Bernard Sanders
Senator for Vermont · Independent · United States
“I am the former chair of the Veterans' Committee, and I have been honored to talk to veterans of Vermont and all over this country. In Vermont, what they tell me is there is enormous pride in the quality of care they get at the VA Medical Center in White River Junction, VT, and as well in the community-based outreach clinics that exist al…”
“I am not aware that in the so-called mandate of President Trump--and, by the way, he got millions of votes less than Joe Biden got 4 years previously. I don't recall that during the campaign, Trump went around the country saying: Hey, elect me, and then I will lay off 83,000 workers at the Veterans' Administration.”
“Nobody in their right mind thinks that just firing 83,000 people is the way to go. And let me be very clear: Mr. Musk has made it public that he thinks that we should privatize anything that can be privatized. There are people--not all people--in the Republican Party who eventually want to privatize Social Security.”
“When you fire 83,000 employees, no one, nobody believes that anything else will happen but that there will be a deterioration in the quality of healthcare our veterans receive or a delay in the benefits they have earned. Now, I have heard criticism of the VA. The VA is the largest healthcare system in America. Is it perfect?”
“that are already having a detrimental impact on the services that veterans with spinal cord injuries and diseases like ALS and MS rely on.'' The Disabled American Veterans, or DAV, said: We are extremely concerned about the leaked proposal to arbitrarily eliminate 80,000 VA employees.”
“When you have a workforce shortage, the solution is not to fire 83,000 people; it is to add people. It is to make sure you know where your workforce is going and that you have quality people. But you don't lay off 83,000 people. That is not just my view.”
The complete record
Every one of 33 lines we hold for Bernard Sanders, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account.
“I am not aware that in the so-called mandate of President Trump--and, by the way, he got millions of votes less than Joe Biden got 4 years previously. I don't recall that during the campaign, Trump went around the country saying: Hey, elect me, and then I will lay off 83,000 workers at the Veterans' Administration. Yes, we all want the VA to operate more efficiently, but the idea that you can lay off 83,000 employees and make that happen is absurd. The truth is, again, before Trump took office, we had a significant shortage in the number of doctors, nurses, mental health counselors, and other practitioners. So it is disturbing to me that anyone who claims to be supporting veterans in this country and the sacrifices they have made would object to this amendment, this resolution. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER.”
“165, which was submitted earlier today; further, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. The bottom line: Do not lay off 83,000 employees at the Veterans' Administration. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? The Senator from Alabama.”
“Nobody in their right mind thinks that just firing 83,000 people is the way to go. And let me be very clear: Mr. Musk has made it public that he thinks that we should privatize anything that can be privatized. There are people--not all people--in the Republican Party who eventually want to privatize Social Security. We are looking at $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid that dismantle that very important healthcare organization. And if anybody thinks that the laying off of 83,000 employees of the VA--the lowering of quality of care that our veterans will receive--is not a prelude to the movement to privatize the VA, you would be surely mistaken. So with that, Madam President, as if in legislative session and notwithstanding rule XXII, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res.”
“that are already having a detrimental impact on the services that veterans with spinal cord injuries and diseases like ALS and MS rely on.'' The Disabled American Veterans, or DAV, said: We are extremely concerned about the leaked proposal to arbitrarily eliminate 80,000 VA employees. That is what some of the major veterans organizations are saying, and I have talked to all of the--virtually all of the--veterans organizations. And they are deeply, deeply, deeply concerned about the cuts that we have seen and the cuts that Musk is proposing. So this is not a difficult issue. Everybody here wants to make the VA more efficient. The way you do that is to come up with some plans. You work with the Veterans Committee, and you see how we can make the VA more efficient.”
“When you have a workforce shortage, the solution is not to fire 83,000 people; it is to add people. It is to make sure you know where your workforce is going and that you have quality people. But you don't lay off 83,000 people. That is not just my view. It would seem to me that before you take a chain saw to the Veterans' Administration, you might want to talk to the veterans organizations and see what they think about it. The Veterans of Foreign Wars, or VFW, said: We call upon VA to reconsider its planned reduction of 83,000 employees and thoroughly review any proposed cuts prior to rolling out further announcements like this. The Paralyzed Veterans of America said that they are ``deeply troubled by actions being taken in Washington, [[Page S2492]] D.C.”
