. And to a very significant degree, that is the case right now. For example, there have been studies out there taking a hard look at how the Trans-Pacific Partnership was covered and to the degree that it was covered. And the result is there was almost no coverage on network news about the most important trade agreement in the history of this country. Is that an accident? Who determined that the TPP, covering 40 percent of the world’s economy, was not a significant issue? So I very much worry about media consolidation. I think all workers in whatever area — it’s not just the media — do have a right to form a union without harassment on the part of their employers,” Sanders said.[97]
- In December 2011, Sanders "proposed an amendment to the Constitution to exclude corporations from First Amendment rights to spend money on political campaigns," according to The Hill. Sanders said, "In my view, corporations should not be able to go into their treasuries and spend millions and millions of dollars on a campaign in order to buy elections. I do not believe that is what American democracy is supposed to be about."[95]
- In 1998, Sanders voted against H.J.Res.78 - Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States restoring religious freedom, which proposed securing "the people's right to acknowledge God according to the dictates of conscience, neither the United States nor any State shall establish any official religion, but the people's right to pray and to recognize their religious beliefs, heritage, or traditions on public property, including schools, shall not be infringed; and (2) neither the United States nor any State shall require any person to join in prayer or other religious activity, prescribe school prayers, discriminate against religion, or deny equal access to a benefit on account of religion."[98]
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)
- During an April 1 interview with Bloomberg Politics, Bernie Sanders criticized Indiana Governor Mike Pence and Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act. He said, "I think that [Pence] is on the wrong side of history. This country has made huge progress in ending discrimination toward the gay community. Legislation like what he’s supporting is outrageous."[99]
Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- On April 6, 2016, Bernie Sanders campaign spokesman Michael Briggs issued a statement on Sanders’ gun control policy after the candidate received sharp criticism from a family member of a Sandy Hook school shooting victim and others for saying that Sandy Hook families should not be permitted to sue gun manufacturers. Erica Smegielski, the daughter of the school’s principal, requested that Sanders offer an “apology for putting the gun lobby above our families.” Briggs said that Sanders “supports President Obama's efforts to end gun violence. He voted for the legislation considered by the Senate after Sandy Hook. He has a clear and consistent record on the issue.”[100]
- Hillary Clinton commented in an interview on CNN, “When it comes to guns we have a really serious difference and I was appalled that Sen. Sanders said he really didn't see any reason for the parents children massacred at Sandy Hook in Connecticut to try and be able to sue the gun makers.”[101]
- In response, Sanders told reporters that “maybe Sec. Clinton might want to apologize to the families who lost their loved ones in Iraq or to the massive levels of destabilization we’re seeing in that region.”[102]
- At the seventh Democratic debate on March 6, 2016, Sanders discussed whether firearms distributors should be held legally responsible for how their product is used. He said, “Well, this is what I say, if I understand it — and correct me if I’m wrong. If you go to a gun store and you legally purchase a gun, and then, three days later, if you go out and start killing people, is the point of this lawsuit to hold the gun shop owner or the manufacturer of that gun liable? If that is the point, I have to tell you I disagree. I disagree because you hold people — in terms of this liability thing, where you hold manufacturers’ liability is if they understand that they’re selling guns into an area that — it’s getting into the hands of criminals, of course they should be held liable. But if they are selling a product to a person who buys it legally, what you’re really talking about is ending gun manufacturing in America. I don’t agree with that.” [103] On March 7, 2016, the National Rifle Association sent out a tweet praising Sanders' stance on this issue, saying, “Sen. Sanders was spot-on in his comments about gun manufacturer liability/PLCAA.”[104]
- During the fourth Democratic presidential primary debate on January 17, 2016, Bernie Sanders reacted to Hillary Clinton calling him "a pretty reliable vote for the gun lobby” and his record on guns: “Well, I think Secretary Clinton knows that what she says is very disingenuous. I have a D-minus voting record from the NRA. I was in 1988, there were three candidates running for congress in the state of Vermont, I stood up to the gun lobby and came out and maintained the position that in this country we should not be selling military style assault weapons. I have supported from day one and instant background check to make certain that people who should have guns do not have guns. And that includes people of criminal backgrounds, people who are mentally unstable. I support what President Obama is doing in terms of trying to close the gun show loop holes and I think it should be a federal crime if people act as dormant.(ph) We have seen in this city a horrendous tragedy of a crazed person praying with people in the coming up and shooting nine people. This should not be a political issue. What we should be doing is working together. And by the way, as a senator from a rural state that has virtually no gun control, I believe that I am in an excellent position to bring people together to fight the sensible. … What I have said, is that gun manufacturer's liability bill has some good provisions among other things, we've prohibited ammunition that would've killed cops who had protection on. We have child safety protection work on guns in that legislation. And what we also said, ‘is a small mom and pop gun shop who sells a gun legally to somebody should not be held liable if somebody does something terrible with that gun.’ So what I said is, ‘I would re-look at it.’ We are going to re- look at it and I will support stronger provisions.”[105]
- On January 11, 2016, Sanders’ campaign manager Jeff Weaver dismissed Clinton’s criticism of Sanders’ record on gun control because she “has been all over the map on guns.” He said, “I think her argument would be much more compelling if she had a consistent record on this issue."[106]
Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- Bernie Sanders said on February 18, 2016, that there has to be a “middle ground” between the government and Apple on the issue of gaining access to a San Bernardino, Calif. terrorist’s iPhone data. “I am very fearful in America about big brother. And that means not only the federal government getting into your emails or knowing what books you're taking out of the library, or private corporations knowing everything there is to know about you in terms of your health records, your banking records, your consumer practices. … Clearly all of us would be very dismayed if we learned that we could've picked up information about a potential terrorist act and we didn't do that. … But count me in as somebody who is a very strong civil libertarian, who believes that we can fight terrorism without undermining our constitutional rights and our privacy rights,” Sanders said during a televised town hall on MSNBC.[107] Apple argued against cooperating with the government in a February 16, 2016, open letter citing concerns that the move would render all iPhones vulnerable by creating a master key that would be able to open other phones.[108]
