WASHINGTON, June 13 -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, issued the following news release on June 12, 2023: A new report released today by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, found that Americans virtually always pay far more than people in other countries for prescription drug treatments created with the help of National Institutes of Health (NIH) scienti  more

WASHINGTON, June 13 -- Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vermont, issued the following news release on June 12, 2023: Today, Rep. Becca Balint (VT-AL) was named to the House Judiciary Committee. The Judiciary Committee is at the forefront of some of the most pressing issues of our time, including protecting Constitutional freedoms and civil liberties, oversight of the U.S. Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, legal and regulatory reform, antitrust laws, terrorism and crime, gun violence prevention  more

WASHINGTON, June 16 -- Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vermont, issued the following news release on June 14, 2023: Today, Rep. Becca Balint (VT-AL) was named to two House Judiciary Subcommittees: "The Constitution and Limited Government" and "Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust." "I'm honored to be assigned to these two influential subcommittees on the House Judiciary Committee," said Rep. Becca Balint. "I'm ready to hit the ground running on some of the most urgent issues facing our   more

WASHINGTON, June 14 -- Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Montana, issued the following letter on June 13, 2023: * * * To: The Honorable Denis McDonough, Secretary, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20420 Dear Secretary McDonough We write today to express our continued concern over the final Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) rule relating to "Changes in Rates VA Pays for Special Modes of Transportation" (88 Fed. Reg. 10032). The availability of air ambulance trans  more

WASHINGTON, June 15 -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, issued the following news release on June 14, 2023: In a continued effort to expand and strengthen access to dental care for veterans through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) joined with Rep. Julia Brownley (D-Calif.) to introduce legislation yesterday that would establish a new pilot program to provide comprehensive dental care to veterans diagnosed with diabetes and ischemic heart disease. Funded f  more

WASHINGTON, June 15 -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, issued the following news release on June 14, 2023: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, today with Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and eight colleagues in the Senate, introduced historic legislation that would open up the dream of a college degree to millions of working-class children across the country. As millions of Americans face uncertainty around their federal s  more

WASHINGTON, June 15 -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, issued the following news release: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), former Chair of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs and current Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, along with his colleagues in the Senate, yesterday introduced two pieces of legislation that would close eligibility gaps to ensure millions more veterans regardless of income, as well as the National Guard and Reserve service members, can   more

WASHINGTON, June 14 -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, issued the following commentary to the Guardian from June 13, 2023: * * * America Is Facing a Mental Health Crisis Young people are grappling with challenges that no generation in modern history has been forced to deal with. They need our help now. This country faces a longstanding mental health crisis, exacerbated by the isolation, fears and uncertainties of the pandemic. This crisis affects all generations, but has been especially deva  more

WASHINGTON, June 13 -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, issued the following news release on June 12, 2023: A new report released today by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, found that Americans virtually always pay far more than people in other countries for prescription drug treatments created with the help of National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists. With few exceptions, private corporations in the U.S. have the u  more

WASHINGTON, June 15 -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, issued the following news release on June 14, 2023: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, today with Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and eight colleagues in the Senate, introduced historic legislation that would open up the dream of a college degree to millions of working-class children across the coun  more

WASHINGTON, June 14 -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, issued the following news release on June 13, 2023: The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee on Thursday, June 15 will hold an Executive Session to mark up legislation at 10:00 a.m. ET. The following reauthorization bills will be considered at the markup: * S. 133, NAPA Reauthorization Act * S. 134, Alzheimer's Accountability and Investment Act * S.   more

WASHINGTON, June 16 -- Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, issued the following news release: Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) joined the Senate Committee on the Judiciary's Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, & Federal Rights yesterday to call for the passage of the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency (SCERT) Act of 2023, legislation that would establish a code of conduct for Supreme Court Justice. The bill's introductionfollows numerous reported instances of ethical misco  more

WASHINGTON, June 14 -- Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, issued the following statement on June 13, 2023: * * * Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) released the following statement at the conclusion of the Senate Judiciary Committee's first hearing on oversight of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and Related Surveillance Authorities, which featured testimony from senior administration national security officials who discussed the surveillance program as the program's sunset nears: "  more

WASHINGTON, June 14 -- Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, issued the following news release on June 13, 2023: Senators Peter Welch (D-VT) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) today introduced the E-Access Act, legislation to facilitate the clean energy transition by helping consumers access their utility data and share that data with third parties. Families and businesses rely on home energy usage data to make decisions about energy efficiency and clean energy upgrades--but that data is difficult to access, m  more

WASHINGTON, June 17 -- Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, issued the following news release and letter on June 16, 2023: Senators Peter Welch (D-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) today sent a letter to Amazon President and Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy following reporting that patients seeking to enroll in Amazon Clinic, the company's "virtual healthcare storefront," are asked to provide Amazon with expansive access to their health information and authorize the company to disclose that information  more

WASHINGTON, June 17 -- Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vermont, issued the following news release on June 16, 2023: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) issued the following statement condemning the targeted incident at LGBTQI+ poetry event at Lyndonville Library earlier this week: "Hate should have no place in Vermont. It's disturbing to see homophobia and racism loud and present here in Vermont. Extremism and hate must be answered. We cannot allow it to t  more

WASHINGTON, June 15 -- Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, issued the following news release on June 14, 2023: Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) joined Senators Ed Markey (D-MA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Tom Carper (D-DE) to support the Stop Fentanyl Overdoses Act last month, legislation to advance a public health-oriented approach to the substance use crisis by expanding testing for fentanyl and related substances, promoting information sharing and data collection across public healt  more

WASHINGTON, June 13 -- Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, issued the following news release on June 12, 2023: Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) joined Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) to introduce the Market Access, Promotion and Landowner Education Support for Your Regionally Underserved Producers (MAPLE SYRUP) Act last week, legislation extending and expanding the Acer Access and Development Program, which supports maple syrup producers in Vermont and across the United States. Co-Spo  more