{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "is_view": false, "human_description_en": "where party = \"Democrat\", state = \"CO\" and year = 2017 sorted by date descending", "rows": [["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/degette-s-led-bill-clarifies-how-new-lighting-technology-is-regulated", "DeGettes LED Bill Clarifies How New Lighting Technology is Regulated", "2017-12-31", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "The U.S. Senate has passed a bill that promotes energy conservation and encourages innovations in LED lighting, authored by Congresswoman Diana DeGette, D-Colo. The bill heads to President Trumps desk to be signed into law.\nThe holiday season will be all the brighter thanks to our bipartisan efforts to speed the nations progress in the use of energy-efficient lighting, DeGette said in a press release. Our countrys conservation standards must remain up to date with the latest developments in high-tech lighting and energy-efficient appliances. This bill will remove roadblocks to progress in LED development and help lower energy costs for American businesses and households.\nDeGettes office said the legislation, theEPS Improvement Act (H.R. 518), clarifies and modernizes energy conservation rules that were established after the Energy Policy Act of 2005. When the law was written, LEDs were not yet on the market; they later came to be classified by the Department of Energy as External Power Supplies (EPS).\nHowever, EPS drivers use a different kind of power conversion design than LEDs. In simpler terms, EPS are generally understood to be devices that connect electronics to plug-loads, such as the detachable cords that provide power to laptops, smart phones and tablets, according to the HouseSubcommittee on Energy and Power.\nLEDs require a constant voltage to work as theyre supposed to, conserving more power than traditional lighting.\nLED is a highly energy efficient lighting technology, and has the potential to fundamentally change the future of lighting in the United States, reports theDepartment of Energy. Residential LEDs  especially ENERGY STAR rated products  use at least 75 percent less energy, and last 25 times longer, than incandescent lighting.\nBy 2027, widespread use of LEDs could save the equivalent annual electrical output of 44 large electric power plants (1000 megawatts each), and a total savings of more than $30 billion at todays electricity prices, the department said.\nAlong with saving energy, LED lights are safer. Take Christmas lights, for example. The department said up to 25 strings of LEDs can be connected end-to-end without overloading a wall socket.\nProponents of the measure said on the House floor that this is pro-manufacturing, pro-consumer legislation that clears up how the Department of Energy regulates the new technology.\nThe Center for Western Prioritiesranked Coloradoas a top state in energy conservation in October, followed by Utah and Wyoming.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=00169A00-D350-8797-D8E0-43755EA598D9", "Bennet Statement on Douglas County Shooting", "2017-12-31", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "DENVER, CO - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today issued the following statement in response to reports of an officer-involved shooting in Douglas County:\r\n\"Our prayers are with the families of the deputy who was killed and the other officers injured in the line of duty. We are deeply grateful for the bravery of our law enforcement-and honor their sacrifice-as they work each day to protect our communities and keep us safe.\"", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/degette-led-energy-bill-passes-senate-about-to-become-law", "DeGette LED Energy Bill Passes Senate, About to Become Law", "2017-12-22", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC  Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO), author of a bill promoting energy conservation and encouraging innovations in LED lighting that passes the House in January, hailed last nights Senate passage of the bill and anticipated that it would be signed into law soon.\nThe holiday season will be all the brighter thanks to our bipartisan efforts to speed the nations progress in the use of energy-efficient lighting, DeGette said. Our countrys conservation standards must remain up to date with the latest developments in high-tech lighting and energy-efficient appliances. This bill will remove roadblocks to progress in LED development and help lower energy costs for American businesses and households.\nDeGettes legislation, the EPS Improvement Act (H.R. 518), clarifies and modernizes energy conservation rules that were established after the Energy Policy Act of 2005. When the law was written, Light Emitting Diodes (LED) and Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLED) were not on the market; they later came to be classified by the Department of Energy as External Power Supplies. But EPS drivers use a different kind of power conversion design than LEDs and OLEDs, so the standards writtenfor EPS drivers do not work for LEDs and OLEDs. Legislation that DeGette championed in 2016 to address this difference passed the House in the 114th Congress but didnt see action in the Senate.\nDeGette introduced H.R. 518 at the first opportunity this year, and it quickly gained support and passed the House.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/pro-choice-leaders-call-on-judiciary-committee-to-subpoena-witnesses-in", "Pro-Choice Leaders Call on Judiciary Committee to Subpoena Witnesses in Case of Abortion-Seeking Teen", "2017-12-22", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC The co-chairs of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Louise Slaughter (D-NY), today called on the leadership of the House Judiciary Committee to subpoena Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) officials involved in a decision to deny a 17-year-old rape victim her right to have an abortion.\nThe undocumented teen, known as Jane Poe in court filings, was in federal custody and stated that she was a victim of sexual assault in her home country, which has not been identified publicly. The HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which is responsible for the care of undocumented teens in federal facilities, rejected her request to be able to obtain an abortion. The American Civil Liberties Union intervened with acourt filinglast week on her behalf; thanks to a D.C. District Court judges ruling, she was allowed to have an abortion on December 20. Due to disturbing questions raised by information in court filings, ORR Director Scott Lloyd is among the people DeGette and Slaughter are asking the Judiciary Committee to subpoena for questioning.\nAccording to these court filings, the Trump Administration attempted to force a rape victim to carry a pregnancy to term against her will, DeGette and Slaughter wrote ina letterto the Committee. This is an egregious, unconscionable violation of Jane Poes right to make this decision. We fear that other women currently in detention may be facing similar injustices at the hands of Trump Administration officials. In order to prevent more women from being denied their rights, ORRs policies and decision to deny Jane Poe an abortion need urgent and close examination and oversight by Congress. We strongly urge the Judiciary Committee to question Mr. Lloyd immediately when Congress returns in January.\nThe two legislators note in their letter that Lloyd said he decided to deny the abortion because he was convinced that an abortion in this case [was] not in her best interest. \nThe Constitution guarantees women the right to access abortion and prohibits the government from putting an undue burden on that right, they wrote. We are strongly opposed to ORRs unconstitutional policy of denying abortion to undocumented minors. Indeed, ORRs decisions denying abortion have now been overturned in federal court multiple times. Aside from being unconstitutional, the ongoing efforts by ORR staff to intimidate and scare young women out of exercising their rights are also offensive and highly inappropriate for any government official, let alone senior officials in the Trump Administration.\n\nThe full text of the letter follows:\n\n\nDecember 22, 2017\n\nChairman Bob Goodlatte Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler\nHouse Judiciary Committee House Judiciary Committee\n2309 Rayburn House Office Building 2109 Rayburn House Office Building\nWashington, DC 20515                                   Washington, DC 20515\n\nDear Chairman Goodlatte and Ranking Member Nadler,\n\nWe write today with grave concerns about court filings that revealed Trump Administration officials denied a seventeen-year-old immigrant woman (Jane Poe), who is a victim of rape, her right to have an abortion. We request that the Judiciary Committee subpoena officials within the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), including Director Scott Lloyd, for immediate questioning about this deeply troubling incident.\n\nThe relevant court filings (Case 1:17-cv-02122-TSC, Document 87) include a memo written by ORR Director Scott Lloyd outlining the Administrations decision to deny Jane Poe an abortion. Lloyds memo reveals that he was aware that Jane Poe informed ORR officials that she was sexually assaulted in her home country, and that the assault likely resulted in her pregnancy. Lloyd also acknowledges that at least one senior program staff at ORR recommended that Poe be allowed to have an abortion. Nevertheless, Lloyd decided to deny the abortion because he was convinced that an abortion in this case [was] not in her best interest. He overtly assumes that he, rather than Jane Poe, was in the best position to decide her future.\n\nThe Constitution guarantees women the right to access abortion and prohibits the government from putting an undue burden on that right. We are strongly opposed to ORRs unconstitutional policy of denying abortion to undocumented minors. Indeed, ORRs decisions denying abortion have now been overturned in federal court multiple times. Aside from being unconstitutional, the ongoing efforts by ORR staff to intimidate and scare young women out of exercising their rights are also offensive and highly inappropriate for any government official, let alone senior officials in the Trump Administration.\n\nThe new details about the circumstances surrounding Jane Poe, however, raise even more questions about the ORR policy that demand immediate answers from Mr. Lloyd. According to these court filings, the Trump Administration attempted to force a rape victim to carry a pregnancy to term against her will. This is an egregious, unconscionable violation of Jane Poes right to make this decision. We fear that other women currently in detention may be facing similar injustices at the hands of Trump Administration officials.\n\nIn order to prevent more women from being denied their rights, ORRs policies and decision to deny Jane Poe an abortion need urgent and close examination and oversight by Congress. We strongly urge the Judiciary Committee to question Mr. Lloyd immediately when Congress returns in January.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/colorado-rep-diana-degette-plans-to-co-sponsor-bill-to-restore-net", "Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette Plans to Co-Sponsor Bill to Restore Net Neutrality", "2017-12-21", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "From Colorado Politics\nWASHINGTON  U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, a Democrat from Denver, plans to co-sponsor a bill next month to reverse last weeks administrative decision that eliminated net neutrality.\nNet neutrality was a rule requiring internet service providers to treat all internet data the same.\nIn other words, Comcast, Verizon, AT&T and other internet service providers could not charge differently by user, content or website. They also were banned from slowing down or speeding up access to some internet content based on preferential status.\nNet neutrality was supposed to be guaranteed by the Obama administrations 2015 Open Internet Order.\nThe Federal Communications Commission issued an order last week that eliminated net neutrality. Instead, access to the internet would be based on users ability to pay, which critics say would give an unfair advantage to the largest corporations. Now a coalition of Democrats plan to fight back.\nWe plan to introduce legislation probably in January to disapprove of the FCC ruling, DeGette told Colorado Politics. What that would do is it would be to take it back to the standards that were in effect before that ruling.\nDeGette is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has authority over commercial issues such as the internet.\nDetails of the bill she plans to co-sponsor are being worked out with Rep. Mike Doyle, a Democrat on the subcommittee on communications and technology.\nThe first effort to reverse the FCC order came this week from Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., whose bill would prohibit internet service providers from blocking or slowing internet traffic.\nOther efforts are coming from state attorneys general and consumer groups who say they will sue the FCC to force a return to net neutrality. The first lawsuits are expected to be filed in federal courts next month.\nDeGette said the FCCs ruling creates a special threat for Colorado because of its large technology industry. Many of the tech jobs are concentrated in the computer industry and the internet.\nThe technology association CompTIA estimated this year that 196,651 workers in Colorado are employed in the tech industry, ranking 14th among the 50 states. Together they account for about 11.5 percent, or $36.2 billion, of the states economy.\nRepeal of net neutrality would impact a lot of the wonderful entrepreneurs in Colorado, particularly when they are trying to accumulate the money to start new businesses, DeGette said.\nI think it could be a real risk for the new economy were seeing, she said.\nShe described net neutrality as the top concern among her constituents who call her offices in Denver and Washington.\nOne day the callers calling in here actually crashed our phone system, she said.\nHer views in favor of net neutrality are shared by the other three Democratic members of Colorados delegation to Congress. The five Republicans in the delegation either oppose net neutrality or say Congress should have been given influence over the policy before the FCC repealed it last week.\nRep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs, was one of numerous Republican lawmakers who urged the FCC in a letter last week to replace net neutrality with what they called internet freedom.\nThis proposal is a major step forward in the effort to clear the way for the substantial investment necessary to advance our internet architecture for the next generation and close the digital divide, the letter signed by Lamborn said. When its effects are fully realized, more Americans than ever will experience the benefits of telemedicine, distance learning, streaming video and future innovations made possible by broadband.\nColorados Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet of Denver took an opposite approach in a letter he wrote to the FCC last week.\nHe said rescinding net neutrality would undermine the fundamental promise of the internet, which has enabled economic growth and entrepreneurship, as well as the free exchange of ideas essential to our democracy.\n\n--By Tom Ramstack", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://perlmutter.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1917", "Perlmutter Joins 170 Members of Congress in Letter of Support for Special Counsel Robert", "2017-12-21", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Ed Perlmutter", "P000593", "perlmutter.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C.  Today, U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter joined 170 Members of Congress in sending a letter to the Deputy Attorney General of the United States, Rod J. Rosenstein, to express support for the investigation being conducted by Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller, III. The letter urges Deputy AG Rosenstein to allow the Mueller investigation to continue unfettered by political influence or threats to his authority and that the investigation should be allowed to come to its natural and appropriate conclusion based on the law, the facts, and the evidence.\r\nSpecial Counsel Mueller was appointed by Mr. Rosenstein on May 17, 2017 to lead an investigation into important matters arising out of the 2016 elections, including any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump. However, despite Mr. Muellers record of integrity, established through his previous service as the FBI Director during two presidential administrations, and despite the clear progress that Mr. Mueller is making in his investigation, the right-wing media, Republican Members of Congress andPresidentDonald Trump, himself, have attempted toundermine Mr. Muellers investigation byadvancinga false narrative that Special Counsel Muellers investigation is biased.\r\nEarlier this week, Rep. Perlmutter spoke on the floor of the House about the Mueller investigation.\r\nRecently theres been a real flurry by the Republicans in Congress to disparage the FBI and the Justice Department and it happens to come right after Michael Flynn and George Papadopoulos have pled guilty. My question is, what are you afraid of? What are you hiding? Let the detectives do their work.\r\nThe full text of the letter can be found below:\r\n\r\nThe Honorable Rod J. Rosenstein\r\nDeputy Attorney General\r\nU.S. Department of Justice\r\n950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW \r\nWashington, DC 20530 \r\n\r\nDear Deputy Attorney General,\r\nWe write to express our support for the work of Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III, and to urge you to ensure that he be allowed to continue his investigation  unfettered by political influence or threats to his authority  to its natural and appropriate conclusion based on the law, the facts, and the evidence.\r\nThe Special Counsel is Conducting a Methodical Investigation, Yielding Results\r\nIt is unimaginable that Republicans would seek to intervene, discredit, obstruct, or terminate the Special Counsels investigation. Thus far, from every public indication, it appears that Mr. Mueller is conducting a thorough and methodical investigation. He and his investigators have not sought, and instead avoided, the public spotlight. His team has not leaked, or hinted at, criminal allegations for which they have yet to develop charges. Furthermore, the charges that have been filed to date have been sufficiently strong, and well founded, as to elicit guilty pleas from President Donald Trumps former National Security Advisor, Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, and a former foreign policy adviser to Donald Trumps presidential campaign, George Papadopoulos.[1]\r\nThe Appointment of a Special Counsel was Necessary and Proper\r\nAs you know, pursuant to U.S. Department of Justice Order Number 3915-2017, which you issued on May 17, 2017, Mr. Mueller was appointed to serve as Special Counsel and authorized to conduct an investigation into matters including: (i) any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump; and (ii) any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation; and (iii) any other matters within the scope of 28 C.F.R.  600.4(a),[2] which includes authority to investigate and prosecute federal crimes committed in the course of, and with intent to interfere with, the Special Counsels investigation, such as perjury, obstruction of justice, destruction of evidence, and intimidation of witnesses.[3]\r\nYour decision to appoint a Special Counsel to conduct such investigation was necessary and proper given: (1) the U.S. Intelligence Communitys assessment that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election, the consistent goals of which were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process and that Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for [President] Trump; [4] (2) the obvious potential that individuals, who had served on President Donald J. Trumps campaign, as well as individuals currently serving as political appointees in the Trump administration, could be targets of, or witnesses in, any such investigation; and (3) Attorney General Jeff Sessions recusal from any matters related in any way to the campaigns for President of the United States.[5]\r\nThe Selection of Robert S. Mueller III to Serve as Special Counsel was Appropriate\r\nUnder the circumstances described above, your selection of Robert Mueller to serve as the Special Counsel to conduct the investigation was an appropriate and commendable decision. Mr. Mueller has earned a reputation as a non-partisan professional investigator, making him an ideal choice to lead the investigation into the highly important, complex, and sensitive matters to which he has been charged. Mr. Muellers record demonstrates that he would not allow bias, influence, or other extraneous considerations to impact his investigation, and any suggestion otherwise is not credible.\r\nMr. Mueller is a former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), who was originally appointed by a Republican President. He was vetted and, twice, unanimously confirmed by the Senate. Specifically, when appointed in 2001 by President George W. Bush, Mueller was confirmed as FBI Director by a vote of 98 to 0 in the Senate,[6] and when Mueller was nominated for a second term, in 2011, during President Barack Obamas administration, he was again unanimously confirmed in the Senate by a vote of 100 to 0.\r\nMr. Mueller has earned bipartisan support. Republican members of the Senate attested to Mr. Muellers integrity and professionalism during Mr. Muellers confirmation hearings, which took place on July 30 and 31, 2001. For example, with regard to Mr. Muellers nomination to serve as FBI director, then Senator, now Attorney General, Jeff Sessions stated:\r\n[I]t is great to see Mr. Mueller, nominated to take one of the most important positions in our country. It is a position that requires, in my view, serious experience, great integrity, and a proven record of accomplishment. And you have all of those things, [Robert Mueller]. When I was in the Department of Justice, ... [Robert] Muellers reputation was known throughout the Department of Justice, and he was known not for any political reason, but because he was recognized as a professionals professional, a man whose skill at doing the job assigned to him was second to none., there is no doubt in my mind, that there is no more professional prosecutor, no more professional person in America with experience in the Department of Justice, ready to handle the job of FBI Director than [Robert] Mueller.[7]\r\nLikewise, Senator Mitch McConnell stated:\r\nI believe Mr. Mueller will provide strong and effective leadership. Mr. Mueller has both impressive management and law enforcement experience.  [H]e is well-schooled in avoiding the problems and pitfalls inherent in criminal investigations and prosecutions. ...Mr. Mueller is not of the FBI, and therefore I believe institutional loyalty will not blind him to making the hard decisions when he needs to.[8]\r\nSenator McConnell also expressed his belief in Mr. Muellers commitment to vigorously enforcing the law without regard to politics or partisanship.[9]\r\nSpeaker of the House Paul Ryan has also commented on Mr. Muellers lack of partisan bias. As reported in a July 24, 2017 Washington Examiner article, Speaker Ryan stated:\r\nI don't think many people are saying [Robert] Mueller is a biased partisan. He's really, sort of, anything but.[10]\r\nOn October 11, 2017, Kenneth Starr, who was appointed in 1994 as the independent counsel who was tasked with investigations involving President Bill Clinton and then First Lady Hillary Clinton, commented on Robert Mueller and the manner in which his investigation is proceeding.[11] Mr. Starr stated that Mr. Mueller is conducting his investigation aggressively and professionally.[12] Mr. Starr also stated:\r\nWere not seeing leaks out of the investigation as far as we know, and what we know of Bob Mueller and his background is that he is someone of total, rock-ribbed integrity.[13]\r\nRegulations Limiting the Removal of a Special Counsel Must Be Followed\r\nMr. Mueller must be allowed to complete his investigation, and should not be threatened with removal. However, a few Republicans have indicated their support for Mr. Muellers ouster. Notwithstanding the overwhelming reasons for Mr. Mueller to be allowed to continue and complete his investigation, the rule of law demands that the Trump administration follow Executive Branch regulations, which restrict the circumstances under which a special counsel can be removed. Specifically, 28 CFR  600.7(d) regarding the removal or discipline of a special counsel provides:\r\nThe Special Counsel may be disciplined or removed from office only by the personal action of the Attorney General. The Attorney General may remove a Special Counsel for misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest, or for other good cause, including violation of Departmental policies. The Attorney General shall inform the Special Counsel in writing of the specific reason for his or her removal.