- A spokesman for Sanders' campaign raised concerns about government surveillance of private citizens, including “the lack of privacy consumers have, and how their information is often unwittingly collected, shared, and sold,” Vice reporter October 20, 2015.[109]
USA FREEDOM Act of 2015
On June 2, 2015, the Senate passed HR 2048 - the Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ensuring Effective Discipline Over Monitoring Act of 2015 or the USA FREEDOM Act of 2015 by a vote of 67-32. The legislation revised HR 3199 - the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 by terminating the bulk collection of metadata under Sec. 215 of the act, requiring increased reporting from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and requiring the use of "a specific selection term as the basis for national security letters that request information from wire or electronic communication service providers, financial institutions, or consumer reporting agencies." Sanders voted with 30 Republicans and one Democrat against the legislation. It became law on June 2, 2015.[110][111]
Territories
- On May 20, 2016, Bernie Sanders criticized the U.S. House bill proposed last week to address the Puerto Rican debt crisis. “We cannot allow Senate Majority Leader McConnell and Speaker Ryan to determine the fate of Puerto Rico by handpicking a majority of the control board’s members, while the people of Puerto Rico would be in charge of choosing none. That may make sense to groups representing Wall Street, but it makes absolutely no sense to me. Among other efforts, what Congress should do is to act immediately to give Puerto Rico the same authority granted to every municipality in this country to restructure its debt under the supervision of a bankruptcy court,” he said in a statement.[112] [113]
- While campaigning in Puerto Rico on May 16, 2016, Sanders said that it was “unacceptable to me for the United States government to treat Puerto Rico like a colony during a time when its people are facing the worst fiscal and economic crisis in its history.” He said that he opposed calls from “the vulture capitalists on Wall Street” for more austerity. Sanders argued that the Federal Reserve should use its emergency authority to allow for the restructuring of Puerto Rico’s debt. “I believe that Congress should act immediately to give Puerto Rico the same authority granted to every municipality in this country to restructure its debt under the supervision of a bankruptcy court,” he added.[114]
- On March 15, 2016, Bernie Sanders released a policy paper on Puerto Rico and its debt crisis. “As president, Bernie would fight to empower the people of Puerto Rico to determine their own destiny. As president, Senator Sanders would fight for a US congressionally sanctioned and binding referendum where the Puerto Rican people would be able to decide on whether to become a state, an independent country, or to reform the current commonwealth agreement,” according to his campaign website. He also argued in favor of giving Puerto Rico access to Chapter 9 bankruptcy protections to restructure its debt.[115][116]
Crime and justice
- The Huffington Post reported on May 25, 2016, that Bernie Sanders objected to capital punishment for the accused South Carolina church shooter Dylann Roof. Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs wrote in an email, “Sen. Sanders opposes the death penalty. He believes those who are convicted of the most horrible crimes should be imprisoned for the rest of their lives without the possibility of parole.”[117]
- Sanders appeared to express support for the Adult Use of Marijuana Initiative Act during a rally in East Los Angeles on May 23, 2016. He said, “I have introduced legislation and will implement as president, taking marijuana out of the federal controlled substance act. Now all you know, all you know, that the legalization of marijuana, that decision is made on the statewide level. You know that four states plus D.C. have already made that decision. You all know there's going to be a ballot item on in California in November. And I think it makes sense to legalize marijuana at this particular point. So if I were here in your state, I would vote yes on that issue.”[118]
- During the ninth Democratic debate on April 14, 2016, NY1 political anchor Errol Louis asked Bernie Sanders how he will reduce the number of individuals who are incarcerated. Sanders responded, “We’re going to work with state governments all over this country. And you know what? In a very divided Congress, and a very divided politics in America, actually the one area where there is some common ground is conservatives understand that it’s insane to be spending $80 billion a year locking up 2.2 million people. With federal and presidential leadership, we will work with state governments to make sure that people are released from jail under strong supervision, that they get the kind of job training and education they need so they can return to their communities. On this one, Errol, actually I think you’re going to see progressive and conservative support. We can do it, if we’re prepared to be bold.”[119]
- While speaking at an event in Minneapolis, Minn. on February 12, 2016, hosted by Neighborhoods Organizing for Change, Bernie Sanders addressed problems facing the black community and the economically disadvantaged. A woman attending the event said to Sanders, “So the question, specifically, my black son—O.K. I know you’re scared to say ‘black.’ I know you’re scared to say ‘reparations.’ But it seems like every time we try to talk about black people and us getting something for the systematic oppression and the exploitation of our people, we have to include every other person of color, so today can we please talk about, specifically, black people and reparations?” Sanders replied, “What I just indicated in my view is that when you have—and you and I may have disagreements about this, because it’s not just black. It is Latino. There are areas of America, in poor rural areas, where it’s white. So I believe that in a country which has more income and wealth inequality than any other country, then yeah, the time is long overdue to start investing in poor [communities].” When someone yelled, “say black,” Sanders shot back, “I’ve said ‘black’ 50 times. All right, that’s the 51st time, but this is a national issue. What we want, and what I believe we should do is invest most heavily in those communities most in need.” Sanders also addressed allowing people who have served time in prison to regain their voting rights. He said, “This is just part of the whole business of voter suppression …my view is, people serve the time, that’s it. They have the right to vote, period.”[120][121]
- At the sixth Democratic presidential primary on February 11, 2016, Sanders talked about reducing the incarceration rate of black men: “This is one of the great tragedies in our country today. And we can no longer continue to sweep it under the rug. It has to be dealt with. Today a male African-American baby born today stands a one-in-four chance of ending up in jail. That is beyond unspeakable. So what we have to do is the radical reform of a broken criminal justice system. What we have to do is end over-policing in African- American neighborhoods. The reality is that both the African-American community and the white community do marijuana at about equal rates. The reality is four times as many blacks get arrested for marijuana. Truth is that far more blacks get stopped for traffic violations. The truth is that sentencing for blacks is higher than for whites. We need fundamental police reform, clearly, clearly, when we talk about a criminal justice system. I would hope that we could all agree that we are sick and tired of seeing videos on television of unarmed people, often African-Americans, shot by police officers. What we have got to do is make it clear that any police officer who breaks the law will, in fact, be held accountable.”[122]
Executive powers
- Bernie Sanders voted against S.Amdt.499 to S.679, which proposed ending "the appointments of presidential Czars who have not been subject to the advice and consent of the Senate and to prohibit funds for any salaries and expenses for appointed Czars."[123][124]
