Bernie Sanders

Senator from Vermont
Jump to  stances on the issues
Bernie Sanders dropped out of the presidential race on April 8, 2020. This page is no longer being updated.
Sanders, an independent, is back after waging an unsuccessful challenge to Hillary Clinton in 2016 with a democratic socialist platform that included free college tuition. His positions on those issues have driven the policy debate within the Democratic Party ever since. He was elected to the Senate in 2006 and was previously in the House for 16 years.
University of Chicago, B.A. (1964)
September 8, 1941
Jane Sanders; divorced from Deborah Shiling
Jewish
Levi (son with Susan Mott)
Heather, Carina and David
Congressman from Vermont, 1991-2007;
Mayor of Burlington, 1981-1989

SANDERS IN THE NEWS

2020 Presidential Debates Fast Facts
Updated 11:56 AM ET, Thu Oct 5, 2023
Here's a look at the 2020 presidential debates. June 26, 2019 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Miami, Florida Hosts: NBC News, MSNBC and Telemundo Moderators: José Diaz-Balart, Savannah Guthrie, Lester Holt, Rachel Maddow and Chuck Todd Participants: Cory Booker, Julián Castro, Bill de Blasio, John Delaney, Tulsi Gabbard, Jay Inslee, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O'Rourke, Tim Ryan, Elizabeth Warren Transcript June 27, 2019 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Miami, Florida Hosts: NBC News, MSNBC and Telemundo Moderators: José Diaz-Balart, Savannah Guthrie, Lester Holt, Rachel Maddow and Chuck Todd Participants: Michael Bennet, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, John Hickenlooper, Bernie Sanders, Eric Swalwell, Marianne Williamson, Andrew Yang Transcript July 30, 2019 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Detroit, Michigan Hosts: CNN, CNN International and CNN en Español Moderators: Dana Bash, Don Lemon and Jake Tapper Participants: Steve Bullock, Pete Buttigieg, John Delaney, John Hickenlooper, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O'Rourke, Tim Ryan, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Marianne Williamson Transcript July 31, 2019 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Detroit, Michigan Hosts: CNN, CNN International and CNN en Español Moderators: Dana Bash, Don Lemon and Jake Tapper Participants: Michael Bennet, Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Julián Castro, Bill de Blasio, Tulsi Gabbard, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, Jay Inslee, Andrew Yang Transcript September 12, 2019 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Houston, Texas Hosts: ABC News and Univision Moderators: Linsey Davis, David Muir, Jorge Ramos and George Stephanopoulos Participants: Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Julián Castro, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O'Rourke, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Andrew Yang Transcript October 15, 2019 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Westerville, Ohio Hosts: CNN and The New York Times Moderators: Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper and Marc Lacey Participants: Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Julián Castro, Tulsi Gabbard, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O'Rourke, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang Transcripts: 8pm ET, 9pm ET, 10pm ET November 20, 2019 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Atlanta Hosts: MSNBC and The Washington Post Moderators: Rachel Maddow, Andrea Mitchell, Ashley Parker and Kristen Welker Participants: Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Tulsi Gabbard, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang Transcript December 19, 2019 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Los Angeles Hosts: PBS NewsHour and Politico Moderators: Tim Alberta, Yamiche Alcindor, Amna Nawaz and Judy Woodruff Participants: Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang Transcript January 14, 2020 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Des Moines, Iowa Hosts: CNN and Des Moines Register Moderators: Wolf Blitzer, Brianne Pfannenstiel and Abby Phillip Participants: Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer and Elizabeth Warren Transcripts: 9pm ET, 10pm ET February 7, 2020 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Manchester, New Hampshire Hosts: ABC, Apple News and WMUR-TV Moderators: Linsey Davis, Monica Hernandez, David Muir, Adam Sexton and George Stephanopoulos Participants: Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang February 19, 2020 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Las Vegas, Nevada Hosts: MSNBC, NBC News, The Nevada Independent and Telemundo Moderators: Vanessa Hauc, Lester Holt, Hallie Jackson, Jon Ralston and Chuck Todd Participants: Joe Biden, Michael Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren Transcript February 25, 2020 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Charleston, South Carolina Hosts: CBS News, the Congressional Black Caucus Institute and Twitter Moderators: Margaret Brennan, Major Garrett, Gayle King, Norah O'Donnell and Bill Whitaker Participants: Joe Biden, Michael Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer and Elizabeth Warren Transcript March 15, 2020 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Washington, DC Hosts: CNN and Univision Moderators: Dana Bash, Ilia Calderón and Jake Tapper