\r\nSince Attorney General Sessions is recused, you, in your capacity as acting Attorney General regarding Special Counsel Muellers investigation, are the only individual empowered to remove Mr. Mueller under regulation. Furthermore, the regulation clearly states that Mr. Mueller may only be removed for good cause, which has not been demonstrated. The administration is required to follow its own regulations and not remove Mr. Mueller from his investigation.\r\nPolitically Motivated Challenges of Special Counsel Mueller and His Investigation Must Not Be Allowed to Threaten the Investigation\r\nDespite Special Counsel Muellers record of integrity, as attested to by these Republican leaders, and despite the clear progress that Mr. Mueller is making in his investigation, the right-wing media, some Republican Members of Congress and Donald Trump, himself, have attempted to advance a false narrative that Special Counsel Muellers investigation is biased, and some have advocated for Mr. Muellers removal. On June 15, 2017, referring in general terms to the Russia investigation, President Trump stated on social media:\r\nYou are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history  led by some very bad and conflicted people![14]\r\nIn Congress, four Republican Members, led by Rep. Matt Gaetz and including former Rep. Trent Franks, who has now resigned amidst an Ethics Committee investigation into his own conduct, have cosponsored a resolution calling for Mueller to step down. Those members have attempted to advance baseless claims of the existence of a conflict due to Mr. Muellers previous service as FBI Director. Those arguments do not have merit, and appear intended, at best, to redirect the publics focus toward matters that are wholly unrelated to the investigation to which Mr. Mueller has been tasked. At worst, those arguments are intended to stop or preemptively tarnish the perception of the Special Counsels work. The issues referenced in that Republican resolution pertain to allegations against former President Bill Clinton and former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton related to a 2009-2010 matter, which has nothing to do with Mr. Muellers directive to investigate links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump.[15]\r\nAs quoted in a December 12, 2017 Politico article, Rep. Matt Gaetz stated that he told President Trump that he was concerned that Mr. Muellers investigation was infected with bias.[16] Rep. Gaetz said the president responded: Thats why you guys have got to do your job.[17] Rep. Gaetz further stated that he informed the president that you would be testifying before the House Judiciary Committee on December 13, 2017, in response to which Rep. Gaetz said President Trump encouraged us to exercise our oversight responsibilities.[18] This conversation, as described by Rep. Gaetz, suggests that President Trump is encouraging the ring leaders of the recent criticisms against Mr. Mueller in order to pressure you to affect the investigation through the congressional oversight process. That is unacceptable.\r\nSome have alleged that Mr. Muellers removal of a member of his team, Peter Strzok, over text messages sent by Mr. Strzok that were critical of President Trump suggests bias or a lack of objectivity on the Special Counsels team. However, upon learning of the text messages, Mr. Mueller immediately removed Mr. Strzok from the investigation.[19] In reality, this incident and Mr. Muellers swift response demonstrates Mr. Muellers integrity as well as his desire and commitment to conduct an investigation that is beyond reproach.\r\nYou must not allow the targets of the investigation, or issues being investigated, to escape thorough independent inquiry through the removal, or hindrance, of the Special Counsel. We thank you for your careful attention to this letter, and we stand ready to support you in upholding the rule of law.\r\nSincerely,\r\n\r\n ###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://perlmutter.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1918", "Perlmutter Statement on Continuing Resolution", "2017-12-21", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Ed Perlmutter", "P000593", "perlmutter.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C.  U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CO-07) released the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed yet another continuing resolution:                                                                            \r\nI am disgusted once again to see the GOP leave town kicking the can down the road without completing any of Congress important work. The long-time bi-partisan Childrens Health Insurance Program needs a long-term reauthorization, Community Health Centers need funding certainty, Dreamers need protection from deportation, and we need to do much more. Instead the GOP chose to focus on tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy and putting as much as $7,100 on the credit card of every man, woman, and child in this country. My hope for 2018 is that my GOP colleagues will agree to work in a bi-partisan way to help the hard working people in the middle, who they left behind in 2017.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://polis.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398512", "Polis asks FDA to lift public health warning on Kratom", "2017-12-21", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Jared Polis", "P000598", "polis.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., is calling for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to lift its public health warning on kratom, a natural alternative to opioids. Poliss call comes as the Centers for Disease Control announced that the U.S. life expectancy fell for the second year in a row, citing the opioid epidemic as a significant contributing factor.\r\nPolis led a bipartisan letter with Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va., to Commissioner Gottlieb which read, in part: The beneficial potential, safety, and efficacy of kratom has been discussed, studied, clinically researched, and found to be as safe as coffee. In fact, there have been several studies funded by the National Institutes of Health, some of which are still ongoing. We have heard from many constituents who have used kratom to successfully end their dependence on dangerous opioids, and maintaining legal access to kratom is important for many Americans to maintain sobriety.\r\n15 other members of Congress signed on to Poliss letter.\r\nThe opioid epidemic is coming to a head in the U.S. with life expectancy dropping because of it. Along with improving access to mental health services, drug abuse treatment, and prevention programs, we need to improve access to alternative pain relief options beyond addictive opioids. For some, kratom, a cousin of the coffee plant, can be that alternative. Like cannabis, it should be legal and available,said Polis. The FDA must end its bogus public health warning that has already led to several cities banning kratom. Patients need and deserve options.\r\nDownload the official letterhere.\r\nEarlier this month, Polis also sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) requesting that they acknowledge medical marijuana as an effective and safer alternative for some pain management issues than opioids.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://polis.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398513", "Polis on short-term budget", "2017-12-21", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Jared Polis", "P000598", "polis.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Polis on short-term budget \r\n   \r\n    \r\n       \r\n      \r\n  \r\n    \r\n      f \r\n      t \r\n      #\r\n      e\r\n      \r\n      \r\n    \r\n    \r\n      \r\n        Washington,\r\n        December 21, 2017\r\n      \r\n       \r\n    \r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n    \r\n      \r\n      \r\n      Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., gave the following statement after Republicans in the House of Representatives passed a short-term budget which only extends government funding until Jan. 19.\r\nCongress skipped town before passing a long-term budget or finding a solution for dreamers who rely on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) - or for the children and pregnant women who rely on the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP). I thought we all learned in grade-school that theres no recess before finishing our work. Congress should have stayed in session instead of creating a new potential government shutdown in January.\"\r\n###\r\n    \r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n    \r\n      f \r\n      t \r\n      #\r\n      e", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=68DE9A1E-6542-3BF4-8446-E15130E74D31", "Bennet Urges Senate Leadership to Include CHIP in Funding Package", "2017-12-21", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to include the bipartisan Keep Kids' Insurance Dependable and Secure (KIDS) Act-which would extend funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for five years-in any end-of-year funding package. In the letter, Bennet emphasized the negative consequences that CHIP's expiration has already had on families in Colorado. Bennet also wrote that further delay will mean loss of benefits and affordable care for children and pregnant women in the state. Bennet is a cosponsor of the KIDS Act and for months has called on Congress to extend CHIP funding.\r\nThe letter is below and available HERE.\r\nDear Leader McConnell and Leader Schumer:\r\nI write to urge you to include the bipartisan Keep Kids' Insurance Dependable and Secure (KIDS) Act of 2017 in any end-of-year funding package. This bill will extend funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to the 9 million children who are relying on it nationwide. As you are well aware, the program expired in October, leaving families in Colorado and across the nation without certainty on low-cost health coverage. \r\nCHIP is critical to too many families in Colorado for us to wait until mid to late January, or possibly later, to extend the program. CHIP was essential in reducing the number of uninsured children to an all-time low of 2.5 percent in my state. Throughout the year, about 90,000 children in Colorado benefit from regular check-ups and affordable health care services that CHIP makes possible. The program also covers about 800 expecting mothers in Colorado who can access prenatal visits for a healthy pregnancy. \r\nLast month, families in Colorado received notices that their health coverage through CHIP may be in jeopardy without congressional action by December 2017. To the thousands of families that benefit from CHIP, that warning means a pricier health plan or foregoing coverage altogether. In a letter I received from Governor John Hickenlooper and Lieutenant Governor Donna Lynne, they said that they \"expect that kids and pregnant women in Colorado will lose their CHIP coverage at the end of January.\" \r\nWe must do all we can to give peace of mind to families in Colorado who rely on CHIP so their kids can access health care. Children's health care is too critical an issue for us to delay any further. \r\nSincerely,", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=95A5A8A1-6E9D-5985-F5A1-36B3D68C20FE", "Bennet Statement on Senate Passage of Temporary Government Funding Bill", "2017-12-21", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today released the below statement following his vote against Senate passage of a temporary government funding bill until January 19, 2018:  \"The Republican majority has spent the past month on a tax bill that is completely out of touch with the priorities of hardworking Americans.  Now, in the face of a looming shutdown, they claim that there is not enough to time to help the Dreamers who stand to lose their DACA status or the millions of children and families who stand to lose their health insurance. We should not accept this approach. We should stay here and finish our work, rather than abdicating our responsibility and leaving so many Coloradan families in the lurch. In the nine years I've been in Congress, we have kicked the can down the road too many times, failing to solve the challenges of the people we represent. No school board, city council, or county commission in Colorado would operate in this manner, and neither should we. I could not support a bill that, once again, takes this approach.\"", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/pro-choice-leaders-condemn-gop-insertion-of-abortion-ban-into-year-end", "Pro-Choice Leaders Condemn GOP Insertion of Abortion Ban into Year-End Spending Bill", "2017-12-20", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, DC  Funding for cost-sharing reductions (CSRs) to help lower-income people pay for health care may be included in the continuing resolution on which both houses of Congress must vote in order to keep the government operating.\nIf this funding is included in the bill, House Republicans are demanding a provision that would keep health insurance plans from receiving CSR funds through the Affordable Care Act if they cover abortion services. As a result, countless women could be deprived of access to abortion via health insurance in the private market.\nAs the deadline approaches to prevent a shutdown and a disastrous discontinuation of government services to Americans over the holidays, House Republicans are playing games to advance a narrow partisan agenda, Rep. DeGette said.Theyre making matters worse by inserting harmful, anti-woman policies into the debate.\n\"It isunconscionable that Republicans are holding both government funding and health insurance markets hostage in their quest to deny women access to abortion.Everywoman should be able to makepersonaldecisions about reproductive health care with dignity and respect, and without interference from politicians.\"\n\"Republicans are unable to properly run the House, as witnessed by the revote we have to take on the tax bill that passed yesterday, Rep. Slaughter noted.In addition, this would be the third continuing resolution of the year. A majority of Democrats in the Senate have already said they will not support it. Now, House Republicans will reportedly make it even less palatable by attaching this attack on women's health care. It is just their latest attempt in their never-ending crusade to prevent women from accessing their constitutional right to abortion coverage. It is unconscionable to use a funding bill to try and enact an extreme and likely unconstitutional conservative agenda.\nCSR paymentshelp make health care more affordable by lowering deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses for people who purchase health insurance coverage though the exchanges. As part of ongoing efforts to sabotage the Affordable Care Act, President Trump halted CSR payments earlier this year.\nExacerbating this instability, Republicans in Congress also ensured that the tax legislation eliminated the ACAs individual mandate requiring Americans to have health insurance, a move projected to increase health premiums by 10%.\nThis Republican-produced instability has created a dire need for CSR funding among health insurers.By attaching abortion-coverage restrictions to CSR funds, dramatic declines in abortion coverage are likely to occur across the country, denying many women access to safe and affordablecare.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://perlmutter.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1914", "Perlmutter Shows Support for Passing the Dream Act, Funding CHIP and CHCs", "2017-12-20", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Ed Perlmutter", "P000593", "perlmutter.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Perlmutter Shows Support for Passing the Dream Act, Funding CHIP and CHCs \r\n   \r\n    \r\n       \r\n      \r\n  \r\n    \r\n      f \r\n      t \r\n      #\r\n      e\r\n      \r\n      \r\n    \r\n    \r\n      \r\n        Washington, D.C.,\r\n        December 20, 2017\r\n      \r\n       \r\n    \r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n      \r\n    \r\n  \r\n      \r\n    \r\n  \r\n    \r\n      \r\n      \r\n      Washington, D.C.  U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CO-07) continues to show support for several critical programs that many Coloradans and Americans rely on:\r\nWhile Republicans are busy celebrating their plan to cut taxes for corporations and their wealthy donors, theres still real work left to be done to keep the government open past Friday and address a long list of overdue priorities to help hardworking Coloradans. I will continue to fight for access to affordable healthcare for children and families and passage of the Dream Act so DACA recipients are able to stay with their families and in the only home theyve ever known.\r\nRep. Perlmutter will have the following pop up on his website (www.perlmutter.house.gov) until Republican leadership addresses these issues.\r\nSee firsthand at www.perlmutter.house.gov. \r\n\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=28B586B4-CA07-A443-96CE-F6A859A7C658", "Bennet Statement on Senate Passage of Final GOP Tax Bill", "2017-12-20", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today released the below statement following Senate passage of the Republican tax bill:  \"Tax reform should have addressed the real challenges in our economy by helping a middle-class family in Colorado afford housing, health care, child care, and higher education, while saving enough for a secure retirement. This legislation is yet another appalling example of how profoundly decoupled the Republican priorities in Washington are from the priorities of the American people. \"This bill burdens our children with $1.4 trillion in debt to cut taxes for the wealthiest businesses and individuals in America. It's as if my wife and I lived in our house but then asked our kids to pay the mortgage.\" Bennet spoke on the Senate floor several times about the misplaced priorities of this bill and, just last night, about the missed opportunity to invest in our future.  Bennet used multiple charts to illustrate the math in the Republican tax bill. Three of the charts are attached to this release.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=B0205087-71BD-7657-111C-B26BD87867B1", "Bennet Pressures HHS Secretary Nominee Azar to Put Science Over Ideology", "2017-12-20", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, along with the nine Democratic members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today sent a letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary nominee Alex Azar expressing concern over reports that the Trump administration is restricting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other agencies within HHS from using certain words or phrases in preparing documents for the Fiscal Year 2019 budget. Given the commitment to science and evidence that Mr. Azar made at his confirmation hearing, the senators requested an explanation as to how he would approach this issue in his position at HHS.\n\"We are incredibly concerned by this report; if true, it represents an unconscionable restriction on agency communications that prevents the department from accurately conveying the nature of its work, potentially posing a danger to critical health and scientific efforts,\" the senators wrote. \"We also strongly oppose any communications, whether written or verbal, that suggest to Department and agency employees that they should avoid using particular words or phrases even if such guidance is not referred to as a ban.'\"\nOn December 15, 2017, news outlets reported that the administration had prohibited policy analysts from using a number of words and phrases in budget documents, including \"diversity,\" \"science-based,\" \"fetus,\" and \"transgender.\" CDC uses many, if not all, of the banned words. They are essential to CDC's work, including addressing the health trends of LGBTQ communities and researching the Zika virus and its impact on fetuses.\nThe senators wrote that this \"ideological censorship...undermines much of CDC's work and the broader health mission of the Department.\"\nA copy of the letter is available HERE.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://perlmutter.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1906", "Perlmutter Statement on Republican Tax Bill", "2017-12-19", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Ed Perlmutter", "P000593", "perlmutter.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C.  U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CO-07) released the following statement after the harmful Republican tax bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives:\r\nThis Republican tax bill gives the most benefits to corporations and the wealthiest Americans, plain and simple. These benefits are paid for by hardworking families across the country and by adding to the debt. This bill may save a few hundred dollars per person on their tax bill, but it will put more than $7,100 on the credit card for every man, woman and child in the U.S. which will lead to deep spending cuts on important programs like Medicare and Medicaid and jeopardize investments in infrastructure, education, healthcare, science and much more. While corporations will continue to reap the benefits after ten years, individuals will see their tax rates change and could even pay more than they are today. Meanwhile, the repeal of the individual mandate means health care costs will rise for everyone.\r\nThis is nowhere close to real tax reform that Colorado families and businesses have been seeking. It doesnt simplify the tax code or make it more conducive for economic growth. In many ways, it adds more loopholes and rigs the system even more against hardworking families.\r\nSince Republicans took control of the legislative and executive branch in January, I believe they have missed many opportunities to help hardworking families and grow the economy. This is just one more missed opportunity that will have consequences for years to come.\r\n ###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://polis.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398510", "Polis warns that the Republican tax plan will grow the national debt", "2017-12-19", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Jared Polis", "P000598", "polis.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., opposed the Republican tax plan, which passed the House of Representatives again today on a party line vote. The plan is expected to increase the national debt by over $1.5 trillion and raise taxes for many.\r\nThe Republican tax scheme grows the national debt by over $1.5 trillion, providing handouts to corporations and special interests while hitting middle class families with tax hikes. It serves only to weaken the nations economy at a time when many are still trying to get ahead after the Great Recession. We cant afford to bankrupt the nation, and Coloradans cannot afford another recession,said Polis. Now it seems with the latest procedural error, which frankly is a result of rushing through a massive tax reform plan, Republicans have another shot to do what we should have done in the first place and reject this tax hike that only serves to grow the national debt. Lets not make tomorrow a nightmarish Groundhog Day.\r\nPolis has been raising alarms about the Republican plan all along, calling for a simplified tax code that grows the economy and eliminates special-interest loopholes.\r\nHe wrote anarticledetailing several problems with the Republican plan. The original bill in the House of Representatives eliminated the educator tax deduction, which allows teachers to claim a deduction of up to $250 for school supplies they purchased with their personal income, and Polis introduced an amendment to keep this deduction in place, which the final version of the bill does. This bill also now maintains the employer-sponsored tuition assistancetaxbenefit, which allows employees to receive up to $5,250 annually in education assistance thats excluded from gross income, in line with another of Poliss amendments. Additionally, Polis introduced an amendment to restore the private activity bonds that allow private companies to invest in their communities, and the final tax bill has kept those bonds in place.\r\nIn a final effort to introduce bipartisanship to the bill, Polis introduced an amendment in the form of a concurring resolution last night to level the playing field for the marijuana industry and kombucha businesses, remove outdated cryptocurrency restrictions, and limit deductions for lobbyists, but was rejected. As vice-chair of the Congressional Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC), he has drafted and advocated for a detailed environmental tax policy plan, even penning anarticleto that effect.