Infrastructure
- In August 2015, Bernie Sanders wrote a letter to Postmaster General Megan Brennan to encourage her to reinstate regional overnight delivery standards. “The serious slowdown in mail service has been felt by communities all across the country, but it has been particularly acute in rural areas. … This delay means that some of the most vulnerable people in this country are going without the medications they need, or they are being forced to travel long distances because they cannot rely on the timely delivery of mail,” Sanders said.[125][126]
Natural resources
| CANDIDATE SUMMARY | |
Energy development
- Bernie Sanders called for a nationwide ban on fracking during a rally in Binghamton, New York, on April 11, 2016. “In my view, if we are serious about safe and clean drinking water, if we are serious about clean air. If we are serious about combating climate change, we need to put an end to fracking not only in New York and Vermont, but all over this country,” he said.[127][128]
- Calling for the closure of the nuclear power plant Indian Point in New York, Sanders said in a statement on April 4, 2016, "I am very concerned that the Indian Power nuclear power reactor is more than ever before a catastrophe waiting to happen. In my view, we cannot sit idly by and hope that the unthinkable will never happen. We must take action to shut this plant down in a safe and responsible way. It makes no sense to me to continue to operate a decaying nuclear reactor within 25 miles of New York City where nearly 10 million people live."[129]
- On November 29, 2015, Sanders said he opposed the Northeast Energy Direct pipeline, a natural gas pipeline cutting through New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Karthik Ganapathy, Sanders’ New Hampshire communications director, explained the candidate’s opposition. “The truth is: there are lots of reasons to oppose this pipeline. There are justified concerns around abuse of eminent domain to seize private property, the route would go through historic towns and conservation sites and as with all pipelines, there could be leaks or spills,” he said.[130]
- Sanders introduced the Keep It in the Ground Act on November 4, 2015, aiming to prohibit offshore drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic, to stop new leases, and to end nonproducing leases for offshore drilling in the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico regions.[131]
Climate change
- While campaigning in West Virginia on May 5, 2016, Bernie Sanders said that he would work to assist coal-dependent communities impacted by his environmental policies. “While I strongly believe we need to combat climate change to make our planet habitable for our children and our grandchildren, let me be clear: We cannot abandon communities that have been dependent on coal and other fossil fuels. In my view, we have got to invest $41 billion rebuilding coal mining communities and making sure that Americans in McDowell County and all over this country receive the job training they need for the clean energy jobs of the future,” he said.[132]
- On February 8, 2016, Sanders signed a pledge to power at least half of the nation's energy needs with renewable sources by 2030. The pledge was devised by NextGen Climate, a San Francisco-based environmental advocacy organization that was founded by philanthropist, environmental activist, and Democratic donor Tom Steyer in 2013. The group is affiliated with NextGen Climate Action, a super PAC.[133]
- On January 20, 2016, Sanders discussed climate change “after the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that 2015 was the hottest year on record,” according to CNN. Sanders said, "This planet and its people are in trouble. Unless we get our act together, we will see in years to come more droughts, more floods and more extreme weather disturbances. … It is absolutely vital that we act boldly to move our energy system away from fossil fuels. That's why I have proposed a comprehensive plan to put people before polluters and reduce carbon emissions 80 percent by 2050 by putting a tax on carbon and making aggressive investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency."[134]
- In a press release on December 12, 2015, Sanders said the Paris Agreement on climate change “goes nowhere near far enough” to address carbon emissions. “The planet is in crisis. We need bold action in the very near future and this does not provide that. In the United States we have a Republican Party which is much more interested in contributions from the fossil fuel industry than they care about the future of the planet. That is true all over the globe. We’ve got to stand up to the fossil fuel industry and fight for national and international legislation that transforms our energy system away from fossil fuel as quickly as possible,” said Sanders.[135]
- On December 10, 2015, Sanders introduced the Climate Protection Justice Act “to establish a price on carbon pollution” and “cut total emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, fund historic investments in energy efficiency and sustainable energy technologies, return billions of dollars to working families and protect the most vulnerable communities.”[136][137]
Environmental Protection Agency
- Bernie Sanders co-sponsored S.2905 - the Carbon Pollution Transparency Act of 2014, which proposed requiring "the Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to calculate a carbon score for legislation. Requires the score to include projected net greenhouse gas emissions that would result from enactment and implementation of a bill or resolution and the appropriation of any amounts authorized in the legislation. Directs CBO to include the carbon score when carrying out provisions of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 requiring a cost estimate for each bill or resolution reported by any congressional committee except the appropriations committees."[138]
Healthcare
| CANDIDATE SUMMARY | |
- On May 14, 2016, Bernie Sanders called on Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump to join him in supporting the California Drug Price Standards Initiative, which would prevent the state from paying for prescription drugs at a rate higher than the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs does.[139]
- Sanders released a statement on May 12, 2016, against the ruling in U.S. House of Representatives v. Burwell, where U.S. District Judge Rosemary M. Collyer held that the Obama administration unconstitutionally spent $2 billion to offset the cost of the Affordable Care Act. “At a time when the United States is the only major country on earth that doesn’t guarantee health care to all Americans – and 29 million people still lack insurance – it would be a disaster to throw millions of low-income Americans off health insurance. I fully expect that today’s decision will be reversed,” Sanders said.[140]
- The Urban Institute released this analysis of Sanders’ single-payer healthcare plan on May 9, 2016: “His system would cover all medically necessary care, including long-term care, without cost-sharing. We estimate that the approach would decrease the uninsured by 28.3 million people in 2017. National health expenditures would increase by $6.6 trillion between 2017 and 2026, while federal expenditures would increase by $32.0 trillion over that period. Sanders’s revenue proposals, intended to finance all health and nonhealth spending he proposed, would raise $15.3 trillion from 2017 to 2026—thus, the proposed taxes are much too low to fully finance his health plan.”[141]
- Along with U.S. Reps. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Bernie Sanders is leading the effort to encourage the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to address the cost of the prostate cancer drug Xtandi. "The United States government should use every tool available to lower outrageously high prescription drug prices. NIH has the power to stop this blatant profiteering and put the pharmaceutical industry on notice that the era of charging unconscionable prices must end,” Sanders said in a press release on March 28, 2016.[142]