Participants: Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders Transcript September 29, 2020 Event Type: First Presidential Debate Location: Cleveland, Ohio Hosts: Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic Moderator: Chris Wallace Participants: Joe Biden and Donald Trump Transcript October 7, 2020 Event Type: Vice Presidential Debate Location: Salt Lake City, Utah Hosts: The University of Utah Moderator: Susan Page Participants: Kamala Harris and Mike Pence Transcript October 15, 2020 October 9, 2020 - The Commission on Presidential Debates cancels the second presidential debate after Trump declines to do a virtual debate despite concerns over his Covid-19 diagnosis. October 22, 2020 Event Type: Third Presidential Debate Location: Nashville, Tennessee Hosts: Belmont University Moderator: Kristen Welker Participants: Joe Biden and Donald Trump Transcript
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STANCES ON THE ISSUES

climate crisis
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Sanders has described climate change – now as well as during his 2016 run for president – as a global security threat. He is a leading proponent of the Green New Deal, the broad plan to address renewable-energy infrastructure and climate change proposed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. In August 2019, Sanders released a $16.3 trillion climate change program. His targets include meeting the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s goal of 100% renewable energy for electricity and transportation by 2030; cutting domestic emissions by 71% over that period; creating a $526 billion electric "smart grid”; investing $200 billion in the Green Climate Fund; and prioritizing what activists call a “just transition” for fossil fuel workers who would be dislocated during the transition. The Vermont independent would also cut off billions in subsidies to fossil fuel companies and impose bans on extractive practices, including fracking and mountaintop coal mining, while halting the import and export of coal, oil and natural gas. Sanders vows to recommit the US to the Paris climate accord, a landmark 2015 deal on global warming targets that Trump has pledged to abandon. More on Sanders’ climate crisis policy
economy
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Sanders introduced his 21st-century Economic Bill of Rights in June 2019, in which he pledged “once and for all that every American, regardless of his or her income, is entitled to the right to a decent job that pays a living wage; the right to quality health care; the right to a complete education; the right to affordable housing; the right to a clean environment; and the right to a secure retirement.” In October 2019, he introduced a plan that would guarantee workers eventually take control of 20% stakes in the country’s largest companies through the issuance of new stock and would mandate that employees elect 45% of corporate boards of directors. The Sanders plan would also impose strict new guidelines on mega-mergers, while asking a revamped Federal Trade Commission to review deals pushed through during the Trump administration. Throughout his career, Sanders has been pro-union, saying in January, “If we are serious about reducing income and wealth inequality and creating good-paying jobs, we have to substantially increase the number of union jobs in this country.” In 2017, he supported a 10-year infrastructure plan costing $1 trillion. At the time, proponents estimated the plan would create 15 million jobs. He had put forth a similar proposal during his first presidential campaign. More on Sanders’ economic policy
education
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Sanders would eliminate tuition and fees at, as his campaign says, “four-year public colleges and universities, tribal colleges, community colleges, trade schools, and apprenticeship programs.” He unveiled legislation in June 2019 that would wipe out $1.6 trillion in undergraduate and graduate student loan debt for about 45 million people. The plan has no eligibility limitations and would be paid for with a new tax on Wall Street speculation. Sanders frequently describes education as a “human right.” That means “making public colleges, universities and historically black colleges and universities tuition-free and debt-free by tripling the work study program, expanding Pell grants and other financial incentives," he said. His “Thurgood Marshall Plan for Public Education” would seek to improve the K-12 system by taking aim at de facto segregation and public-school funding disparities while banning for-profit charter schools. More on Sanders’ education policy
gun violence
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Sanders describes “an epidemic of gun violence” in the US and has pushed for expanded background checks and the closing of assorted loopholes in firearm purchases. Sanders has consistently voted for legislation that would ban so-called assault weapons and said he would seek to do the same for high-capacity magazines. He said he would push for harsher punishments for “straw” purchases, when someone purchases a gun for someone who cannot legally possess a firearm. More on Sanders’ gun violence policy
healthcare
