Tuesday, June 28, 2016
The proposal stems from an agreement hammered out last week. It would preempt Vermont’s GMO labeling law, which takes effect Friday.
Sanders’ procedural maneuver prevents the bill from being considered unless it gets at least 60 votes, according to Sanders’ spokesman Josh Miller-Lewis. The bill has yet to be introduced and timing of any votes is unknown, he said.
Meanwhile, Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said Tuesday that he will also oppose the federal bill. Last week, Leahy had said he was considering the proposal.
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Friday, June 24, 2016
Robby Mook, Clinton’s campaign manager and a native Vermonter, was asking Sanders’ delegates to get behind Clinton for a peaceful convention in Philadelphia in July, several delegates said afterward. It appeared no promises were made.
“We’re still processing,” said Rep. Mary Sullivan (D-Burlington), a pledged Sanders delegate, as she came out of the meeting at the Hilton Burlington.
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Since losing California to Clinton more than two weeks ago, Sanders has alternately sounded a combative and a conciliatory tone. In a speech Thursday night in New York City called "Where we go from here," he largely avoided mentioning his Democratic rival and pledged to continue fighting for his progressive priorities.
But asked directly Friday morning on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" whether he would vote for Clinton this fall, Sanders provided an unambiguous response.
"Yes," he said. "Yeah, I think the issue right here is, I'm going to do everything I can to defeat Donald Trump."
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Thursday, June 23, 2016
If it passes the full Congress, the deal between top Democratic and Republican leaders on the Senate Agriculture Committee would preempt Vermont’s law, which is slated to take effect July 1.
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said in a statement Thursday that he’s still evaluating whether he supports the agreement. Unlike Vermont’s law, which requires labeling on packages, the agreement means consumers could have to scan a product with a digital device to get GMO information.
That’s partly why Gov. Peter Shumlin and Vermont Attorney General Bill Sorrell oppose the federal approach.
“Not a good day for Vermont if this bill passes,” said Sorrell, whose office has been gearing up to enact the state’s new regulations. “A consumer would need to have a smartphone and have the appropriate app on your smartphone to be able to hold it up to a box of breakfast cereal to see if there are GMOs in it. This looks to me like an industry-friendly bill and not a consumer-friendly bill. I hope it doesn’t get the 60 votes it needs to pass.”
Tags: GMO labeling , Patrick Leahy , Grocery Manufacturers Association , Image , Web Only
"We focused attention on the obligation of Congress to act," said U.S. Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), who joined his colleagues for much of the protest. "The response I got on social media from Vermonters — the calls to our office — has been greater on this event than anything else since I've served in Congress. And it's been overwhelmingly positive."
Democrats took control of the House floor late Wednesday morning and did not leave until roughly 1 p.m. Thursday. They stalled all congressional action until late Wednesday night, when House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Republican leaders reconvened to push through a major spending bill and other legislation. GOP lawmakers then left town — despite chants of "no bill, no break!" — for their annual Independence Day recess.
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Wednesday, June 22, 2016
"That's something I've never done in my life," he said. "But every moment of silence has been followed by moments of total inaction, and obviously our job is to do something — to have a debate on a bill and pass some common-sense gun legislation."
Welch took his protest a step further Wednesday, joining a highly unusual sit-in on the House floor to demand a vote on gun-control legislation. Democratic lawmakers interrupted the chamber's proceedings that morning and vowed to remain in the well of the House until Republican leaders scheduled a vote.
"It's been a spontaneous avalanche of support among our colleagues," Welch said Wednesday afternoon during a phone interview from the House cloakroom. "Members feel good that finally we're doing something to indicate clearly and explicitly with our actions that we want action, we want to do our job, we want to vote."
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Tuesday, June 21, 2016
At issue were a series of proposals to strengthen the nation's gun laws. Like his district-mate, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Sanders supported measures that would bar those on federal terrorism watch lists from buying firearms and require those engaging in private sales to undergo federal background checks. The pair opposed a Republican proposal to delay for 72 hours the purchase of firearms by those on terrorism watch lists.
All of the measures failed.
For Sanders, who has been busy campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination, the votes were his first since January 12. According to GovTrack.us, Sanders missed another 19 votes last fall. The senator declined an interview request, and a spokesman did not respond to questions about his long absence.
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Thursday, June 16, 2016
In an online address Thursday evening, the senator from Vermont pledged to continue fighting for a "political revolution" — through next month's Democratic National Convention and beyond.
"This campaign has never been about any single candidate," he said. "It has always been about transforming America."
In a 23-minute speech, broadcast live from a television studio in Burlington's Old North End, Sanders did not say he would continue challenging former secretary of state Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. But neither did he say the words "concede," "suspend" or "endorse." Rather, he seemed to be holding out for specific concessions.
"It is no secret that Secretary Clinton and I have strong disagreements on some very, very important issues. It is also true that our views are quite close on others," he said. "I look forward, in the coming weeks, to continued discussions between the two campaigns to make certain that your voices are heard and that the Democratic Party passes the most progressive platform in its history — and that Democrats actually fight for that agenda."
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Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Neither statement addressed whether Sanders would drop out of the race or endorse Clinton, who all but locked up the Democratic presidential nomination last week. But both said they would work together to oppose presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.
The meeting came not long after Clinton won the Washington, D.C., primary 78 to 21 percent. It was the final nominating contest in a process that has lasted four and a half months. With just 84 superdelegate votes unaccounted for, Clinton leads Sanders 2,800 delegates to 1,881.
Sanders returned to D.C. Tuesday after a long weekend in Vermont, where he met with top supporters and took part in a vigil for the victims of Sunday's mass shooting in Orlando, Fla. Sanders attended the Senate Democrats' weekly luncheon Tuesday afternoon, where he received a standing ovation, and then held a press conference outside his D.C. campaign office to repeat his call for "a fundamental transformation of the Democratic Party."
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Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Police estimated that between 1,500 and 2,000 turned out to the march and rally organized by the Pride Center of Vermont.