Hundreds of defense contractors that defrauded the U.S. military received more than $1.1 trillion in Pentagon contracts during the past decade, according to a Department of Defense report prepared for Sen. Bernie Sanders.
It's a funny thing, you know; despite the fact that it's been anecdotal knowledge since the Viet Nam era that the Dept. of Defense is routinely taken to the cleaners by its contractors, no one in Congress has done much to end the culture of abuse. That could be because our corrupt campaign finance rules allow lobbyists to pretty much govern the agenda up on the Hill.
The perpetrators continue to be rewarded with more and bigger contracts. Witness:
...Lockheed Martin in 2008 paid $10.5 million to settle charges that it defrauded the government by submitting false invoices on a multi-billion dollar contract connected to the Titan IV space launch vehicle program... the Defense Department (then) gave Lockheed $30.2 billion in contracts in fiscal year 2009...
Northrop Grumman paid $62 million in 2005 to settle charges that it "engaged in a fraud scheme by routinely submitting false contract proposals," and "concealed basic problems in its handling of inventory, scrap and attrition...Northrop Grumman received $12.9 billion in contracts the next year, 16 percent more than the year before.
Lavishly courted by lobbyists themselves, the Department of Defense insisted last January:
'the department believes that existing remedies with respect to contractor wrongdoing are sufficient."
But now, in response to the report from Sen. Sanders they change their tune:
"It is not clear, however, that these remedies are sufficient ... to deter and punish fraud when it is detected."
It may not be clear to the DOD, but it certainly is to Senator Sanders who proposes increased scrutiny of defense contracts, compilation of a fraud database, and much stiffer penalties for offenders.
Said Sanders: "It is clear that DOD's current approach is not working and we need far more vigorous enforcement to protect taxpayers from massive fraud."
One has to wonder why the same swift justice has not been applied to DOD contractors who engage in systemic fraud, that was applied to ACORN following a single biased and unprofessional set-up.
Just another example of the double standard of justice served up to the 1% versus the 99%.
It will take more than a single Senator's earnest efforts to bring about change, but when has there been a better opportunity to place Pentagon waste due to fraud under scrutiny, than right now, as we are seeing our trusted social safety nets under attack from the right?
Effectively penalizing those who have defrauded taxpayers through the Pentagon sounds most attractive as one alternative.
In fairness, I thought I should modify this post with information provided to me by Sen. Sander's office, that five or ten Democrats are expected to co-sponsor once the bill has been introduced. Still it's hardly the number one would expect given public sentiment and the draconian nature of attacks on Social Security. _______________________________________________________
That's right, one of the most popular public programs of all times has only a single champion today.
Why, you might ask, is that?
Bernie's plan is simple: all Americans with incomes over $250,000. should make contributions to Social Security on that higher income, the same as they and everyone else does on income below that amount.
I don't know about you, but around my house that sounds eminently reasonable.
Contrary to what Republicans would have us all believe, Social Security is not insolvent. It is in danger of nothing so much as the sinister Right's scheme to divert our public investment into private pockets.
The reason other Senators won't touch this bill with a ten foot poll, even though most Americans would say, "Hell, yes!" if the question were put to them, is simply because, under the current campaign financing system, money makes policy; and saving Social Security will not serve the monied-class agenda of the Right.
"Money makes policy." In fact, let's be perfectly honest and chuck that dated sentiment, "E pluribus unum" and replace it with "Money makes policy." "Out of many, one" couldn't be much farther from the truth. Citizens United simply sealed the deal.
Cruelly selfish positions such as those espoused by the current crop of Tea Party Republicans used to be carefully avoided as "politically incorrect" so long as an immigrant working class still had the ear of its government. In our new post-democracy, politicians have only to please stateless corporations, the uber-rich and their bizarre puppets on the far right in order to ensure the kind of media investment necessary to bring home the bacon.
Up is down and down is up if they say so; and no matter how many independent economists debunk Reaganomics, if it fits the meme of the power class, we're stuck with it.
The resounding moral cowardice of Congress when presented with almost any opportunity to ease pain and fear among our most vulnerable populations truly makes me sick.
I'm growing doubtful of our ability to survive these difficult times as a nation even vaguely resembling the fortress of ethical compassion that we once were.
First, an excellent new video has been released by Fairewinds Associates and Arnie Gundersen, which provides much of the underlying science to boiling water reactors such as those employed at Fukushima and at our own little liability,Vermont Yankee.
