Bernie Sanders in June Democratic candidates debate in Miami FL

On Abortion: Medicare-for-All will protect women's constitutional right

SANDERS: My plan, as somebody who believes for a start that a woman's right to control her own body is a constitutional right, that government and politicians should not infringe on that right, we will do everything we can to defend Roe versus Wade. Let's face this, Medicare for All guarantees every woman in this country the right to have an abortion if she wants it.

On Budget & Economy: $21T increase in wealth to top 1%

On Corporations: Stand up against healthcare companies' billions in profits

I will tell you how we'll do it. We'll do it the way real change has always taken place, whether it was the labor movement, the civil rights movement, or the women's movement. We will have Medicare-for-All when tens of millions of people are prepared to stand up and tell the insurance companies and the drug companies that their day is gone, that health care is a human right, not something to make huge profits off of.

On Corporations: Nothing will change if we don't have the guts to fight

On Energy & Oil: Scientists say "12 years before damage is irreversible"

On Families & Children: Trump threw 32M families off healthcare, socialism not issue

Sen. Bernie SANDERS: The American people understand that Trump is a phony, that Trump is a pathological liar and a racist, and that he lied to the American people during his campaign. He said he was going to stand up for working families. Well, President Trump, you're not standing up for working families when you try to throw 32 million people off health care and 83% of your tax benefits go to the top 1%. That's how we beat Trump: We expose him for the fraud that he is.

On Foreign Policy: Address source of problem with Mexico & Northern Triangle

On Gun Control: 2013: state decisions on guns; 2019: federal legislation

SANDERS: No, that's a mischaracterization of my thinking.

Q: It's a quote of you.

SANDERS: Look, we have a gun crisis right now, 40,000 people a year are getting killed. In 1988, when it wasn't popular, I ran on a platform of banning assault weapons and in fact lost that race for Congress. I have a D-minus voting record from the NRA. And I believe that what we need is comprehensive gun legislation that, among other things, provides universal background, we end the gun show loophole, we end the strawman provision, and I believed in 1988 and I believe today.

On Gun Control: Buy back assault weapons, and ban their sale

Rep. Eric SWALWELL: Your plan leaves them on the streets. You leave 15 million on the streets.

SANDERS: We ban the sale and distribution [of assault weapons].

SWALWELL: Will you buy them back?

SANDERS: If the government wants to do that and people want to bring them back, yes.

SWALWELL: You are going to be the government, will you buy them back?

SANDERS: Yes.

On Health Care: Canada has figured out single-payer, at half the cost of US

SANDERS: Every other major country on Earth, including my neighbor 50 miles north of me, Canada, somehow has figured out a way to provide health care to every man, woman, and child, and in most cases, they're spending 50% per capita of what we are spending.

Q: How do you implement it on a national level, given the fact that other states have not succeeded?

SANDERS: We'll do it the way real change has always taken place. We will have Medicare-for-All when tens of millions of people are prepared to stand up and tell the insurance companies and the drug companies that their day is gone, that health care is a human right, not something to make huge profits off of.

On Health Care: Medicare is most popular health insurance so let's expand it

Sen. Mike BENNET: Bernie has said over and over again that this [single-payer Medicare-for-All plan] will make illegal all insurance except cosmetic--I guess that's for plastic surgery. Everything else is banned under the Medicare-for-all proposal.

Sen. Bernie SANDERS: You know, Mike, Medicare is the most popular health insurance program in the country.

BENNET: I agree.

SANDERS: People don't like their private insurance companies. They like their doctors and hospitals. Under our plan people go to any doctor they want, any hospital they want. We will substantially lower the cost of health care in this country because we'll stop the greed of the insurance companies. On this issue we have to think about how this affects real people.

On Tax Reform: Medicare-for-All raises taxes on middle class, but net gain

On War & Peace: Used War Powers Act to get US out of Saudi-Yemen war

V.P. Joe BIDEN: I was responsible for getting 150,000 combat troops out of Iraq. I also think we should not have combat troops in Afghanistan. It's long overdue. It should end.

Sen. Bernie SANDERS: One of the differences that Joe and I have in our record is Joe voted for that war, I helped lead the opposition to that war, which was a total disaster. I helped lead the effort for the first time to utilize the War Powers Act to get the United States out of the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen, which is the most horrific humanitarian disaster on Earth. Let me be very clear. I will do everything I can to prevent a war with Iran, which would be far worse than disastrous war with Iraq.