July 6, 2013
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Weird Weather Hits Vermont
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Two years ago, spring flooding caused widespread destruction. Later
that same year, in August 2011, Hurricane Irene devastated Vermont,
causing more than $500 million in damage. This past May, severe storms
closed 30 state and local bridges. Now, Vermont is on the verge of
asking the president to issue federal disaster assistance after
widespread, torrential rain caused significant flooding. Rivers have
already overflowed and the state has closed roads throughout the hardest
hit parts of Vermont. Lake Champlain is inches from flood level – a
record for July. With days of rain forecast, the lake is expected to
pass the flood stage next week.
While Vermonters are experiencing torrential rain, people in the western part of the country are experiencing a massive heat wave and drought. Many scientists believe the extreme weather disturbances that we are now seeing are a clear indication of climate change. Bernie, who introduced comprehensive climate change legislation, is helping lead the effort to reverse global warming. “To ensure a healthy planet for our kids and grandchildren, we need to transfer our energy system away from fossil fuel and into energy efficiency and sustainable energy,” Bernie said. |
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Rates Double on Students
Interest rates on subsidized Stafford loans for students doubled
July 1 from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. The rising interest rate affects
7 million students nationally and more than 19,000 Vermonters. Bernie
is fighting to restore the lower rates. “At a time when many Vermont
families are struggling to send their kids to college, it is absurd for
interest rates on subsidized Stafford loans to double,” Bernie said. “We
must lower the cost of a college education, not raise it.”
A new report released by the Joint Economic Committee showed the average student loan debt in Vermont was greater than the amount in all but six states. In Vermont, 63 percent of college graduates hold student loans. The average balance was $28,860. Bernie is fighting not only to lower interest rates, but to find a long-term solution to make college affordable. |
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No Cuts to Social Security, No 'Chained CPI'
Vermonters rallied at Burlington City Hall this week to protest the
adoption of a so-called “chained CPI” which would cut Social Security
and veterans' benefits by recalculating the consumer price index. Sen.
Sanders, who founded the Defending Social Security Caucus, has led the
effort to oppose the chained CPI and has introduced legislation for a
long-term solution to strengthen Social Security for our kids and
grandchildren. Bernie supports what President Obama proposed when he was
a presidential candidate in 2008: Lifting the cap on Social Security
payroll taxes to make the wealthy contribute the same percentage of
their income as other workers.
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Vermont's Essay Winner
Gailin Pease, who will be a senior at Burlington High School, was
named the Vermont winner for the U.S. Institute of Peace’s essay
contest. Gailin, who met with Bernie during a recent trip to Washington,
wrote an essay about the role women play in conflict resolution. She
writes: “A community which discovers, through education and
conversation, the value of women is a community that will be able to
build peace and economic stability long into the future.”
http://sanders.enews.senate.gov/mail/util.cfm?gpiv=2100105352.965353.422&gen=1 |
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