Next, lest we forget the precarious nature of our domestic nuclear energy policy in the aftermath of a manufactured debt crisis, how about a look at what those merry pranksters at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have been up to lately?
That's right. In the wake of the Fukushima disaster, where ample evidence was provided that officials gravely underestimated both the vulnerability of the plant systems to failure and the appropriate scale of evacuations, the NRC is busy undermining its own safeguards.
Well, it appears that Tom Salmon has finally settled on what he wants to be when he grows up: a U.S. senator.
Ever since his reelection to serve as state auditor, the Boy Wonder has made it known that he didn't really want to do that job, but would rather begin immediately positioning himself to run for something grander.
Tuesday night's Letters to the Editor in The Messenger was graced with an incoherent Salmon screed against Bernie Sanders for... what exactly? Is it for representing the interests of the elderly, veterans and working men and women? Ever the master of nuance, Auditor Salmon somehow manages to offend nearly everyone who labors in this state:
Senator Sanders is a Senator of the United States. He is not a lobbyist for the AARP, the Veterans of America or the many Unions that financially support him. He has not spent a day teaching in the public schools, nor a day on the battlefield. He is neither a nuclear scientist, a CPA or a healthcare professional...But yet, he has spent the last year raising $1.5 million for his re-election campaign and getting people whipped into a frenzy over "unfairness."
Whoa! Can we conclude from that diatribe that Mr. Salmon will not accept campaign donations from corporations and the independently wealthy who would most benefit from his anti-populist agenda?
Should the heavens part in recognition of his birthright, and he make the unlikely ascent to the throne of "Senator Salmon," I guess we can assume that the full spectrum of peoples whose interests Bernie consistently stands for can pretty well lump-it when it comes to any issues of "unfairness."
And what's this? Bernie Sanders has been "silent" over the debt ceiling crisis?
"Nearly eight months after his famous filibuster, when leaders are truly needed, he is particularly quiet as solutions are being sought."
Completely apart from the issue of their meddling on behalf of Entergy in defiance of Vermont's sovereignty on VY, the NRC pattern of repeatedly lowering the bar on safety standards for the benefit of plant operators is sufficient reason to block reappointment of any currently serving members.
As we listen to protestations on the nightly news that, though threatened by flood or fire, this or that U.S. nuclear facility can't possibly fail; how is the public expected to swallow such assurances with any confidence, given all that has been revealed in the wake of Fukushima about the questionable practices of our own nuclear regulatory agency?
It's time for a complete scrub-down of the NRC, a whole lot of daylight, and a totally new roster of independent commissioners who will not approach the job in actuarial fashion, in service to the industry rather than to the public good.
The NRC has never met a relicensing bid they couldn't love, and industry shills have managed to maintain protective cover over its peccadillos for ever so long; but the tide appears at last to be turning.
In the wake of an AP investigation that effectively demonstrates how weakening NRC safety standards have enabled the continued operation of failing nuclear plants, it is nice to see members of Congress finally sitting up and taking notice.
Our own Bernie Sanders is one of three senators who are pressing this issue on behalf of the American people. The other two are Barbara Boxer of California and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island.
If you wonder why more congress-folk aren't lining up with them to storm the NRC barricades, consider how powerful the nuclear lobby...or any energy lobby...is in this country. With 2012 shaping up to be a real bone-shaker of an election, we are unlikely to see a lot of heroics among the incumbents.
Too bad.
It sounds as if a congressional investigation into safety standards and federal oversight at the NRC, such as Bernie and friends are calling for, could potentially bring to light evidence not only of dereliction of duty but also of criminal conspiracy.
Into the idea vacuum left when Republican plans to dismantle Medicare blew-up in their faces, leaps our own caped crusader, Bernie Sanders, to boldly go where DC Dems fear to tread: Single-Payer!
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced today that he introduced legislation to provide health care for every American through a Medicare-for-all type single-payer system.
Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) filed a companion bill in the House to provide better care for more patients at less cost by eliminating the middle-man role played by private insurance companies that rake off billions of dollars in profits.
The twin measures, both called the American Health Security Act of 2011, would provide federal guidelines and strong minimum standards for states to administer single-payer health care programs.
