"[W]e must rein in the National Security Agency and end the bulk collection of phone records, internet history, and email data of virtually all Americans.Our intelligence and law enforcement agencies must have the tools they need to protect the American people, but there must be legal oversight and they must go about their work in a way that does not sacrifice our basic freedoms."

"The U.S. must do everything it can to make certain that Iran does not get a nuclear weapon, that a nuclear Iran does not threaten Israel, and to prevent a nuclear arms race in the region.  Sen. Sanders supports the agreement between the U.S., Iran, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia regarding Iran’s nuclear weapons program, because it has the best chance of limiting Iran’s ability to produce a nuclear weapon, while avoiding yet another war in the region.

"While the agreement is not perfect, it is far better than the path we were on – with Iran developing nuclear weapons and the potential for military intervention by the U.S. and Israel growing greater by the day. If Iran does not live up to the agreement, sanctions can be reestablished and all other options remain on the table. It is incumbent upon us, however, to give the negotiated agreement a chance to succeed, and Sen. Sanders applauds President Obama and Secretary Kerry for their efforts."

"We must exhaust every diplomatic option we have to pressure North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program, halt its aggressive military posturing with South Korea and adhere to the tenets of international human rights law. That is why I strongly support the bipartisan effort to strengthen sanctions on the rogue North Korean regime."

"The current federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour is a starvation wage. We need to raise the minimum wage to a living wage — $15 an hour over the next few years. No one in this country who works 40 hours a week should live in poverty."

"We should move toward serious deficit reduction, most importantly by taxing the wealthy, who do not pay their fair share of the tax burden, and by closing tax loopholes for large corporations and corporations which ship jobs abroad to fatten their corporate profits. We should NOT blance the buget on the shoulders of the elderly, children, the poor, veterans or the currently hard-pressed middle class."

"We have got to make it very clear that we are going to protect Social Security, we’re going to make it solvent for our kids & grandchildren – and, by the way, we are not going to tolerate ANYBODY who is thinking of cutting Social Security or raising the retirement age."

"Residential and commercial buildings account for more than 40 percent of all energy use in the United States. Senator Sanders’ Residential Energy Savings Act would fund energy efficiency financing programs that help homeowners and residents invest in energy efficiency retrofits.

"This bill would build on the Energy Efficiency Block Grant Program that Senator Sanders authored, which provided $3.2 billion through the 2009 economic stimulus bill to states and cities to help homeowners, small businesses and municipalities implement innovative weatherization and energy efficiency projects.

"Senator Sanders has also championed "on-bill financing," whereby utilities loan customers money to improve energy efficiency or install renewable energy sources like solar panels and geothermal pumps, and then the customers repay the loans in monthly installments on their utility bills."

"Senator Sanders believes that global warming is the greatest environmental threat facing the planet. That is why he introduced the Climate Protection and Justice Act, to tax carbon and methane emissions from coal, oil, and natural gas at the source of production, and to use the revenue to make historic investments in energy efficiency and sustainable energy. The bill would also triple funding for advanced energy research and make huge investments in wind, solar, geothermal, plug-in electric vehicles, and other clean energy technologies. The proposal would also provide rebates to consumers to offset any efforts by oil, coal, or gas companies to raise prices."

After the Senate voted down a bill to ban abortion at 20 weeks, Sen. Sanders posted on Facebook: "Instead of addressing the serious issues facing this country, Republicans have decided to wage war on every possible front against access to safe, affordable health care. Enough is enough. We cannot go back to the days when women in America did not have the right to control their own bodies. Access to safe and legal abortion is a constitutional right."

"Solving the opioid epidemic is not a simple thing. We must make sure people have access to treatment, so they can get help where and when they need it. We must invest in what people need for a successful long-term recovery, like counseling and peer support, employment, and housing. And it means taking a hard look at the issues in our society that are causing so many people to turn to drugs in the first place, so that we can prevent others from becoming addicted. This funding will be an important tool in this fight."

"President Trump has stated tonight, and, over and over again in recent weeks, that building a wall on the Mexican border is a national emergency. In fact, he shut down the government and caused enormous pain for some 800,000 federal employees because of his insistence for his wall.

"No, Mr. Trump, building a wall is not an emergency.

"In terms of immigration in this country, what we need to do is not to waste billions of dollars on a wall, but to finally address the need for comprehensive immigration reform – including a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented people."