“I am the former chair of the Veterans' Committee, and I have been honored to talk to veterans of Vermont and all over this country. In Vermont, what they tell me is there is enormous pride in the quality of care they get at the VA Medical Center in White River Junction, VT, and as well in the community-based outreach clinics that exist all over our State. And I expect, with some exceptions, that is true all over the country. The bottom line is, veterans appreciate the care that they get at the VA. They want it improved, but they appreciate it, and they do not believe that there should be massive cuts to the Veterans' Administration. The truth is that in fiscal year 2024, before Trump took office, the VA reported over 36,000 vacancies, including 2,400 doctors, 6,300 registered nurses, 1,800 social workers, and 1,200 custodians.”
“When you fire 83,000 employees, no one, nobody believes that anything else will happen but that there will be a deterioration in the quality of healthcare our veterans receive or a delay in the benefits they have earned. Now, I have heard criticism of the VA. The VA is the largest healthcare system in America. Is it perfect? Absolutely not. Does it have its problems? Of course it does. But compared to what? Compared to the American healthcare system, which is the most expensive in the world? a system in which 83 million Americans are uninsured or underinsured? where 60,000 people die each year? where we have the lowest life expectancy of any other major country on Earth? So, no, the VA is not perfect. It needs improvement. But I will tell you that in the State of Vermont, I talk to a lot of veterans.”
“Madam President, let me cut to the chase, and I will try to be brief here. We hear a lot of talk on the floor of the Senate about patriotism, about love of country, about how we all have to work together for the common good. It would seem to me that when we talk about those who sacrificed, those who have put their lives on the line to defend this country, we are talking about the men and women in America who are veterans. Yet what we have seen in the last month from the President and from Elon Musk is a chain saw approach to essentially destroy the Veterans' Administration, and that is, there are plans afoot--public; no one is debating the numbers--they want to fire 83,000 employees.”
“There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: [From the Economist/YouGov Poll, March 16-18, 2025--1618 U.S. Adult Citizens] MILITARY AID TO ISRAEL--DO YOU FAVOR THE U.S. . . .? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gender Race Age Income Total ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Male Female White Black Hispanic 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+”
“To my Democratic colleagues, I would mention that in that same poll, just 8 percent of Democrats support increasing military aid to Israel. And, I think, as Democrats have held town meetings over the last year, they have heard from those people. Eight percent of Democrats support what we are doing now, more military aid for Israel. Forty-seven percent support decreasing military aid to Israel or stopping it entirely--8 percent, increasing, Democrats; 47 percent, decreasing military aid. Among Republicans, 9 percent are for decreasing military aid and 15 percent for stopping all--24 percent for stopping or decreasing all military aid. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed this poll in the Record.”
“And this is also part of a broader Trump administration effort to cut Congress out of the arms sales process. It is no great secret that Congress is way out of touch with where the American people are on issue after issue--whether it is the economy, whether it is healthcare, whether it is climate--whatever it may be. Everybody knows. Congress is way out of touch, and the billions of dollars that we are providing to the Netanyahu extremist government is just one more example of how [[Page S2154]] out of touch we are with the American people. According to a recent Economist/YouGov poll in March, just 15 percent of the American people support increasing military aid to Israel--15 percent--while 35 percent support decreasing military aid to Israel or stopping it entirely.”
“For those of my colleagues who may be ambivalent, not quite sure how they want to vote on these resolutions, let me say a word about how the Trump administration is ignoring the law in advancing these arms sales in terms of the process. Unlike Biden, whose policies on Gaza I strongly opposed--and I stood right here, at this location, strongly opposing what Biden was doing in terms of military aid to Israel. But unlike Biden, President Trump is trying to circumvent Congress with these transfers, ignoring the Foreign Assistance Act by issuing a bogus emergency declaration--an emergency declaration to bypass congressional review. There is no emergency to justify cutting Congress out of the process. In fact, some of the systems the Trump administration claims are part of this emergency sale have not yet been produced.”