Observing the U.S.'s miserable standing as
the only major nation in the industrialized world that does not guarantee health care
Senator Sanders points out that this parsimony has only served to earn us the twin distinctions of having not only one of the most costly healthcare "systems" in the world, but one that doesn't even begin to deliver results on a par with those who spend far less.
Obama's budget deficit speech will be a huge topic of conversation over the next few days. Most progressives, not just those here in Vermont, will be curious to know how Bernie Sanders responds, so I'm posting his official statement verbatim:
"The very serious deficit crisis that we are in today is the result of the severe recession caused by Wall Street greed, two unpaid-for wars, huge tax breaks for the rich, the bailout of giant banks, and an unfunded Medicare Part D prescription drug program written by the insurance and drug companies.
"Meanwhile, while the wealthiest people in this country and the largest corporations are doing extremely well, the Republicans want more giant tax breaks for the very rich as they move to balance the budget on the backs of the sick, the elderly, the children and by cutting environmental protection and infrastructure. This is morally unacceptable and very bad economics.
"President Obama is right in suggesting that any serious effort toward deficit reduction should require shared sacrifice and that the pain should not simply be felt by working families and the most vulnerable people in our society.
"During the coming weeks I will be working with members of the Senate and the House on a deficit reduction proposal which cuts spending in those areas of government which are wasteful and unnecessary, while at the same time asking the wealthiest people in this country and the most profitable corporations to start paying their fair share of taxes. I am especially interested in ending those loopholes which allow corporations and the wealthy to shelter income in tax havens overseas, costing the U.S. Treasury an estimated $100 billion a year in revenue."
For questions, you can contact: Michael Briggs or Will Wiquist (202) 224-5141
How does that saying go? If you lie down with dogs, you wake up with fleas?
Thanks to a provision authored by Bernie Sanders in the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, it has been revealed that between December 2007 and March 2010, the Federal Reserve loaned over $26 billion dollars to the Arab Banking Corporation, the majority of which is owned by the Libyan government! The interest rate for those loans? Practically nothing...0.25%! [one-quarter of one percent]* This corporation's toehold in the U.S. consists of exactly two branches, both located in New York City (one identified as the "U.S. Branch" and the other, as the "Grand Cayman Branch.")
Wow! 'Way to honor your commitment to the American taxpayers, Federal Reserve!
Says Senator Sanders:
In another dubious twist, the Fed loans, at interest rates as low as 0.25 percent, relied on U.S. Treasury securities as collateral. In other words, at the same time that the Arab Banking Corp. was borrowing money at almost zero interest from one arm of the government, the Fed, it was lending money at a higher interest rate to another arm of the U.S. government, the Treasury Department.
This, while small U.S. businesses find it to be like squeezing water from a stone to get any kind of help from U.S. banks; and while tens of thousands of Americans face foreclosure and ruin.
There's ample reason why we are awash in cynicism these days.
Anyway, Senator Sanders has sent a letter to Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, and John Walsh (Acting Comptroller of the Currency and Admin. of National Banks) demanding an accounting for this extraordinary behavior. The letter poses a number of questions that beg where exactly the Federal Reserve's allegiance lies:
.Why would the U.S. government exempt the Arab Banking Corp. from economic sanctions when it is primarily owned by the Central Bank of Libya?
.How many U.S. Treasury Securities does the Arab Banking Corp. currently own?
.How much money has the Federal Reserve lent to the Arab Banking Corp. since December 1, 2010?
.Is it in the U.S.'s interest to be borrowing and lending money from a bank that is predomiantly owned by the Central Bank of Libya?
.How may U.S. Treasury Securities did the Arab Banking Corp. purchase when it was borrowing money from the Federal Reservve's various emergency lending facilities?
and finally:
.Why would the U.S. government allow a bank that is predominantly owned by the Central Bank of Libya..an institution on which the U.S. has imposed strict economic sanctions.. to operate two banking branches within our own borders?
The letter itself is well-worth a read as it contains many points of fact that will only serve to increase your level of indignation.
Sometimes you've just got to re-state the obvious. Entergy doesn't understand the meaning of the word "no" and the NRC seems to be suffering from short-term memory loss.
In light of the Fukushima crisis, our "DC-3" (Leahy, Sanders and Welch) have issued the following joint statement:
"It is hard to understand how the NRC could move forward with a license extension for Vermont Yankee at exactly the same time as a nuclear reactor of similar design is in partial meltdown in Japan. We believe that Entergy should respect and abide by Vermont's laws and the MOU signed with the state in 2002, which require approval by the Vermont Legislature, and then the Vermont Public Service Board, for the plant to continue to operate beyond 2012."
