Todays news from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.): Health Care: Sen. Bernie Sanders says he’s frustrated by technical problems that have plagued the federal health exchange but he doesn’t want to make major alterations at this time. “What I think we need to do is take a look in the next several weeks to see the kind of progress that’s being made,” Sanders told Vermont Public Radio. “And if progress is not being made in a sufficient way we can address that.” Sanders said it’s important to remember that the Affordable Care Act already has had “some successes,” including letting people under 26 years old stay with their parents’ insurance plans and ending discrimination against women. LINK Obama Nominates Market Regulator: President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that he will nominate Treasury Department official Timothy Massad to be chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the regulatory agency charged with policing financial markets that played a role in the 2008 financial crisis. Sen. Sanders said he would press Massad about the commission’s efforts to restrict speculation in commodities markets, Politico reported. “Will Mr. Massad make sure that the price of heating oil and gasoline is based on the fundamentals of supply and demand and not Wall Street greed?” Sanders asked, according to Bloomberg. LINK, LINK Democrats Target Some Tax Loopholes: An internal document shows Democrats preparing to target tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations as part of congressional budget conference negotiations, but does not confront tax breaks for the fossil fuel industry, Common Dreams reported. Progressives like Sen. Sanders have called for an “end [to] tax breaks and subsidies for oil, gas and coal companies to reduce the deficit by more than $113 billion over the next 10 years,” but the document indicates that preserving these tax breaks continues to have widespread bipartisan support. Continue reading here: sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/newswatch/111313
Posted on: Wed, 13 Nov 2013 14:19:26 +0000