“33, would block a sale of over $2 billion for 35,000 MK-84 2,000 bombs and 4,000 I-2000 penetrator warheads. The second resolution, S.J. Res. 26, would block almost $7 billion for 2,800 500-pound bombs, 2,100 small-diameter bombs, and tens of thousands of JDAM guidance kits. All of these systems have been linked to dozens of illegal airstrikes, including on designated humanitarian sites, resulting in thousands of civilian casualties. These strikes have been painstakingly documented by human rights monitors. There is no debate. And none of these systems are defensive. None of them are necessary to protect Israel from incoming drone or rocket attacks.”
“It is simply against our laws. Despite all of that, in the last month, the Trump administration has announced its intention to transfer some $12.5 billion more in offensive weapons--not defensive weapons, offensive weapons--to Netanyahu's government, in clear violation of U.S. law. And that is why we are here today. Joint resolutions of disapproval--which is what we are dealing with right now--are Congress's tool to enforce American law. Today, we will vote on two resolutions to block two of the most egregious of these Trump administration offensive arms sales, which would provide almost $9 billion more in heavy bombs and other munitions to Netanyahu, including more than 35,000--35,000--massive 2,000-pound bombs that have killed so many civilians. The first resolution, S.J. Res.”
“These bombs have a blast radius of more than 350 meters, yet Israel has dropped them into crowded apartment buildings, killing hundreds of civilians, to take out a handful of Hamas fighters. All of that is illegal and immoral and against American law. The Foreign Assistance Act, which is what we are talking about today, and the Arms Export Control Act, what we are talking about today, are very clear. The United States cannot provide weaponry to countries that violate internationally recognized human rights or block U.S. humanitarian aid. According to the U.N., much of the international community, and every humanitarian organization on the ground in Gaza, Israel is clearly in violation of these laws. Under these circumstances, it is illegal for the U.S. Government to provide Israel with more offensive weaponry.”
“You are really concerned about what China, Russia, Saudi Arabia may be doing? Hey, take a look at what you supported in Gaza and the billions of dollars in aid you gave to Netanyahu's government. Today is the day to stand up to barbarism in Gaza and to do our best to prevent future barbaric acts all over the world. It is no secret to anyone how these U.S. weapons have been used. Israel has bombed indiscriminately, killing civilians, journalists--a whole lot of journalists have been killed--paramedics, children, and humanitarian workers in record numbers. They have used massive 2,000- pound bombs in densely populated Gaza, despite the fact that studies show that 90 percent of victims of explosive weapons used in a populated area are civilians.”
“We are deeply complicit in all of this death and suffering. Last year alone, the United States provided $18 billion in military aid to Israel and delivered more than 50,000 tons of military equipment. It is American bombs and American military equipment that are being used to destroy Gaza, kill 50,000 people, and injure over 110,000 people. We cannot hide from that reality. If we condone the barbarism that is taking place in Gaza today, we will have no standing in the world to condemn the horrors and war crimes that other countries may commit. You are not going to be able to look at China or Russia or Saudi Arabia or any other country and say: Look, how terrible. Look at what they are doing to the children, to the women, to innocent people. We will have no credibility because they will come back and say: Really?”
“And it is pushing things toward an even deeper catastrophe. Earlier this week, 25 bakeries supported by the World Food Programme were forced to close because they ran out of flour and cooking gas. The U.N. is still trying to deliver its remaining stocks of food already in Gaza but says ``that the situation remains extremely critical since the cargo closure of the crossings almost a month ago.'' All of this is unconscionable. What we are talking about is a mass atrocity, and what makes it even worse, and why I am here today and why I have introduced the resolutions that we will soon be voting on, is that we, as Americans, are deeply complicit in all that is happening in Gaza. This is not some terrible event. This is not an earthquake in Myanmar. It is not something that we had nothing to do with.”
