Do, because i want to involve you in the discussion, i dont want to give you a long speech. I will limit it to three hours. [laughter] sen. Sanders i want to touch on there are so many issues out there but i want to touch on some of the very essential issues and get your thoughts on it. I want to start off with the and politics. If you run for president , governor, or senator, it is an expensive proposition. ,y concern right now is that especially since citizens united, what we have seen is a major corruption of our political process and the concept of democracy, meaning one person one vote. We are america here. If we were arguing about an issue, majority wins. Everybody has the same vote. But increasingly in american politics, that is not the case. You have a handful of billionaires who are literally spending hundreds of millions of dollars in all kinds of ways electing candidates who represent the wealthy and the powerful. And that concerns me very much because that undermines americ
Pellegrino, dr. Uni libby, ellie newson, and chris dixon, thank you very much for what you have said. [applause] is do a formatdo a little bit different than i usually do because i want to involve you in the discussion. I do not give you a long speech, i will listen i will limit it to three hours. [laughter] sen. Sanders i want to touch on, there are some out there. I want to touch on some of the essential issues and get your thoughts on it. I want to start with the issue of money and politics. If you run for president of the United States, for governor or senator for that matter, it is an expensive proposition. Thatncern right now, is especially since Citizens United , what we have seen is a major corruption of our political process. And the one person one vote. We are america here. If we were arguing about an issue, majority wins. Everybody has the same vote. But increasingly in american politics, that is not the case. You have a handful of billionaires who are literally spending hun
Questions on education, health care, and Climate Change. If you run for the president of the United States, it is an expensive proposition. Now is thatight especially since Citizens United , what we have seen is a major corruption of our political process and the concept of meaning oneeting person one vote. We are america here. If we were arguing about an issue, majority wins. Everybody has the same vote. But increasingly in american politics, that is not the case. You have a handful of billionaires who are literally spending hundreds of millions of dollars in all kinds of ways electing candidates who represent the wealthy and the powerful. And that concerns me very much because that undermines american democracy, which is why you end up in congress with Republican Leadership talking about tax breaks for billionaires and cuts to social security, medicare, and medicaid. Go out on the streets of indianola or anywhere else, it is not like that. That is what the money interests want. We ha
Be pahampered. Im not hampered yet, im pretty tough, but in august i talked to my wife about it and we decided to go ahead and retire at the end of december, which ive announced and said i was going to do. The governor of georgia is making an appointment to take my place and you might look in the history books and they might have an isakson in the glossary, but i doubt it. You you may never see this name again. Ive been here 15 years, the loved every minutes of it. And enjoyable part of my life, not because i like to be a senator, but for the people. Congress is getting a bad wrap, a lot of things said about people that doesnt matter like those in some of the media and some of those, but others take pot shots at people who are politicians and serve people in the community. I never do that not because i am one, but i know because i am one what you have to do. Its a tough job. If its not done and not done right, it doesnt the way it should. I make sure when i leave the last thing i do is
The president pro tempore the senate will come to order. Todays opening prayer will be offered by monsignor anthony j. Marcaccio, pastor of st. Pius the tenth from greensboro, north carolina. The guest chaplain let us pray. Blessed are you, lord god, of all creation. You are the gifter of ever good gift, of life and liberty, of peace and prosperity, of wisdom, understanding, and right judgment. We ask that in your divine mercy you would bless our republic and in a special way the work of our senators, that they may discern all that is true, all that is honorable, all that is right, all that is excellent and worthy of praise for our nation. In this moment, make us mindful of all that has brought us together as a country and how it foster passes that which can divide us. So when all is deliberated and done here, we may be preserved as one nation under god. Amen and amen. The president pro tempore please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to our flag. I pledge allegiance to the