Sanders, Bernard, 1941-

<p>Bernard Sanders (born September 8, 1941) is an American politician, activist, and political scientist who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007 and as U.S. Representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007. He is the longest-serving independent in U.S. congressional history, although he has a close relationship with the Democratic Party, having caucused with House and Senate Democrats for most of his congressional career. Sanders unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Party nomination for president of the United States in 2016 and 2020, finishing in second place in both campaigns. Before his election to Congress, he was mayor of Burlington, Vermont.</p>

<p>Sanders self-identifies as a democratic socialist and has been credited with influencing a leftward shift in the Democratic Party since his 2016 presidential campaign. An advocate of social democratic and progressive policies, he is known for his opposition to economic inequality and neoliberalism. On domestic policy, he supports labor rights, universal and single-payer healthcare, paid parental leave, tuition-free tertiary education, and an ambitious Green New Deal to create jobs addressing climate change. On foreign policy, he supports reducing military spending, pursuing more diplomacy and international cooperation, and putting greater emphasis on labor rights and environmental concerns when negotiating international trade agreements. Sanders supports workplace democracy, and has praised elements of the Nordic model. Some commentators, such as Noam Chomsky, have described his politics as aligned with the New Deal policies of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and left-wing populism.</p>

<p>Born into a working-class Jewish family and raised in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, Sanders attended Brooklyn College before graduating from the University of Chicago in 1964. While a student, he was a protest organizer for the Congress of Racial Equality and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee during the civil rights movement. After settling in Vermont in 1968, he ran unsuccessful third-party political campaigns in the early to mid-1970s. He was elected mayor of Burlington in 1981 as an independent and was reelected three times. He won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1990, representing Vermont's at-large congressional district, later co-founding the Congressional Progressive Caucus. He served as a U.S. Representative for 16 years before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006. Sanders was reelected to the Senate in 2012 and 2018. He chaired the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee from 2013 to 2015. In January 2021, Sanders became chair of the Senate Budget Committee.</p>

<p>Sanders was a major candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 and 2020. Despite initially low expectations, his 2016 campaign generated significant grassroots enthusiasm and funding from small-dollar donors, carrying Sanders to victory against eventual nominee Hillary Clinton in 23 primaries and caucuses before he conceded in July. In 2020, Sanders's strong showing in early primaries and caucuses made him the front-runner in a historically large field of Democratic candidates. In April 2020, he conceded the nomination to Joe Biden, who had won a series of decisive victories as the field narrowed. Sanders supported Clinton and Biden in their general election campaigns against Donald Trump while continuing his efforts to move the Democratic Party in a more progressive direction.</p>

SANDERS, Bernard, a Senator and a Representative from Vermont; born in Brooklyn, Kings County, N.Y., September 8, 1941; graduated from Madison High School, Brooklyn, N.Y.; B.S., University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill., 1964; faculty, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., 1989; faculty, Hamilton College, Clinton, N.Y., 1990; carpenter; journalist; unsuccessful independent candidate for election to the United States Senate in 1972 and 1974; unsuccessful independent candidate for election for governor of Vermont in 1972, 1976 and 1986; mayor of Burlington, Vt., 1981-1989; unsuccessful independent candidate to the One Hundred First Congress in 1988; elected as an independent to the One Hundred Second and to the seven succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1991-January 3, 2007); was not a candidate for reelection to the House of Representatives but was elected as an Independent to the United States Senate in 2006 for the term commencing January 3, 2007; reelected in 2012, and again in 2018 for the term ending January 3, 2025; chair, Committee on Veterans Affairs (One Hundred Thirteenth Congress), Committee on the Budget (One Hundred Seventeenth Congress); was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016, and again in 2020.

<p>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.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>The Almanac of American Politics calls Sanders a “practical and successful legislator.” Throughout his career he has focused on the shrinking American middle class and the growing income and wealth gaps in the United States. As chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Sanders in 2014 passed legislation reforming the VA health care system. Congressional Quarterly said he was able “to bridge Washington’s toxic partisan divide and cut one of the most significant deals in years.”</p>