Service history
36 years in the U.S. Congress · since 1991
- Senator VT 2007–present
- Representative VT 1991–2007
Background
- background Born September 8, 1941 in New York City; University of Chicago graduate (1964)
- role Mayor of Burlington (1981, reelected three times)
- role U.S. representative from Vermont (1990–2006, 16 years)
- achievement First non-Republican elected to Vermont Senate seat since 1850 (2006)
- role Senior U.S. senator from Vermont since 2007; longest-serving independent
- achievement Democratic presidential candidate 2016 and 2020; finished second both times
Campaign finance
2022 cycle
Incumbent for U.S. Senate VT · 2024 General Election
- $15,283,176 raised
- $12,557,678 spent
- $9,733,222 cash on hand
| $15.28M | |
| $15.19M | |
| $15.19M | |
| Itemized (≥ $200) | $4.68M |
| Unitemized (< $200) | $10.51M |
| Offsets to expenditures | $38.13K |
| Other receipts | $60.01K |
| $12.56M | |
| Operating expenditures | $10.58M |
| Contribution refunds | $212.20K |
| Other disbursements | $1.76M |
| Cash on hand | $9.73M |
| Debts owed by committee | $0.00 |
Through December 31, 2022 · FEC
Data from FEC (through Dec 31, 2022)
Over time
Data from FEC per-cycle campaign finance
Money raised, spent, and cash on hand across every election cycle on record — toggle a series in the legend.
| Cycle | Raised | Spent | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | $6,179,359 | $6,004,222 | $177,466 |
| 2008 | $166,196 | $301,550 | $42,114 |
| 2010 | $788,743 | $295,262 | $535,594 |
| 2012 | $6,274,553 | $2,651,095 | $4,159,051 |
| 2014 | $1,113,119 | $831,717 | $4,440,453 |
| 2016 | $1,267,455 | $1,914,588 | $3,793,408 |
| 2018 | $10,760,531 | $5,454,020 | $9,099,921 |
| 2020 | $12,810,422 | $14,108,692 | $7,007,724 |
| 2022 | $15,283,176 | $12,557,678 | $9,733,222 |
| 2024 | $8,207,886 | $7,200,347 | $10,740,761 |
| 2026 | $24,928,186 | $12,833,936 | $22,835,011 |
Track record
Assembled from Congress.gov · FEC · official disclosures — each fact links its own source
- Roll-call participation →
voted in 890 recorded roll calls · chamber median 100.0%
Missing a vote is not inherently negative — an absence can be excused, reflect leadership or committee duty, or a recorded pairing.
- Bills sponsored →
plus 463 cosponsored
A count of bills introduced as the primary sponsor; most legislation never advances, regardless of who sponsors it.
- Sponsored bills enacted →
of 59 bills sponsored
Whether a bill becomes law depends on the whole Congress, not the sponsor alone; substantive provisions often pass folded into other vehicles.
- Documented positions →
sourced stances on tracked issues
Documented, sourced positions we have on record — the absence of a documented position is not the absence of a view.
- Committee assignments →
committees and subcommittees
Committee seats are assignments made by party leadership — a measure of role and jurisdiction, not an achievement or a conflict in itself.
- Documented relationships →
neutral overlap signals (e.g., committee oversight of a traded sector)
A documented relationship is a factual overlap in the public record — NOT evidence of wrongdoing.
Assembled from CivicGate's ingested public records for Bernard Sanders. A fact shown as “—” means we don't yet hold that data — not that the value is zero.
Voting record
Data from senate.gov roll-call records
Full voting record (890 roll calls) → · Congress 119 · based on 890 of 890 recorded roll calls
Committee assignments (14)
Data from Congress.gov committee memberships
- Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Ranking Member · oversees Health
- Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy Subcommittee Ranking Member
- Budget Committee
- Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice, and Regulatory Oversight Subcommittee · oversees Energy
- Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Innovation and Safety Subcommittee Subcommittee
- Environment and Public Works Committee · oversees Energy
- Finance Committee
- Fisheries, Wildlife, and Water Subcommittee
- Taxation and IRS Oversight Subcommittee
- Veterans' Affairs Committee
- Education and the American Family Subcommittee Ex Officio
- Employment and Workplace Safety Subcommittee Ex Officio
- Health Care Subcommittee · oversees Health
- Primary Health and Retirement Security Subcommittee Ex Officio · oversees Health
Industry PAC support
Data from FEC — PAC (political action committee) contributions, 2024 cycles
Total disclosed PAC money: $87,633. Industry is approximated from a curated map; individual (non-PAC) donations are listed separately above.