\r\nThirteen of Poliss other amendments to previous versions of the bill were also rejected along party line votes:\r\nEmployer-Provided Student Loan AssistanceAmendment: would have allowed employers to pay up to $5,250 toward an employees student loan paymentstax-free.\r\nUnborn Child 529 Beneficiary EligibilityAmendment: would have removed unborn children as eligible beneficiaries of 529 college savings accounts, only placed in thistaxplanas an embarrassingly transparent attempt to undermine womens rights and privacy.\r\nEmployer-Provided Tuition AssistanceAmendment: would have restored the employer-sponsored tuition assistancetaxbenefit, which allows employees to receive up to $5,250 annually in education assistance thats excluded from gross income.\r\nIncrease ChildTaxCreditAmendment: would have increased the childtaxcredit from $1,000 to $3,600 per child and index those dollars for inflation.\r\nCarbon FeeAmendment: states that a carbon fee should be included in anytaxreform to reduce taxes across the board and bring back millions of manufacturing jobs that are needed to build clean energy infrastructure and upgrade our grid.\r\nWind ProductionTaxCreditAmendment: would have reinstated the productiontaxcredit for the wind power industry to maintain the 100,000 jobs created since 2015 in the wind sector and spur further job growth.\r\nElectric VehiclesAmendment: would have helped promote technology, innovation, and a more sustainable energy source for powering motor vehicles.\r\nSolar EDGEAmendment: Based on Poliss Solar EDGE Act, it would have created a short-term surge of funding in small distributed generation solar systems, which allows companies to reach states that have been left out of this critical clean energy platform.\r\nExpensing of Intangible Drilling CostsAmendment: would have repealed one of the largest and most draconiantaxbreaks available to the oil industry- the expensing of intangible drilling costs, which allows companies to immediately deduct most of the costs of drilling a new well despite the fact that risks associated with drilling new wells are no longer present.\r\nMaster Limited Partnerships Amendments: Master Limited Partnerships, or MLPs, are a corporate form primarily used by natural resource firms to avoid corporate income taxes. The MLPamendmentwould have prohibited fossil fuel companies from using MLPs, and an alternativeamendmentwould have allowed MLPs to be used by renewable energy companies who currently are prohibited from such use by law.\r\nMarijuanaAmendment: would have protected small businesses and dispensaries in the State of Colorado from unsustainabletaxburdens by revising Section 280e of thetaxcode to exempt marijuana sales.\r\nCryptocurrencyTaxFairnessAmendment: Based on Poliss CryptocurrencyTaxFairness Act of 2017, it would have removed outdated restrictions on cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, and other methods of digital payment, allowing consumers to make small purchases with cryptocurrency up to $600 without burdensome reporting requirements.\r\nKombucha ActAmendment: Based on Poliss KOMBUCHA Act, it would have eased the burden on Kombucha manufacturers, and unleashed the power of an industry pioneered by small businesses and entrepreneurs to sell this probiotic, antioxidant tea.\r\nLimiting Deductions for Lobbying ExpendituresAmendment: would have ensured that lobbyists dont gettaxbreaks from wielding their influence over politicians and lawmakers by removing existing protections that allow lobbyists to avoid paying their full share of thetaxburden when meeting with members of Congress and their staffs.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=2455E435-6277-8A29-13D0-C4CCA293C941", "Bennet, Colleagues Ask DeVos for Answers on Disciplinary Protections For Minority Students", "2017-12-19", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet joined 15 Senators and 36 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives in sending a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos asking her not to revoke or modify school discipline guidelines, following press reports that suggest she is considering a repeal of the protections.  In January 2014, the Department of Education under President Obama released school discipline guidelines to assist states, districts, and schools to develop and implement practices that address the tendencies of school discipline policies to disproportionately harm students of color and students with disabilities. These guidelines are not mandatory, yet recent reports suggest DeVos is considering revoking them.  \"We write to express our support for efforts to improve school climate and address the persistent, disproportionate impact of exclusionary and aversive discipline practices on groups of historically marginalized students, such as students of color,\" the lawmakers wrote. \"We strongly urge you to maintain guidance on discipline and compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin.\" The lawmakers highlighted statistics that indicate minority students across the country are suspended and disciplined at much higher rates than their white peers. They also referenced a 2017 Legal Aid Justice Center study which notes that, while African American students make up only 23 percent of public school enrollment, they account for 60 percent of suspensions.  \"While we hope recent reporting that the Department is considering revoking or modifying this critical guidance on school discipline is inaccurate, by January 5, 2018, we request that you confirm your Department will not be revoking or modifying this critical guidance for upholding the civil rights of students under Title VI,\" the lawmakers concluded.  The letter is supported by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. A copy of the letter is available HERE.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=04DB34A3-C0A2-03DB-3B3F-DADAEA4FFE65", "Bennet, Daines Introduce Bill to Expand Outdoor Recreation Opportunities", "2017-12-18", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Steve Daines (R-MT) today introduced bipartisan legislation to expand opportunities for hunting, fishing, hiking, and other wildlife-dependent activities across the country.\r\n\"This program has rewarded Colorado's farmers and ranchers for providing new opportunities for the next generation of sportsmen and women and improving wildlife habitat across our state,\" Bennet said. \"As we work on the next Farm Bill, we'll continue to prioritize funding for this successful program.\"\r\n\"Nothing beats spending time outdoors hunting, fishing, backpacking, it's the Montana way of life,\" Daines said. \"This bill will strengthen Montana's outdoor recreation economy and open up more space for families and sportsmen to enjoy local wildlife.\"\r\nThe Voluntary Public Access Improvement Act would reauthorize and strengthen the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program (VPA-HIP) by increasing funding from $40 million to $150 million over five years. The VPA-HIP provides competitive grants to states and tribal governments that are used to incent private landowners to voluntarily open their lands for public use while upholding private property rights. Colorado has enhanced upland game habitat through partnerships supported by VPA-HIP grants and developed new opportunities for Walk-In Access to hunt big and small game.\r\nThis legislation is supported by over 30 sportsmen, conservation, and outdoor recreation groups and organizations.\r\n\"Dependable access to quality habitat is the foundation of hunting and fishing; without it, the outdoor recreation economy stops at the locked gate. The Voluntary Public Access Improvement Act helps to continue the legacy of the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentives Program (VPA-HIP), a one-of-a-kind Farm Bill program that has opened millions of productive acres to America's sportsmen and women in states across the country. With today's introduction, Senator Daines and Senator Bennet have taken the first crucial steps towards assuring this high priority sportsmen's program has the funding it needs to meet demand and keep hunters and anglers afield.\" - Whit Fosburgh, President and CEO, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership  \"We applaud Senators Daines and Bennett for their leadership in addressing one of our organization's top priorities: providing more access for hunters. In addition to providing voluntary access to high-quality habitats, including Conservation Reserve Program lands, VPA-HIP benefits farmers and ranchers. This combination is crucial to wildlife, America's outdoor quality of life and the rural economy.\" - Howard K. Vincent President and CEO, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever\r\n\"Access to quality wildlife habitat remains one of the most important challenges facing hunters. Programs like this allow conservation organizations, state agencies and private landowners to work together to provide hunters access to lands offering opportunities for harvest. This is critical for maintaining interest and participation in hunting.\" - David Allen, President & CEO, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation\r\n\"We applaud Senators Daines and Bennet for their work towards reauthorizing the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program, which harnesses the power of partnerships to benefit private landowners, fish and wildlife conservation, and the public. By enabling state agencies to create or expand local access programs, this vital program increases opportunities for hunting, fishing, and other wildlife-dependent recreation while also strengthening and supporting rural economies.\" - Virgil Moore, President of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.\r\nA copy of the bill is available HERE.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/degette-supports-congressional-effort-to-reverse-fcc-s-net-neutrality", "DeGette Supports Congressional Effort to Reverse FCCs Net Neutrality Roll-Back", "2017-12-15", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Denver  Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO), a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, today said she would co-sponsor a congressional effort to restore Net Neutrality protections that were rolled back yesterday in a party-line vote by the Federal Communications Commission. DeGette supports a resolution to be introduced by Congressman Mike Doyle (D-PA), the ranking member on the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, reversing the FCCs new regulations.\nI have long supported Net Neutrality safeguards and have worked to prevent the FCCs recent efforts to reverse them, DeGette said. Net Neutrality is essential to promoting freedom of expression, competition and economic growth on the internet. It creates a level playing field for consumers, innovators and small businesses. In ending the Open Internet Order, the FCC abdicated its responsibility to ensure that these values are safeguarded.\nMy constituents feel strongly about this matter, too: Through social media, phone calls to my office, and day-to-day discussions at home in Colorado, they have made it abundantly clear that they value Net Neutrality as a means to ensure an open internet that protects free speech and promotes economic opportunity for all. Our fight doesnt end this week. The FCC vote was a setback, but not a defeat.\nDeGette was one of 118 members of Congress who earlier this week sent a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai asking him to delay the FCC vote. In August, she was one of eleven Democratic members of the Energy and Commerce Committee to submit public comments arguing that the FCCs proposal was contrary to the intent of Congress in the Telecommunications Act of 1996.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://polis.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398509", "Polis: The internet as we know it - Going, going, gone! Sold (sadly) to the highest bidder.", "2017-12-14", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Jared Polis", "P000598", "polis.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., gave the following statement about the FCC eliminating Net Neutrality protections.\u00a0 \u00a0\r\n\u201cNext up: The internet as we know it.\u00a0 Going, going, gone! Sold (sadly) to the highest bidder.\u00a0 Against the will of the people, the FCC rolled back Net Neutrality protections today, effectively ending the internet as we know it and stifling the free flow of information upon which our economy depends,\u201d\u00a0said Polis.\u00a0 \u201cKnowing exactly how critical the internet is to innovation, I won\u2019t give up on Net Neutrality, and am sponsoring a congressional fix.\u201d\r\n\"What does this mean for the internet? \u00a0Well, the fight continues in: the Courts - several advocacy groups have already promised to sue the FCC over Net Neutrality regulations.\u00a0 The states - state and municipalities will now face more pressure to consider providing high speed open internet as a utility.\u00a0 Congress - lawmakers can make laws to reinstate net neutrality.\u00a0 I am a sponsor of a bill to save net neutrality and block the FCC rollback of net neutrality,\u201d\u00a0Polis continued.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\r\nPolis is an ardent advocate for Net Neutrality protections.\u00a0\r\nHe is a co-sponsor of the Save Net Neutrality Act (H.R. 4585) to stop the FCC\u2019s Net Neutrality rule reversal.\u00a0 \u00a0\r\nHe has sent several\u00a0letters\u00a0to the FCC asking that they not repeal Net Neutrality protections.\u00a0\u00a0\r\nFollowing findings that over half of Net Neutrality comments submitted to the FCC during its public comment period were fake,\u00a0Polis called for starting the comment period over and delaying the FCC decision.\u00a0\r\nHe offered an amendment on Tuesday to the Higher Education Act Reauthorization to prevent educational materials from being blocked or censored by internet providers as a result of the Net Neutrality rollback.\u00a0\u00a0\r\nPolis\u2019s office has received 1,500 calls and over 5,700 emails on Net Neutrality, all against the FCC changes.\u00a0\r\nPrior to serving in Congress, Polis also founded several startup and tech companies, including ProFlowers.com and Techstars.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=B462D546-1BB5-362C-C17D-86192D272CFF", "Bennet Urges FCC to Abandon Net Neutrality Plan", "2017-12-14", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - Ahead of today's Federal Communications Commission (FCC) vote on net neutrality, Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet sent a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai this morning, urging him to abandon plans to rescind the agency's net neutrality rules.  Since Chairman Pai announced his plans to roll back net neutrality rules on November 21, Bennet's office has received more than 22,000 letters and 2,500 calls from concerned Coloradans. In a letter sent before the vote, Bennet echoed these concerns, warning that rescinding the rules \"would undermine the fundamental promise of the Internet, which has enabled economic growth and entrepreneurship, as well as the free exchange of ideas essential to our democracy.\"  \"The Internet has become essential for technological innovation, economic development, and freedom of expression both in Colorado and across the country,\" Bennet wrote. \"It has also become a powerful force in breaking cycles of poverty and inequality...By rescinding these rules, Internet service providers (ISPs) would be able to favor or discriminate against websites or online media by charging higher fees for access to faster network speeds or premium content.\"  Bennet emphasized that a free and open Internet has long-held bipartisan support, citing a speech delivered in Boulder, Colorado by Bush-era FCC Chairman Michael Powell on the \"Four Internet Freedoms.\" \"Your proposal threatens to eliminate the FCC's oversight role that has been in place for decades under both Democratic and Republican presidents,\" Bennet wrote. \"As a regulatory body, the FCC has a responsibility to protect the standards that make it possible for our communities to thrive in the 21st Century,\" Bennet concluded. A copy of the letter is available HERE.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://polis.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398507", "Marijuana as an Alternative to Opioids", "2017-12-13", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Jared Polis", "P000598", "polis.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "The Honorable Eric D. Hargan\r\nActing Secretary\r\nU.S. Department of Health and Human Services\r\n200 Independence Avenue, S.W.\r\nWashington, D.C. 20201\r\nDear Mr. Secretary:\r\nAs you know, our country is grappling with an opioid epidemic that is now taking 91 lives every single day. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, prescription opioids are involved in almost half of all fatal opioid overdoses. Prescription drugs have been a key factor in the rapid growth of this public health emergency, which has hit communities all across America. Our health care providers, first responder, and community advocates have been on the front lines working tirelessly to deliver prevention, treatment and recovery services to those impacted by this epidemic, and they require sustained action and support from public officials at all levels of government.\r\nThe federal government can play a unique and critical role to help communities struggling to combat the opioid epidemic with every tool available. This includes conducting epidemiological research, exploring possibilities for alternative treatments to the prescription pain medications that have been at the center of this crisis, and sharing best practices and current data with state and local public health officials, as well as the public.\r\nRecent studies published by qualified academic researchers suggest that marijuana may prove to be a useful alternative treatment for chronic pain instead of harmful, addictive prescription opioids, and that marijuana may reduce the overall number of opioid overdose deaths.\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A 2014 JAMA International Medicine study analyzed all 50 states and found that those with medical marijuana law had 25% fewer fatal opioid overdoses than states that had no such laws between 1999 and 2010.\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A HealthAffairs study published last year looked at Medicare Part D prescribing data and found that with the implementation of state medical marijuana laws, among prescriptions for pain there was a reduction of o1,826 daily doses filled per prescriber per year. This same study also found that due to implemented medical marijuana laws, Medicare Part D savings were over $165 million among seventeen states and the District of Columbia on 2013.\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A 2016 Journal of Pain survey of chronic pain patients found that among participants there was some suggested benefit to medical marijuana use, such as fewer side effects to medication, a 64% reduction in overall opioid use, and an improved quality of life among half patients.\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A report released in January 2017 by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine compiled research from over 10,000 studies on marijuana and its components. The report states that \u201cin adults with chronic pain, patients who were treated with cannabis or cannabinoids are more likely to experience a clinically significant reduction in pain symptoms.\u201d This report also concluded that \u201cthere is substantial evidence that cannabis is an effective treatment for chronic pain in adults.\u201d\r\nThe evidence that marijuana may have a positive therapeutic application warrants additional attention from the federal government. We request that you provide answers to the following questions:\r\n1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Please describe in detail what the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is doing to fill the gap in our knowledge about the use, uptake, and effectiveness of medical marijuana as an alternative to opioids for pain treatment in states where it is legal.\r\na.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Please describe in detail any federal efforts to conduct research the impact of state medical and recreational marijuana laws on opioid overdose deaths.\r\nb.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Please also describe in detail efforts by other federal agencies under the jurisdiction of HHS.\r\n2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Please describe in detail what HHS and other federal agencies are doing to worth with states that have implemented medical marijuana laws to collect data on the impact of these laws on opioid overdose deaths.\r\n3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Is HHS committed to implementing evidence-based policies regarding the use of medical marijuana as an alternative pain treatment in an effort to promote public health?\r\n4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Is HHS committed to making any research on the therapeutic benefits of marijuana available to states including as a more benign alternative to opioids for pain management, so that they can implement evidenced-based policies to address the opioid epidemic?\r\n5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Please describe in detail any ongoing efforts to share this research on marijuana\u2019s potential as an alternative pain treatment to addictive and dangerous prescription medications with other federal agencies, including but not limited to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Department of Justice.\r\nWe should not ignore any information that suggest there may be a tool available fight the opioid epidemic that we are not using to the fullest extent. While it is clear that more research is necessary, it is equally clear that medical marijuana is an alternative pain treatment that merits the attention of the federal government. We appreciate your consideration of the se question and respectfully request a response by December 1, 2017.\r\nSincerely,  \r\n\r\nJared Polis\r\nMember of Congress\r\nDana Rohrabacher\r\nMember of Congress\r\n\u00a0\r\nEarl Blumenauer\r\nMember of Congress\r\n\u00a0\r\nThomas A. Garrett, Jr.\r\nMember of Congress\r\n\u00a0\r\nDiana DeGette\r\nMember of Congress\r\n\u00a0\r\nSteve Cohen\r\nMember of Congress\r\n\u00a0\r\nTulsi Gabbard\r\nMember of Congress\r\n\u00a0\r\nEd Perlmutter\r\nMember of Congress\r\n\u00a0\r\nJames P. McGovern\r\nMember of Congress\r\n\u00a0\r\nDon Young\r\nMember of Congress\r\n\u00a0\r\nPeter A. DeFazio\r\nMember of Congress\r\n\u00a0\r\nMark Pocan\r\nMember of Congress\r\n\u00a0\r\nDarren Soto\r\nMember of Congress\r\n\u00a0\r\nRa\u00fal M. Grijalva\r\nMember of Congress\r\n\u00a0\r\nJerrold Nadler\r\nMember of Congress\r\n\u00a0\r\nLujan Grisham\r\nMember of Congress\r\n\u00a0\r\nRo Khanna\r\nMember of Congress\r\nJ. Luis Correa\r\nMember of Congress\r\n\u00a0\r\nDina Titus\r\nMember of Congress  \r\n\r\nTo view the official letter, click\u00a0here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=5F666A7D-4FEF-75C2-6BF5-3E4786B0D225", "Bennet Secures Colorado Priorities in Final Defense Authorization Bill", "2017-12-13", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet secured five provisions that will benefit Colorado in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2018 that President Trump signed into law this week.  \"The language we secured in the final NDAA package will bolster innovation and create opportunities for small businesses in Colorado,\" Bennet said. \"It will also ensure our servicemembers have the resources they need to defend our country overseas and protect our assets in space. I will continue working with local leaders in Colorado and my colleagues in the Senate to see that these provisions are implemented-from officially recognizing American's National World War II Aviation Museum in Colorado Springs to addressing drinking water contamination around bases.\" The final bill included the following Bennet-backed provisions:\r\n \r\nWater Contamination: The bill includes authorization, supported by Bennet, for a study on the health effects of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), chemicals that have contaminated drinking water sources near military bases across the nation. Bennet also secured additional funding for Air Force environmental restoration and remediation. Bennet also supported language in the final bill that requires the Department of Defense (DoD) to report to Congress progress on plans for the development of a fire fighting alternative and how DoD could reimburse state or municipal agencies that expended funds to provide alternative water supplies.\r\nWorld War II Aviation Museum: Bennet secured a provision, along with Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO), that recognizes a museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado as America's National World War II Aviation Museum.