Sanders wants ‘Medicare for all’ bill HARDWICK, Vt. (AP) — Members of Vermont’s Congressional delegation told hundreds of constituents at a rousing town hall meeting Saturday the defeat of the Republican health plan was “a victory,” with U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) telling the cheering crowd he plans to introduce a “Medicare for all” bill soon. Democrat Rep. Peter Welch said he would introduce the same bill in the U.S. House. Also in attendance was U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). “No, we’re not going to give $300 million in tax breaks to the top 2 percent and then throw 24 million Americans off of health insurance. Ain’t gonna happen,” Sanders said. The packed town hall meeting in a school gymnasium was a way for residents to address the delegation all in one forum. The Congress members encouraged Vermonters to continue to show up at rallies and voice their concerns. Sanders said he plans to visit red states around the country to educate the public about Trump’s budget, which the delegation predicted would not pass Congress. The delegation said they’re working hard on behalf of three advocates for immigrant farm workers who were arrested recently in Vermont on immigration charges. Sanders said the delegation plans to meet with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on how to make sure dairy farmers who rely on immigrant farm workers are protected. China, others suspend Brazil beef imports BEIJING (AP) — A spokesman for China’s commerce ministry confirmed Thursday his government has banned imports of Brazilian beef. Brazil’s agriculture minister said earlier that China suspended imports after investigators accused Brazilian inspectors of taking bribes to overlook expired meat and chemicals. But until Thursday Chinese officials have said only that they took unspecified precautions. “The responsible departments of the Chinese government have taken timely and temporary measures to suspend the import of beef from Brazil,” said the spokesman, Sun Jiwen, at a regular briefing. A written version of Sun’s comment given to reporters repeated the official statement that Beijing was taking “temporary measures,” with no mention of an import ban. The Chinese food safety agency, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, has yet to respond to questions about what action it is taking. Brazilian investigators say health inspectors also were bribed to overlook other products that were added to meat to improve its appearance and smell. Other governments, including the European Union, Japan and Mexico, have limited or banned imports of Brazilian meat. |
