Below is Senator Durbin’s response - we appreciate Senator Durbin’s support!

Vermont Senator, Senator Bernie Sanders has endorsed Elizabeth Warren for this position (see below). As usual, Senator Bernie Sanders is once again right on with our views on how things in Washington should operate in the best interest of the We The People.

We have followed Ms. Warren’s work. Ms. Warren is bright, articulate and has a refreshing “tell it as she sees it” way of doing things. Let’s just hope the ways of Washington don’t change Ms. Warren - we don’t think it will.

Sanders Urges President to Name Elizabeth

Warren to Head Consumer Protection Agency

WASHINGTON, July 20 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) urged President Obama to pick Elizabeth Warren to be the first director of a new consumer protection bureau.

Obama on Wednesday plans to sign into law a bill overhauling financial regulations that would create the new Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.

In a letter sent to the White House on Monday, Sanders wrote that “at a time when doubts about Wall Street and its practices run very deep … American consumers need a federal government that is looking after their best interests.”

Sanders acknowledged that some senators may oppose Warren. “Good!” he wrote. “It will allow for a serious debate as to the role that government should play in protecting the American people against the outrageous behavior we have seen on Wall Street.”

For a copy of the letter, click here.

Media Contact: Michael Briggs or Will Wiquist (202) 224-5141

1. 95% of consumers want to save money on energy
2. 90% of consumers want increased control over their energy costs
3. 88% of consumers want to make a difference for their children and grandchildren
4. 86% of consumers want power outages reduced
5. 85% of consumers have concerns on the effects of energy generation on the environment.

Duh, look at the gulf after 60+ days of oil contamination.

Members of Congress, tell us where is the disconnect? Are you listening to what the people want? Or are you listening to the lobbyists lining your pockets?

Senator Sanders Sets Out Energy Policy Principles

Calls Current Proposals ‘By No Means Strong Enough’

WASHINGTON, June 22 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today laid out core principles that he said should be part of any comprehensive energy legislation, and he bluntly concluded in a letter to the Senate leader that it “makes no sense at all” to promote coal and nuclear power over cleaner, safer energy sources.

“I am concerned that the current legislative proposals we are examining are by no means strong enough in terms of energy efficiency and sustainable energy,” Sanders wrote in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

Any legislation responding to the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, Sanders said, should move the United States away from fossil fuels and toward energy independence. The chairman of the Senate green jobs subcommittee also said a strong U.S. energy policy would cut greenhouse gas emissions while creating millions of good-paying jobs.

Sanders singled out for criticism a weakness in the Kerry-Lieberman proposal to provide more than $100 billion for nuclear and coal, far more than their plan would invest in energy efficiency and sustainable energy sources. “If we are serious about combating global warming, moving to energy independence and creating millions of jobs in the future, we must transform our energy system away from fossil fuels” Sanders said. “At the very least, any serious energy bill must include funding for energy efficiency and sustainable energy that is on a par with the amounts provided for nuclear and coal.”

Sanders developed and sent to Reid a proposal that would ensure that the energy bill has a significant sustainable energy investment of tens of billions of dollars over a 10-year period. The three principles that Sanders told Reid must be a part of any legislation include:

• A strong energy efficiency and renewable energy provision. Sanders would invest at least 10 percent of the resources from global warming legislation in efficient and renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, geothermal and biomass. An investment of $8 billion to $13 billion a year, he said, would create as many as 2 million new jobs.

• A ban on new offshore drilling. Congress should reinstate a moratorium in effect for decades and ban drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts as well as Florida’s gulf coast. In addition, Congress should demand dramatically improved fuel-economy standards. While better gas mileage could save the equivalent of $1.43 a gallon by 2030, wide-open drilling would produce only enough additional petroleum to bring prices down by 3-cents a gallon.

• A strong renewable electricity standard. Renewable energy standards, also known as renewable portfolio standards, require that a certain percentage of total energy needs be generated from renewable sources. The United States should set a national standard requiring 25 percent renewable power by 2025. “This provision alone could create hundreds of thousands of new jobs while helping to meet our greenhouse gas reduction goals,” Sanders said.

Media Contact: Michael Briggs or Will Wiquist (202) 224-5141

Tonight at 7:00 (central), 8:00(eastern) President Obama will address the Gulf Coast oil spill and the tragic effects on the people, the environment and the economy.

We hope to hear an open, honest assessment of what is being done to stop the flow and the specific plans and resources that will be allocated to cleaning up this mess.

