This is what they should do. They should take a deep reflection about the history of this country and understand that absolutely these are very diffi… - Bernie Sanders

I learned a great deal about immigration as a child because my father came from Poland at the age of 17, without a nickel in his pocket, without knowing one word of English. He came to the United States to escape the crushing poverty that existed in his community, and to escape widespread anti-Semitism. And, it was a good thing that he came to this country because virtually his entire family was wiped out by Hitler and Nazi barbarism... The underlying principles of our government will not be racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia, and religious bigotry. I did not come from a family that taught me to build a corporate empire through housing discrimination. I protested housing discrimination, was arrested for protesting school segregation, and one of the proudest days of my life was attending the March on Washington for jobs and freedom led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Further, we can create millions more jobs by taking the global leadership in combating climate change – the existential threat to our planet – and transforming our energy system away from fossil fuels. By extending the child tax credit, we can cut childhood poverty nearly in half and end the international embarrassment of the US having one of the highest rates of childhood poverty in the industrialized world. By having the federal government negotiate drug prices with the pharmaceutical industry, we can not only lower the outrageous cost of prescription drugs but we can raise the necessary funds to expand Medicare to finally cover dental, vision and hearing needs and improve the lives of millions of struggling seniors. We can also provide good quality health coverage to millions of older workers by lowering the eligibility age of Medicare to 55. By passing universal child care and Pre-K legislation, we can make sure that every child in America, regardless of income or zip code, gets a good start in life. We can also strengthen the economy by enabling parents to go to their jobs knowing that their young children are safe and well taken care of. By passing paid family and medical leave, we can join every other wealthy country in making certain that workers can stay home with their sick kids or spend precious time with a new born baby. By making public colleges and universities tuition free, and substantially lowering student debt, we can create the best educated workforce in the world and provide support to a younger generation which, otherwise, will likely have a lower standard of living than their parents. By passing progressive tax legislation that finally asks the wealthy and large corporations to begin paying their fair share of taxes, we can begin to address the grotesque level of income and wealth inequality and raise trillions of dollars to address the needs of working families. By passing universal voting rights, ending outrageous levels of gerrymandering and moving forward on campaign finance reform, we can end voter suppression, increase voter turnout and strengthen our democracy. By passing new criminal justice reform, we can reduce the rate of incarceration and make certain that all of our citizens, regardless of the color of their skin, can safely walk the streets of this country without fear of abusive, illegal or lethal police action. By passing comprehensive immigration reform we can, after years of inaction, finally give Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival recipients and temporary protected status holders the stability they deserve, and create a path toward citizenship for 11 million undocumented people, many of whom are doing the critical work that keeps our economy going. Relying on the same budget process we used to pass the American Rescue Plan in March, we can improve the lives of working families with just 50 votes in the Senate and a simple majority in the House of Representatives. In other words, if the Democrats in the House and Senate are able to stand together, have the courage to take on powerful special interests and do what so many working families of this country want us to do, we can create an economy that works for all and not just the few, we can help save the planet from the ravages of climate change and we can strengthen American democracy. These are no small accomplishments. They are transformational.

O'DONNELL: I want to allow Senator Sanders to respond because you've gone after the insurance industry. You've taken on pharmaceutical companies. And you've taken on big tech. Why did you vote repeatedly to give gun manufacturers a pass?