de: U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders <Info_Sanders@sanders.senate.gov> How We've Been Addressing the Country's Major Crises How We've Been Addressing the Country's  How We've Been Addressing the Country's Major Crises Major Crises Dear Fellow Vermonter, Amid these crazy, unprecedented and dangerous times, I wanted to let you know what I, and others in the Senate, have been doing to address the major crises facing this country. Last Wednesday, I led the effort in taking a major step forward in reversing one of the ugliest and most dangerous aspects of American foreign policy. As you may know, I have been trying to stop our government from sending military aid to Israel for several years. A nation that, under the leadership of right-wing extremist Benjamin Netanyahu has committed genocide in Gaza, has started an illegal and horrific war in Iran and has been bombing civilian neighborhoods in Lebanon should not be funded by U.S. tax dollars. When we began this effort, the first resolution I offered to stop U.S. military aid to Israel only received 11 votes in the Senate. The next resolution received 18 votes, followed by a resolution that won 27 votes. Last Wednesday, a resolution I offered received 40 votes — over 80% of the Democratic caucus, an all-time high. We received no Republican support. While we still have a long way to go, we are making progress in this important area. The simple truth is that when working people are struggling to put food on the table and pay for housing and health care, they do not want billions of their hard-earned tax dollars to be spent on killing innocent men, women and children in the Middle East. We must end this war. We must end U.S. military aid to Israel. We are also making progress in another area of extraordinary importance. Artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics are the most transformational technologies in the history of humanity. These technologies, pushed by the wealthiest people in the world, will impact every man, woman and child in Vermont and in our country. If we do not address this looming crisis, it is likely we could see the loss of tens of millions of jobs, our privacy could be completely eviscerated and the education and mental health of our kids could be negatively impacted. Further, there are very knowledgeable scientists who worry that, if AI becomes smarter than human beings, it could operate independently of human control with potentially catastrophic results. In response, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and I have introduced legislation calling for a moratorium on the construction of new data centers — the infrastructure of AI — until guidelines and regulations are established that protect workers and every American from the dangers of AI and robotics. This idea is gaining momentum. All across the country, local communities are voting down the construction of data centers and many cities and states are considering moratoriums. Recently, the state legislature in Maine became the first state in the nation to pass a moratorium to prevent the construction of data centers. Bottom line: The American people increasingly understand that these revolutionary technologies have got to improve life for all of us, not just make the richest people in the world even richer. Across the political spectrum, the American people increasingly understand the dangers inherent in the massive income and wealth inequality that we are now experiencing. Never before in our history have so few owned so much and had so much power. And people are fighting back. In California, by a two-to-one margin, voters support a tax on billionaires to prevent over three million people from losing health care. In New York City, over 62% of residents support Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s proposal for a 2% surtax on millionaires and billionaires. At a time when the 1% have never had it so good, while 60% of our people are living paycheck to paycheck, Representative Ro Khanna and I introduced the Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act. This legislation would establish a 5% wealth tax on the 938 billionaires in America who collectively are worth more than $8.2 trillion. These 938 billionaires constitute 0.000003% of the population. This tax on the very richest people in America would allow us to raise $4.4 trillion every year. With this money, in the first year, we would provide a $3,000 direct payment to every man, woman and child in a household making $150,000 or less. Further, this funding would enable us to address the housing crisis in Vermont and across the country. In addition, we could provide universal childcare nationwide. And let’s not forget: Donald Trump and his Republican friends in Congress threw 15 million Americans off their health care in order to provide a trillion-dollar tax break for the top 1%. Through this bill, we would repeal those health care cuts and ensure that none of those 15 million people are left behind. Let me conclude by saying this. In the richest country in the history of the world, there is no rational reason why all Americans should not be enjoying a decent and secure standard of living. If we stand together, and not let demagogues divide us, there is nothing we as Vermonters and as Americans cannot accomplish.  Sincerely,   How Can We Help? My Vermont offices have experienced caseworkers on staff who help Vermonters navigate federal agencies every day. If you think my office can help, please do not hesitate to call 1-800-339-9834 or click here.  If you would like to share your thoughts on pending legislation, or if you have an idea that we could address through new legislation, click here.  Receiving this email as a forward? Click here to sign up for the Bernie Buzz. Office Locations Washington D.C. U.S. Senate 332 Dirksen Building Washington, DC 20510 tel (202) 224-5141 fax (202) 228-0776 Burlington 1 Church St., Suite 300 Burlington, VT 05401 tel (802) 862-0697 tel (800) 339-9834 fax (802) 860-6370 Unsubscribe Click here to forward this email