\r\nMulti-Use SCIFs: Bennet secured a provision that requires DoD to establish processes and procedures to build multi-use sensitive compartmented information facilities (SCIFs), enclosed areas used to exchange secure information. This concept aims to provide small businesses-which often find constructing SCIFs overly burdensome-with opportunities to procure the secure space needed to compete for DoD contracts.\r\nNational Space Defense Center: Bennet secured a provision, along with Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO), to more effectively defend and secure the space domain and respond to evolving space threats through bolstering integration between DoD and the intelligence community at the National Space Defense Center (NSDC) in Colorado Springs. The amendment also solidifies the NSDC's critical role in defending and securing all U.S. assets in space.\r\nSmall Business Contracting Oversight: Bennet secured a provision to increase competition and innovation in DoD acquisition, as well as increase small business contracting with DoD. It requires the Secretary of Defense to analyze and submit a report on the effect of DoD's use of an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract vehicle, known as OASIS, on the small business community and on innovation.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/opinion-one-year-later-why-21st-century-cures-still-matters", "Opinion: One Year Later  Why 21st Century Cures Still Matters", "2017-12-12", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "One year ago this week, President Obama signed into law one of the most consequential bills passed by the 114th Congress: the landmark, bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act. He took the occasion of his final public bill-signing to praise the measure as a prime example of how important legislation should be passed: through consultation with stakeholders, deliberation, hearings featuring expert testimony, drafting and redrafting, and a spirit of collegiality and compromise.\nWhen we started the process of crafting 21st Century Cures\u00a0\u2014 or Cures \u2014 four years ago, we began with one goal in mind: helping patients and their families. We were both inspired to act after hearing from folks in the research community as well as patients, families and advocates who all told us about the need for modernization and more resources at the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration so that the United States could remain the worldwide leader in medical innovation and find the next generation of medical cures and clues.\nWe heard these stakeholders loud and clear. Cures provides the NIH and FDA with billions of dollars in much-needed resources so that our nation\u2019s best and brightest can work on finding cures for diseases that impact virtually every family.\nMore specifically, Cures boosts four major innovative initiatives at the NIH: the Beau Biden Cancer Moonshot, which works to accelerate progress in cancer prevention and screening; the Precision Medicine Initiative, which is a long-term research endeavor aimed at understanding how a person\u2019s genetics, environment and lifestyle can help determine the best approach to prevent or treat disease; the Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative, which supports a more dynamic understanding of brain functions; and the Regenerative Medicine Innovation Project, which aims to accelerate the field of stem cell science.\nCures also provides the FDA new authorities and established an \u201cFDA Innovation Account\u201d so officials can concentrate on a broad range of goals, including incorporating patients\u2019 perspectives through patient-focused drug development, advancing new therapies to transform the way drugs are developed, modernizing drug-testing trial design and developing methodology to use real-world evidence in the process.\nIt focuses on reforming our nation\u2019s mental health system, which is why we worked so hard to include the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Reform Act in the bill.\nAnd most critically amid our country\u2019s ongoing opioids crisis, Cures provided $1 billion for states to fight the epidemic at the local level through the end of 2018. We\u2019re now focused on ensuring that this funding continues, and more.\nWhen FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb and NIH Director Francis Collins testified before the Subcommittee on Health earlier this month on the implementation of this law, they told us that Cures is already having a monumental impact at these vital government agencies. We are following through to ensure that in spite of proposed budget cuts, the programs supported through our bill, with widespread support in both chambers of Congress, can continue to do their vital work.\nCures was a truly bipartisan effort from start to finish. Today is a day to reflect on how far we have come, but also a reminder that we have much work left to do. Patients and their families are counting on us. We both look forward to continuing the work that Cures started.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=B5BFEC39-9F33-9884-6C57-1CCBDBA86A1A", "Bennet to Tax Budget Conferees: Remove Harmful Renewable Energy Provisions, Protect Clean Energy Jobs", "2017-12-12", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today in a press conference and a joint letter demanded the removal of renewable energy provisions-which would devastate clean energy deployment and job growth-from the final conference report on the Republican tax bill.\r\nBennet has received hundreds of letters from Coloradans concerned about harmful provisions in the Republican tax bill that would eliminate wind and solar tax credits.\r\n\"My office has been contacted by many small business owners who depend on these credits-people like Evelyn, a small business owner in Fort Collins, Colorado whose company employs 30 people,\" Bennet said in today's press conference. \"Her business is dependent on solar and wind energy, and she's worried she would have to reduce her workforce if those credits were rolled back.\"\r\nWind and solar energy currently have more than 360,000 workers in their industries across the country, the majority of them middle-class jobs such as roofers, electricians, and steelworkers. These clean energy industries are projected to support 500,000 American workers in just three years.\r\nBennet emphasized that tax credits for renewable energy have bipartisan support. \"That's why it makes absolutely no sense to me why this Congress would end years of agreement and risk undoing these credits,\" Bennet said. \"It would have irreparable effects on the economy in Colorado and make this terrible Republican tax bill even worse.\"\r\nBennet, along with U.S. Senators Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tom Udall (D-NM), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), sent a letter to Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee leadership, urging the removal of these provisions.\r\nA video of Bennet's remarks at the press conference is available HERE. A copy of the letter is available HERE.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=F20EF9A5-ECF4-879E-998B-347EF54DF0EB", "Bennet, Gardner, Tipton Introduce Bill to Establish the West Fork Fire Station", "2017-12-12", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D) and Cory Gardner (R), along with Representative Scott Tipton (R), today introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to convey about four acres of Forest Service land to Dolores County for the location of a new fire station along the West Fork of the Dolores River. Without a station, fires pose a greater threat to the West Fork community, and homeowners are unable to purchase insurance. Building a fire station would decrease response times to emergency calls, reduce the financial burden on the region's other emergency responders, and provide a staging area to respond to wildfires. \"This bipartisan legislation-drafted in consultation with Dolores County and the Forest Service-is a win for homeowners and emergency responders in the West Fork,\" Bennet said. \"I will continue to work with my colleagues to quickly advance this bill so the West Fork community has access to essential safety and readiness services, just as other Coloradans do across the state.\"  \"Municipal firehouses are an important part of many communities across Colorado,\" Gardner said. \"This bipartisan legislation, which has broad support at both the federal and local level, will ensure the West Fork fire station can be built on land at no cost to the taxpayer, provide a staging area for Forest Service personnel during wildland fire events in the area and also serve the community with more swift response times for decades to come.\" \"Frequent and devastating wildfires have ravaged Western states, making it more vital than ever to ensure that every community is prepared for similar catastrophes,\" Tipton said. \"Located on the border of the San Juan National Forest, Dolores County is in critical need of a fire station. I am proud to introduce legislation that will not only help to protect this national forest, but will also ensure the protection of private property and most importantly human lives.\" \"Dolores County, the citizens of the area, as well as surrounding emergency service providers, all recognize the immediate need for the fire station,\" wrote the Dolores County Board of County Commissioners.  A letter of support from the Dolores County Board of County Commissioners is available HERE.  A copy of the West Fork Fire Station Act of 2017 is available HERE. A map of the conveyance parcel is available HERE.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://polis.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398500", "Polis, Roe introduce the bipartisan RETIRE Act to help Americans save and plan for retirement", "2017-12-11", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Jared Polis", "P000598", "polis.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Today, Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., and Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., introduced the bipartisan Receiving Electronic Statements to Improve Retiree Earnings (RETIRE) Act to help Americans plan for retirement.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\r\nThe RETIRE Act would ensure employers make retirement information easily accessible online, while providing protections for employees who prefer to receive paper documents.\u00a0\r\nUnder current law, employers are required to waste significant money and paper mailing documents like notices, disclosures, and statements to retirees. For context, it\u2019s estimated that the costs of sending just one four-page notice to recipients is between $36 and $60 million.\r\n\u201cWe need to make it easier for Americans to think about and plan for retirement,\u201d\u00a0Polis said.\u00a0\u201cNowadays, most Americans prefer their inbox to their mailbox.\u00a0 The RETIRE Act makes planning one-click away by giving employees online access to their retirement information.\u00a0 Not only does it make retirement information more accessible, but it helps the environment and reduces costs by cutting back on wasted paper.\u201d\r\n\u201cToday, more and more Americans are choosing to manage their finances online,\u201d\u00a0said Roe.\u00a0\u201cFor this reason, I am proud to be an original cosponsor of the RETIRE Act which allows retirement plan sponsors to automatically enroll participants in electronic delivery for plan communications. By encouraging savers to receive their retirement plan information online, this commonsense bill will lower administrative costs, provide more timely access to plan information and allow greater interaction with and personalization of retirement savings. At the same time, this legislation provides important consumer protections, allowing participants to opt out and receive paper statements at any time with no additional cost. I am proud to partner with Reps. Polis, Kelly and Kind to introduce this important piece of legislation.\u201d\r\nPolis has served Colorado\u2019s 2nd Congressional District since 2009.\u00a0 He is currently on the Committee on Rules, the Committee on Education and the Workforce, the\u00a0 Committee on Ethics, and the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. Polis is a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan group of legislators determined to counter congressional gridlock.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/epa-chief-defends-spending-on-travel-and-soundproof-booth", "EPA Chief Defends Spending on Travel and Soundproof Booth", "2017-12-08", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt on Thursday defended his frequent taxpayer-funded travel and his purchase of a custom soundproof communications booth for his office, saying both were justified.\nPruitt made his first appearance before a House oversight subcommittee responsible for environmental issues since his confirmation to lead EPA in February. While his fellow Republicans largely used their time to praise Pruitt\u2019s leadership, Democrats pressed Pruitt on his proposed rollbacks of environmental regulations, his past statements denying carbon emissions are primarily to blame for climate change and his spending while in office.\nThe former Oklahoma attorney general is under scrutiny after expense reports showed he often leaves Washington on Thursdays and Fridays for appearances in westward states before spending the weekend at his home in Tulsa and then returning to EPA headquarters on Mondays. The EPA\u2019s inspector general is currently investigating whether Pruitt\u2019s trips violate EPA\u2019s travel policies and procedures.\n\u201cEvery trip I\u2019ve taken to Oklahoma with respect to taxpayer expenses has been business related,\u201d Pruitt said, before giving examples of meetings and environmental issues in his home state that he said required his personal attention. \u201cWhen I\u2019ve traveled back to the state for personal reasons, I\u2019ve paid for it. And that will bear out in the process.\u201d\nRep. Diana DeGette, a Colorado Democrat, asked about the nearly $25,000 he spent on a custom soundproof booth for making private phone calls in his office \u2014 something none of his predecessors had.\nPruitt said the booth serves as a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, known as a SCIF, which typically are secure rooms used to house computers and equipment for communicating over classified government networks. Former EPA officials said that explanation doesn\u2019t make much sense.\nThere was already a SCIF at EPA headquarters in Washington where officials with the appropriate levels of security clearance can go to access classified information. EPA employees rarely deal with government secrets. The agency does occasionally receive, handle and store classified material because of its homeland security, emergency response and continuity missions.\nPruitt said he needed the booth to have a secure phone line with which he could communicate with the White House, located just a few blocks away.\n\u201cCabinet level officials need to have access to secure communications,\u201d Pruitt said. \u201cIt\u2019s necessary for me to be able to do my job.\u201d\nCommittee Democrats also grilled Pruitt over what ranking member Frank Pallone of New Jersey called an \u201cunprecedented assault on independent science\u201d by purging academic experts from federal advisory boards and replacing them with industry representatives.\nPruitt in November appointed a new slate of members to 22 boards that provide input on issues such as drinking water standards and air pollution limits. For the chairmanship of EPA\u2019s Board of Scientific Counselors, he selected a former agency official who became an executive of a company that burns waste to generate electricity.\nHe also said he has barred from the boards current recipients of EPA grants or those in a position to benefit from them to avoid conflicts of interest. Twenty scientists on three committees have received $77 million in grants, which \u201ccauses a perception or appearance of a lack of independence in advising the agency on a host of issues,\u201d Pruitt told the subcommittee. Pruitt made no such prohibition for those who receive funding from industries regulated by EPA.\nRep. Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., asked for specific examples of an EPA grant recipient offering \u201cconflicted advice.\u201d Pruitt said he could provide \u201cmany examples of scientists who received grants over a period of time that were substantial and it called into question that independence, and we addressed that through the policy that we implemented.\u201d\nTonko said Pruitt\u2019s EPA was ignoring scientific consensus through its downplaying of climate change and its approach to regulation and eroding staff morale by censoring experts.\n\u201cI believe EPA has all the signs of an agency captured by industry,\u201d he said.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/degette-schakowsky-respond-to-republicans-launching-yet-another-witch", "DeGette, Schakowsky Respond to Republicans Launching Yet Another Witch Hunt", "2017-12-08", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Today, Diana DeGette, Co-Chair of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, and Rep. Jan Schakowksy, Ranking Member of the Republican now dissolved Select Panel,\u00a0released the following statement after media reported that the Department of Justice sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee inquiring about the Committee\u2019s report on fetal tissue:\n\u201cThe Select Panel to Attack Women\u2019s Health was created by Republicans to investigate spurious claims supported only by doctored footage created by a man currently facing criminal charges. After spending 15 long months and $1.59 million in taxpayer funds investigating David Daleiden\u2019s lies, this ideological witch hunt came up empty. There was zero evidence that Planned Parenthood acted in violation of the law that prohibits selling fetal tissue. The Panel accomplished nothing except for wasting hard-earned taxpayer dollars and derailing critical medical research.\n\u201cNow, with the same flagrant disregard for the truth, the Trump Administration is continuing its dangerous ideological crusade to end women\u2019s access to health services and abortion. We cannot allow these politically-driven assaults to continue if we care about women\u2019s health, the public\u2019s health, scientific progress, or the facts.\u00a0It is time to stop the attacks.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/letter-to-house-senate-leadership-urges-bipartisan-solution-to-funding", "Letter to House, Senate Leadership Urges Bipartisan Solution to Funding CHIP", "2017-12-08", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC \u2013 Nearly 100 members of Congress, led by Representatives Diana DeGette (D-CO), Andr\u00e9 Carson (D-IN) and Beto O\u2019Rourke (D-TX), today sent letters to top House and Senate leaders on both sides of the aisle urging bipartisan cooperation in finding a way to responsibly extend funding for the Children\u2019s Health Insurance Program, which was allowed to lapse on September 30.\n\u201cCHIP is a critical program that provides health coverage to millions of children and must be reauthorized immediately,\u201d the lawmakers wrote to House Speaker Paul Ryan, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. \u201cIt does not make sense, however, to pass any legislation that simultaneously harms children and families by undermining other important health programs. No one should have to lose coverage for others to maintain it.\u201d\nThe House has passed partisan a bill that further funds CHIP at the expense of other health programs for America\u2019s vulnerable populations; Senate legislation has not yet come up for a vote. Signed by 99 House members, the letter advocates immediately renewing CHIP funding while simultaneously protecting the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, Medicaid and other health programs that Americans rely on to stay healthy, see a doctor and get the care they need.\n\u201cCHIP has a long history of bipartisan support,\u201d it noted. \u201cUnfortunately, the recent bill passed by the House deviated from this commendable legacy. \u2026 This bill weakens coverage for too many Americans, cutting funding for financial assistance for middle- and working-class Americans who purchase subsidized coverage in the Marketplaces under the Affordable Care Act. It also reduces the Prevention and Public Fund by more than $6 billion, crippling programs that improve access to vaccines for children, opioid treatment, youth suicide programs, and diabetes prevention services. There is broad, bipartisan agreement on a policy to extend CHIP for five years, but neither chamber of Congress has yet scheduled a vote to do so without also including policies that would undermine care for millions of Americans.\u201d\nNine million children across the country rely on CHIP, which has played a fundamental role in lowering the uninsured rate among children from 25 percent in 1997 to less than five percent today. CHIP provides comprehensive, low-cost health coverage for services including routine check-ups, immunizations, doctor visits, prescriptions, dental and vision care, and emergency services.\nWith the expiration of federal funding for CHIP at September\u2019s end, many states that have since temporarily turned to reserves or other resources are now preparing to terminate children\u2019s health coverage. Families across the season are starting the holiday season with notices in the mail that they may lose CHIP coverage.\nA copy of the letter is here, and the text is below.\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\n# # #\n\u00a0\nDecember 7, 2017\n\u00a0\n\t\t\t\tThe Honorable Mitch McConnell\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tThe Honorable Charles Schumer\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\tMajority Leader\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tMinority Leader\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\tUnited States Senate\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tUnited States Senate\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\tWashington, D.C. 20510\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tWashington, D.C. 20510\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\tThe Honorable Paul Ryan\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tThe Honorable Nancy Pelosi\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\tSpeaker\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tMinority Leader\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\tUnited States House of Representatives\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tUnited States House of Representatives\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\tWashington, D.C. 20515\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tWashington, D.C. 20515\n\t\t\t\n\t\tDear Leader McConnell, Leader Schumer, Speaker Ryan, and Leader Pelosi:\nWe write to urge House and Senate leadership to work together to urgently and responsibly extend funding for the Children\u2019s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) without the inclusion of harmful provisions that would reduce coverage among people who get health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, and Medicaid. CHIP is a critical program that provides health coverage to millions of children and must be reauthorized immediately. It does not make sense, however, to pass any legislation that simultaneously harms children and families by undermining other important health programs. No one should have to lose coverage for others to maintain it.\nA bipartisan framework is the surest and most responsible path to quickly reauthorize CHIP. After all, CHIP has a long history of bipartisan support, and was the byproduct of a bipartisan agreement in 1997 on the importance of investing in our children\u2019s care. Unfortunately, the recent bill passed by the House deviated from this commendable legacy. The highly partisan bill seeks to provide healthcare for some at the expense of others, undermining CHIP\u2019s mission. This bill weakens coverage for too many Americans, cutting funding for financial assistance for middle- and working-class Americans who purchase subsidized coverage in the Marketplaces under the Affordable Care Act. It also reduces the Prevention and Public Fund by more than $6 billion, crippling programs that improve access to vaccines for children, opioid treatment, youth suicide programs, and diabetes prevention services. There is broad, bipartisan agreement on a policy to extend CHIP for five years, but neither chamber of Congress has yet scheduled a vote to do so without also including policies that would undermine care for millions of Americans.\nA number of organizations devoted to the health care of Americans support legislation that extends funding for CHIP and have also expressed opposition to the offsets included in the House bill. The March of Dimes stated that it \u201copposes the decision to fund important public health priorities\u2026with monies from the Prevention and Public Health Fund.