With an emboldened plutocracy flexing its muscles all over the country, it's good to have another reminder that our DC delegation continues to look out for the poor "step-children" who have been generally cut-adrift in the current round of economic blackmail. In this case, those "step-children" are the twin causes of environmental and human safety, both of which Entergy apologists would willingly sacrifice on the altar of "cheap" energy, just to keep VY burbling away well past its sell-by date.
Our own "DC 3" have all signed onto a letter drafted by Bernie Sanders, who sits on the panel charged with oversight of the NRC, urging that regulatory body to ensure that clean-up of Vermont Yankee is undertaken immediately following closure of the plant.
The lawmakers called it "unacceptable" that Entergy, which owns the Vermont plant, could engage in "decades of delay" before cleaning up the site along the Connecticut River at Vernon, Vt. "Immediate decommissioning will assure Vermonters that the plant is being disassembled safely," the delegation wrote. An immediate cleanup and shutdown of the site also would allow the plant operator to take advantage of the skills of many long-term Yankee employees who otherwise would lose their jobs.
In the letter to Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko, the delegation requests a meeting with the full commission; and that the meeting should include Governor Shumlin,
because of the "enormous consequences" for Vermont and the state's "vital interest" in the plant's safe shutdown.
Tying swift decommissioning to job retention is a brilliant and entirely legitimate strategy, which should steal some thunder from one of VY's dwindling arguments against closure.
As we know all too well,
Entergy has indicated it favors a so-called "SAFSTOR" decommissioning method, a process that the delegation letter said "would let Entergy off the hook" for cleanup and waste disposal for years or even decades. "While Entergy may prefer leaving the plant to sit like an abandoned factory because it has not saved the necessary funds to fully decommission the plant, this is not the safest option for Vermonters," Leahy, Sanders and Welch wrote.
...And in the spirit of crediting our elected officials when they get it right, I just want to briefly mention how proud we should be that our "DC three" (Leahy, Sanders and Welch) is the only state delegation that has received a perfect score from the League of Conservation Voters for their voting record on environmental issues in 2010!
In these days of economic anxiety and hair-trigger paranoia, it takes courage to stand-up for that singularly important but non-voting constituent: the natural environment. It may sometimes seem like a thankless job, gentlemen; but we and our fellow life-forms salute you! May your vision always be greater than the sum of your days on Capitol Hill.
In a week scarred with personal and public bad news, what a joy it was to follow the heroic exploits of Bernie Sanders on the Senate floor. Our own "Mr. Smith" did us proud once again, fighting the corruption of power and defending the little guy. I am sure he will now be smugly relegated by the right to Poster-Boy-in-Chief of left-wing crazy. That was to be expected. With all the irresponsible wing-nuts the Republicans have steering their agenda these days, they'll point to any demonstration of independence on the other side as somehow being equivalent. They'll say, "There goes Vermont again, getting too big for its britches. Remember Howard Dean?"
But that won't sell much beyond the filthy rich and "take-back" right. This country is bleeding fast, filled to the brim with the walking wounded, as Wall Street and the banks divvy up the spoils from their economic empire-building. If Congress doesn't listen with empathy to the words of the Independent Senator from Vermont, the vast majority of Americans who are looking at a future of diminishing returns for their toil in the bleeding classes will.
The tired old arguments for extending the Bush Tax Cuts for the rich are so lacking in economic merit and substance that it is only the arcane gymnastics of Congressional deal-making that have allowed extension of these entitlements to get serious consideration at all. Resigned to their lot as insignificant place-holders in an increasingly unjust society, most people are too busy just treading water to invest time and energy in closely monitoring the senate process. So they simply accept that, once again, the rich will get richer and the poor will get the shaft.
It may just be a glorious tilt at the windmill of inflexible power, but Bernie's eight-plus hours of scorching rhetoric yesterday cannot help but reach the minds and ears of the suffering masses...and that is a start. It's what every one of us would do if we found ourselves in his position, but how rarely does that happen in "real life."
