Bernie Sanders says 'major plans' to be funded in part by new taxes, lawsuits

Democrats attack Sanders following Nevada win; Fox News senior political analyst Brit Hume weighs in.Bernie Sanders unexpectedly released a fact-sheet Monday night explaining that he'd pay for his sweeping new government programs through new taxes and massive lawsuits against the fossil fuel industry, as well as by slashing spending on the military, among other methods.The move sought to head off complaints from Republicans and some rival Democrats that his plans were economically unrealistic, especially after a head-turning CBS News interview in which the frustrated Vermont senator said he couldn't "rattle off to you every nickel and every dime" about his proposed expenditures.He released his plan on his website just minutes after promising to do so during a CNN town hall.However, the fact-sheet highlighted for the first time that many of Sanders' expected cost-saving measures relied on conjecture and best-case scenarios. The plan also did not discuss how the government would be able to reliably obtain the money, given that many investments could simply be liquidated or transferred elsewhere before his administration took office.BLOOMBERG STAGING MASSIVE AD, SURROGATE BLITZ AGAINST SANDERS Instead, Sanders' proposal said only that it would eventually establish a "national wealth registry and significant additional third party reporting requirements," buff up IRS funding and, and "include enhancements to the international tax enforcement."The plan would require the IRS "to perform an audit of 30 percent of wealth tax returns for those in the 1 percent bracket and a 100 percent audit rate for all billionaires," and would include a "40 percent exit tax on the net value of all assets under $1 billion and 60 percent over $1 billion for all wealthy individual seeking to expatriate to avoid the tax."A new "income inequality tax on large corporations that pay CEOs at least 50 times more than average workers" would take care of $81 billion in past-due medical debt, Sanders further claimed.Sanders' projections also stated without providing details that his Green New Deal plan would create "20 million new jobs," thus ensuring $2.3 trillion in "new income tax revenue."Additionally, Sanders cited "economists" as he promised that by "averting climate catastrophe we will save: $2.9 trillion over 10 years, $21 trillion over 30 years and $70.4 trillion over 80 years."FACT CHECK: WERE SANDERS' REMARKS ON CUBAN LITERACY PROGRAMS OFF-BASE?No information was provided to validate that assertion, although the Trump administration's National Climate Assessment found that it was possible climate change could reduce the size of the U.S. economy by 10 percent by the end of the century, assuming no substantial changes in technology (including carbon-reducing innovations) or policy occur in the meantime.Sanders claimed to be able to raise "$3.085 trillion by making the fossil fuel industry pay for their pollution, through litigation, fees, and taxes, and eliminating federal fossil fuel subsidies." He has repeatedly suggested on the campaign trail that he would direct the Justice Department to pursue the fossil fuel industry, although it was unclear how successful that legal strategy would be."If we do not act, the U.S. will lose $34.5 trillion by the end of the century in economic productivity," Sanders alleged -- putting the consequences of climate change in stark economic terms.On health care, Sanders has previously vowed to provide benefits, including health care, even to illegal immigrants. And that's what happened in the first years of the Castro regime."Also at the town hall, after arguing that people should not be judged solely by their skin color, Sanders promised that his vice president "definitively" would not be an "old white guy."Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inboxSubscribedYou've successfully subscribed to this newsletter!This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.