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Sanders introduced “Medicare for All” legislation in 2017, which would have created a national government-run program providing comprehensive coverage with no premiums, deductibles or copays. He has taken this version of the plan one step further since its initial rollout to include long-term care at home and in the community for senior citizens and people with disabilities. Unlike some of his presidential opponents, Sanders says there should be no private insurance option except for items not covered by his Medicare for All act, such as elective procedures. Sanders argues that the increase in taxes would be more than offset by eliminating the premiums, deductibles and copayments associated with private health insurance. When asked during the first Democratic presidential debate about whether taxes would go up as a result of his health care plan, Sanders said: “Yes, they will pay more in taxes, but less in health care for what they get.” Sanders also supports importing drugs, allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices and pegging the price of medicine in the US to the median price in five other developed nations. More on Sanders’ health care policy
immigration
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Sanders has called for comprehensive immigration legislation, which includes providing a path toward citizenship for undocumented immigrants. He has proposed providing legal status for those covered by the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which shields from deportation some undocumented immigrants who were brought to the US as children. Sanders has also called for restructuring Immigration and Customs Enforcement. More on Sanders’ immigration policy

LATEST POLITICAL NEWS

Devastation in Gaza as Israel wages war on Hamas
Updated 1:22 AM ET, Tue Mar 19, 2024
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Saudi Arabia and Egypt to meet with government leaders this week and discuss efforts to reach an “immediate ceasefire agreement” between Israel and Hamas, according to the State Department. The deal would secure the release of hostages taken by Hamas during the October 7 attack on Israel, the State Department said. The agreement would also ensure "intensified international efforts to increase humanitarian assistance to Gaza, and coordination on post-conflict planning for Gaza, including ensuring Hamas can no longer govern or repeat the attacks of October 7th," the State Department said. Blinken also plans to discuss how to end Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Some background: In Qatar, truce talks are taking place between Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Israel’s Mossad chief David Barnea, and Egyptian officials. The talks touch on a ceasefire deal in Gaza in exchange for the release of hostages held by Hamas, a source with knowledge of the discussions told CNN. Blinken's visit will be part of a larger trip, which includes stops in Austria, South Korea, and the Philippines. Israeli authorities are preparing to send a group of Palestinian patients who were being treated in East Jerusalem hospitals back to Gaza this week. The group of 22 Gazan Palestinians includes five newborn babies and their mothers, cancer patients now in remission, and a few companions who had accompanied them, according to hospital officials. They had all received permission from Israeli authorities to travel to Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem for advanced medical care – most before the October Hamas 7 attack on Israel. But staying in East Jerusalem is no longer an option. The Israeli defense ministry body responsible for Palestinian affairs, COGAT, has for months been pushing East Jerusalem hospital officials for a list of patients who no longer require in-patient medical treatment to send them back to Gaza, those officials told CNN. The patients on that list, which has been seen by CNN, are expected to board buses for the Kerem Shalom crossing on the border between Israel and Gaza on Wednesday. Among them will be Nima Abu Garrara, who was brought from Rafah to East Jerusalem while pregnant with twins and gave birth on October 5. All her twins have known is the safety of a room at Makassed Hospital. Soon, that will be torn away, traded for the reality of war. Abu Garrara fears a grim future in Gaza, where an Israeli military ground offensive on the southern city of Rafah looms. “I’ll be the one responsible for anything that harms them," she said referring to her twins. Read more about the patients who will be sent back to Gaza. The Biden administration will meet with Israeli officials "soon" in Washington to discuss alternatives to a planned military ground offensive in Gaza's southern city of Rafah, where about 1.5 million people are sheltering after fleeing fighting in northern areas. In a call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Joe. Biden said Israel's plans for a major operation in Rafah could be catastrophic for Palestinian civilians, and asked the Israeli leader to send a delegation of military leaders to Washington to discuss alternatives. Netanyahu agreed to the request, and national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the meeting would be held at the end of this week or early next week. Biden's concerns over Israel’s planned Rafah offensive fell within three areas: Civilians sheltering in Rafah have nowhere safe to go Rafah is an entry point for critical humanitarian assistance Neighboring Egypt has voiced serious concerns about a potential military operation in the city. In the call, Netanyahu reiterated Israel's commitment to achieving its war goals, including eliminating Hamas and releasing hostages. Here are the other major developments in the conflict: "Fierce clashes" around Gaza's largest hospital: Hamas' military wing said its fighters engaged in “fierce clashes” with Israeli forces around Al-Shifa Medical Complex after Israel said it launched an incursion because the Gaza City hospital was being used by "senior Hamas terrorists." The Health Ministry said there were multiple casualties at the complex, where about 30,000 people were sheltering, and the head of the World Health Organization said "hospitals should never be battlegrounds."  