Todays news from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.): Caring for Veterans: Fixing problems at the Department of Veterans Affairs will cost $17.6 billion over the next three years, Sloan Gibson, the acting secretary, testified on Wednesday at a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing. Sen. Bernard Sanders, the committee chairman, told The New York Times that the sums discussed by Gibson would fix underlying problems that would persist and grow worse if they are not addressed now. More Docs Needed: With more than 600,000 veterans still waiting at least a month for appointments and about 8,000 waiting at least four months, Sanders said there is “an immediate crisis” and asked Acting Secretary Gibson, “What are the legitimate needs?” CNN reported. The VA needs to hire 10,000 doctors, nurses and other health care providers and make other reforms in order to meet the needs of a growing number of veterans, Gibson told Sanders, USA Today, the Burlington Free Press, Rutland Herald, Times Argus, Military Times, National Journal and The Reno Dispatch reported. Gibson said he believes the department can regain the trust of veterans with significant reforms, The Associated Press and The Washington Times noted. Refugee Crisis: The pace of migrants attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border has slowed in recent weeks, administration officials told lawmakers Wednesday. A growing number of congressional Democrats are opposed to weakening legal protections for young children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border from Central America. Sen. Sanders told Ed Schultz Wednesday on MSNBC that child refugees fleeing violence into the United States should be afforded safe and humane housing as well as all legal protections required by current law. “We have a refugee crisis,” Sanders said. “It is a moral issue. Do you simply shove them back to where they came from? I don’t think that’s what America’s supposed to be about.” Net Neutrality: A Federal Communications Commission proposal to alter net neutrality rules governing Internet service corporations has received nearly 800,000 comments. Sen. Sanders joined a handful of Senate colleagues in telling the FCC to regulate broadband companies as utilities,Gauthum Nagesh blogged for The Wall Street Journal. Continue reading here: sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/newswatch/071714
Posted on: Thu, 17 Jul 2014 12:51:31 +0000
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