Bernie Sanders
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Enough is enough. A life-saving prescription drug does not work if you cannot afford to buy it.
The historic expansion of the child tax credit, passed earlier this year under the American Rescue Plan, helped lower child poverty in this country by more than 50%. Pretty good. But we cannot stop there. We must extend it now.
Today, nearly one out of every four Americans cannot afford the medications that their doctors prescribe.
Enough is enough. It is time to end the corporate greed of the pharmaceutical industry and lower the cost of prescription drugs.
All over this country, the American people are asking a simple question: How many people need to die, how many people need to get unnecessarily sicker before Congress is prepared to take on the greed of the prescription drug industry?
Last year, the six largest drug companies in the U.S. made nearly $50 billion dollars in profits. Meanwhile, Americans pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. That disgrace has got to end.
The pharmaceutical industry, over the last 20 years, has spent over $4.5 billion dollars on lobbying and campaign contributions. They have hundreds of lobbyists on Capitol Hill right now to fight any bill that will lower the cost of prescription drugs.
Moral policy is good politics. When you stand up for working families and protect future generations, that not only is the right thing to do, but it is also what the American people want.
I’m very glad my home state of Vermont will be welcoming 100 Afghan refugees in the coming weeks. This is exactly what we should be doing, and I have no doubt that they will enrich, and contribute immeasurably, to our state.
The pharmaceutical industry doesn’t want us to lower the cost of prescription drugs. The fossil fuel industry wants to continue making profits off of destroying the planet.
We must show the American people that government represents them, not powerful interest groups.
We are taking on the ruling class, we are taking on the oligarchs, we are taking on the pharmaceutical industry, we are taking on the health care industry, we are taking on the fossil fuel industry. But if we stand together, we will win.
Yes, we must pass the most consequential piece of legislation for working families since the 1930s and prove that our government can work for them, and not just for the wealthy and powerful.
79% of the American people believe that the cost of prescription drugs is too high.
Is it radical for Congress to represent the American people and address their long-neglected needs? No. I don’t think so.
The American people pay higher prices for prescription drugs than people in almost every other major country on Earth.
Does that make any sense to you?
The reality of today is that poverty is a death sentence in America. The wealthiest people live, on average, 10-15 years longer than the poorest.
We must expand Medicare. We must invest in child care. We must pay workers a living wage. We must take care of our people.
The richest people on Earth should pay more than $0 in federal income taxes. Period.
Question: Why do we pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs? Answer: The pharmaceutical industry has spent $4.5 billion over the last 20 years in lobbying and campaign contributions. Congress must have the courage NOW to lower drug prices.
In the fight against climate change, we have a choice: protect the profits of the fossil fuel industry or protect the future of our children.
We must end a rigged system that allowed the former CEO of Gilead to become a billionaire by charging $1,000 for a Hepatitis C drug that was developed by the VA, costs $1 to manufacture & can be purchased in India for $4. No more excuses. Congress must lower drug prices NOW.
At a time of massive and growing income & wealth inequality and as the top 1% has more wealth than the bottom 92%, now is the time to demand that the wealthy and large corporations pay their fair share so that we can begin to address the long neglected needs of working families.
Now is the time for Congress to show courage and stand up to the greed of the pharmaceutical industry. The American people will not accept surrender.”
Nonetheless, the American people are demanding that Congress stand up to them and finally lower the outrageous price of prescription drugs by requiring Medicare to negotiate with the pharmaceutical industry.
The pharmaceutical industry has spent over $4.5 billion on lobbying and campaign contributions over the past 20 years and has hired some 1,200 lobbyists to get Congress to do its bidding. They are the most powerful industry on Capitol Hill.
Meanwhile, one out of five Americans cannot afford the prescriptions their doctors write, and thousands die each year because they lack the money to buy the medicine they need.
Year after year, the pharmaceutical industry makes extraordinary profits and provides their CEOs with obscenely high compensation packages.
The good news is that the full Congress must and will do far better. At a time when the drug companies are charging us by far the highest prices in the world, Congress must demand that Medicare negotiate prices with this extremely greedy and powerful industry.
I'm very disappointed in the vote today on prescription drugs by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
I get that the pharmaceutical industry owns the Republican Party and that no Republican voted for this bill, but there is no excuse for every Democrat not supporting it. twitter.com/politico/statu…
If we can pass bold legislation NOW that invests in them, we can show the American people that government can work for all of us, and not just the wealthy few.
This is what oligarchy looks like: The drug companies, the healthcare industry, fossil fuel interests and the very rich are spending millions to defeat our legislation to protect working families and create a progressive tax system. Enough is enough. Their greed must be defeated.