Once again we see big companies driven by greed employing unnecessary and irresponsible strategies that produce devastating effects. This is all too similar to the financial companies that brought our economy to it’s knees in September, 2008 where we had to bail them out to avoid a financial meltdown.

Let’s all watch and listen tonight.

We hope President Obama has the political will to use this Gulf Coast tragedy as the foundation for a comprehensive energy strategy that will offer substantial incentives for energy conservation and a full court press to develop and implement a sustainable energy strategy based upon clean, renewable energy production from the infinite resources of the sun and the wind.

This AP photo pretty much says it all!

During that same time frame, our Congress has given $12 Billion to support and incentivize Renewable Energy like wind, solar, biomass and geothermal. We agree with Senator Bernie Sanders’ amendment - let’s support the development and implementation of clean, renewable energy and stop supporting companies that trash our eco-system.

Sanders Amendment Would Repeal Big Oil Tax Breaks

WASHINGTON, June 9 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today proposed repealing more than $35 billion in oil and gas industry tax breaks.

Sanders’ amendment would invest $10 billion of the savings in the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program. The remaining $25 billion would reduce the federal deficit.

“What the amendment does is help transform our energy system away from fossil fuels, end unjustified tax breaks, cut the deficit and invest in energy efficiency,” Sanders said.

Calling the tax breaks “absurd,” Sanders noted that Exxon Mobil, the most profitable corporation in the history of the world, last year avoided paying any federal income taxes and pocketed a $46 million refund from the IRS.

“This amendment would begin to make sure that Exxon Mobil, BP and other big oil companies pay at least a minimal amount of their record-breaking profits in taxes to the federal government,” Sanders said.

The oil and gas tax breaks also were targeted for elimination in President Obama’s budget.

During the past decade, Sanders said, the five largest oil companies (ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, ChevronTexaco, and ConocoPhillips) earned more than $750 billion in profits.  During the first quarter of this year, big oil’s profits increased by 85 percent.

The chairman of the Senate Green Jobs and the New Economy Subcommittee, Sanders said that the United States heavily subsidizes oil but has failed to make significant investments in safer, cleaner renewable energy sources. According to the Environmental Law Institute, the U.S. from 2002 to 2008 provided more than $70 billion in fossil fuel subsidies, compared to only $12 billion for wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, and other renewable energy.

The energy block grant program that would receive $10 billion under Sanders’ amendment was created by a provision that he and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) authored in the 2007 energy bill.

Initial funding for the program came from $3.2 billion in the economic stimulus bill. In Highgate, Vt., for example, the elementary school was awarded more than $81,000 to replace lights with energy-efficient fixtures. The same program is funding windmills in Carmel, Ind., to power a sewer treatment plant.  It’s being used in Salt Lake City to provide loans to businesses to make energy efficiency upgrades.  It’s being used in Columbus, Ohio, to make public buildings more energy efficient

“This amendment may not be easy to pass,” Sanders acknowledged, noting that oil industry campaign contributions since 1990 exceed $238 million. “But it is the right thing to do for deficit reduction,” he concluded. “It is the right thing for the environment, and it is the right thing to do for consumers.”

Contact: Michael Briggs or Will Wiquist (202) 224-5141

Just maybe BP will be on this list?

Once again our thanks to Senator Sanders.

Fighting Fraud A military spending bill that passed the Senate on Thursday includes a Sanders amendment to make a federal contractor fraud database accessible to the public.  The Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System is a database created by the Clean Contracting Act of 2008 that lists incidences of misconduct by federal contractors.  The database is an important tool for tracking the behavior of federal contractors. It lists prior findings of liability relating to federal contracts, including findings from criminal, civil, and administrative proceedings.  The database also lists whether the contractor has ever defaulted on a prior federal contract.  Finally, it lists whether contractors have engaged in such egregious behavior to have been suspended or disbarred from contracting.  The Sanders amendment would require that the database be posted on the Internet, ensuring that the public has access to this critical, public information about where their tax dollars are going. “We cannot let corporations rip off American taxpayers,” Sanders said.

The Gulf Oil Spill is the result of so many factors that our legislators in Congress have not adequately addressed. Does it take a disaster like the Gulf Oil Spill to get the attention of the other 534 representatives we have? Still, we have folks in Congress that continue to resist progressive thinking and actions in the best interest of the people rather than those of special interests.

We thank you again Senator Sanders - we need you and your efforts to continue!

