BLITZER: In the fight over health care reform, listen closely. What you're about to see and hear is either a Republican attempt to show you exactly what is going on in the Senate or what Democrats are calling a Republican stunt.

It started around noon earlier today, when independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont took to the floor over his health care amendment. After that, Republican Senator Tom Coburn froze the health care debate by demanding Sanders' amendment be read aloud.

Senate then clerks began reading the 767-page amendment for a few hours. Fast-forward. Senator Sanders pulls his amendment, untying the Senate.

Let's talk about what happened on that and more with Senator Bernie Sanders.

Senator, thanks very much for coming in.

SANDERS: Good to be with you, Wolf.

BLITZER: You want to tell us what happened here? Because it was unusual in the history of the Senate, starting to read a 760-odd-page amendment of yours.

SANDERS: Well, it is not so unusual in terms of what is going on with Republican obstructionism right now.

Very clearly, all this was is an effort to make sure that they shut down the government essentially perhaps for two days. And despite all of the major problems we have on health care in terms of massive unemployment, global warming, and national debt, what they want to do is, hey, let's stop the government from functioning, so that we can blame President Obama and the Democrats for not accomplishing anything.

It is very transparent. It's pretty pathetic. And I was a little bit annoyed.

BLITZER: Now, you withdraw it. It was an amendment. It basically called for a single-payer system, which you knew was not going to get off of the ground anyhow.

(CROSSTALK)

SANDERS: Right. Certainly, I knew it was not going to win, but I was very excited and millions of people were excited that finally for first time in American history, a Medicare-for-all single-payer system was going to be introduced on the floor of the Senate, which in my view is the only way that we will ever provide comprehensive universal cost-effective health care for all of our people.

And I was disappointed, very disappointed, as many people were that we couldn't get a vote on that.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: How disappointed in the version that is before the Senate right now, without a public option, without reducing the Medicare age to 55? The former Governor of your state Howard Dean says it is not worth supporting any longer. Are you with Howard Dean or with Harry Reid?

SANDERS: Well, I am doing my best at this moment to make this bill as strong as it possibly can be, so it becomes a bill, Wolf, that I can vote for in good conscious.

Right now, with the withdrawal of the public option, what that means is that the private insurance companies are not going to have any competition. And they are going to be able, it seems to me, to be able other continue to raise their rates as high as they want, which is what they have been doing for many years. So, what I am right now doing is working with the White House, working with the Democratic leadership to try to make this bill as strong as I can.

And, right now, I have made it clear that, at this point, it is not for sure that I will vote for that bill unless it becomes significantly better.

BLITZER: Would you join with the Republicans in supporting a filibuster?

SANDERS: Well, right now, we are going to try to make this bill as strong as it possibly can...

BLITZER: What if you can't it any better?

SANDERS: Look, look, we have had a situation in this country where decade after decade people have talked about health care reform. This bill has some good things in it. And I don't want to dismiss it. President Obama is trying to do some good things. Democratic leadership is trying to do some good things.

What I am trying to do is make this bill as good as it can be in a number of respects. And I will be back to you as soon as I reach that decision.

BLITZER: So, your vote right now is literally undecided? SANDERS: That is correct.

BLITZER: Let's talk about Ben Bernanke. "TIME" magazine today named him the person of the year. You don't want him to get a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve. Why?

SANDERS: Well, I thought that was an April Fool's cover for "TIME" magazine. I thought they were kidding.

Here is what you got. This country is in the midst of the worst recession since the Great Depression, and everybody knows the reason is based on the greed and recklessness of Wall Street and the collapse of major financial institutions.

Guess what? The major mandate of the Federal Reserve is the safety and soundness of our financial system. Does anybody in the world think that Chairman Bernanke was doing his job when Wall Street was engaged in reckless gambling activities, excessive speculation that led to the collapse? It is beyond my comprehension how anybody would want to reappoint this guy.

Furthermore, Wolf...

BLITZER: Let me interrupt for a second, Senator. It's not anyone. It's the president of the United States, your fellow Democrat. President Obama wants to reappoint him.

SANDERS: I'm an independent, not a Democrat. And I disagree with the president.

After the bailout, there were many things that Bernanke could have done to help the middle class and small businesses. He could have said to the bailed-out banks, you know what, you are not going to charge Americans 25 or 30 percent interest rates on credit cards. You know what, we are not going to allow the largest banks in America, the banks we bailed out because they were too big to fail to become even bigger.

That is pretty crazy. I'm a member of the Budget Committee. When Bernanke came before my committee, I said, Mr. Bernanke, you have lent -- as your correspondent mentioned a moment ago -- trillions of dollars at zero interest to the largest financial institutions in America. Can you please tell me the names and the term of those loans? Who got the money?

And Mr. Bernanke said, no, ain't going to tell you.

Well, if he ain't going to tell me, he is not a guy who should be reappointed head of the Fed.

BLITZER: Bernie Sanders is the independent senator from Vermont, but he does caucus with the Democrats.

SANDERS: That's right.

BLITZER: Thanks so much for coming in.

SANDERS: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Appreciate it very much.