Mass arrests at Al-Shifa: The IDF said it arrested over 200 "terror suspects" at Al-Shifa hospital. One was Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Ismail Al-Ghoul, the network said. The US is aware of the arrest and has asked Israel for more information, a State Department official said. Humanitarian crisis: A report published by the UN World Food Programme warned that sustained fighting and lack of humanitarian aid means famine is now "imminent in the northern governates" of Gaza between now and May. The top US humanitarian aid official called it "a horrific milestone" and urged Israel to open more land routes to deliver aid. A growing number of children are dying of starvation and dehydration, according to WHO and Palestinian officials, and doctors say malnutrition is complicating the recovery of children from their injuries. Hamas commander killed: Israel killed a senior Hamas commander in an airstrike last week, according to the White House. Marwan Issa was one of the planners of the October 7 attack against Israel, the IDF said last week. On Monday, an IDF spokesperson did not confirm the information but said Israeli forces attacked an underground compound used by senior Hamas officials on March 9. The IDF was not able to verify if Issa was killed, the spokesperson said. ##Catch Up## US forces destroyed seven anti-ship missiles, three drones, and three weapons storage containers in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen on Monday, according to US Central Command. The strike took place between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. (Sanaa time), CENTCOM said in a statement, calling it an act of "self-defense." "It was determined these weapons presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region," CENTCOM said. US forces have been conducting similar strikes in the area where tensions have heightened since the Iran-backed militant groups began attacking commercial vessels in the key waterway. Earlier this month, a ballistic missile by the Houthis struck a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden, killing three crew members in its first fatal attack since October. The Biden administration will meet with Israeli officials “soon” in Washington to “discuss alternative approaches that would target key elements of Hamas and secure the Egypt-Gaza border without a major ground operation in Rafah,” the White House said in a statement. President Joe Biden spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday and voiced "deep concerns" over Israel's planned major operation in Gaza's southern city of Rafah, according to White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. It was the first known phone conversation between the leaders in over a month as their rift deepens. Biden asked Netanyahu to send a delegation of military leaders to Washington to discuss an alternative approach for going after Hamas in Rafah, to which Netanyahu agreed. The meeting could take place at the end of this week or early next week, Sullivan said. The leaders also discussed the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and hostage negotiations in Qatar, according to a White House statement on the call. Emphasis on northern Gaza: The leaders discussed “the urgent need” to increase the flow of aid to Gaza, especially in the north of the enclave. “The President stressed the urgent need to significantly increase the flow of lifesaving aid reaching those in need throughout Gaza, with special emphasis on the north,” the White House said. Malnutrition is complicating the recovery of children from their injuries in war-torn Gaza’s collapsing health care system, according to doctors. A growing number of children are dying of starvation and dehydration, according to the World Health Organization and Palestinian officials. Acute malnutrition doubled within one month among children in northern Gaza, according to UNICEF. Project Hope is a US-based health and humanitarian aid organization that operates in regions facing health crises. Its emergency teams report that 5%-15% of the children arriving at its two clinics in Deir Al-Balah and Rafah are malnourished. “Malnutrition amplifies the fragility of the situation,” Rondi Anderson of Project Hope said. “If you’re malnourished, you’re weak. A child’s immune system is weak, it gets infected, then the healing can’t happen, and it gets prolonged.” CNN spoke to multiple doctors who have been to Gaza since the war began. They reported seeing a lot of orthopedic injuries like limb injuries as well as burns, which present multiple layers of treatment. In these situations, a patient needs good pain management, nutrition, antibiotic care and fluid management. In Gaza, “all those four pillars are gone,” said Dr. Amber Alayyan from Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Adding