\u201d The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) found it \u201cdisappointing that this legislation includes offsets that undermine our communities\u2019 access to coverage and services.\u201d The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids expressed in a letter that \u201creauthorization of CHIP and funding for community health centers need not come at the expense of our nation\u2019s investment in prevention.\u201d And according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, the bill would result in up to 688,000 Americans losing insurance in the individual market, and \u201cwould hurt low- and moderate-income individuals and families who miss a payment or even part of a payment for any reason, such as a costly home or car repair.\u201d[1] Leadership must not take these concerns lightly, and work together to not incorporate damaging offsets opposed by so many.\nNine million children rely on CHIP, which has played a fundamental role in lowering the uninsured rate among children down to a record 4.5 percent.[2],[3] CHIP provides comprehensive, low-cost health coverage for services including routine check-ups, immunizations, doctor visits, prescriptions, dental and vision care, and emergency services. Federal funding for CHIP expired over two months ago, and as a result, many states across the country are preparing to terminate children\u2019s health coverage. As families begin receiving notices that they may lose CHIP coverage, they will undoubtedly be left worried and wondering how they will pay for their children\u2019s care.[4],[5]\nWe must not continue to delay \u2013 every additional day puts children at risk for losing access to these core health services. While we are encouraged by ongoing discussions regarding the program, it is long past time for Congress to act together in this endeavor. The continuing uncertainty leaves states unable to adequately plan their budgets, and, moreover, too many are being forced to prepare for the worst case scenario: abandoning our mutual commitment to children\u2019s health.\nFamilies throughout the country are depending on us to ensure that their children have healthcare coverage. We all share a commitment to promoting the well-being of children in our country, and we look forward to promptly considering bipartisan legislation to extend funding for CHIP.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://polis.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398498", "Parents, educators, school districts, nonprofits, Coloradans rally around Poliss bill to fully fund special education", "2017-12-07", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Jared Polis", "P000598", "polis.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., introduced legislation today to provide teachers with the resources they need to effectively serve students with disabilities.\u00a0 The Defending Special Education Students and Families Act fully funds the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA).\u00a0\u00a0\r\nCongress introduced IDEA in 1975 and committed to contributing 40 percent of the additional costs of educating students with disabilities, sharing the cost with states and districts.\u00a0 Today, 42 years later, the federal government covers less than 16 percent of those costs.\u00a0 The shortfall has dramatically impacted school budgets, causing some districts to cut or underpay teachers.\u00a0 In Colorado, districts scramble to cover 70 percent of the costs of special education on average.\r\n\u201cEducation is the single best investment we can make in our future, but for decades we have underfunded our public schools,\u201d\u00a0said Polis.\u00a0 \u201cOur failure to fully fund special education has left too many students without the tools they need to succeed and dramatically impacted school budgets.\u00a0 All students in the U.S., regardless of ability, have the right to a top-notch education.\u00a0 Meeting the needs of all students should not be an unfunded mandate. Schools should have the resources to meet the learning needs of all students. It\u2019s time for Congress to fulfill its commitment to all students.\u201d\r\nPolis drafted the bill after hearing from parents and teachers:\r\n\u201cMy son Brady benefits from his education to be supported with his general education peers, which is the intent of LRE within IDEA. In order for Brady to access this level of educational inclusion and provide the special education supports that will help him realize his full potential and live the most independent life possible, IDEA needs to be fully funded. This funding benefits not only my son, but all of the students he goes to school with,\u201d\u00a0said Tena Green, mother of Brady, a 7th grader who lives with Down Syndrome.\u00a0\r\n\u201cEvery child should have what he/she needs to reach their full potential - including our son who lives with autism.\u00a0\u00a0 The support he and other children with autism would receive from IDEA being fully funded would not only benefit him, but his classmates, his school, and the entire community.\u00a0 We need to fully fund IDEA,\u201d\u00a0said Cari Brown, mother of Craig, a 2nd grader who lives with Autism.\u00a0\u00a0\r\n\u201cThe hardest part of my day, as a parent of a child with special needs, is not in the act of providing care for him.\u00a0 It's the nagging question that I ask myself when I lie down to sleep every night; \u2018have I done enough?\u2019\u00a0 Until the Individuals with Disabilities Act receives full funding, the answer will always be no.\u00a0 Until financial support is received that provides the tools and services required for true access to their education, our children will always be disadvantaged in ways that would never be acceptable for children without disabilities,\u201d\u00a0said Misty Gregory, mother of Jake, a 4th grader who lives with Cerebral Palsy, Legal Blindness, and a Global Developmental Delay.\u00a0\r\nSeveral school districts and nonprofits are also advocating for the legislation and have been asking for additional IDEA funding for years.\r\n\"As the world's wealthiest and most powerful nation, I believe it is an ethical and moral imperative that we provide every child with an excellent education.\u00a0 Currently, resources for our special needs children under IDEA are severely lacking. Accordingly, I believe the time is now for our nation's leaders to act decisively. Acknowledging this critical funding deficit matters, acting on this extremely important issue matters more,\u201d\u00a0Don Haddad Ed.D, Superintendent, St. Vrain Valley Schools.\u00a0\u00a0\r\n\u201cThe Poudre School District Board of Education strongly supports increasing IDEA funding to 40% as originally agreed in 1975 from the current 16%.\u00a0 Districts have long been forced to spend general education dollars to support unfunded mandates to the detriment of their ability to provide an adequate education to all students.\u00a0 We are excited at the prospect that Congress will fulfill this promise,\u201d\u00a0Board of Education, Poudre School District.\r\n\u201cOne in 10 children in Colorado accesses special education services to receive the supports and interventions that help them thrive. Schools and districts absorb an increasing share of the costs for these services, at the same time they are experiencing funding cuts from the state. Ultimately, children and families are the ones being shortchanged. Additional federal support is needed to boost the quality and range of services available to students with disabilities. We applaud Congressman Polis\u2019s commitment to fulfilling the promise of IDEA and providing every child with the resources they need to succeed,\u201d\u00a0Kelly Causey, President and CEO, Colorado Children\u2019s Campaign.\u00a0\u00a0\r\n\u201cThe underfunding of IDEA has pushed school districts to figure out how to provide individualized instruction without having the fiscal resources to support the identified needs of their students. Under the spirit of IDEA, if we are expecting students to have better educational outcomes and school districts are going to be held accountable for providing appropriate special educational access at a level of the expectations in the new Supreme Court of the United States ruling, IDEA will need to be fully funded legislation,\u201d\u00a0Matt Cloven, Lead Advocacy Specialist, The Arc of Larimer County.\u00a0\u00a0\r\n\u201cPoliticians continue to call our public schools \u2018failing,\u2019 when it is they who are failing our schools.\u00a0 It is time for Congress to step up to the plate and fund what they require of our schools.\u00a0 Rep. Polis's bill would be an excellent start,\u201d\u00a0Cathy Kipp, Poudre School District Board of Education Member.\u00a0\r\n\u201cRep. Polis's bill will begin to provide schools with the resources they need to educate all students.\u00a0 The lack of funding for IDEA has led our district to divert general fund money away from other programs and offerings and into special education and as a result, all programs and students suffer.\u00a0 Fulfilling a promise is not only the right vote to make, but for the sake of all children in each of your districts, it is the smart decision as well,\u201d\u00a0Frank Reeves, Superintendent, East Grand School District.\u00a0\r\n\u201cFor decades, the federal government has failed to fund special education \u00a0sufficiently.\u00a0 During the years I served in Congress, I tried, just like Rep. Polis is doing now, to elevate the funding priority for students who so desperately needed it.\u00a0 Years and years later, students with disabilities are still waiting.\u00a0 They simply shouldn\u2019t have to wait any longer.\u00a0 I applaud Rep. Polis\u2019s efforts to get states, school districts, and students the overdue funding the initial IDEA law promised them.\u00a0 I am hopeful my former Congressional colleagues, on both sides of the political aisle, can see this as the non-partisan issue it is, and support full funding of IDEA,\u201d\u00a0Bob Schaffer, Former U.S. Congressman (R-CO-4), Principal of Liberty Common High School in Fort Collins.\r\n\u201cHaving the federal government provide its full obligation of 40% funding for special education would be especially welcome in Colorado, where the state has the most restrictive Constitutional budget and revenue provisions in the country.\u00a0 This has prevented the Legislature from providing anything close to adequate funding for special education, leaving almost the entire burden on local school districts.\u00a0 We applaud any effort to have the federal government increase its support for children with disabilities.\u00a0 The effect of this bill, should it pass, would benefit all school children in Colorado in a dynamic way,\u201d\u00a0Evie Hudak, Colorado PTA, Director of Public Policy.\r\n\u201cMy family, specifically my sister, has benefited from services accessible through the public school system, which provided equitable access to educational opportunities.\u00a0 I can attest that my sister's success in life would have been significantly limited without these important services.\u00a0 The lack of funding for IDEA consistently created financial hardship for our family as we pursued opportunities to support her.\u00a0 Funding IDEA at 40%, as opposed to the current 16%, would not only be a short-term solution for families who are a part of public education, but more importantly, it\u2019s an investment in the long-term development of independent, productive citizens and happier/healthier families that support the children IDEA serves,\u201d\u00a0Seth Kelley, Executive Director, BASE Camp.\u00a0\r\n\u201cI applaud Congressman Polis\u2019s effort to fully fund the IDEA Act four decades after the commitment was made.\u00a0 The cost of educating a child with special needs can be many times the cost of educating the typical student.\u00a0 The Federal government\u2019s failure to meet its funding commitment results in school boards shifting resources away from the regular population to meet their statutory and moral obligation to special needs children.\u00a0 The result is everyone suffers.\u00a0 Please fully fund IDEA,\u201d\u00a0Brad Rupert, Jefferson County Board of Education.\u00a0\r\n\"Fulfilling a forty year promise to fund the education of students with disabilities is a crucial step forward for rural school districts.\u00a0 Our limited access to resources and support in our rural communities and schools make the work of supporting our students with disabilities and their families more challenging than it needs to be.\u00a0 Districts should not have to make decisions about which students don't get the support they need because we have unfunded federal mandates,\u201d\u00a0Kerry Buhler, Superintendent, Summit School District.\r\n\u201cFor almost 4 decades, our schools have not had the financial backing that the federal government promised to help educate students with disabilities.\u00a0 That has meant school districts needed to divert general education funds to fill in the gap. We take seriously our responsibility to educate every student of every ability.\u00a0 It is time that the federal government do the same and live up to its commitment to fully fund IDEA,\u201d\u00a0Rob Petterson, Board of Education Member,\u00a0Poudre School District.\u00a0\r\n\u201cI am happy to hear that Congressman Polis is requesting funding IDEA at the level promised by Congress when the law was adopted in the 1970\u2019s.\u00a0 IDEA helps provide equity in education, allowing all students to have an opportunity to succeed regardless of needs,\u201d\u00a0Kristen Draper, Board of Education Member, Poudre School District.\u00a0\u00a0\r\nIDEA funding would be fully offset by collecting the excess revenue from President Trump\u2019s funding request for the Department of Defense (DoD). For FY2018, President Trump requested $603 billion dollars for the DoD, but the spending bill in the House of Representatives would give the DoD $658 billion, far exceeding the amount requested by the President. Under the Defending Special Education Students and Families Act, that additional money would be used to fully fund special education.\u00a0\r\nIn addition to Colorado school districts and nonprofits, the Defending Special Education Students and Families Act is also supported by various national organizations, including:\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0AASA, The School Superintendents Association\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Alliance for Excellent Education\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0American Dance Therapy Association\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Association of Educational Service Agencies\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Association of School Business Officials, International\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST)\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA)\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Council of Administrators of Special Education\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Learning Disabilities Association of America\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0National Association of School Psychologists\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0National Center for Learning Disabilities\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools (NCSECS)\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0National Rural Education Advocacy Consortium\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0National Rural Education Association\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0National School Boards Association\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0School Social Work Association of America\r\nPolis serves on the Committee on Education and the Workforce.\u00a0He is the top-Democrat on the\u00a0Early\u00a0Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee and a member of the Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee.\u00a0Polis is the former chair of the Colorado State Board of Education, and the founder and former superintendent of The New America School - a network of charter schools in several states serving new immigrants and English-language learners - as well as the Academy for Urban Learning for homeless and at-risk youth. The district he represents today includes Colorado State University and University of Colorado.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=70121DF9-78A8-B060-3EBA-D59B052EED62", "Bennet, Bipartisan Senators Urge Extension of Secure Rural Schools Program", "2017-12-07", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C.- Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today joined a bipartisan group of senators in sending a letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), urging them to include a reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program in any end-of-year legislation. SRS supports public schools, public roads, forest health projects, emergency services, and many other essential county services for more than 775 counties across the country. The SRS program expired on September 30, 2015, and it has not been reauthorized for Fiscal Year 16 or beyond. Forest counties and schools received their last authorized SRS payment in 2016. Without SRS, existing revenue-sharing payments are not sufficient to support critical services these counties must provide. \"The SRS program continues to be a critical safety-net for forest counties as we work to diversify rural economies, improve forest management and forest health, strengthen historic forest revenue sharing with local governments, and ensure that our forests provide a range of values such as clean water, jobs, and wood fiber for local economies,\" the senators wrote. \"In the interest of working together in a bipartisan way to support local rural communities, we ask that you include a reauthorization of Secure Rural Schools in any end-of-the-year legislation. We appreciate your assistance with this matter.\"\r\nBennet has introduced legislation to reauthorize SRS, which would restore funding for schools and infrastructure in 43 Colorado counties. Last year, Colorado received $11.8 million in SRS funding, based on Fiscal Year 2015 revenues. Without SRS payments to rural counties in Fiscal Year 2016, Colorado counties saw an average 52% decrease in payments-a loss of $6.2 million dollars to rural counties and schools.\r\nA copy of the letter is available HERE.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/colorado-politicos-react-to-supreme-court-hearing-on-masterpiece-cakeshop", "Colorado Politicos React to Supreme Court Hearing on Masterpiece Cakeshop Case", "2017-12-06", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Both sides agree it\u2019s a question of rights but differ sharply whose rights should prevail under the law in a case argued Tuesday before the U.S. Supreme Court \u2014 whether it\u2019s the baker and his religious beliefs or the same-sex couple and their right to be treated like any other customers.\nAs the\u00a0divisive\u00a0case\u00a0had its day in court\u00a0\u2014 pitting Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips against the married couple,\u00a0Charlie Craig and David Mullins \u2014\u00a0Colorado politicians hewed mainly along partisan lines assessing\u00a0the legal dispute.\nWhen Phillips claimed it would\u00a0violate his religious beliefs to create a custom wedding cake for the fianc\u00e9s in 2012, the Colorado Civil Rights Commission found he had violated the\u00a0Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act and disciplined Phillips and his business.\nThe Colorado Court of Appeals ruled that the baker\u00a0had discriminated against Craig and Mullins because of their sexual orientation, which is protected by Colorado law. Earlier this year,\u00a0the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.\nU.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, a Denver Democrat, spoke at a rally outside the high court in Washington, D.C. She\u00a0tweeted a video clip\u00a0of some of her remarks comparing the wedding cake case to the passage of the anti-LGBT Amendment 2 by Colorado voters 25 years ago.\n\u201cAs a fourth-generation Coloradan and a strong supporter of LGBTQ rights, I was appalled at these actions, and I was appalled at my state,\u201d DeGette said, referring to the state constitutional amendment adopted in 1992. \u201cBut I fought, my family fought, my friends fought, Coloradans and Americans fought day in and day out to stop this hate, and, you know what, we won.\u201d\nAfter the rally, she said in a\u00a0second tweet, she met Mullins and Craig, who live in her congressional district.\n\u201cAfter speaking at a rally on their behalf, I was honored to meet my constituents David Mullins and Charlie Craig, who are at the heart of the #MasterpieceCakeshop case. I\u2019m proud to represent these men who are fighting to ensure businesses are #OpenToAll,\u201d DeGette wrote.\nHer sentiments were not shared by Colorado Rep. Doug Lamborn, who said Phillips was acting within his First Amendment rights to freedom of religion and free speech in denying service to Charlie Craig and David Mullins.\n\u201cI support Jack 100 percent on this issue,\u201d said Lamborn, a Republican from Colorado Springs. \u201cI believe the Constitution protects his right to refuse to use his artistic talents in a ceremony that he does not agree with religiously.\u201d\nIf Phillips loses his Supreme Court case, \u201ceveryone\u2019s freedom is at risk,\u201d Lamborn said.\nThe legal battle also pits Colorado\u2019s attorney general, Republican Cynthia Coffman, who is\u00a0defending state law, against the Trump administration\u2019s Justice Department, which\u00a0weighed in on the side\u00a0of the Lakewood baker.\nCoffman, who is running for governor in next year\u2019s election, said in a statement that it would be \u201ca mistake\u201d if the high court created an exception to anti-discrimination laws.\n\u201cAfter a long and careful debate, Colorado\u2019s legislature in 2008 decided to extend the LGBT community the very same legal protections we use to fight all forms of discrimination, whether based on race, sex, or a person\u2019s faith,\u201d she said. \u201cOne critical part of those protections is the idea that when people walk into a retail store that is open to the public, they are not turned away because of who they are. Our State and our Constitution has deep respect for the right of all people to follow their faith and speak their minds. But it would be a mistake in deciding this case to create new exceptions to anti-discrimination laws that have never been applied to any other group of people. My office presented the Court with our strongest arguments today, based on many years of established legal precedent, and I look forward to receiving its ruling.\u201d\nState Rep. Leslie Herod, D-Denver, led a group of\u00a0LGBTQ Coloradans who filed an amicus brief\u00a0in the case.\n\u201cI applaud Colorado\u2019s legal team today in their oral argument before the United States Supreme Court,\u201d Herod said Tuesday. \u201cThey demonstrated that Colorado stands firmly in support of the free expression of religion while also protecting people from discrimination.\n\u201cColorado just argued one heck of a case,\u201d said Representative Herod. \u201cThe state can support religious freedoms while also protecting Coloradans like me from discrimination. These are not mutually exclusive.\u201d\nFormer U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, another Republican running for governor, took the opposite view. On Twitter, Tancredo linked to a\u00a0video\u00a0he posted recently, saying he had just attended a rally in support of Phillips and displays a T-shirt that reads, \u201cI Stand with Masterpiece Cakeshop.\u201d\nAfter describing the case, Tancredo states his conclusion:\n\u201cEverybody wants freedom. Everybody wants the ability to extol the virtues of diversity, right? Well, great! Great! Part of being a diverse society is allowing people to express themselves, religiously \u2014 it\u2019s not hurting anybody, not shooting anybody in the street, not creating a violent situation, but just living out their religious beliefs, even in their business,\u201d Tancredo says. \u201cThat\u2019s the way it should be. So I hope and pray that the Supreme Court will, in fact, reaffirm the concepts of individual liberty upon which this country was founded.\u201d\nMichael Dougherty, a prosecutor and one of five Democrats running for attorney general, declared the stakes high in a statement he issued just before the scheduled oral arguments.\n\u201cThis case will have a wide-ranging impact, as it determines whether a business owner is allowed to refuse service to customers by simply claiming a justification under the First Amendment,\u201d Dougherty said. \u201cThe stakes could not be higher when it comes to defending equal rights in our country. Should the Supreme Court overturn the Colorado Court of Appeals ruling it will have sanctioned discrimination. It is shameful that this principle continues to be tested \u2013 and it continues to remain critical that we have leaders who dispel racism, hate, and bigotry. I am hopeful that the high court will sustain Colorado\u2019s decision.