Bernie Sanders

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Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Bernard Sanders says the Senate still has a long way to go before it passes a policy bill.

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FILE - In this Dec. 6, 2012 file photo, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. The veterans bill vote could put Senate Republicans in the uncomfortable position of saying no to a politically powerful constituency during an election year. Sen. Bernie Sanders, the bill’s author and the chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, has gained the endorsement of myriad veterans groups to generate momentum for his bill, which the panel says would cost $21 billion over 10 years. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

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"This bill is a step forward but it doesn't go as far as it should," said Sen. Bernard Sanders, Vermont independent, noting that benefits cuts have been erased for current veterans. He's also written a bill to boost spending for future veterans. (associated press)

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**FILE** Sen. Bernie Sanders, Vermont independent, speaks during a Dec. 6, 2012, news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Associated Press)

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Sen. Bernard Sanders, Vermont independent and one of 29 budget negotiators, wants to expand social safety nets and proposes paying for it by taxing stock trades, increasing the estate tax and raising income tax rates for the top 2 percent of earners. (Associated Press)