- Bernie Sanders issued a plan on March 14, 2016, to address the affordability of drugs for individuals with HIV and AIDS. Its foundation would be a $3 billion “Prize Fund for HIV/AIDS” to support innovation in drug research. “The Prize Fund would reward medical researchers and developers of medicines based primarily upon the added therapeutic value a new treatment offers and the number of people it benefits. Instead of a system where the market is manipulated to keep out all competition, companies would be rewarded for their innovation with a cash prize for their medical innovations, rather than through the grant of a monopoly. Under Bernie’s plan, drugs would have generic competition immediately after FDA approval,” according to a white paper posted to Sanders’ campaign website.[143][144]
Immigration
| CANDIDATE SUMMARY | |
- Sanders visited the U.S.-Mexico border on May 21, 2016, where he promised action on immigration reform if elected president. “I would hope that the Republicans in Congress understand that we have a very, very broken immigration system and that it must be reformed and that they should in fact work with Democrats to pass comprehensive immigration reform. If not and if I am elected president of the United States, I will use the executive powers that the president has to do that the best that I can,” said Sanders.[145]
- Sanders said on May 12, 2016, that he continues to oppose “the painful and inhumane business of locking up and deporting families who have fled horrendous violence in Central America and other countries,” following reports that the Obama administration would be conducting large-scale immigration raids.[146]
- At a press conference in Arizona on March 20, 2016, Sanders called the current debate over illegal immigration “a trumped up and exaggerated problem.” He continued, “We don’t need a wall and we don't need barbwire. We need to fix our broken criminal justice system. First and foremost, it goes without saying that we need comprehensive immigration reform, we need to take 11 million undocumented people out of the shadows, out of fear, and we need to provide them with legal protection, and we need to provide them with a path toward citizenship."[147]
- At the sixth Democratic presidential primary on February 11, 2016, Bernie Sanders talked about President Obama’s deportation policies and comprehensive Immigration reform: “Secretary Clinton, I do have a disagreement here. If my memory is correct, I think when we saw children coming from these horrendous, horrendously violent areas of Honduras and neighboring countries, people who are fleeing drug violence and cartel violence, I thought it was a good idea to allow those children to stay in this country. That was not, as I understand it, the secretary's position. In terms of 2007 immigration reform, yeah, I did vote against it. I voted against it because the Southern Poverty Law Center, among other groups, said that the guest-worker programs that were embedded in this agreement were akin to slavery. Akin to slavery, where people came into this country to do guest work were abused, were exploited, and if they stood up for their rights, they'd be thrown out of this country. So it wasn't just me who opposed it. It was LULAC, one of the large Latino organizations in this country. It was the AFL-CIO. It was some of the most progressive members of the United States Congress who opposed it for that reason. But we are where we are right now. And where we are right now is we have got to stand up to the Trumps of the world who are trying to divide us up. What we have to do right now is bring our people together and understand that we must provide a path towards citizenship for 11 million undocumented people.”[148]
- In a letter to President Obama on January 7, 2016, Sanders called for the end of “inhumane” deportation raids on families from Central America. He urged the president to use his executive authority to grant Temporary Protected Status to the families on the basis that they have fled from extreme violence and persecution.[149]
Education
| CANDIDATE SUMMARY | |
- On April 21, 2016, the Brookings Institution released an analysis of Sanders’ proposal to make college free, finding that it would disproportionately benefit students from higher income brackets. “Under the Sanders free college proposal, families from the top half of the income distribution would receive 24 percent more in dollar value from eliminating tuition than students from the lower half of the income distribution. The non-tuition costs of attending college, including living expenses, are larger than the costs of tuition and fees for most students. Free college, which does not address these expenses, leaves families from the bottom half of the income distribution with nearly $18 billion in annual out-of-pocket college costs that would not be covered by existing federal, state, and institutional grant programs,” the think tank reported.[150][151]
- At the third Democratic primary debate on December 19, 2015, Bernie Sanders talked about his proposal to provide free college tuition: “It is insane to my mind, hundreds of thousands of young people today, bright qualified people, cannot go to college because they cannot afford -- their families cannot afford to send them. Millions coming out of school as you indicated, deeply in debt. What do we do? My proposal is to put a speculation tax on wall street [sic], raise very substantial sums of money, not only make public colleges and universities tuition-free, but also substantially lower interest rates on student debt. You have families out there paying 6 percent, 8 percent, 10 percent on student debt, refinance their homes at 3 percent.”[152]
- On December 11, 2015, Sanders wrote to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) to ask him to support salary increases for City University of New York (CUNY) professors. “As a college degree becomes increasingly important for economic security in our vastly unequal society, CUNY has historically represented the possibility that a college education of the highest quality could be accessible to all. It should continue to represent that possibility. That is why I am troubled by New York State’s refusal so far to invest in a fair contract for the university’s faculty and staff,” Sanders wrote.[153]
- In an op-ed in The Washington Poston October 22, 2015, Sanders advocated for tuition-free public colleges and universities. Sanders wrote, “An important pathway to the middle class now runs through higher education, but rising costs are making it harder and harder for ordinary Americans to get the education they want and need. In 1978, it was possible to earn enough money to pay for a year of college tuition just by working a summer job that paid minimum wage. Today, it would take a minimum wage worker an entire year to earn enough to cover the annual in-state tuition at a public university. And that’s why so many bright young people don’t go to college, don’t finish or graduate deeply in debt.”[154]
- Sanders voted against H.R.1 - the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. It became law on January 8, 2002.[155]
Abortion
| CANDIDATE SUMMARY | |
- On June 27, 2016, after the United States Supreme Court struck down two provisions in Texas House Bill 2 that regulated abortion, Bernie Sanders released the following statement: “Today the Supreme Court reaffirmed that access to a safe and legal abortion is a woman’s constitutional right, a right which cannot be blocked by extreme, Republican politicians. This is a decisive victory for women across the country. After all the progress we have made on women’s rights, we cannot go back to the days when women in America did not have the right to control their own bodies.”[156]