\u201d\nState Rep. Justin Everett, a Littleton Republican and candidate for state treasurer, said the argument is a lot simpler than the one some of Phillips\u2019 defenders have been advancing.\n\u201cIt\u2019s forcing someone to produce the fruits of their labor they don\u2019t want to do. That seems very un-American,\u201d he told Colorado Politics. \u201cCommon sense has gone out the door at this point. The fact is, we\u2019ve wasted tons of taxpayer money when this is a common-sense principle.\u201d\n\u201cIt puts a chilling effect on anybody. This is sort of PC run amok,\u201d Everett added, using an abbreviation for \u201cpolitically correct.\u201d\nFormer state Sen. Mike Johnston, a Denver Democrat and candidate for governor, likewise maintained the case comes down to simple common sense but arrived at the opposite conclusion.\n\u201cThe problem with the #MasterpieceCakeshop argument is that the case is not about what he refuses to sell,\u201d Johnston\u00a0tweeted. \u201cIt\u2019s about who he refuses to sell it to. I hope #SCOTUS agrees \u2013 fast. #end discrimination @One_Colorado\u201d\nJeff Hunt, president of Colorado Christian University\u2019s Centennial Institute, told Colorado Politics he was encouraged by the course of the argument before the justices.\n\u201cIt appears today that the Supreme Court understands the issues at stake when Justice Kennedy stated that \u2018tolerance is essential in a free society.\u2019 Justice Kennedy specifically honed in on the fact that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission acted out of malice and has not been tolerant of Jack Phillips\u2019 religion. Furthermore, the Colorado Civil Rights Commission has not been consistent in penalizing Jack Phillips while allowing other bakers to refuse to create cakes that violated their conscience. Freedom of conscience, free speech, and freedom of religion are fundamental human rights to be protected. These rights are clearly spelled out in the Constitution, are essential to the health of our nation, and must be protected for all Americans,\u201d Hunt said in a written statement.\nProgressNow Colorado executive director Ian Silverii told Colorado Politics that the legal principle is clear.\n\u201cThe principle that business establishments open to the public must serve all members of the public equally is essential to a free and fair society,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cEvery person has the right to express their beliefs freely. What you can\u2019t do is discriminate against some customers when your business is open to all customers. Allowing any business serving the public to exempt themselves from the nation\u2019s laws against discrimination would be a massive step backward for our country.\u201d\nThe case attracted more than 100 amicus, or friend-of-the-court, briefs. One of them came from Democrats in Congress, including Colorado lawmakers Sen. Michael Bennet and Reps. DeGette, Ed Perlmutter and Jared Polis.\nIt warned the Supreme Court against a ruling \u201cinviting discrimination against historically marginalized communities, including but not limited to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community.\u201d\nThe Court\u2019s ruling is expected before next June.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/house-dems-finally-get-to-grill-pruitt-heres-their-plan-ee-news", "House Dems Finally Get to Grill Pruitt. Here's Their Plan (E&E News)", "2017-12-06", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "As Scott Pruitt makes his long-awaited return to Capitol Hill tomorrow morning, House Democrats are getting a rare chance to question the U.S. EPA boss face to face about his climate change agenda.\nPruitt is slated to testify before members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee during a hearing about EPA's mission. Democrats on the Subcommittee on Environment holding the hearing say they plan on addressing everything from the agency's rollback of climate regulations to its shrinking budget.\n\"I'm concerned about the culture of secrecy that Administrator Pruitt has taken into EPA, in particular I want to know what his plan is for dealing with climate change because he has been pretty secretive about what he wants to do about that,\" said Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), a subcommittee member.\nPruitt has taken a number of steps to undermine the agency's work on controlling greenhouse gas emissions \u2014 like rolling back the Clean Power Plan, attempting to stall methane regulations on the oil and gas industry, and drastically revising estimates of how much greenhouse gas emissions are costing the country. He also pushed for the United States to exit from the Paris climate accord. However, it is still unclear how thoroughly Pruitt intends to reverse the agency's course on climate action. The administrator has yet to launch his promised \"red team, blue team\" debate on climate science, and he has been murky about whether he plans to reconsider EPA's endangerment finding on greenhouse gases.\n\"We really need to get answers here, this will be our first hearing with [Administrator] Pruitt, I think it's important that he come in prepared to answer our questions and work collegially with the committee,\" DeGette said.\nAmong the regulatory changes that concern Democrats on the committee are the reconsideration of vehicle emissions standards and the rollback of the Clean Power Plan and methane regulations.\nRep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), said in a statement: \"Climate change can't be ignored. We have effective, available policies that are good for both the environment and our economy, which I plan to discuss with Administrator Pruitt on Thursday.\"\nThe representatives also have concerns on EPA-related work happening closer to home.\nRep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) will focus on questions about her district, including the futures of EPA's fuel economy lab and Region 5 office. Rumors swirled earlier this year that Pruitt was planning to shut down the regional office that oversees Michigan and other states, and the Trump administration's budget slashed funding for the lab (Climatewire, May 24). Dingell will also be asking questions about the lead contamination in Flint, Mich.; stalled progress in updating the lead and copper rule; and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, according to a spokesperson.\nOther hot-button topics, like EPA's budget cuts, concern Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.), too.\n\"A lot of these budgets are being decimated, it's hurting not just the ability to regulate but to be able to respond to industry requests,\" said Peters. \"I don't understand why anyone thinks these drastic underfunding plans are good for anyone, whether it is a regulated community or industry.\"\nThe hearing comes as the agency has faced sharp criticism of Pruitt from the public and environmental groups. Yesterday, over 1,000 scientists sent a letter to Energy and Commerce Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) and ranking member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), requesting oversight of EPA's new policy to exclude scientists from its advisory panels who receive EPA grant funding.\nThe letter also went to Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Tom Carper (D-Del.), the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, respectively.\nIn a blog post, Ken Kimmell, the president of the Union of Concerned Scientists, also urged the House committee to focus its questions on Pruitt's regulatory oversight record, his \"Back to Basics\" agenda, staffing cuts to the agency and science.\n\"These oversight hearings offer a critical opportunity for leaders on both sides of the aisle to ask tough questions, demand responsive information rather than platitudes, and voice their disapproval about how Administrator Pruitt has run the EPA,\" Kimmell wrote.\nEPW will get its chance to question Pruitt early next year. It has a hearing scheduled for Jan. 31.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/rebuilding-puerto-rico-and-the-us-virgin-islands-better-energy", "Rebuilding Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands: Better Energy Infrastructure is Key", "2017-12-06", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "We just returned from an eye-opening bipartisan CODEL to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to survey damage caused by hurricanes Maria and Irma, which has been the focus of our work on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.\nRecent developments in the news have, sadly, pushed the subject of the hurricane recovery effort to the margins of most Americans\u2019 awareness. Our main takeaway from the trip is that the federal government\u2019s effort to help our fellow Americans in these island territories needs to be sustained for months \u2013 or even years to come.\nFEMA and the local governments have done impressive work, both in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. But there is still much work to do. Tragically, most of the residents remain without power.\u00a0 This is due to the antiquated grid systems in both territories as well as the difficult terrain. The Puerto Rican capital of San Juan, for example, looks like a patchwork quilt at night with some neighborhoods lit up and others completely dark.\u00a0 Mountainous areas are even more hard-hit, as virtually all the power lines were destroyed by the hurricanes.\nThe governments in both jurisdictions are committed to improving their infrastructure as they rebuild. For example, hardening the power system by installing more buried power systems, using renewable energy sources, and creating micro grids that can be interconnected.\u00a0\nUnfortunately, they are hampered by the Stafford Act, which allows use of federal recovery funds only for rebuilding infrastructure to the level at the time of the storm.\u00a0 We should build back better \u2013 not only for the overall quality of life for residents in these places, but also to save money and lives in the long run when there are additional disasters. Better-protected power sources mean keeping the lights and generators on in hospitals and nursing homes, among other places.\nA young FEMA worker in Puerto Rico told us he was enrolling a woman for assistance when she started to cry. When asked why, she told him her mother had died. \u201cShe was sick, and her medical equipment was electric. When the power went out, she just died.\u201d This was a needless tragedy, and there are many more such stories across Puerto Rico.\nn St. Croix, USVI, a hospital administrator begged us to help get the power restored, saying, \u201cYou will go home to your Christmas trees and holidays, but we can\u2019t even turn our lights on much less our trees.\u201d\u00a0\nIt\u2019s been nearly three months since the hurricanes hit, and these people still live under these circumstances. Let\u2019s not let the rush of congressional activity during this hectic last month of the session, the customary crush of activities of the holiday season, or whatever happens day to day in D.C. divert our attention from our Caribbean compatriots. We must continue to fight for them and their futures.\nDeGette and Upton are senior members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/current-impeachment-resolution-is-premature-degette-says", "Current Impeachment Resolution is Premature, DeGette Says", "2017-12-06", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC \u2013 Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO), Chief Deputy Whip, issued the following statement about the privileged resolution introduced today:\n\u201cSpecial Counsel Robert Mueller\u2019s investigation is proceeding and has already produced important results. I\u2019m watching to see what further evidence of wrongdoing it uncovers, including the possibility of impeachable offenses. In the meantime, House consideration of this resolution is premature.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/degette-concealed-carry-reciprocity-act-weakens-standards-for-public", "DeGette: Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act Weakens Standards for Public Safety", "2017-12-06", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC \u2013 Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO), Chief Deputy Whip, said she voted against the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act (H.R. 38) today because it would weaken standards for public safety in many states, including Colorado.\n\u201cThis bill gives the weakest state standards on gun violence prevention the force of law nationwide,\u201d DeGette said. \u201cCompelling state legislatures to adopt the concealed carry standards of other states will only undermine the protections that their citizens have come to expect their elected officials to uphold.\n\u201cIf this bill passes the Senate and is signed into law, Coloradans would be in greater peril. I refuse to let our communities face such mindless and needless danger without a fight.\u201d\nDeGette is a member of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, which was formed after the December 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Shortly thereafter, she introduced a bill to ban high-capacity assault magazines similar to the one in place in Colorado, and she continues to support this move. She has also advocated other measures in the current Congress, including the proposed ban on bump stocks that briefly seemed to have bipartisan support after the Las Vegas mass shooting two months ago but has since stalled.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://polis.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398496", "Polis: Congress needs to carry out a thoughtful, honest discussion about President Trump's fitness to serve", "2017-12-06", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Jared Polis", "P000598", "polis.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., moved to begin impeachment proceedings of President Donald Trump today, voting against tabling an impeachment resolution by Rep. Al Green, D-Texas.\u00a0\r\n\u201cThere are serious accusations against President Trump of obstruction of justice and collusion with a foreign government, and I find these accusations credible,\u201d\u00a0said Polis.\u00a0 \u201cPresident Donald Trump has continually demonstrated that he lacks the integrity to occupy the office of the President of the United States.\u00a0 Congress needs to carry out a thoughtful, honest discussion about President Trump's fitness to serve and start the process to determine the truth.\u00a0 If guilty, every day we allow President Trump to obstruct justice, as he has possibly done in Special Counsel Mueller\u2019s investigation, we weaken our national security.\u00a0 It is time we begin an open, honest, objective, and comprehensive discussion on the President\u2019s fitness to serve as our Commander in Chief.\u201d\r\nThe resolution to begin impeachment proceedings was tabled on a 365-58 vote.\u00a0 Over the last several months, Polis has attempted in every way possible to hold the Trump administration accountable.\u00a0 Among several other bills, he is a co-sponsor of the Protecting our Democracy Act, which would set up an independent investigation to thoroughly investigate Russian interference in the 2016 elections.\u00a0 In addition, he co-sponsored the Presidential Conflicts of Interest Act, which would require the President and Vice President to disclose and divest from any investment that could present a conflict of interests, and also require the President and Vice President to disclose their three most recent tax returns.\u00a0\u00a0\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://polis.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398497", "Polis defends against attempt to undercut state gun safety laws", "2017-12-06", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Jared Polis", "P000598", "polis.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., rejected Republican attempts to move forward the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, legislation championed by the National Rifle Association (NRA).\u00a0 Under this bill, a person who is barred from buying a gun in one state can travel to another state with weaker gun laws, receive a permit, and carry that gun legally anywhere he wants, even in the state where he was originally refused a permit.\r\n\u201cColorado already has reciprocal concealed carry agreements with 33 other states that have high standards for background checks. After the Columbine shooting, Coloradans chose to enact sensible gun safety laws, voting to close the gun show loophole.\u00a0 The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act undercuts states\u2019 rights and gun safety laws that other states have adopted,\u201d\u00a0said Polis.\u00a0 \u201cCongress needs to take meaningful action, and at the bare minimum, we shouldn\u2019t undermine states that have been brave enough to address gun violence in the absence of federal leadership.\u201d\r\nPolis is a co-sponsor of bipartisan legislation that would ban the manufacture, sale, and use of bump stocks and other similar devices used to convert firearms into illegal automatic weapons.\u00a0 In addition, he has cosponsored the bipartisan Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act, which would require comprehensive background checks for firearm purchases.\u00a0 He opposed anti-gun violence prevention bills that would have prevented the Veterans Administration and the Social Security Administration from entering crucial mental health information into the federal background check database.\u00a0 He has also supported a resolution to establish a congressional committee on gun violence prevention.\u00a0\r\nPolis wrote an\u00a0opinion-editorial\u00a0in the Boulder Daily Camera outlining his support for three key priorities of the gun violence prevention movement: comprehensive background checks, ending the congressional ban on public health research into the root causes of gun violence, and prohibiting gun purchases to anyone on an FBI terrorism watch list.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=68E8BEFD-2747-1DD3-A580-8EAD67F49107", "Bennet, Gardner Introduce Bipartisan Public Lands Management Bill", "2017-12-06", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D) and Cory Gardner (R) this week introduced a bill to reauthorize the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act (FLTFA). Before it expired in 2011, FLTFA allowed the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service in the Western United States to use the proceeds from sales of certain federally designated areas to protect lands of exceptional conservation value.\r\n\"In Colorado, conservation is not only part of our heritage, but also vital to our outdoor recreation economy,\" Bennet said. \"We'll work to advance this legislation that boosts economic development, improves land management, and conserves high priority land for future generations.\"\r\n\"This fiscally responsible, bipartisan bill will prioritize conservation across Colorado and the West at no cost to the taxpayers,\" Gardner said. \"I'm proud to work with Senator Bennet and others from both sides off the aisle on this legislation to ensure future generations of Coloradans can enjoy our great state's natural treasures.\"\r\nFor more than a decade until it expired in 2011, FLTFA allowed the preservation of important sites across the Western United States without the use of taxpayer money. The program also assisted in better land management practices by disposing of isolated or difficult-to-manage parcels identified by the public land management agencies themselves.\r\nIn Colorado, FLTFA resources have been used to complement projects funded by the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO). The \"land for land\" concept has helped federal agencies acquire approximately 4,500 acres of land within the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument to preserve cultural artifacts. It has also helped conserve important wildlife habitat and preserve public access for hunting, fishing, and other outdoor recreation.\r\nAdditional cosponsors of FLTFA include U.S. Senators Dean Heller (R-NV), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Tom Udall (D-NM), James Risch (R-ID), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Steve Daines (R-MT).\r\nThe legislation is supported by more than 165 groups, including many sportsmen, recreation, conservation, and historic preservation groups, such as The Conservation Fund, The Trust for Public Land, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, New Mexico Wildlife Federation, and Nevada Land Trust. A list of groups is available HERE.\r\nA copy of the bill is available HERE.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=ACD73A80-5B9F-C238-5AD5-F1FBB0978538", "Bennet Statement on Presidents Jerusalem Announcement", "2017-12-06", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today issued the following statement in response to President Trump's announcement to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the United States Embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem:\r\n\"As it has been for many years, Jerusalem is the capital of the State of Israel; its final status must be resolved as part of direct negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians. I am concerned the President's announcement today-absent support from regional partners and allies, and outside the confines of a plan-undermines the prospect for negotiations and risks destabilizing an already volatile region. The administration should take constructive steps to restart direct negotiations with the longstanding, bipartisan goal of two states living side by side in peace and security.\"", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=CF4C41C0-22E4-5D6B-700C-053B6CCB0552", "Bennet Joins of Hundreds of Thousands of Advocates and Patients in Demanding Administration Reinstate Birth Control Coverage for Millions of Women", "2017-12-06", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, along with a group of Senate Democrats, today called on Acting Secretary of Health and Human Services Eric Hargan to rescind President Trump's interim final rules (IFRs) issued on October 13, 2017, enabling employers and universities to interfere with their employees' and students' access to preventive health care by allowing them to choose not to cover birth control for religious or moral reasons.\r\nIn the letter, the senators highlighted the enormous economic benefit of requiring health plans to cover preventive services, including birth control for women, without out-of-pocket costs.\r\n\"This requirement has helped 62.4 million women have coverage for birth control,\" the senators wrote. \"As a result, they have been able to make decisions about their reproductive health care that strengthen their economic standing and allow them to decide if and when to start families. These IFRs also allow employers and insurance companies to once again discriminate against women by requiring them to pay more for the health care they need compared to their male counterparts.\"\r\nThe senators also noted that repealing the birth control mandate goes against the original intentions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which created explicit provisions to guarantee women access to preventive services.\r\n\"Congress specifically included the Women's Health Amendment in the ACA to ensure that the legislation would end the punitive practices of insurances companies that charge women more and give [them] less in a benefit' by guaranteeing women access to preventive services,\" the senators continued. \"The IFRs fail to recognize this clear congressional intent to place medical experts' recommendations over political ideology.\"\r\n\"Instead of reversing this significant progress for women - which it did without appropriate input from the public - the Trump Administration should reinstate the protections that allow women to control their own health care and economic security,\" the senators wrote. \r\nA copy of the letter is available HERE.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=2FDA933C-E7BA-5685-D8D9-CEEE5C41D113", "Bennet, Gardner, Hatch, Heinrich, and Udall Introduce Legislation to Protect Endangered Species in Upper Colorado River", "2017-12-05", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington D.C. - U.S. Senator Michael Bennet (d-CO), along with Senators Cory Gardner (R-CO), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Tom Udall (D-NM), today introduced the Endangered Fish Recovery Programs Extension Act of 2017. The legislation will continue to fund the Upper Colorado and San Juan fish recovery programs through FY2023 and aims to protect four primary endangered species in the Upper Colorado River Basin.\r\n\"The Endangered Fish Recovery Programs are exemplary of the successful, collaborative conservation championed in the West by states, tribes, federal agencies, and other stakeholders,\" said Bennet. \"This bipartisan bill provides the resources to continue recovery efforts in the Upper Colorado River and to ensure that these endangered fish species are protected for years to come.