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At age 82, the Vermont independent, who caucuses with Democrats, says his seniority puts him in a position to help Vermonters ‘in these difficult times.’
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced on May 6 that he is running for re-election.
In a video just over eight minutes long, Mr. Sanders, 82, who caucuses with the Democrats, remarked that, given his seniority on committees, he would be “in a strong position to provide the kind of help the Vermonters need in these difficult times.”
Mr. Sanders served in the House of Representatives between 1991 and 2007. He has been in the Senate since 2007.
He was chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee between 2013 and 2015 and the Senate Budget Committee between 2021 and 2023. He currently chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Before entering Congress, he was the mayor of Burlington, Vermont. A self-described democratic socialist, he has been a member of many socialist organizations.
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In the video, Mr. Sanders, who will be 89 at the end of what would be his fourth Senate term, called for lowering prescription drug costs, lowering the cost of insulin, combating climate change, giving quality health care to veterans, protecting abortion rights, codifying the landmark Supreme Court abortion case Roe v. Wade, enacting free college tuition, protecting and expanding Social Security and Medicare, and creating affordable housing.
President Joe Biden held a White House meeting this past week to highlight his administration’s continued fight against Big Pharma and efforts to lower prescription drug costs. Mr. Sanders joined President Biden to highlight his efforts to cut healthcare costs—particularly his recent steps to lower the cost of inhalers.
President Biden criticized drug companies for charging “exorbitant prescription drug prices.”
He also said the Inflation Reduction Act is lowering drug costs for seniors on Medicare.
“Americans are sick and tired of paying by far the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs,” he said.
“On average, we pay over three times as much as the people of other major countries for brand-name prescription drugs, and in some cases, we are paying 10 or 20 times more than people around the world for the exact same product,” he added.
In the announcement video, Mr. Sanders said that while Israel has the right to defend itself against the terrorist group Hamas, the Jewish state “does not have the right to go to war against the entire Palestinian people.”
He said the United States should cease funding for Israel while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in office.
Additionally, Mr. Sanders called the 2024 election “the most consequential election in our lifetimes.
“Will the United States continue to even function as a democracy, or will we move to an authoritarian form of government?” he said.
He questioned whether the country will reverse what he called “the unprecedented level of income and wealth inequality” and if it can create a government that works for all, and a political system not dominated by wealthy campaign contributors.
Mr. Sanders unsuccessfully ran for president as a Democrat in 2016 and 2020. Each time, he ended up endorsing the Democrat nominees, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and then President Biden.
President Trump is leading by 2 to 8 percentage points in six states—Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and North Carolina—on a sample ballot with third-party and independent candidates. When voters only had to choose between him and Joe Biden, the results remained similar.
In Wisconsin, however, President Biden leads by three points on the multi-candidate ballot. The two candidates are tied in a head-to-head matchup in Wisconsin.
Mr. Sanders has endorsed President Biden’s re-election bid.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