- Bernie Sanders committed on January 22, 2016, to rescinding the Hyde Amendment, which prevents the use of taxpayer dollars to fund abortion services. He said in a statement, “As president, and as someone who has a 100 percent pro-choice voting record in Congress, I will do everything that I can to protect and preserve a woman’s right to an abortion. Women must have full control over their reproductive health in order to have full control over their lives. We must rescind the Hyde Amendment and resist attempts by states to erect roadblocks to abortion.”[157]
- On September 2, 2015, Sanders sent the following tweet about protecting funding for Planned Parenthood:
- On July 29, 2015, Sanders released the following statement about the Republican effort to defund Planned Parenthood: "The attempt by Senate Republicans to cut off support for Planned Parenthood is an attack on women’s health. Stripping funding for Planned Parenthood would punish the 2.7 million Americans, especially low-income women, who rely on its clinics for affordable, quality health care services including cancer prevention, STI and HIV testing and general primary health care services. The current attempt to discredit Planned Parenthood is part of a long-term smear campaign by people who want to deny women in this country the right to control their own bodies."[158]
- Sanders voted against HR 1833 - Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 1995, which proposed making it a crime to perform a partial-birth abortion, "except where such an abortion is necessary to save the life of a mother endangered by a physical disorder, illness, or injury, provided that no other medical procedure would suffice."[159]
Gay rights
| CANDIDATE SUMMARY | |
- Bernie Sanders voted against H.J.Res.88 - the Marriage Protection Amendment, which proposed declaring "that: (1) marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman; and (2) neither the U.S. Constitution nor the constitution of any state shall be construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents of marriage be conferred upon any other union."[160]
Obergefell v. Hodges
- On June 26, 2015, Bernie Sanders issued the following statement on his Senate website to commemorate Obergefell v. Hodges: “Today the Supreme Court fulfilled the words engraved upon its building: ‘Equal justice under law.’ This decision is a victory for same-sex couples across our country as well as all those seeking to live in a nation where every citizen is afforded equal rights. For far too long our justice system has marginalized the gay community and I am very glad the Court has finally caught up to the American people.”[161]
Transgender restroom access
- After North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) signed House Bill 2 into law on March 24, 2016, Bernie Sanders tweeted, “It's time to end discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. This law has no place in America.”[162]
- In a March 30, 2016, interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, Sanders was asked whether, as a “fierce critic of the influence of the wealthy and big business on our politics,” he thought big business should try to wield political influence and weigh in against new laws that are discriminatory against LGBT people. Sanders responded, “Well, you know, look, they have — when we look at politics in America, you have CEOs of major corporations, who have children who are gay, who have friends who are gay, whose wives or daughters have had abortions. They live in the real world, and they’re responding to this type of very right-wing reactionary policies, and I understand that, and I appreciate that. When I talk about money in politics, what I talk about is the Koch Brothers and billionaires, spending hundreds of millions of dollars, along with Wall Street, to create a situation where politics — politicians will be elected who represent the wealthy and the powerful.”[163]
Urban policy
- On January 16, 2016, Bernie Sanders released the following statement calling on Mich. Gov. Rick Snyder to resign for failing to properly deal with the water contamination in Flint, Michigan: "There are no excuses. The governor long ago knew about the lead in Flint’s water. He did nothing. As a result, hundreds of children were poisoned. Thousands may have been exposed to potential brain damage from lead. Gov. Snyder should resign. ... Because of the conduct by Gov. Snyder’s administration and his refusal to take responsibility, families will suffer from lead poisoning for the rest of their lives. Children in Flint will be plagued with brain damage and other health problems. The people of Flint deserve more than an apology."[164]
- On his 2016 presidential campaign website, Sanders expressed support for the following law enforcement reforms: the demilitarization of the police, investment in community policing, increased diversity in the police force, federally funded body cameras and a new set of standards for the allowable use of force. Sanders also criticized the legal environment for over-incentivizing imprisonment. He argued in favor of eliminating mandatory sentencing minimums, increasing the use of drug courts and launching investigations into local governments using implicit or explicit arrest quotes.[165]
- BuzzFeed reported on August 15, 2015, that Sanders' director of African-American outreach, Marcus Ferrell, sent an email to Black Lives Matter to apologize for not reaching out sooner. "I am reaching out to you on behalf of our campaign because you are the folks doing the work for Black Lives Matter. I apologize it took our campaign so long to officially reach out. We are hoping to establish a REAL space for REAL dialog between the folks on this email and our campaign," Ferrell wrote.[166] Sanders claimed the letter had been sent "without [his] knowledge" during an appearance on CNN's "Meet the Press" on August 16, 2015. He added, "Let me be very clear: the issue that they’re raising is a very, very important one. And there’s no candidate for president that would be stronger in fighting against institutional racism and, by the way, reforming a broken criminal justice system.”[167]
- On August 9, 2015, Symone Sanders, a Black Lives Matter activist, introduced herself at a rally for Bernie Sanders in Portland, Oregon, as the candidate's new national press secretary. "I am joining the campaign this week as the national press secretary. I have some good information that says there might be a little disruption tonight. So: I wanna be very clear. This campaign is about bringing people together," she said. To counteract any potential disruptions from Black Lives Matter demonstrators, Symone Sanders led the crowd in a chant of "We stand together."[168]
- On August 8, 2015, Sanders' Seattle, Washington, rally ended before it began after two Black Lives Matter activists took control of his microphone. Although organizers promised the activists that they would be given the opportunity to speak after Sanders addressed the crowd, they refused to relinquish control of the podium. Sanders waited for 20 minutes before he left the stage while the women spoke about unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, and the death of Michael Brown.[169] That same day, Sanders issued the following statement on his website: "I am disappointed that two people disrupted a rally attended by thousands at which I was invited to speak about fighting to protect Social Security and Medicare. I was especially disappointed because on criminal justice reform and the need to fight racism there is no other candidate for president who will fight harder than me.”[170]
- In his prepared remarks to the National Urban League in July 2015, Sanders discussed structural racism and police brutality. He said, "No, we will not tolerate racist police officers shooting black men in the back or yanking black women out of their cars for minor traffic violations. You know and I know that Sandra Bland would be alive today if she was a middle class white woman. That is unacceptable and that has got to change! We have got to say loudly and clearly that we will no longer tolerate police brutality in this country! We have got to come together as a nation and work to eliminate structural racism in this country."[171]