\" \"Protecting endangered species living in Colorado's natural habitat can be done in a responsible manner, and I'm proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation,\" said Gardner. \"Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program is a great example of a partnership between federal, state, and local agencies to promote conservation. It's important we provide adequate resources to this project to ensure our partners on the ground have the necessary tools to protect these endangered species.\" \"I'm happy to join my Western colleagues-including Utah's newly elected Representative John Curtis-in introducing this commonsense legislation. Our bipartisan bill builds on the successful conservation efforts on the Upper Colorado River, encouraging the federal government to work in cooperation with Western states,\" said Hatch. \"This proposal will help guide the sustainable usage of our water resources in a way that fosters both species recovery and responsible development.\" \"The San Juan and Upper Colorado River Fish Recovery Programs are vital to rebuilding our native fish populations that are an important part of our state's heritage,\" said Heinrich. \"We cannot allow these important conservation programs to lapse and threaten the progress we've made up to this point. This bipartisan legislation will ensure federal, state and local agencies have the resources they need to continue protecting endangered species in the Upper Colorado River Basin.\" \"The San Juan River Basin is an important region in New Mexico's ecology, and I am pleased to introduce this bipartisan legislation to continue the collaborative efforts to help protect the area's endangered species,\" said Udall. \"The most successful way we can balance the needs of water security with species conservation is to work collaboratively with local, state, Tribal, federal and non-governmental partners to find solutions. This initiative has been an excellent example of how we can conserve natural habitats by working together.\" Representative John Curtis (UT-3) introduced the House companion legislation.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=433BDB3A-57A8-54E3-2C91-98DB62983F08", "Bennet Requests GAO Study of Administration Changes to Key Measure of Carbon Pollution Cost", "2017-12-05", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, along with six Senate colleagues, today asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to examine the governments' method for calculating the social cost of carbon-the measure of long-term damage done by carbon pollution-after the Trump administration dramatically reduced estimates of the costs of climate change in recent actions. Using a lower estimate for the social cost of carbon could allow the administration to undermine a range of environmental regulations by exaggerating the compliance costs compared to the societal benefits of reduced carbon emissions.  Earlier this year, President Donald Trump issued an executive order disbanding an important interagency working group charged with formulating the social cost of carbon and withdrew the guidance it had issued. The Trump administration also directed agencies to use an outdated Office of Management and Budget policy to monetize the value of greenhouse gas emissions from changes in federal regulation. The result has been a severe downtick in the value of the social cost of carbon. The Environmental Protection Agency's assessment of its proposed rule to repeal the Clean Power Plan, for example, dropped the social cost of carbon from $45 per ton to as low as $1 per ton for 2020. In response, Bennet is leading an effort to standardize the social cost of carbon metric across federal agencies. In a letter to Comptroller General Gene Dodaro, the senators asked the GAO to look at states and other countries' social costs of carbon; the Trump administration's justification for dramatically changing the way it discounts the costs or benefits of regulation change affecting carbon pollution; and the rationales that have been used to support various discount rates in assessing the social cost of carbon. In addition to Bennet, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Kamala Harris (D-CA), and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) made the request. A copy of the letter is available HERE.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://perlmutter.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1883", "Perlmutter Reacts to Unprecedented Attack on Public Lands and National Monuments", "2017-12-04", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Ed Perlmutter", "P000593", "perlmutter.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Perlmutter Reacts to Unprecedented Attack on Public Lands and National Monuments \r\n   \r\n    \r\n       \r\n      \r\n  \r\n    \r\n      f \r\n      t \r\n      #\r\n      e\r\n      \r\n      \r\n    \r\n    \r\n      \r\n        Washington, D.C.-,\r\n        December 4, 2017\r\n      \r\n       \r\n    \r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n      \r\n    \r\n  \r\n  \r\n    \r\n      \r\n      \r\n      Washington, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CO-07) reacted to the Trump administration\u2019s decision to reduce the size of two national monuments, Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante \u2013 the largest reduction in protected federal land in the nation\u2019s history.\r\n\u201cThis year we\u2019ve seen a concerted effort by the Trump administration to roll back federal protections of public lands and even to devolve certain federal lands to state or local control. This type of attack on our public lands and national monuments is unprecedented. Coloradans cherish our public lands and understand they are part of what makes Colorado special and a significant contributor to our state\u2019s economy. We need to protect our public lands and keep them public so everyone has access to the great outdoors and to help preserve them for future generations.\r\n\u201cI will oppose any effort to remove protections from federal lands in Colorado and will continue to follow this issue closely moving forward.\u201d\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=C40E146B-0C91-07A2-F8F4-134EBD394BCB", "Bennet Denounces Removal of Protections for Bears Ears National Monument", "2017-12-04", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today issued the below statement following President Trump's announcement to reduce Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments.\r\n\"Since the beginning of this national monument review, the President has been in lock-step with a small number of Washington special interests to remove protections for public land in the West,\" Bennet said. \"Today's announcement is no different. It disregards the wishes of a tribal coalition and ignores the input of Western leaders and businesses to initiate the single largest removal of protection for public lands in our nation's history. The designation of Bears Ears National Monument protected sacred land and gave our tribes-including the Ute Mountain Ute tribe and Southern Ute tribe-a voice in their future management. This reversal is a shameful addition to our nation's long and tragic history of broken promises to our tribes. Earlier generations would be disturbed to know that their legacy of protecting wild and sacred places is under assault by the President and his administration. We will fight this attempt every step of the way.\"\r\nBennet has been an adamant supporter and defender of Bears Ears. Specifically, he:\r\n \r\nSent a letter to the President raising concerns about early reports of today's announcement, despite the fact that the U.S. Department of Agriculture did not recommend removal of U.S. Forest Service lands;\r\nCriticized the ill-conceived review process and Secretary Zinke's secret recommendation for 27 national monuments, which he sent to the President but did not make public;\r\nHeld a press conference with Senate Democrats after the close of the Interior Department's comment period, urging the administration to keep existing national monument protections in place;\r\nSent a letter with Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper to Secretary Zinke urging him to refrain from modifying any national monument designations in Colorado and warning him against taking unprecedented steps to diminish the size of Bears Ears;\r\nSent a letter with 30 other Democratic senators condemning the President's Executive Order to review, and possibly modify or rescind, prior monument designations.\r\nSpoke on the Senate floor about the importance of our national monuments and the Antiquities Act;\r\nSent a letter with eight other Western Democratic senators to the President urging him to uphold existing protections for all 157 national monuments, including Bears Ears;\r\nSupported continued protection for Bears Ears, calling on the administration to meet with tribal leadership before any decisions are made;\r\nApplauded the national monument proclamation for Bears Ears.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=1C5787DB-85E2-409B-612B-2F918B081A92", "Bennet Statement on Passage of Senate Republican Tax Bill", "2017-12-02", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today issued the below statement following the passage of the Senate Republican tax bill:\r\n\"When I came to Washington nine years ago, I would have never believed that something this cynical could happen on the floor of the U.S. Senate.  \"The Senate passed a tax bill that has been sold to the American people with falsehood after falsehood. Republicans claim this is for the middle class. It is not. In its first and best year, those with incomes over $1 million receive an average tax cut of $59,000 under this plan, while those who earn less than $50,000 receive just $160. It gets worse from there.\r\n\"Republicans claim this plan pays for itself, just like they claimed when they cut taxes in 2001 and 2003. It won't. Instead, this plan borrows over $1 trillion from our kids and grandkids. It is the sons and daughters of Colorado's teachers, firefighters, and police officers who will have to pay back that bill. And for what? To end poverty in America? No. To invest in infrastructure or health care? No. To strengthen our safety net? No. But to fritter it away on tax cuts for the wealthiest people in America.\r\n\"All of us have a job to do: leave more opportunity, not less, to those who'll come after us. The Senate has shamefully abdicated that responsibility.\"\r\nBennet delivered a speech on the Senate floor in opposition to the tax bill. A copy of the video is available HERE.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=A9422080-4474-6010-2F05-E5D9F63FA51B", "Bennet, Stabenow: USDA Did Not Recommend Removal of Forest Service Land in Trump National Monument Review", "2017-12-01", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Conservation, Forestry, and Natural Resources, and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry, today raised concerns to President Donald Trump regarding reports that his administration will significantly reduce the size of several National Monuments containing U.S. Forest Service land, despite not having a specific recommendation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to do so.  In April, President Trump signed an Executive Order requiring Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, in coordination with Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and others, to review 27 National Monuments that were designated by previous presidents. Based on information provided to the Senate Agriculture Committee by a USDA official, \"No specific acres were recommended for removal.\" Despite this lack of recommendation, the Washington Post reported that the Trump administration plans to significantly shrink the boundaries of the Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, which contains 289,000 acres of Forest Service land. In addition to Bears Ears, there are four National Monuments under review in California containing Forest Service land, which could be subject to cuts.\r\nDue to the unprecedented nature of this National Monument review, Bennet and Stabenow wrote to President Trump to ask how he plans to proceed with monuments containing Forest Service land in light of USDA's submissions to the review.  A copy of the letter is available HERE.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=5B5B527D-5CB5-D4A2-9B87-C597B68DBFD6", "Bennet, Markey Secure 41 Cosponsors for Bill That Would Protect Arctic Refuge from Drilling if Senate Would Operate under Regular Order", "2017-11-30", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Edward Markey (D-MA) today secured 41 Senate cosponsors for their legislation to designate the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as wilderness and protect the land from future drilling. This significant 41st cosponsor would-if the Senate was operating under regular order-block the provision to open up the Arctic Refuge, included as a rider in the Senate Republican tax bill. This announcement sends a strong signal from 41 senators that the provision should not have been snuck into the Republican tax bill in the first place and that the Arctic Refuge should be protected from oil and gas drilling.\r\n\"With our bill's 41st cosponsor, it could not be more clear that we should not open up the Arctic Refuge to drilling,\" Bennet said. \"This critical decision affecting our public lands and water deserves a real process and full debate. Rather than jamming a provision through the Republican tax bill, let's listen to the American people and protect this national treasure-one of the last wildest places left in our country.\"\r\n\"Securing the 41st cosponsor on our legislation to permanently protect the Arctic Refuge from drilling eliminates any doubt, once and for all, that the Republicans would not be able to pass their Big Oil Polar Payout' under regular order,\" Markey said. \"This Republican drilling plan is about as far away from regular order as Alaska is from the Capitol. Republicans should stop using parliamentary tricks to attempt to ram through drilling in the Arctic Refuge as a rider on their tax scam.\"", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://polis.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398492", "Polis calls for new public comment period on net neutrality", "2017-11-29", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Jared Polis", "P000598", "polis.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., gave the following statement regarding recent findings that over half of net neutrality comments submitted to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) during its public comment period were fake.\u00a0 During the comment period, which ran from April 27 \u2013 Aug. 30, members of the public could formally weigh in on net neutrality rules. The FCC is now planning to rollback rules that protect net neutrality in a meeting scheduled for Dec. 14.\r\n\u201cIn light of this major revelation that 57 percent of the 22 million public comments on net neutrality contained false information, I am calling upon the FCC to start a new public comment process before moving forward, so at least we know that the FCC didn\u2019t base their decision on input from bots and fake accounts,\u201d\u00a0said Polis.\r\nAs an entrepreneur and creator of several successful Internet start-ups, Polis has long been an ardent supporter of an open Internet. He has been instrumental in stopping legislation like the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), as well as PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) that sought to introduce heavy-handed government censorship into the Internet. He has led efforts to support net neutrality since being elected to Congress in 2008.\u00a0 Recently he sent several letters to the FCC asking that they not repeal net neutrality and continue to protect the free flow of information on which our economy depends.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=EA2C2A5C-03D8-EDC0-A0F6-B6C843B3BBF0", "Bennet, Gardner Demand Accountability at VA for Unofficial Wait Lists", "2017-11-29", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D) and Cory Gardner (R) today sent a letter to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary David Shulkin regarding the VA Inspector General report that found unofficial wait lists at a number of Colorado VA facilities.\r\nThe senators wrote, in part, \"This practice of using unofficial wait lists is extremely concerning, and sows distrust amongst our veterans in the very system that exists to help them. Unofficial wait lists result in a lack of transparency and deny veterans the timely care that they deserve, ultimately putting our veterans at great risk.\"\r\nFull text of the letter is below:\r\nDear Secretary Shulkin,\r\nWe write to urge you to ensure accountability following a November 16, 2017 report that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted, which substantiates the claim that the Eastern Colorado Health Care System (ECHCS) used unofficial wait lists for veteran health care. This report highlights serious mismanagement, and we urge you to review its findings and implement the OIG's recommendations to ensure veterans in Colorado have a health system they deserve and to prevent future mismanagement from occurring.\r\nThis practice of using unofficial wait lists is extremely concerning, and sows distrust amongst our veterans in the very system that exists to help them. Unofficial wait lists result in a lack of transparency and deny veterans the timely care that they deserve, ultimately putting our veterans at great risk. Unfortunately, the exact number of cases affected by this mismanagement is unknown due to the lack of documentation, but according to the OIG report, the VA placed at least 3,775 on the unofficial wait lists. This is unacceptable. It is critical that the VA holds bad actors overseeing these unofficial wait lists accountable. Moving forward, the VA must also take steps to ensure that it upholds its policy prohibiting the use of unofficial wait lists.\r\nPlease provide a timely response on your plan of action to hold those overseeing this wrongdoing accountable. Additionally, we request that you provide us with quarterly reports on ECHCS' progress ensuring that the VA is taking corrective action to address these and other wait times issues across the area.\r\nThank you for your time, and we look forward to your response.\r\nSincerely,", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=91ED38C8-1DE7-A741-6443-DE817F0CF321", "Bennet to Hold Live Facebook Town Hall", "2017-11-28", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet will hold a live Facebook Town Hall to answer questions from Coloradans about the Senate Republican tax bill.  Who: Senator Michael Bennet  What: Facebook Town Hall  When: Tuesday, November 28, 2017 at 5:30pm MT/7:30pm ET  Where: www.facebook.com/senbennetco  We encourage all Coloradans to participate. Here are ways to engage:\r\n \r\nThose who want to submit questions ahead of time can post them in the Facebook comments HERE.\r\nThose who want to ask questions during the Town Hall can tune in HERE tomorrow and comment on the live video.\r\n \r\nNo access to Facebook? No problem.\r\n \r\nThose without access to Facebook can submit questions ahead of time by sending an email to townhall@bennet.senate.gov.\r\nThose who want to listen to the Facebook Town Hall over the phone can dial in with this number: 202-228-0808; Conference ID #558933\r\n \r\nUnder a fully implemented Senate Republican tax bill, tens of millions of working and middle-class Americans would face tax hikes - while those with yearly incomes over $1 million would receive permanent tax cuts. The bill would result in 13 million more uninsured by 2027 and rising premiums each year. It would also add at least $1.5 trillion more to the country's debt. Bennet is calling for Senate Republicans to scrap their partisan process and instead work in a bipartisan way to accomplish responsible tax reform that actually grows the economy, increases middle-class paychecks, and creates jobs.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/degette-pass-daca-fix-by-year-end-or-look-elsewhere-for-support-on-deal-to", "DeGette: Pass DACA Fix by Year End or Look Elsewhere for Support on Deal to Avert Shutdown", "2017-11-27", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, a Denver Democrat, said Wednesday she\u2019ll withhold her vote on a crucial December spending deal unless the House passes legislation before the end of the year to protect undocumented immigrants who came to the country as minors.\nSome congressional Republicans have been pushing to postpone a vote re-establishing the Obama-era\u00a0Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, until next year, but Democrats are pressing to link the immigration measure to a bill the GOP-controlled Congress must pass to fund the government past a December deadline.\nAlthough leading Democrats want an immigration fix bundled with a year-end spending measure to ensure its passage, DeGette said in an interview with Colorado Politics that she would prefer the House pass a stand-alone bill aimed at restoring protection for immigrants, known as Dreamers. Regardless how it\u2019s accomplished, she said she\u2019s unwilling to kick the fix into the new year.\n\u201cI think we need to pass what we call a clean DACA bill by the end of the year,\u201d she said. \u201cWhether it\u2019s a stand-alone bill or in the (continuing resolution), it needs to pass by the end of the year. I\u2019m not going to vote for a CR if it either doesn\u2019t include DACA or there\u2019s not a separate bill that passes by the end of the year.\u201d\nPresident Donald Trump\u00a0announced in September\u00a0that the DACA program would stop processing new applications immediately and end entirely in March, giving Congress six months to come up with a legislative solution for the 800,000 young immigrants granted a\u00a0reprieve from deportation and the ability to work legally in the United States.\nMore conservative Republicans want to delay considering DACA legislation until closer to the program\u2019s scheduled demise in hopes of retaining leverage in negotiations over the fate of the young immigrants. Some have said they\u2019re willing to consider extending DACA in some form in exchange for beefing up border security, although others have laid out conditions Democrats indicate will be deal-breakers.\nFractured Republicans need Democratic votes to pass a spending resolution and keep the government open past the current Dec. 8 deadline, giving the minority party its own leverage to force a vote on DACA legislation. Politico reports congressional leaders are\u00a0working on a short-term extension, potentially pushing a shutdown threat to the days surrounding Christmas.\nDeGette dismissed the looming brinksmanship.\n\u201cWe need to pass it,\u201d she said. \u201cWe need to protect these Dreamers.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=0BCBC02B-739B-D554-BF9A-BC4E3BC131C7", "Bennet Delivers Weekly Democratic Address", "2017-11-24", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "COLORADO - Following Thanksgiving yesterday, Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, delivers the Weekly Democratic Address on how the Senate Republican tax bill, which was written in secret and is being rushed for a vote without any outside input, threatens a better future for our country's children and grandchildren.\r\nUnder a fully implemented Senate Republican tax bill, millions of working and middle-class Americans would face tax hikes - while those with yearly incomes over a million dollars would receive permanent tax cuts. On top of this, Senate Republicans, at the last minute, added a provision to their tax bill that would result in 13 million more uninsured by 2027 and rising premiums each year. Further, the Senate Republican tax plan would add at least $1.5 trillion more to our country's deficit. Noting that Democrats remain committed to a bipartisan approach on responsible tax reform, Senator Bennet encouraged Americans to make their voices heard against Senate Republicans' partisan tax bill and that they instead want real tax reform that would lift every family.  The Weekly Democratic Address is available in both AUDIO AND VIDEO FORMAT. You may download the audio of the address HERE and the video of the address HERE. Bennet's remarks as delivered follows:    \"Hello everybody. I hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving.  And we extend a special thanks to the incredible men and women serving every day to protect us from harm and defend the freedoms we cherish.  