Have a good lie-down this weekend, Senator Sanders. You've earned it. I'm not one of those who hope Bernie runs for President. I hope he stays right where he is and continues to do what he does best, bringing truth and justice to the seat of power. One bruised and busted hero in a generation is enough for me.
And the outrages continue. Just in from Bernie Sanders' office - the GOP just filibustered $250 checks for Social Security recipients:
The Senate today voted 53 to 45 for a proposal by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to provide $250 payments to some 58 million Social Security recipients and disabled veterans, but the vote fell seven short of the 60 needed to overcome a Republican filibuster and advance the bill...
Without action by Congress, there will be no cost-of-living adjustments for retirees and the disabled for only the second time since 1975, when a law took effect linking benefits to inflation. The outdated formula for calculating living costs does not accurately take into account the budgets of senior citizens who spend a disproportionate amount on increasingly expensive health care and prescription drugs.
...at a time when this country has a $13.7 trillion national debt it would be a huge mistake, over a ten year period, to add another $700 billion to that debt by providing more tax breaks for the wealthiest people in this country.
Citing the growing income inequity in this country and the desperate need of many on the lowest rungs of the economic ladder, Sanders insists that we simply cannot afford to continue this largesse to the rich:
For people earning more than $1 million a year, the continuation of the Bush-era tax cuts would amount to an average tax break of about $100,000 a year. With the top one percent already earning, in 2007, 23.5 percent of all income in this country - more than the bottom 50 percent makes, that would be morally unfair and economically unwise. Lastly, if we provide these tax breaks to people who don't need them and drive up the national debt, the demand to cut spending on programs of importance to the middle class and working families of our country would only accelerate. That means cuts in health care, education, nutrition, housing, LIHEAP, etc.
Senator Sanders is also proposing that in lieu of a cost of living adjustment (COLA), seniors and veterans be given, "at the very least," a one-time emergency check of $250.
The issue of extending the Bush-era tax cuts is likely to come up in the next week or so, says Sanders. One can only hope that, with the Blue Dogs largely a memory in the upcoming Congress and Republican obstructionism looming as an even harsher reality, the Democrats will take this one last chance to address the ugly reality that we are slipping into the economic habits and profile of a third world country.
If Chittenden County is the heart of Democratic Vermont, Franklin County is it's arthritic right shoulder. I can say that because I love the place and am one of the stalwarts who regularly apply the necessary analgesic. Be that as it may, Bernie Sanders is generally a good draw up here, and he was the headliner in this morning's breakfast rally at the Franklin County Museum for Peter Shumlin and the entire Democratic Roster.
Sharing the stage with Bernie and Peter were candidates Steve Howard, Jim Condos, Doug Hoffer, former candidates Doug Racine and Susan Bartlett, and Franklin County Democratic Senator Sarah Kittell. Randy Brock challenger Michael McCarthy provided coffee and treats from his "Cosmic Bakery;" and reps. Jeff Young, Kathy Keenan, Michel Consejo and Dick Howrigan were all in attendance. For that sizeable delegation of elected representatives and hopefuls, there was an audience of about sixty enthusiastic Democrats and Progressives on hand.
Last evening's smaller local rally at Dem Headquarters on Main St. did almost as well, as over fifty individuals packed the tiny space, cheek to jowl, downing hot cider after a brisk honk-and-wave to cheer speeches by Peter Welch, Peter Shumlin and Sara Kittell. I saw some duplication in the crowds, but many people who were in the Friday night group didn't make it to the Saturday morning event.
Amid the turmoil and suspense surrounding an inconclusive primary outcome, we can turn to our Vermont delegation for a reminder of how good it feels to all be on the same progressive page. In a joint-press release, Senators Leahy and Sanders, and Rep. Welch announced yesterday that Vermont would be the beneficiary of an injection of federal funding to help some low-income Vermonters achieve energy savings through the use of "smart" metering and installation of thermal and solar hot water systems in their homes. Sen.Leahy is quoted as saying:
Vermont is a national leader in using the Weatherization Program’s stimulus funds for cost and energy savings for low-income households...With our older housing stock and longer winters, these investments are likely to save Vermont families far more than the national average of $400 a year in reduced energy costs.”
To which Sen. Sanders adds:
This federal support will be a major step forward in moving our state toward a greener economy.”
The Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, a non-profit better known to Vermonters as "Efficiency Vermont," will have charge of administering the $700,000. federal investment, which represents reinforcement for an earlier $69. million stimulus from the feds. It should be noted here that the Douglas/Dubie administration has consistently opposed funding of Efficiency Vermont. The projection is that, with the new funding, assistance can be provided to approximately 750 low income households to help them reduce and better utilize their energy consumption so that they can realize cost savings, while Vermont's greater economy and environment benefit at the same time. According to Peter Welch:
This additional $5.7 million award recognizes Vermont’s past successes, while paving the way for future savings.”
Well done, Gentlemen. I dare anyone to characterize this green investment in a cash-strapped population as "pork."
Here's to tilting at windmills. May we forever rise to the occasion!
It's not even Memorial Day, and we're broiling like lobsters in record heat. (Thank you, Climate Change Foot-Draggers!) Confronted with what is by far the worst oil spill in U.S. history, the man we all worked so hard to send to the White House is telegraphing helplessness back to us. What is there to celebrate, as we enter this odd little weekend wienie-roast commemorating the dead of war?
Well, we've got Bernie; and it looks like he's finally had enough of the go-along-to-get along. Channeling the frustration and anger of all environmentally sentient Americans, Bernie Sanders is calling once and for all for an end to offshore drilling. Besides banning offshore drilling, his "Clean Coasts and Efficient Cars Act" would exact full restitution for the spill from BP, and force automakers to finally deliver on the fuel-efficiency they've been kicking down the road now for decades. Does he have any chance of moving this thing forward? Who knows? Certainly there is no better time to make the argument; but it feels awfully good to see our guy stand up and speak the words to power that we all long to scream.
Kudos to Bernie Sanders for once again hitting the nail on the head. Charging that conflicts of interest may have tainted Fed decisions in dispensing bank bailouts, Sanders has called for specific language addressing such conflicts, to be included in the regulatory bill that is currently under consideration by the Senate.
From the Feds on down through state and local government, conflicts of interest have become so interwoven with the process that it is next to impossible to tease them all out. Selectmen and planners may have active interests in real estate development. Governors take contributions from corporations and appoint judges and regulatory overseers who know from whence their marching orders come. Senators, congressmen and presidents do the same. Though much posturing is made in the law about avoiding conflicts of interest, definitions are vague, and relatively little provision has been made for monitoring and truly meaningful penalties.
The end result is a Supreme Court that has the temerity to bestow personhood on corporations, giving them carte blanche to execute the acquisition of our democracy.
Bernie Sanders to Make Sure Public Option Gets Up-or-Down Vote, Defying Reid, Durbin
-- By: Jon Walker
We recently learned that Harry Reid (D-NV) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) were actually whipping against the public option and trying to deny the American people a real up-or-down vote on the issue in the Senate. It is good to see that Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is willing to defy them and instead go with the will of the American people. From Greg Sargent:
"I think somebody should do that, and I'd certainly be prepared to do that," Sanders told me when I asked him if he'd be willing to commit to introducing a public option amendment. This is, in effect, a commitment to introduce the amendment if no one else does.
As I have explained earlier, if even one senator offers a public option amendment, and it is ruled germane, it would likely receive an up-or-down vote as part of the reconciliation vote-a-rama. Designing a public option/public program buy-in that would be ruled germane and does not violate the Byrd rule should definitely be possible.
Durbin's argument against the public option amendment, or any other smart, pro-consumer, Democratic amendments, is that they could endanger passage of the reconciliation bill if it is sent back to the House. Given that Republican sources are saying the Senate parliamentarian ruled the House must first pass the comprehensive Senate health care bill before the reconciliation fixes can be taken up, the fear that the public option amendment could derail the reconciliation fixes seem strange.
If it gets to that point, Durbin will already have the health care reform bill he originally voted for signed into law. The reconciliation fixes are minor, and clearly not overly important to Durbin, since he already voted for a bill with all the "problems" in it. Since Durbin does not want the important student loan reform bill as part of reconciliation, there is no reason to actually worry about the fate of the reconciliation sidecar bill from his stand point.
250-1
55-1
If Chittenden County is the heart of Democratic Vermont, Franklin County is it's arthritic right shoulder. I can say that because I love the place and am one of the stalwarts who regularly apply the necessary analgesic. Be that as it may, Bernie Sanders is generally a good draw up here, and he was the headliner in this morning's breakfast rally at the Franklin County Museum for Peter Shumlin and the entire Democratic Roster.