- As Sanders began to speak at the Netroots Nation conference on July 18, 2015, Black Lives Matter protesters chanted "save our men" and "say her name." Sanders responded, "Black lives of course matter. I spent 50 years of my life fighting for civil rights and dignity, but if you don’t want me to be here that’s OK. I don’t want to out-scream people.” He remained on stage for 20 minutes to briefly discuss criminal justice reform and racial inequality.[172][173]
- Although he acknowledged that some people in urban communities desire gun control because of gun violence, Sanders said in an NPR interview in May 2015 that serving as the U.S. senator for a rural state like Vermont gave him a different understanding of the issue. He said, "I think the people of Vermont and I have understood for many years that what guns are about in Vermont are not what guns are about in Chicago, Los Angeles or New York, where they're used not for hunting or target practice but to kill people. I think, interestingly enough, I'm in a very good position representing a rural state to bring forth common-sense legislation regarding guns." Sanders continued, "I can understand if some Democrats or Republicans represent an urban area where people don't hunt, don't do target practice, they're not into guns. But in my state, people go hunting and do target practice. Talking about cultural divides in this country, you know, it is important for people in urban America to understand that families go out together and kids go out together and they hunt and enjoy the outdoors and that is a lifestyle that should not be condemned."[174]
- In January 2015, Sanders introduced S 268 - Rebuild America Act of 2015, which would allocate $1 trillion over the following five years to improve infrastructure.[175]
- In 2008, Sanders supported the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act to address homelessness and the affordable housing crisis.[176]
- Sanders served as the mayor of Burlington, a small city in Vermont with a population of approximately 40,000 people, from 1981 to 1989. During his tenure, Sanders opposed the conversion of an affordable housing complex to higher market rentals by shepherding forward several restrictive ordinances that made the conversion difficult. According to The Nation, Sanders also supported economic development in the city by encouraging socially responsible companies like Seventh Generation and Gardeners Supply Company to establish their headquarters in Burlington.[177]
- In the early 1960s, Sanders was a civil rights activist who demonstrated against segregation in housing and public schools in Chicago, Illinois.[178]
Rural policy
- On his 2016 presidential campaign website, Bernie Sanders offered several proposals to improve the health of rural economies. He argued in support of the following actions:[179]
- Promote family farms instead of factory farms because it is "unacceptable" that four corporations control 63 percent to 85 percent of the U.S. beef cattle, soybean processing and pork processing markets.[179]
- Expand the services of the Department of Agriculture for new and underserved farmers.[179]
- Encourage the growth of regional food systems.[179]
- Reverse the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and similar trade agreements "that have flooded the American market with agricultural goods produced in countries with less stringent environmental, labor, and safety regulations."[179]
- Make permanent the Wind Production Tax Credit and continue to support the Renewable Fuel Standard.[179]
- Invest $50 billion to improve the condition of the electric grid.[179]
- Invest $25 billion over five years to improve broadband access in underserved and rural areas.[179]
- Invest $12 billion to reinforce dams and levees across the country.[179]
- In a December 2, 2015, Iowa Public Radio interview, Sanders commented on the new Renewable Fuel Standard level for 2016, which reduced the minimum amount of ethanol to be blended with gasoline. He said, “Well, I share that concern of Iowa corn growers, and I’ll tell you why. I happen to believe that climate change is the great environmental crisis that we face, and what the scientist [sic] tell us is that if we do not get our act together in the near future, a bad situation will become much worse. And what that means is that we have got to do everything we can to break our dependence on fossil fuel, move to energy efficiency and move to sustainable energy. I know Iowa has done a really great job in terms of wind, and in terms of biofuels, so I think we have to be supportive of that effort. And take every step that we could, and in every way we can including the growth of the biofuels industry to break our dependency on renewable fuels."[180]
- In 2009, Sanders voted in support of a bill to allow Amtrak passengers to transport firearms in their luggage.[181][182] He later defended this vote in November 2015, saying, “You can put unloaded guns into the baggage department of a plane. In other words, it’s not people carrying a gun on the train. It is putting them in baggage. You’ve got hunters who are going from Vermont to the Midwest, and they put their weapons unloaded in the cargo part. That’s the reason for it."[183]
- In 1996, Sanders voted against an amendment to House Res. 2854, which proposed to "phase out price supports for butter, powdered milk, and cheese over five years; consolidate federal milk marketing orders to 10-14 orders by the year 2001; allow the State of California to maintain its own fluid milk standards; and repeal the federal milk standards that would mandate adding milk solids to fluid milk."[184]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Bernie + Sanders + 2016
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ VPR, "Bernie Sanders To Announce Presidential Run," April 28, 2015
- ↑ Bernie 2016, "Portsmouth Organizing Event with Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton," July 12, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "Hillary Clinton breaks the glass ceiling," July 26, 2016
- ↑ Sanders.Senate.gov, "About," accessed April 9, 2015
- ↑ The New York Times, "A Vermont Senator Asks, Why Not a Socialist President?" accessed April 9, 2015
- ↑ Official Senate website, "Newsroom," accessed October 12, 2011
- ↑ VPR, "Bernie Sanders Is Streaming His Presidential Announcement On Periscope," April 30, 2015
- ↑ CNN, "Bernie Sanders takes aim at Wall Street in presidential launch," May 26, 2015
- ↑ Vermont Public Radio, "Senator Bernie Sanders Is 'Prepared' To Run For President," accessed March 10, 2014
- ↑ The Nation, "Bernie Sanders: ‘I Am Prepared to Run for President of the United States’," accessed March 10, 2014
- ↑ Politico, "Bernie Sanders: Don’t ‘anoint’ Clinton yet," accessed August 20, 2014
- ↑ United States Senate, "Senators Who Became President," accessed October 16, 2013
- ↑ Crowdpac, "2016 Presidential Election," accessed March 7, 2016
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Voter Identification Requirements|Voter ID Laws," March 9, 2023
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Do I need an ID to vote? A look at the laws in all 50 states," October 27, 2014
- ↑ Tax Policy Center, "An Analysis of Senator Bernie Sanders' Tax and Transfer Proposals," May 9, 2016
- ↑ FOX6Now.com, "http://fox6now.com/2016/03/29/sanders-tells-supporters-in-appleton-to-stand-together-unify-voters-in-wisconsin/," March 30, 2016
- ↑ The Hill, "Pelosi distances Democrats from Sanders' plan to raise taxes," January 27, 2016
- ↑ The New York Times, "Weakened at Bernie’s," January 19, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "Sanders, Clinton clash over his new 'Medicare for All' plan," January 17, 2016
- ↑ The New York Times, "Sanders Makes a Rare Pitch: More Taxes for More Government," January 22, 2016
- ↑ CNN Money, "How taxes would be much higher under President Bernie Sanders," January 19, 2016
- ↑ Vox, "Here's what the tax code would look like if Bernie Sanders got everything he wanted," January 22, 2016