How We've Been Addressing the Country's Major Crises Dear Fellow Vermonter, Amid these crazy, unprecedented and dangerous times, I wanted to let you know what I, and others in the Senate, have been doing to address the major crises facing this country. Last Wednesday, I led the effort in taking a major step forward in reversing one of the ugliest and most dangerous aspects of American foreign policy. As you may know, I have been trying to stop our government from sending military aid to Israel for several years. A nation that, under the leadership of right-wing extremist Benjamin Netanyahu has committed genocide in Gaza, has started an illegal and horrific war in Iran and has been bombing civilian neighborhoods in Lebanon should not be funded by U.S. tax dollars. When we began this effort, the first resolution I offered to stop U.S. military aid to Israel only received 11 votes in the Senate. The next resolution received 18 votes, followed by a resolution that won 27 votes. Last Wednesday, a resolution I offered received 40 votes — over 80% of the Democratic caucus, an all-time high. We received no Republican support. While we still have a long way to go, we are making progress in this important area. The simple truth is that when working people are struggling to put food on the table and pay for housing and health care, they do not want billions of their hard-earned tax dollars to be spent on killing innocent men, women and children in the Middle East. We must end this war. We must end U.S. military aid to Israel. We are also making progress in another area of extraordinary importance. Artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics are the most transformational technologies in the history of humanity. These technologies, pushed by the wealthiest people in the world, will impact every man, woman and child in Vermont and in our country. If we do not address this looming crisis, it is likely we could see the loss of tens of millions of jobs, our privacy could be completely eviscerated and the education and mental health of our kids could be negatively impacted. Further, there are very knowledgeable scientists who worry that, if AI becomes smarter than human beings, it could operate independently of human control with potentially catastrophic results. In response, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and I have introduced legislation calling for a moratorium on the construction of new data centers — the infrastructure of AI — until guidelines and regulations are established that protect workers and every American from the dangers of AI and robotics. This idea is gaining momentum. All across the country, local communities are voting down the construction of data centers and many cities and states are considering moratoriums. Recently, the state legislature in Maine became the first state in the nation to pass a moratorium to prevent the construction of data centers. Bottom line: The American people increasingly understand that these revolutionary technologies have got to improve life for all of us, not just make the richest people in the world even richer. Across the political spectrum, the American people increasingly understand the dangers inherent in the massive income and wealth inequality that we are now experiencing. Never before in our history have so few owned so much and had so much power. And people are fighting back. In California, by a two-to-one margin, voters support a tax on billionaires to prevent over three million people from losing health care. In New York City, over 62% of residents support Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s proposal for a 2% surtax on millionaires and billionaires. At a time when the 1% have never had it so good, while 60% of our people are living paycheck to paycheck, Representative Ro Khanna and I introduced the Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act. This legislation would establish a 5% wealth tax on the 938 billionaires in America who collectively are worth more than $8.2 trillion. These 938 billionaires constitute 0.000003% of the population. This tax on the very richest people in America would allow us to raise $4.4 trillion every year. With this money, in the first year, we would provide a $3,000 direct payment to every man, woman and child in a household making $150,000 or less. Further, this funding would enable us to address the housing crisis in Vermont and across the country. In addition, we could provide universal childcare nationwide. And let’s not forget: Donald Trump and his Republican friends in Congress threw 15 million Americans off their health care in order to provide a trillion-dollar tax break for the top 1%. Through this bill, we would repeal those health care cuts and ensure that none of those 15 million people are left behind. Let me conclude by saying this. In the richest country in the history of the world, there is no rational reason why all Americans should not be enjoying a decent and secure standard of living. If we stand together, and not let demagogues divide us, there is nothing we as Vermonters and as Americans cannot accomplish.  Sincerely,   How Can We Help? My Vermont offices have experienced caseworkers on staff who help Vermonters navigate federal agencies every day. If you think my office can help, please do not hesitate to call 1-800-339-9834 or click here.  If you would like to share your thoughts on pending legislation, or if you have an idea that we could address through new legislation, click here.  Receiving this email as a forward? Click here to sign up for the Bernie Buzz. Office Locations Washington D.C. U.S. Senate 332 Dirksen Building Washington, DC 20510 tel (202) 224-5141 fax (202) 228-0776 Burlington 1 Church St., Suite 300 Burlington, VT 05401 tel (802) 862-0697 tel (800) 339-9834 fax (802) 860-6370 Unsubscribe Click here to forward this email