“Children have literally starved to death while aid just sat a few miles away, blocked by Israeli forces. The U.N., the United States, and every aid organization working in Gaza has been clear throughout this war: Israel's unreasonable and unnecessary restrictions on humanitarian aid have contributed to massive death and profound suffering. But as bad as the last year and a half has been, at least Israel let some--some, not enough, but some--aid through. But what is happening right now is unthinkable. Today, it is 31 days and counting with absolutely no humanitarian aid getting into Gaza--nothing--no food, no water, no medicine, no fuel for over a month. That is a clear violation of the Geneva Conventions, the Foreign Assistance Act, and basic human decency. It is a war crime. You don't starve children.”
“President, this is just one picture--have suffered a level of physical and emotional torture that is almost beyond comprehension and that will clearly stay with each and every one of them for the rest of their lives. These children are hungry. They are thirsty. It is hard to get clean water. They have been denied healthcare. And they have witnessed the death of their parents, their family members, their homes, and virtually everything around them. And they have been picked up and moved from one place to another. All the while, drones are on top of them, shooting or photographing what they are doing. Throughout this war, Israel's restrictions on humanitarian aid have left hundreds of thousands of people, including tens of thousands of children, facing malnutrition and starvation--malnutrition and starvation.”
“With the resumption of bombing, hundreds of thousands of Gazans are once again being forcibly displaced by bombing and evacuation orders. [[Page S2153]] This week, Israeli authorities issued displacement orders for most of Rafah, where about 150,000 people were estimated to be sheltering. Think about what all of this means in human terms. Throughout this war, millions of desperately poor people, the people in Gaza, by and large, are extremely poor. They have been repeatedly driven from their homes. They have been forced to pick their way through a demolished landscape again and again with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. Families have been herded into so-called safe zones, only to face continued bombardment. The children of Gaza--Mr.”
“UNICEF says that most of these children were killed while sheltering in makeshift tents or damaged homes. Just in the last 24 hours, 97 more people have been killed in Gaza. Since Netanyahu broke the cease-fire, even more aid workers, the people whose job it is to try to help people who have been wounded or hurt, more aid workers have been killed, putting the total of over 400--400--aid workers have been killed since the war began. Earlier this week, the United Nations announced that they have recovered the bodies of 15 emergency aid workers who were killed by Israeli forces while wearing their emergency responder uniforms and then dumped into a mass grave in southern Gaza. They were buried alongside the destroyed emergency vehicles, clearly marked ambulances, a fire truck, and a U.N. car.”
“There has been no electricity in Gaza for 17 months, no electricity. Put simply, Netanyahu and his extremist government have killed or wounded over 7 percent of Gaza's population and has turned Gaza into a wasteland unfit for human life. That is what has been going on over the last year and a half. In terms of where we are today, right now, the Netanyahu government broke the cease-fire 2 weeks ago, endangering the well-being of the remaining hostages held by Hamas. Further, in the last 2 weeks, they have intensified their assaults against the Palestinian people. According to UNICEF, since Netanyahu broke the cease-fire, more than a thousand people have been killed, including over 300 children, and more than 600 children have been wounded in the last short period of time.”
“I have met repeatedly with doctors, American doctors and others, who have served in Gaza, and they are treating hundreds of patients a day without electricity, without anesthesia, without clean water, including dozens of children arriving with gunshot wounds to the head. I have seen the photographs and the videos. Gaza's civilian infrastructure has been totally devastated, including almost 90 percent of water and sanitation facilities. Most of the roads in Gaza have been destroyed or made impassable. Gaza's educational system has been obliterated. Children are not going to school. According to the World Bank, more than 2,000 educational facilities ranging from kindergartens to universities have been destroyed. Hundreds of schools have been bombed, as has every single one of Gaza's 12 universities.”
“Israel's indiscriminate bombardment has damaged or destroyed two- thirds of all structures in Gaza, including 92 percent of the housing units--as you can see from this photo. Ain't a whole lot left. I don't know why they need any more bombs; they basically destroyed the entire area. Nothing much left to be destroyed. Almost no part of Gaza has been left unscathed. Most of the population now is living in tents or other makeshift structures. Most of the territory's hospitals and primary healthcare facilities have been bombed, leaving virtually all Gazans without basic medical care at a time when bombs are flying and people are being wounded, and think about what that means.”