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Bernie Sanders’s health-care plan is the biggest attack on the rich of this campaign," January 17, 2016
- ↑ The Des Moines Register, "Sanders: Drug 'merger' must be stopped," December 6, 2015
- ↑ Fortune, "Bernie Sanders Says He's Got a Plan to Save Puerto Rico," June 2, 2016
- ↑ The Washington Post, "The 4th Democratic debate transcript, annotated: Who said what and what it meant," January 17, 2016
- ↑ The Hill, "Senate rejects Paul’s push to audit the Fed," January 12, 2016
- ↑ Associated Press, "Sanders vowing to break up banks during first year in office," January 5, 2016
- ↑ The New York Times, "Bernie Sanders Attacks Hillary Clinton Over Regulating Wall Street," January 5, 2016
- ↑ The Wall Street Journal, "Bernie Sanders to Tell Wall Street: ‘Greed Is Not Good’," January 4, 2015
- ↑ The New York Times, "Bernie Sanders: To Rein In Wall Street, Fix the Fed," December 23, 2015
- ↑ NBC News, "Senate Reaches Deal on Labeling Genetically Modified Food," June 23, 2016
- ↑ U.S. Senator for Vermont, Bernie Sanders, "Sanders Statement on GMO Labeling Legislation," June 23, 2016
- ↑ The Atlantic, "Bernie Sanders' Highly Sensible Plan to Turn Post Offices Into Banks," October 20, 2015
- ↑ YouTube.com, "Sanders Calls for Stronger Financial Regulations," accessed April 8, 2015
- ↑ The New York Times, "Bernie Sanders: Democrats Need to Wake Up," June 28, 2016
- ↑ RealClearPolitics, "Bernie Sanders: 'Elizabeth Warren And I Will Help Lead The Effort' To Stop TPP," October 7, 2015
- ↑ The Huffington Post, "Democrats Must Fight To Defeat The Trans-Pacific Partnership," accessed July 11, 2016
- ↑ Twitter, "Bernie Sanders," accessed July 11, 2016
- ↑ Twitter, "Bernie Sanders," accessed July 11, 2016
- ↑ The Hill, "Sanders urges Dems to oppose holding TPP vote," June 27, 2016
- ↑ Twitter, "Bernie Sanders," June 6, 2016
- ↑ The Washington Post, "In Ohio, Hillary Clinton strengthens opposition to Trans-Pacific Partnership," accessed May 2, 2016
- ↑ CNN, "The Clinton-Sanders trade war," accessed May 2, 2016
- ↑ Twitter.com, "Bernie Sanders," accessed October 5, 2015
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Motion (Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 2146)," accessed September 7, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, "H.R. 1314 (Ensuring Tax Exempt Organizations the Right to Appeal Act)," accessed May 25, 2015
- ↑ Senate.gov, "H.R. 1314 (Ensuring Tax Exempt Organizations the Right to Appeal Act)," accessed May 25, 2015
- ↑ Sanders.Senate.gov, "Sanders Statement on Obama at Nike HQ," accessed May 12, 2015
- ↑ 52.0 52.1 Sanders.Senate.gov, "Sanders: Slow Down Fast Track," accessed May 12, 2015
- ↑ Talking Points Memo, "Bernie Sanders: Audit The Department Of Defense, Contractors Wasting Money While Soldiers Are On Food Stamps," December 29, 2015
- ↑ The Washington Post, "An interview with Bernie Sanders: Deficit Hawk," June 23, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, "H.R.2775," accessed April 8, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, "H.J.Res.1," accessed April 8, 2015
- ↑ Iowa Public Radio, "Bernie Sanders on National Security, Renewable Fuels, and His Age," December 2, 2015
- ↑ The Des Moines Register, "Ethanol producers criticize new EPA fuel standard," November 30, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, "H.Amdt.935 to H.R.2854," accessed April 7, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, "H.Amdt.934 to H.R.2854," accessed April 7, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, "S.1558," accessed April 8, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, "S.500," accessed April 8, 2015
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Bernie Sanders: Just say No to any entitlement benefits cuts," March 11, 2013
- ↑ Congress.gov, "H.R.3734," accessed April 8, 2015
- ↑ The Oregonian, "Bernie Sanders says he still has path to victory in Democratic primary," May 10, 2016
- ↑ WISHTV.com, "Bernie Sanders blasts Carrier parent company during Indy campaign stop," May 3, 2016
- ↑ The New York Times, "Transcript: Democratic Presidential Debate in Brooklyn," April 15, 2016
- ↑ Bernie Sanders for President, "Sanders Applauds Obama Action on Paid Sick Leave," September 7, 2015
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Bernie Sanders joins a picket line in Cedar Rapids," September 4, 2015
- ↑ CNN, "Sanders cites Iraq War to hit opponents over Iran deal," September 9, 2015
- ↑ The Hill, "Bernie Sanders hails Iran pact as 'a victory for diplomacy'," July 14, 2015
- ↑ Sanders.Senate.gov, "Framework of Iran Nuclear Deal Reached," accessed April 10, 2015
- ↑ CNN Politics, "Sanders stretched truth on VA record during debate, some vets say," October 14, 2015
- ↑ The Huffington Post, "Bernie Sanders Had A Great Response To War Hawks," September 3, 2015
- ↑ ABC News, "Bernie Sanders Applied for 'Conscientious Objector' Status During Vietnam, Campaign Confirms," August 31, 2015
- ↑ Congressional Quarterly, "Senate Committee List," accessed January 22, 2013
- ↑ Boston Globe, "Bernie Sanders an antiwar, pro-veteran senator," September 14, 2013
- ↑ Talking Points Memo "Sanders On Brussels Attacks: 'This Type Of Barbarism' Cannot Continue," March 22, 2016
- ↑ The New York Times, "Transcript of the Democratic Presidential Debate," February 5, 2016
- ↑ NPR, "Rivals' Gloves Come Off Against Clinton In Democratic Forum," November 7, 2015
- ↑ The Washington Post, "The CNN Democratic debate transcript, annotated," October 13, 2015
- ↑ Salon, "83% of senators call for boosting exorbitant U.S. aid to Israel; Bernie Sanders one of 17 who didn’t," April 25, 2016
- ↑ ABC News, "Donald Trump Tweets That Cuban Leader Raul Castro Has 'No Respect' for President Obama," March 21, 2016
- ↑ Talking Points Memo, "Bernie Sanders Won't Attend AIPAC Conference," March 18, 2016
- ↑ CBS News, "GOP candidates slam Obama, Clinton over N. Korea bomb claim," January 6, 2016
- ↑ HuffPost Politics, "Bernie Sanders Calls Out Obama Team On Global Drug Prices," September 29, 2015
- ↑ The Washington Post, "3rd Democratic debate transcript, annotated: Who said what and what it meant," December 19, 2015
- ↑ CBS News, "Sanders: Gun control no "magic formula" for terrorism," December 6, 2015
- ↑ 89.0 89.1 89.2 The Washington Post, "The CBS Democratic debate transcript, annotated," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ Yahoo News, "‘Yahoo News Live’: Bernie Sanders on Paris, IS, refugees and more," November 17, 2015
- ↑ Slate, "How Washington and Everyone Else Is Reacting to President Obama’s SCOTUS Pick," March 16, 2016
- ↑ Bernie Sanders for President, "Statement on Justice Scalia," February 13, 2016
- ↑ Bernie 2016, "Sanders Campaign Statement on Evenwel vs. Abbott," accessed December 11, 2015
- ↑ CNN, "Bernie Sanders' Supreme Court litmus test: Overturn Citizens United," September 29, 2015
- ↑ 95.0 95.1 The Hill, "Sanders proposes amendment to the Constitution that would limit free speech," accessed April 9, 2015
- ↑ GovTrack.us, "On the Nomination (Confirmation Elena Kagan of Massachusetts, to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the U.S.)," accessed April 8, 2015
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Politico’s Mike Elk presses Bernie Sanders on Politico unionization," July 28, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, "H.J.Res.78," accessed April 8, 2015
- ↑ Bloomberg Politics, "Democrats Turn Against Religious Freedom Laws. Voters Don't Agree With Them," accessed April 15, 2015
- ↑ CNN, "Sandy Hook family member wants Bernie Sanders apology over gun stance," April 6, 2016
- ↑ CNN, "Clinton to Sanders: 'I'm still considerably ahead'," April 6, 2016
- ↑ The Hill, "Sanders: Clinton should apologize to victims of Iraq War," April 6, 2016
- ↑ The New York Times, "Transcript of the Democratic Presidential Debate in Flint, Mich.," March 6, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "NRA praises Sanders in tweet," March 7, 2016
- ↑ The Washington Post, "The 4th Democratic debate transcript, annotated: Who said what and what it meant," January 17, 2016