Sanders Proposes Drilling Ban and

Stronger Fuel Efficiency Standards

WASHINGTON, May 27 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said today that the United States must learn a profound lesson from the BP oil catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico and make certain we protect our oceans from future disasters and transform our energy system away from fossil fuels.

Sanders introduced legislation that would ban offshore drilling along America’s ocean coastlines and increase fuel efficiency in American cars.

The measure would prohibit drilling in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and along Florida’s gulf coastline. A moratorium on drilling in those areas that Congress approved every year since 1982 lapsed in 2008.

Sanders’ bill also would set a fuel economy standard of 55 miles per gallon, up from an average of 35 mpg that American car makers must achieve by 2030 under current law.

An outgrowth of an Obama administration push to stiffen the standards, the detailed requirement proposed by Sanders would bring the United States up to par with China, Japan, Canada, South Korea and nations in Europe that already have more aggressive standards than the U.S. In Europe, for example, cars already get the equivalent of 42 mpg and by 2020 cars in Europe will be required to get at least 65 mpg.

The improved fuel economy would translate into a savings of $1.43 per gallon of gas.  Opening all of America’s coastal waters to drilling would yield such a modest boost in petroleum supplies that the price of gas would dip by only 3-cents a gallon.

“Is 3-cents-a-gallon in the year 2030 worth the potential risk of another disaster like this?” Sanders asked. “I don’t think it is.”

The legislation already has drawn support from leading national environmental groups, including Friends of the Earth. “As the Deepwater Horizon disaster shows, new offshore drilling puts our coasts at unacceptable risk,” said Erich Pica, president of Friends of the Earth.

Contact: Michael Briggs or Will Wiquist (202) 224-5141

We have all the critics of the Administration’s efforts to reform Health Care, Financial regulations, our Educational System and our Energy Policies saying “No to Big Government - saying “We don’t want the Federal government involved in our States and our lives”.

That’s just fine until a crisis happens like the Gulf Coast Oil disaster.  Now, those same critics are calling out the Administration for not “responding fast enough” - not “doing enough”.

What is it folks - you only want the Federal Government involved when you can’t handle a mess you’ve created?

Hypocrisy at it’s finest!

Let’s get behind the Administration and start pushing Congress to become effective regulators by being efficient in dealing with the major issues facing our country.

If anything is too big to fail it’s a Congress that can’t deal with issues that have been ignored for so long.

One of the key issues is the high risk derivative trading moves by banking firms that also have on deposit what money most of us in this country have left and is insured by the FDIC. It also does not address capping interest rates and outrageous charges these same banking firms charge even their best customers for credit.

It is our opinion true financial reform lies with Glass-Steagall Act type legislation that separates high risk financial trading activities from the less risky, traditional banking for the people.

You might think we post a lot of releases by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont - you’re right - we do!

Of the 535 people in Congress that are responsible for how our country works - or doesn’t, Senator Bernie Sanders is truly a voice of the people.

Thanks again Bernie Sanders - keep up your great efforts on behalf of US!

Now we would like to see and hear President Obama step out strongly in front of these issues. We voted for “change we can believe in”.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders released this statement.

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Sanders Statement on Senate

Passage of Wall Street Reform

WASHINGTON, May 20 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement after the Senate tonight voted 59 to 39 for a major Wall Street reform bill:

“As a result of the greed, recklessness and illegal behavior of Wall Street, this country was plunged into a horrendous recession. While this bill does not go as far as I would like, it is a strong beginning in the effort to reregulate huge financial institutions and to bring transparency to their often nefarious activities.

“I am especially proud that in this bill there is a major provision I authored which, for the first time, will lift the veil of secrecy at the Federal Reserve and give the American people an understanding of where trillions of their tax dollars went in the Wall Street bailout.

“I am disappointed that we could not garner the necessary votes to lower interest rates on credit cards or to begin the process of breaking up the largest financial institutions in this country which are the cause of so many of our problems. I intend to continue that effort until we succeed.”

Contact: Michael Briggs or Will Wiquist (202) 224-5141

You might think we post up a lot of releases by Senator Sanders - you’re right - we do!

Of the 535 people in Washington that are responsible for how our country works - or doesn’t, Senator Bernie Sanders is truly a voice for the people.

Thanks again Bernie Sanders - keep up your great efforts on behalf of US!

WE would like to see and hear President Obama step out strongly in front of these issues. WE voted for “change we can can believe in”.