- Health $15,000 · 3 PACs
Top PAC contributors (10)
- AIR LINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION PAC $10,000
- UNITED FOOD & COMMERCIAL WORKERS INTERNATIONAL UNI $10,000
- END CITIZENS UNITED $5,000
- COURAGE TO CHANGE $5,000
- NATIONAL NURSES UNITED PAC $5,000 · Health
- AKSM UROLOGY POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE 'AKSM UROLOGY PAC' $5,000 · Health
- TRANSPORT WORKERS UNION OF AMERICA POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS COMMITTEE $5,000
- DRIVE COMMITTEE $5,000
- NATIONAL UNION OF HEALTHCARE WORKERS FEDERAL COPE COMMITTE (NUHW) $5,000 · Health
- MACHINISTS NON-PARTISAN POLITICAL LEAGUE PAC $5,000
Top contributors (FEC)
Issue positions (12)
Documented + CivicGate vote-derived — stated positions link their source; derived positions come from votes on direction-tagged bills
- AbortionOppose from votes
- Climate & EnergyPartial support from votes
- Criminal JusticePartial support from votes
- DefenseOppose from votes
- Economy & TaxesPartial oppose from votes
- EducationPartial oppose from votes
- Foreign PolicyPartial oppose from votes
- HealthcareFull support
- HousingOppose from votes
- ImmigrationFull support from votes
- Labor & WagesOppose from votes
- Technology & PrivacyOppose from votes
Documented relationships
Documented facts about Sanders, aggregated from public records. A documented relationship is not evidence of wrongdoing — it is context, not a conclusion.
- Committee oversight & campaign money — health coverage: medium
Sits on the Senate Committee on Finance — Health Care, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions — Primary Health and Retirement Security, which oversee the health sector, and received 3 PAC contributions from health-sector political action committees totaling $15,000 (recent cycles).
PAC industry is approximated from a curated keyword map, and only members with an FEC candidate id on file are covered — real totals may be higher.
Have a question about this? Ask Sanders to explain → Browse all documented relationships →
Frequent co-sponsors
Connections network
Sponsored / cosponsored bills (200)
- S 5324Fairness to Freedom Act of 2026cosponsoredAug 5, 2026
- S 5283Momnibus ActcosponsoredAug 5, 2026
- S 5321HCBS Access ActcosponsoredAug 5, 2026
- S 5284Green New Deal for Public Housing ActsponsoredAug 5, 2026
- S 5331Protect American Values Act of 2026cosponsoredAug 5, 2026
- S 5304Fairness for Farm Workers ActcosponsoredAug 5, 2026
- S 5280Guaranteed Paid Vacation ActsponsoredAug 5, 2026
- S 5195Green New Deal for Public Schools ActcosponsoredJul 29, 2026
- S 5190Restoring Justice for Workers ActcosponsoredJul 29, 2026
- S 5185Audit the Pentagon ActsponsoredJul 29, 2026
- S 5168Comprehensive Paid Leave for Federal Employees ActcosponsoredJul 28, 2026
- S 5134Green New Deal for Health ActcosponsoredJul 26, 2026
- SRES 814A resolution recognizing the importance of independent living and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities made possible by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and calling to protect the right of individuals with disabilities to live in their own homes and communities.cosponsoredJul 22, 2026
- S 5108Right to IVF Act of 2026cosponsoredJul 22, 2026
- S 5121Supreme Court Ethics ActcosponsoredJul 22, 2026
- S 5112Health Over Wealth ActcosponsoredJul 22, 2026
- S 5071Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026cosponsoredJul 21, 2026
- S 5075Get Foreign Money Out of U.S. Elections ActcosponsoredJul 21, 2026
- SRES 807A resolution directing the Senate Legal Counsel to bring a civil action in the name of the Senate to enforce the Foreign Emoluments Clause contained in clause 8 of section 9 of article I of the Constitution of the United States.cosponsoredJul 20, 2026
- S 5056CDC Tribal Public Health Security and Preparedness ActcosponsoredJul 20, 2026
- SCONRES 36A concurrent resolution recognizing the significance of equal pay and the disparity in wages paid to men and to Black women.cosponsoredJul 20, 2026
- S 5019Disclosure of Tax Havens and Offshoring ActcosponsoredJul 15, 2026
- S 5026Childhood Diabetes Reduction Act of 2026sponsoredJul 15, 2026
- S 4996Fairness for Small-Scale Farmers and Ranchers Act of 2026cosponsoredJul 14, 2026
- S 4995Agricultural Worker Justice Act of 2026cosponsoredJul 14, 2026
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