“Let us be clear: Prime Minister Netanyahu's racist and extremist government has waged an all-out, barbaric war against the Palestinian people and made life unlivable in Gaza. Within Gaza's population of just 2.2 million people, more than 50,000 have been killed and more than 113,000 have been injured, 60 percent of whom are women, children, and elderly people. That is 7.4 percent of the population of Gaza killed or wounded--7.4 percent in a year and a half. If those same percentages were applied to the United States, in terms of a horrible war where our people were killed or wounded, it would mean that over 25 million Americans would have been killed or wounded. In total, since this war began, 15,000 children--children--in Gaza have been killed, and today there are some 17,000 orphans. But it is not just the dead and the wounded.”
“President, I trust that every American and certainly every Member of the Senate understands that Hamas, a terrorist organization, began this terrible war with its barbaric October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which killed 1,200 innocent people and took 250 hostages. The International Criminal Court was correct in indicting the leaders of Hamas as war criminals for those atrocities. Clearly, Israel had the right to defend itself against Hamas. But most Americans also understand that while Israel had a right to wage war against Hamas, it did not and does not have the right to wage war against the entire Palestinian population, and, tragically, that is exactly what we have seen over the last year and a half.”
“Now, given all of that, I would hope that Democrats and Republicans who understand that they were elected to protect the interests of their constituents, not billionaire campaign contributors, would support the ending of Citizens United and would move us toward public funding of elections so billionaires could not continue to control the political and legislative process. Further, I would hope that both parties would move to end super PAC funding in their primaries, keep the super PAC money, Musk money, AIPAC money out of the Democrat and Republican primaries. I would hope that that would be the case so that we can, once again, become a government of the people, by the people, for the people, and not a government run by the billionaire class. Israel Mr.”
“If you are a Democrat, you have to worry about the billionaires who fund AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. If you vote against Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his horrific war in Gaza, AIPAC will punish you with millions of dollars in advertisements and other ways to see that you are defeated. AIPAC's PAC and super PAC spent nearly $127 million combined during the 2023-2024 election cycle, according to the Federal Election Commission. And I must confess that AIPAC has been successful. Last year, they defeated two Members of the U.S. House who opposed providing military aid to Netanyahu's extremist government.”
“Mr. President, let me begin by telling the American people something that they already know, and that is, as a result of the disastrous Citizens United Supreme Court decision, we now have a corrupt campaign finance system that allows billionaires to buy elections and to influence major pieces of legislation. That, I think, is not a secret to the American people. If you are a Republican and you vote against the Trump-Musk administration in one way or another, you have got to look over your shoulder and worry that you are going to get a call from Elon Musk, the wealthiest man in the world, and he will tell you that if you vote against what he wants, he will spend unlimited amounts of money to defeat you in the next election. That is not a great secret. That is what Musk has been saying publicly.”
“Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate debate the motions concurrently with all other provisions from yesterday's order remaining in effect. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Campaign Finance”
“Pursuant to section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act, I move to discharge the Committee on Foreign Relations from further consideration of S.J. Res. 33 and S.J. Res. 26 relating to the disapproval of the proposed foreign military sales to the Government of Israel of certain defense articles and services. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the titles. The senior assistant executive clerk read as follows: Motion to discharge from the Committee on Foreign Relations (S.J. Res. 33) providing for congressional disapproval of the proposed foreign military sale to the Government of Israel of certain defense articles and services. Motion to discharge from the Committee on Foreign Relations (S.J. Res. 26) providing for congressional disapproval of the proposed foreign military sale to Israel of certain defense articles and services.”
“Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 60 (Thursday, April 3, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 60 (Thursday, April 3, 2025)] [Senate] [Pages S2151-S2152] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] LEGISLATIVE SESSION Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to resume legislative session. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. [[Page S2152]] ____________________”