Bernie Sanders is serving his third term in the U.S. Senate after winning re-election in 2018. His previous 16 years in the House of Representatives make him the longest serving independent member of Congress in American history.
Born in 1941 in Brooklyn, Sanders attended James Madison High School, Brooklyn College and the University of Chicago. After graduating in 1964, he moved to Vermont. In 1981, he was elected (by 10 votes) to the first of four terms as mayor of Burlington. Sanders lectured at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and at Hamilton College in upstate New York before his 1990 election as Vermont’s at-large member in Congress.
As a longtime member and former Chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Senator Sanders believes that we, as a nation, have a moral obligation to provide the best quality care and benefits to the veterans who have put their lives on the line in service to this country.
Vermont Veterans
Vermont veterans and service members seeking assistance with their benefits or interested in information about local events and resources, please visit our Vermont Veterans page.
Health Care
Senator Sanders worked closely with the late Senator John McCain to enact the Veterans’ Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014, the most comprehensive veterans’ legislation in decades. Senator Sanders understood that in order for the VA to meet its promise to our veterans, Congress needed to act to provide the VA with the resources it needed. That is why Senator Sanders fought hard to include funding to hire more staff and pay for long-needed construction projects.
DENTAL CARE
Senator Sanders is proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with veterans service organizations like the Vietnam Veterans of America in fighting for increased access to oral health care for veterans. Bernie knows that oral health care is part of – not separate from – a person’s overall health and believes that every veteran, regardless of disability rating or income, should be able to rely on the VA for high-quality dental care, just as they do for the rest of their health care. Senator Sanders also knows that good oral care can go well beyond a person’s health – it can help a person eat, boost their confidence, and successfully find employment. No veteran should ever have to struggle with pain, infection, or the stress of poor oral health, which is why Bernie will continue to fight to ensure dental care becomes a fully-covered benefit from the VA.
PRIVATIZATION
Since that time, Senator Sanders has fought in strong opposition to efforts by the Trump Administration and special interests to privatize the VA for profit. Bernie knows that, with proper funding from Congress, the VA is in the best position to provide for the unique care and benefits our veterans have earned through their service. That is why Senator Sanders is proud to be one of only five Senators to oppose the VA MISSION Act, which has already proven to be one of the biggest government-funded hand-outs to the private health care industry without any evidence that it has improved access to care or quality.
Disability Benefits
Senator Sanders understands the struggle of the millions of veterans who receive disability benefits as a result of their service. As Senator, Bernie continues to fight to make the disability claims process easier for the veteran and the appeals process faster and fairer. Senator Sanders has also been a longtime supporter of cost-of-living adjustments for disabled veterans so their benefits can keep up with ever-increasing living expenses.
Housing
Lack of safe and secure housing for veterans is another top concern for Senator Sanders. Bernie knows it is a national disgrace that more 40,000 veterans experience homelessness on any given night of the year, and another 1.4 million more are considered at risk of experiencing homelessness due to poverty, lack of support networks, and unsafe or unstable housing. Senator Sanders will continue to fight against efforts to eliminate funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program, which helps veterans and their families find long-term housing. Fortunately, Congress has rejected these cuts every year.
Education and Employment
Senator Sanders believes that every veteran in this country deserves the best education and job training available to them when they separate from the military, or any time they may need it. Whether a veteran is looking to complete or earn a college degree, obtain career training, or find a job, Senator Sanders knows that the VA, Department of Education and Department of Labor, must be available to help. Bernie also knows that veterans are uniquely positioned to serve each other long after they remove the uniform, which is why he is extremely proud of the many veterans who are employed within these agencies to provide health care, education, and employment services to their fellow veterans. It is also why Bernie wants to make it easier for veterans – and their spouses – to use the education benefits owed to them in return for their service.