- ↑ CNN Politics, "Sanders campaign manager: 'Clinton has been all over the map on guns'," January 11, 2016
- ↑ NBC News, "Transcript: MSNBC and Telemundo's Clinton-Sanders Town Hall," February 18, 2016
- ↑ CNN Politics, "Trump calls for Apple boycott," February 19, 2016
- ↑ Vice, "Bernie Sanders Is Very Worried About Your Data," October 20, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, "H.R.2048," accessed May 26, 2015
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On Passage of the Bill (H.R. 2048)," accessed June 2, 2015
- ↑ The Hill, "Clinton backs Puerto Rico debt bill," May 20, 2016
- ↑ Bernie Sanders for President, "Press Release: Sanders Sides with People of Puerto Rico," May 20, 2016
- ↑ The Nation, "Bernie Sanders Says the US Must End Its ‘Colonial-Type Relationship’ With Puerto Rico," May 16, 2016
- ↑ Latin Times, "Bernie Sanders: Puerto Rico Can Become An Independent Nation," March 15, 2016
- ↑ Bernie Sanders for President, "Ending the Humanitarian Crisis in Puerto Rico," accessed March 16, 2016
- ↑ The Huffington Post, "Bernie Sanders Opposes Death Penalty For Dylann Roof," May 25, 2016
- ↑ Reason, "Bernie Sanders Encourages Californians to Legalize Marijuana This Fall," May 23, 2016
- ↑ The New York Times, "Transcript: Democratic Presidential Debate in Brooklyn," April 15, 2016
- ↑ Star Tribune, "Sen. Bernie Sanders fires up hundreds at forum in north Minneapolis," February 12, 2016
- ↑ TIME, "Bernie Sanders Spars Over Reparations at Race Forum," February 13, 2016
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Transcript: The Democratic debate in Milwaukee, annotated," February 11, 2016
- ↑ Congress.gov, "S.Amdt.499 to S.679," accessed April 6, 2015
- ↑ Senate.gov, "S.Amdt. 499 to S. 679 (Presidential Appointment Efficiency and Streamlining Act of 2011)," accessed April 8, 2015
- ↑ Sanders.senate.gov, accessed September 2, 2015
- ↑ Washington Post, "Bernie Sanders to Postal Service: Relaxed mail standards ‘a disaster,’" August 26, 2015
- ↑ The New York Times, "Bernie Sanders Proposes Fracking Ban and Attacks Hillary Clinton on the Environment," April 11, 2016
- ↑ ABC News, "Bernie Sanders Proposes National Ban on Fracking," April 11, 2016
- ↑ NBC News, "Bernie Sanders Calls For Shutting Down New York Nuke Plant," April 4, 2016
- ↑ Boston.com, "Bernie Sanders is the first presidential candidate to oppose the Kinder Morgan pipeline," November 30, 2015
- ↑ Bernie Sanders Senate website, "Sanders, Merkley, Leahy Introduce Bill to Ban New Drilling on Public Land," November 4, 2015
- ↑ The New York Times, "Bernie Sanders Pledges to Keep Jobs in Coal Mining Areas," May 5, 2016
- ↑ NextGen Climate, "Huge news: Bernie Sanders joins Hillary Clinton in Endorsing #50BY30," February 9, 2016
- ↑ CNN Politics, "Sanders spotlights new climate data: 'The debate is over,'" January 20, 2016
- ↑ Bernie 2016, "Paris Climate Accord ‘Goes Nowhere Near Far Enough,’ Sanders Says," accessed December 14, 2015
- ↑ Bernie Sanders, U.S. Senator for Vermont, "Sanders Introduces Bill to Cut Carbon Emissions 80 Percent," accessed December 10, 2015
- ↑ The Hill, "Sanders wants to put price on carbon pollution," December 10, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, "S.2905 - Carbon Pollution Transparency Act of 2014," accessed December 23, 2014
- ↑ Bernie Sanders for President, "Press Release: Sanders Challenges Clinton, Trump to Back California Drug Price Proposition," May 14, 2016
- ↑ Bernie Sanders for President, "Press Release: Sanders Statement on Affordable Care Act Ruling," May 12, 2016
- ↑ The Urban Institute, "The Sanders Single-Payer Health Care Plan: The Effect on National Health Expenditures and Federal and Private Spending," May 9, 2016
- ↑ U.S. Senator for Vermont, Bernie Sanders, "Lawmakers to NIH and HHS: Act Now on Drug Affordability," March 28, 2016
- ↑ Fortune, "Bernie Sanders Unveils Plan to Tackle HIV/AIDS," March 14, 2016
- ↑ Bernie Sanders for President, "Working to Create an AIDS and HIV-Free Generation," accessed March 15, 2016
- ↑ Bernie Sanders for President, "Press Release: Sanders Visits U.S.-Mexican Border," May 21, 2016
- ↑ CNN, "Clinton, Sanders reaffirm opposition to Obama immigration raids," May 12, 2016
- ↑ ABC News, "Bernie Sanders on the Border: 'We Don’t Need a Wall,'" March 19, 2016
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Transcript: The Democratic debate in Milwaukee, annotated," February 11, 2016
- ↑ The Washington Times, "Sanders demands halt to deportations to Central America," January 7, 2016
- ↑ Brookings Institution, "Who would benefit most from free college?" April 21, 2016
- ↑ The Wall Street Journal, "Benefits of Sanders’s College Plan Bigger for Wealthy, Analysis Finds," April 21, 2016
- ↑ The Washington Post, "3rd Democratic debate transcript, annotated: Who said what and what it meant," December 19, 2015
- ↑ The New York Times, "Bernie Sanders Urges Cuomo to Raise CUNY Professors’ Pay," December 14, 2015
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Make college free for all," October 22, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, "H.R.1," accessed April 8, 2015
- ↑ Sanders.Senate.gov, "Press Release: Sanders Applauds Supreme Court Ruling on Abortion," June 27, 2016
- ↑ MSNBC, "Bernie Sanders commits to repealing Hyde Amendment," January 22, 2016
- ↑ Sanders.Senate.gov, "Sanders Statement on Planned Parenthood," accessed September 19, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, "H.R.1833," accessed April 8, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, "H.J.Res.88," accessed April 8, 2015
- ↑ Bernie Sanders, United States Senator for Vermont, "Sanders Statement on Supreme Court Decision on Same-Sex Marriage," June 26, 2015
- ↑ The Advocate, “Clinton, Sanders Slam North Carolina’s Transphobic Law,” March 25, 2016
- ↑ Breitbart, “Sanders: I ‘Appreciate’ Corporations Weighing In Against Bathroom Bills, But Don’t Want Politicians Representing Wealthy,” March 30, 2016
- ↑ BernieSanders.com, "Sanders: Michigan Governor Must Resign over Flint Lead-Poisoning Crisis," accessed January 19, 2016
- ↑ Bernie Sanders for President, "Racial Justice," accessed January 28, 2016
- ↑ BuzzFeed, "Sanders Campaign Reaches Out To Black Lives Matter Activists: 'I Apologize It Took Our Campaign So Long,'" August 15, 2015
- ↑ Talking Points Memo, "Sanders: I Do Not Need To Apologize To Black Lives Matter," August 17, 2015
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Bernie Sanders’ ambassador to black voters hits the ground running," August 10, 2015
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedSandersAP - ↑ Bernie Sanders for President, "Sanders Statement on Seattle Protesters," August 8, 2015
- ↑ Bernie Sanders for President, "Remarks by Senator Sanders to the National Urban League," July 31, 2015
- ↑ The Guardian, "O'Malley and Sanders interrupted by Black Lives Matter protesters in Phoenix," July 18, 2015
- ↑ The Huffington Post, "Here's How Hillary Clinton Says She Would Have Answered The 'Black Lives Matter' Protesters," July 21, 2015
- ↑ NPR, "Bernie Sanders Walks A Fine Line On Gun Control," June 29, 2015
- ↑ The Hill, "Sen. Sanders files $1T infrastructure bill," January 27, 2015
- ↑ U.S. Senator for Vermont, Bernie Sanders, "Desperate Times for the Hungry, Homeless and Cold," January 3, 2008
- ↑ The Nation, "What Kind of Mayor Was Bernie Sanders?" June 20, 2015
- ↑ TIME, "The Radical Education of Bernie Sanders," May 26, 2015
- ↑ 179.0 179.1 179.2 179.3 179.4 179.5 179.6 179.7 179.8 Bernie Sanders for President, "Improving the Rural Economy," accessed January 14, 2016
- ↑ Iowa Public Radio, "Bernie Sanders on National Security, Renewable Fuels, and His Age," December 2, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, "S.Amdt.798 to S.Con.Res.13," accessed January 14, 2016
- ↑ Senate.gov, "Senate Vote on Motion to Waive CBA re: Wicker Amdt. No. 798," accessed January 14, 2016
- ↑ Yahoo! News, "5 Takeaways From Rachel Maddow’s Democratic Forum," November 6, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, "H.Amdt.935 to H.R.2854," accessed April 7, 2015
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