With the 2016 presidential election coming just around the corner, its important to find a candidate that matches your ideals. With that said, here's what you need to know about Bernie Sanders.
Bernie Sanders
Current Position - U.S. Senator from Vermont
Party Affiliation - Democrat
Political History
Bernie started as mayor of Burlington, Vermont from 1981 to 1989. Under his watch he helped balance the city's budget, brought a minor league team to the city, and helped push more progressive programs for the state. After his successful campaign as mayor, he proceeded as a congressman for Vermont's at-large district, being the first Independent candidate to win the position in over 40 years. His notable votes and contributions in the House of Representatives include:
- Supported NRA-backed bill to restrict lawsuits on gun manufacturers
- Voted against using the authorizations of force for the 1991, 2002, and 2003 invasions of Iraq.
- A constant critic of the Patriot Act
After his successful tenure with the House of Representatives, he ran for the Senate seat in Vermont and won with a landslide victory. In 2011, he was found to have an approval rate of 67%, making him the third-most-popular senator in the country. During his tenure as a US Senator, his economic ideals were his most notable stance including:
- Posting an open letter to the Secretary of the Treasury criticizing the bank bailout proposal. He later voted against the bank bailout bill when it reached the Senate.
- Started a ten-hour filibuster to stop the extension of Bush-era tax cuts.
- He is an integral member of the Senate Budget Committee and has pushed policies to help reinvigorate the middle class by raising the minimum wage, boosting spending on roads and other infrastructure, and fixing Social Security.
Stance on Issues
Economy
- Stop corporations from keeping money overseas in order to avoid US taxes
- Increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2020
- Investing over $1 trillion into infrastructure projects
- Reversing trade policies such as NAFTA
- Investing $5.5 billion for youth employment programs
- Fair pay for women
- Require employers to have at least 12 weeks of paid maternity and medical leave
- Make it easier for workers to join unions
- Break up larger financial institutions to promote competition and reduce political influence
- Prevent employers from discriminating against former criminals
Education
- Free tuition at public collages and universities
- Enact universal childcare and pre-K program
Justice
- Demilitarize police
- Create police forces that are diverse to reflect everyone
- Establish new police training program that changes the way the law is forced
- Fund and require body cameras
- Must aggressively prosecute police officers who use excessive force
- Ban prisons for profit
- Remove mandatory minimums for drug crimes
Global Warming
- Tax carbon and methane emissions to reduce greenhouse gases
- Opposes the Keystone XL pipeline
- Secure money to provide grants to greenhouse gas reducing programs
Health and Welfare
- Expand Medicare to all citizens
- Expand Social Security by lifting tax cap above $250,000
- Invest in mental health hospitals
Government
- Stop major corporations from buying their influence in elections
- Introduce legislation to show financial information for all political candidates
- Expand the Voting Rights Act to protect every individual's right to vote
- Make Election Day a federal holiday
Bernie has not declared his stances on abortion, ISIS, Obamacare, and foreign policy. These stances should show up as the election gets closer.