Here in Washington, when we go to war: there's endless amounts of money
Tax breaks for billionaires: endless amounts of money
But when we want to support working American families, suddenly we don't have enough money. Unacceptable.
Is demanding that the wealthiest people in the country and the largest corporations finally pay their fair share of taxes radical? No. What’s radical is the very rich not paying a nickel in federal income tax while the needs of the working class of this country are neglected.
Maybe, just maybe, at a time of massive income and wealthy inequality, when two people own more wealth than the bottom 40%, now is the time to address the needs of our people.
What the data tells us is clear: when government responds to the needs of the working class, millions of families are lifted out of poverty.
We must not stop here. We must pass the $3.5T reconciliation bill and invest in working families. twitter.com/washingtonpost…
The American Rescue Plan showed what good and moral policy can do. For example, it helped reduce childhood poverty in the US by 50%.
But it would be a shame to stop there. Let’s pass the reconciliation bill. Let’s transform our economy to work for the many, not just the few.
"At the end of the day, do I think the Democratic caucus will turn its back on the needs of working families? Turn its back on the unbelievable crisis we face in terms of climate change? No."
—Sen. Sanders on his party's criticisms of the $3.5 trillion budget proposal.
Retweeted by Bernie Sanders Whether you're a Republican, a Democrat or an Independent, Americans understand that right now, the richest people in this country and the largest corporations are doing phenomenally well while the middle class of this country struggles.
That is going to change.
Oregon is burning. California is burning. Siberia is burning. People are drowning in New York City. Detroit is flooding. There is drought all over the world. This is a climate crisis.
The United States must lead the world in transforming our energy system away from fossil fuel.
Physical infrastructure is terribly important. But I also think that the needs of the human beings of our country – working families, the children, the elderly, the poor – are even more important.
We can and must take care of both.
STARTING NOW: @GStephanopoulos goes one-on-one with:
✅ @Surgeon_General
✅ @Sen_JoeManchin
✅ @SenSanders
And @GovChristie, @ysimpsonpower, @whignewtons & @rolandsmartin join the Powerhouse Roundtable. @ThisWeekABC abcn.ws/3k0naq6
Retweeted by Bernie Sanders Good Morning! Today on #CNNSOTU w/ @DanaBashCNN at 9am ET:
➡️ @Surgeon_General
➡️ @Sen_JoeManchin
➡️ @SenSanders
Tune in on 📺@CNNN, 🌎�@cnnicnni,@Radiodotcomdo@tuneintu@SIRIUSXMRIUSXM Ch. 116 &cnn.com/GOhaq9PVit3rP
Retweeted by Bernie Sanders 20 years later, we pause to remember the thousands of lives lost on September 11, 2001, and the bravery of so many first responders who put their lives at risk to save others.
I have absolute confidence that if we have the courage and the determination to stand together and fight for justice, not only can we address the enormous crises that we face, but I believe we can move this country in a much stronger and better direction.
At a time of massive wealth and income inequality, we can no longer tolerate a rigged tax system that allows the top 1% to avoid $163 billion in taxes that they owe. Yes, we will demand that the 1% pays its fair share and we will use that revenue to invest in working families.
The science is clear: if we do not address climate change now, we will suffer greater and more frequent climate disasters and the Earth will become increasingly uninhabitable.
It’s time we listen to scientists, not the fossil fuel industry.
Yes, we are going to raise taxes on large, profitable corporations – many that in a given year don’t pay a nickel in federal income tax.
For too many years the government has been there for the wealthy and the powerful. Now is the time for the government to be there for the working families of this country.
On this Labor Day we thank the trade union movement for their ongoing struggle for justice. Yes. Every American is entitled to the right to join a union, decent wages and benefits, affordable housing, health care and educational opportunity. Let us go forward in solidarity.
There will be special guests, good music and great food. Eligible Vermonters can receive a COVID-19 vaccine at the meetings. I look forward to seeing you!
RSVP: sanders.senate.gov/events/
Thank you to the over 900 Vermonters who joined our town meetings this weekend in Springfield, Newport, and St. Johnsbury. If you haven’t had a chance to come out, please join us tomorrow in Brattleboro and Middlebury!
Let's be clear. Climate change is causing devastating harm in the U.S. and around the world. Not to pass the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill, which has unprecedented spending to cut carbon emissions, would be grossly irresponsible. We must pass this bill and save the planet.
There is an enormous amount of work to be done as we transform our energy system away from fossil fuel and cut carbon emissions, and hundreds of thousands of members of the Civilian Climate Corps are going to be at the forefront of that struggle.
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