a malnourished state to that means the healing is complicated, she added. “People who have really huge injuries are dying on the spot,” she said. “At the beginning, we were seeing people with really big abdominal injuries and thoracic injuries and things like that. And now, I think that I truly think that they’re dying on the spot, because we’re seeing fewer and fewer. You do see them, but they don’t necessarily make it to the ICU very quickly.” The top US humanitarian aid official called a report warning that famine is set to break out in northern Gaza sometime between now and May “a horrific milestone” and urged Israel to open more land routes to deliver aid into the enclave. “We continue to call on Israel to open more land routes into Gaza and reduce bottlenecks and inspection delays to get land crossings operating at full capacity, even as we pursue air and maritime options to supplement these land routes,” US Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power said in a statement. The report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification said that the sustained fighting and lack of humanitarian aid means famine is now "imminent in the northern governates" of Gaza and "projected to occur anytime between mid-March and May 2024."  Power said the "catastrophic levels of hunger and malnutrition" detailed in the report "should be unimaginable in the current era, but for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, this is the reality." “With just two previous Famine declarations in the twenty-first century, this is a horrific milestone," she added. Doctors Without Borders recounted reports from its staff of heavy fighting around Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza as Israeli forces conducted a military offensive inside and around the facility on Monday. A staff member of the organization, also called Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), reported hearing “drones, tanks, and shelling” near the hospital in the early hours of Monday, witnessing a fire rising from Al-Shifa's main building.  Clashes were also reported around the organization's clinic and office in Gaza City where some staff and their families are sheltering. "We call on all warring parties to respect the grounds and perimeter of Al-Shifa Hospital and ensure the safety of medical personnel, patients, and civilians," MSF said in a statement. According to MSF staff, Israeli forces conducted “mass arrests in the area surrounding Al-Shifa,” and one of the organization’s staff members is currently unreachable. Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said on Monday that Israel has been waiting for the “right time to act” at Al-Shifa Hospital, in comments addressing Israel’s military operation there. Hagari said that the IDF arrested over 200 “terror suspects” who are “now under investigation.” The World Food Programme released a statement Monday on their Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report about food security in the Gaza Strip that found 88% of the region’s entire population faces “emergency or worse” food insecurity and warns that famine in northern Gaza is “imminent.” “People in Gaza are starving to death right now,” said WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain. “The speed at which this man-made hunger and malnutrition crisis has ripped through Gaza is terrifying.”  The IPC report, which was written by a group of NGOs, governments and UN agencies warned that "between mid-March and mid-July, in the most likely scenario and under the assumption of an escalation of the conflict including a ground offensive in Rafah, half of the population of the Gaza Strip (1.11 million people) is expected to face catastrophic conditions (IPC Phase 5)." Here's what else we know: According to the report, for the 300,000 people that remain trapped in Nornhern Gaza, "famine is expected to arrive between now and May,” and one in three children in Gaza below the age of two are “acutely malnourished.”    Southern Gaza is also slowly nearing famine, according to the report, which found that the region may reach famine conditions by July.  The report goes on to say that the nearing famine could be halted if aid organizations are allowed full access to the Gaza Strip to bring food, water and other nutritional products to the civilian population, and that “a humanitarian ceasefire is necessary,” for this to occur. The World Health Organization's chief expressed concern about the situation at the Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza after an Israeli military raid on the medical complex. The organization's chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus highlighted the concerning situation in a post on X, saying: "Hospitals should never be battlegrounds."  "We are terribly worried about the situation at Al-Shifa Hospital in northern #Gaza, which is endangering health workers, patients and civilians," he said. A displaced Palestinian, Hamada Abdelhadi, told CNN that Israeli military vehicles and bulldozers had been “demolishing and excavating the outer edges of the hospital yards” as part of the operation.  Ghebreyesus said the hospital had only recently managed to restore "minimal health services," warning that fighting there or "militarization of the facility jeopardize health services, access for ambulances, and delivery of life-saving supplies." 
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