In many ways, this has been a difficult year, and our politics can often seem irredeemably broken. But Thanksgiving is also a time to step back and remember that we have so much more in common than the partisan bickering that fills our television screens. I know that all of us sitting around the Thanksgiving table want something better for our kids and our grandkids--to leave them a country with a future brighter than its past. But that will only be true if we do for them what our parents and grandparents did for us. We now face a test of our commitment to providing that future. As early as next week the United States Senate may vote on a tax bill - an incredibly consequential piece of legislation affecting our entire economy for decades to come. Written in secret, this bill is being rushed to the floor without hearings or the chance for the American people to weigh in.  As the vote approaches, I'm reminded of a mom I met in the small town of Rifle, Colorado at an early childhood center. In the course of our conversation, she said to me, I have a job so I can have health insurance, and every single dollar I earn goes to pay for this early childhood center, so I can work.'  Too many Americans face this cycle, living each day with impossible choices their parents and grandparents were never asked to make. Yet, under the Republican tax plan, people making over $1 million a year would receive tax cuts of about $59,000 per year, while families earning $50,000 or less would see just $160 - or $7.50 more each paycheck. Tens of millions of middle class families would actually see their taxes go up.  And even though sabotaging our health care system has no place in a tax bill, Republicans doubled down by adding a provision at the last minute that would cause 13 million Americans to lose health insurance and premiums to rise by 10 percent.  The central challenge with our economy is not that people at the top don't have enough. It's that incomes for everyone else - like that mom in Rifle - haven't kept pace with rising costs of housing, health care, higher education, and childcare.  The question before us is: are we going to ease that burden, or add to it? This bill helps the relatively small number of families that make over $1 million a year and adds to the burden of others. That alone should be enough for us to scrap this approach, but what's even more stunning is that it does this while adding at least $1.5 trillion, and perhaps as much as $2.5 trillion, to our debt.  Our kids will bear that burden and the debt will restrict their future. America's children don't have a vote in the United States Senate. The generation after them doesn't have a vote. We owe them the freedom to make their own choices, the same freedom our parents and grandparents had the decency to provide for us. And that's why I hope you're well rested - because this week, we'll need to raise our voices and fight for that future. Democrats are committed to working in a bipartisan way to accomplish responsible tax reform that actually grows our economy and creates jobs. But the partisan bill that's in front of us is the opposite of what we need. Please take the time to let your representatives know that you want tax reform that lifts every family. Thank you.\"", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=32190DD5-3F23-B443-2D91-4D5783A04AFD", "Bennet, Gardner Announce $2 Million Grant to CU Boulder to Help Reduce Energy Usage in Colorado Homes", "2017-11-21", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "COLORADO - Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D) and Cory Gardner (R) today announced that a $2 million grant has been awarded to the University of Colorado Boulder from the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) for a Saving Energy Nationwide in Structures with Occupancy Recognition (SENSOR) project.  \"We applaud the University of Colorado Boulder team and their partners for receiving this grant and look forward to seeing how their project helps develop technologies to reduce energy usage in Colorado's homes,\" Bennet said. \"It is important that we continue to provide our communities with more opportunities for sustainable and responsible energy usage and development.\"\r\n\"I have long been a strong supporter of ARPA-E's research and I'm thrilled CU Boulder is receiving this grant,\" Gardner said. \"Increasing energy efficiency in our homes and businesses will help Coloradans save money on their energy bills and I'm looking forward to seeing what cutting edge technology CU develops as part of this project.\"\r\nThe SENSOR program has awarded $2 million to a team at the University of Colorado Boulder to develop a project titled: Battery-Free RFID Sensor Network with Spatiotemporal Pattern Network Based Data Fusion System for Human Presence Sensing. The goal of the project is to develop an occupancy detection system that relies on cameras to detect human presence and monitor patterns of activity in electricity use throughout homes. The sensor system will be powered wirelessly, reducing overall costs.\r\nARPA-E's SENSOR program grants support the creation of innovative sensing technologies in order to optimize heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in commercial and residential buildings. The various project teams will develop user-transparent sensing technologies with the goal of achieving a 30 percent overall reduction in HVAC energy consumption.  \"One of our priorities at CU Engineering is to increase our collaboration with the Federal government in areas where we can provide significant societal impact,\" said Bobby Braun, Dean of CU Engineering and Applied Science.\"It's great to see Dr. Henze's work being recognized for the technological advancements and energy savings it promises.\"\r\n\"I couldn't be more excited to lead the team made up of University of Colorado Boulder researchers and our colleagues at the University of Washington, Iowa State University and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory right here in Boulder,\" said Dr. Gregor P. Henze, Professor and Charles Victor Schelke Chair at CU's Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://polis.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=398484", "Big Block of Cheese Day -- Larimer County", "2017-11-17", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Jared Polis", "P000598", "polis.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, will host a \u201cBig Block of Cheese Day\u201d on Friday, Nov. 17 in Fort Collins.\u00a0 \u201cBig Block of Cheese Day\u201d is essentially open office hours with the congressman.\u00a0 Appointments are now full, but community members can sign up for a wait list or simply walk-in to meet with staff or possibly Polis, if time allows.\r\n\u201cBig Block of Cheese Day\u201d is based on a tradition started by President Andrew Jackson in 1837 when he received a massive, 1,400 lb. wheel of cheese as a gift and couldn\u2019t eat it all by himself!\u00a0 As the folklore goes, Jackson pondered, \u201cWhy not invite the American public to the White House and share the cheese?\u201d\u00a0 Jackson then hosted the original \u201cBig Block of Cheese Day\u201d for thousands of Americans to visit the White House and meet with top-level officials, while enjoying cheese together!", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=958D7105-41CF-2609-C0B8-7F526D753D47", "Bennet Spokesperson Statement on VA Use of Unofficial Wait Lists", "2017-11-17", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - A spokesperson for Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today issued the following statement in response to a federal investigation that substantiated claims that Veterans Affairs (VA) officials in Colorado used unofficial wait lists to record referrals for mental health care:\r\n\"This report makes clear that the VA in Colorado still has a long way to go toward delivering proper care. Michael believes that VA leadership must immediately take steps to ensure that the VA addresses the problems outlined in this report. Moving forward, the VA must ensure the necessary resources are in place so our veterans receive the timely and high-quality care they deserve.\"", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=9F927BA2-665E-48B0-6B34-745F2702177A", "Bennet Preserves Financing for Clean Energy Retrofits", "2017-11-17", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today led an effort with Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) to ensure that homeowners can continue to use PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) financing to install solar energy and make energy and water efficiency upgrades.\r\n\"PACE financing creates jobs, saves energy, decreases pollution, and reduces costs for homeowners and businesses,\" Bennet said. \"It makes no sense to scrap a highly-effective program that is a private sector approach to improving energy and water efficiency. We fought hard to reach this bipartisan compromise so homeowners of all incomes can continue to use PACE financing while also improving consumer protections.\"\r\nThe compromise language-released today as part of a larger Senate Banking Committee bill-will keep the PACE program intact by directing regulators to develop rules that ensure consumers are able to pay for PACE financing. In particular, the bill requires the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau to create ability to re-pay underwriting standards under the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). This will improve consumer protection while allowing homeowners to continue to use this type of financing.\r\nThis bipartisan compromise was made in response to efforts to subject the PACE program to overly burdensome standards that were designed for different financial products, like mortgages.\r\nSince 2007, PACE has helped more than 150,000 families upgrade their homes and created an estimated 30,000 local jobs, while also saving more than 10 billion gallons of water and reducing carbon emissions by more than 4 million tons.\r\nIn a joint statement, Renovate America, Ygrene Energy Fund, and Renew Financial-the nation's leading PACE provider-said, \"Today's bipartisan agreement on PACE signals a win for consumers in the home improvement marketplace. The PACE provision in this legislation builds on comprehensive consumer protection, home improvement contractor performance requirements, clear disclosures, and ability-to-pay legislation enacted at the State level in the largest market for PACE financing in the nation.\"", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=E835CA43-8C63-1A01-4FEA-F2D69DCB50FB", "Bennet, Colleagues Ask DHS Nominee to Clarify Stance on DACA, Dream Act, & TPS", "2017-11-17", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, along with 19 colleagues, today sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security nominee Kirstjen Nielsen, calling on her to answer several immigration-related questions prior to consideration of her nomination by the full Senate.\r\nDuring her confirmation hearing, when asked whether she agrees that legislation must be passed to protect Dreamers by the end of this calendar year, Nielsen stated, \"I believe that we must, and we owe it to them to find a permanent solution. It's no way to expect anyone to live, a month or two months at a time.\"\r\nIn the letter, the senators asked Nielson about her support for the Dream Act, among other issues related to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) programs.\r\n\"We believe that prompt passage of the bipartisan, bicameral Dream Act this calendar year would provide the solution that you have recognized is needed,\" the senators wrote. \"However, your role in advancing legislation as a senior White House official and as DHS Secretary, if you are confirmed, goes beyond providing technical assistance to Congress. Will you take this opportunity to urge Congress to promptly pass the Dream Act?\"\r\nA copy of the letter is available HERE.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://perlmutter.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1876", "Perlmutter Statement on Passage of the House Republican Tax Bill", "2017-11-16", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Ed Perlmutter", "P000593", "perlmutter.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CO-07) released the following statement after the Republican tax bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives:\r\n\u201cThis tax bill is just another example of how Republicans continue to stack the deck against hardworking Americans. At a time when we need to make critical investments in our infrastructure, housing, seniors and education, Republicans plan to explode the debt in the name of tax cuts for the wealthy.\r\n\u201cUsing voodoo economics, Republicans are trying to justify, at best, a $1.5 trillion increase to the national debt. That equals almost $5,000 for every man, woman and child in the United States. And history has shown us these tax cuts do not trickle down to benefit the folks in the middle. Instead, hardworking families will face additional burdens. They will no longer be able to deduct student loan interest, medical expenses, or the full value of their mortgage interest all while having to drive to work or school on crumbling roads. Meanwhile wealthy individuals get to keep more of their money and companies increase their profits. This comes at a time when Coloradans are really starting to feel the effects of growth in our state with increased congestion and unaffordable housing. This is a terrible bill that will only hurt hardworking families in Colorado and across the country.\u201d\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://polis.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398486", "Polis statement on Republican tax plan in the House of Representatives", "2017-11-16", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Jared Polis", "P000598", "polis.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., gave the following statement today after Republicans in the House of Representatives passed their tax plan.\u00a0\u00a0\r\n\u201cThroughout the past few days, I have been bowled over with input from my constituents pleading for a tax reform plan that doesn\u2019t nail the middle class to the wall.\u00a0 I offered 16 amendments including several bipartisan amendments to the Republican tax plan, based on what I heard from my district, but, each and every one was shot down, as was every other amendment offered,\u201d\u00a0said Polis.\u00a0 \u201cWe cannot afford for the plan that Republicans pushed through today to become law.\u00a0 I stand ready to craft a bipartisan tax reform plan that shrinks the national debt and grows the economy.\u201d\u00a0\r\nPolis has received over 2,000 emails and letters, as well as 300 phone calls opposing the Republican tax plan in the House of Representatives, compared to barely 50 calls, letters, and emails in support.\u00a0\r\nPolis drafted 16 amendments to the Republican tax plan, briefly described below.\u00a0\r\nOut-of-Pocket Teacher Expenses Amendment: would have reinstated the eliminated educator tax deduction, which allows teachers to claim a deduction of up to $250 for school supplies they purchased from their personal income.\r\nEmployer-Provided Student Loan Assistance Amendment: would have allowed employers to pay up to $5,250 toward an employee\u2019s student loan payments tax-free.\r\nUnborn Child 529 Beneficiary Eligibility Amendment: would have removed \u201cunborn children\u201d as eligible beneficiaries of 529 college savings accounts, only placed in this tax plan as an embarrassingly transparent attempt to undermine women\u2019s rights and privacy.\r\nEmployer-Provided Tuition Assistance Amendment: would have restored the employer-sponsored tuition assistance tax benefit, which allows employees to receive up to $5,250 annually in education assistance that\u2019s excluded from gross income.\r\nPrivate Activity Bond Restoration Amendment: would have restored the private activity bond that allows private companies to take on public projects that benefit their communities.\r\nIncrease Child Tax Credit Amendment: would have increased the child tax credit from $1,000 to $3600 per child and index those dollars for inflation.\r\nCarbon Fee Amendment: states that a carbon fee should be included in any tax reform to reduce taxes across the board and bring back millions of manufacturing jobs that are needed to build clean energy infrastructure and upgrade our grid.\r\nWind Production Tax Credit Amendment: would have reinstated the production tax credit for the wind power industry to maintain the 100,000 jobs created since 2015 in the wind sector and spur further job growth.\r\nElectric Vehicles Amendment: would have helped promote technology, innovation, and a more sustainable energy source for powering motor vehicles.\r\nSolar EDGE Amendment: Based on Polis\u2019s Solar EDGE Act, it would have created a short-term surge of funding in small distributed generation solar systems, which allows companies to reach states that have been left out of this critical clean energy platform.\r\nExpensing of Intangible Drilling Costs Amendment: would have repealed one of the largest and most draconian tax breaks available to the oil industry- the expensing of intangible drilling costs, which allows companies to immediately deduct most of the costs of drilling a new well despite the fact that risks associated with drilling new wells are no longer present.\u00a0\r\nMaster Limited Partnerships Amendments: Master Limited Partnerships, or MLPs, are a corporate form primarily used by natural resource firms to avoid corporate income taxes. The MLP amendment would have prohibited fossil fuel companies from using MLPs, and an alternative amendment would have allowed MLPs to be used by renewable energy companies who currently are prohibited from such use by law.\r\nMarijuana Amendment: would have protected small businesses and dispensaries in the State of Colorado from unsustainable tax burdens by revising Section 280e of the tax code to exempt marijuana sales.\r\nCryptocurrency Tax Fairness Amendment: Based on Polis\u2019s Cryptocurrency Tax Fairness Act of 2017, it would have removed outdated restrictions on cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, and other methods of digital payment, allowing consumers to make small purchases with cryptocurrency up to $600 without burdensome reporting requirements.\r\nKombucha Act Amendment: Based on Polis\u2019s KOMBUCHA Act, it would have eased the burden on Kombucha manufacturers, and unleashed the power of an industry pioneered by small businesses and entrepreneurs to sell this probiotic, antioxidant tea.\r\nLimiting Deductions for Lobbying Expenditures Amendment: would have ensured that lobbyists don\u2019t get tax breaks from wielding their influence over politicians and lawmakers by removing existing protections that allow lobbyists to avoid paying their full share of the tax burden when meeting with members of Congress and their staffs.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=6467947E-EA8E-BAC0-654B-85743C340066", "Bennet to Interior: Raising National Park Fees Hurts Colorado", "2017-11-16", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke opposing the proposed National Park Service (NPS) fee increase over concerns that it will stifle local economies, create barriers to access, and further marginalize communities that already face challenges engaging in the outdoors.  \"Access to public lands drives Colorado's outdoor economy,\" Bennet wrote. \"In 2016, more than 4.5 million visitors to [Rocky Mountain National Park] spent an estimated $298.7 million and supported over 4,000 local jobs. The proposed fee increase, however, would limit the ability of some families to make the trip to RMNP, harming small businesses and local economies.\" Bennet acknowledged the $227 million maintenance backlog at National Parks in Colorado and outlined alternative proposals to address it, including the bipartisan 21st Century Conservation Service Corps Act.  \"This growing backlog in maintenance is due, in part, to the chronic underfunding of our land management agencies,\" Bennet wrote. \"Despite this underfunding, every $1 invested in the National Park Service still returns $10 in economic benefit. That is why I will continue to advocate for robust funding for federal land management agencies into the future.\" Bennet requested that Zinke respond to questions about what data or models the Department of the Interior used when establishing the proposed fee increase. He also asked how the fee increase would affect existing programs to make public lands more inclusive, such as the Presidential Memorandum Promoting Diversity and Inclusion in our National Parks, National Forests, and Other Public Lands and Waters.\r\n\"I will continue to work toward concrete solutions that engage underrepresented communities in the outdoors and reduce the NPS maintenance backlog to ensure our children and grandchildren have a conservation legacy of which they can be proud,\" Bennet concluded. A copy of the letter is available HERE.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/bipartisan-compromise-is-vital-to-the-legislative-process", "Bipartisan Compromise is Vital to the Legislative Process", "2017-11-13", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "When he was running for reelection in 1974, our father,\u00a0Sen. Jacob\u00a0Javits, took part in a heated debate at the City Club of New York. He was taking fire from the left and right \u2014 from a Democratic rival and a Conservative Party candidate \u2014 who shared the same critique: that the third-term progressive Republican senator was too willing to compromise.\u00a0\n\u201cMy opponent makes fun of me for being the Great Compromiser,\u201d\u00a0Javits\u00a0said, responding to his opponent on the right. \u201cWell, compromise produced the War Powers Act. Compromise produced pension reform. Compromise produced legal services for the poor and cancer research. Compromise has to be. You can\u2019t have great, pious beautiful ideas but no performance.\u201d\u00a0\nFour decades later, compromise is not just a dirty word in politics. To many politicians, it\u2019s a cardinal sin. To some voters and many interest groups, it\u2019s a sign of weakness or worse, a betrayal of core principles. Even lawmakers who want to find common ground fear the consequences of reaching too far across the aisle: a primary challenge; attacks from partisans on TV and social media; eroding support from their political base; an early exit from elected life.\nCompromise, while politically risky, is essential to our democracy. Our founders understood that. Our Constitution was a series of compromises necessary to satisfy the competing interests of the original thirteen states while manifesting our common values of democracy and separation of powers. As anyone who has seen \u201cHamilton\u201d can attest, it was a compromise that was instrumental to unifying the country by paying the States\u2019 Revolutionary War debt and establishing Washington as our nation\u2019s capital.\nAt a time of bitter divisions and gridlock, with high stakes issues from North Korea to climate change, widening economic inequality to health care on the table, it is more important than ever to resurrect this spirit of bipartisan compromise. Legislators must focus on the common good, creatively addressing the serious problems facing the country to find workable solutions in which all citizens have a stake.\u00a0\nGerrymandering has elevated public figures who thrive on conflict, are unyielding in their stances and refuse to make concessions to others. It has cut the wings off both parties, especially those who were most able to forge consensus, such as\u00a0Javits. To make real progress on the myriad problems we face, we should work to elevate leaders who show the courage, the maturity and the patriotism to forge pragmatic solutions across party lines.\nThat is why we launched the\u00a0Javits\u00a0Prize for Bipartisan Leadership, named after our father, to encourage lawmakers to address our nation\u2019s toughest challenges through bipartisan legislative action. And that is why this week we\u00a0celebrated\u00a0four leaders - two Democrats and two Republicans - who rose above the gridlock to make real progress for the American people.\nAt a\u00a0ceremony\u00a0on Capitol Hill, we honored former Vice President\u00a0Joe Biden, U.S. Rep.\u00a0Diana DeGette\u00a0(D-Colo.) and U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) for their legislative partnership that led to the passage of the 21st Century Cures Act. The bipartisan law, forged through extensive hearings and inclusion fundamentally reformed our approaches to health regulation and research funding, authorizing billions of dollars of funding for medical research on cancer, brain disease, and other devastating illnesses. We also honored Sen.\u00a0Rob Portman\u00a0(R-Ohio) with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his work to build bipartisan support for legislation across a wide range of issues, from opioid abuse to regulatory reform, workforce training, prisoner re-entry reforms, and conservation of national parks and tropical forests.\nNone of these efforts satisfy everyone. But it all moves the country from \u201cbeautiful ideas\u201d to action.\nAs Biden told the crowd via\u00a0video, \u201cIf we follow Jack\u00a0Javits\u2019 example, we can respect each other\u2019s deeply help views, but still find common ground. And most important, we can make progress on behalf of the country we all serve.\u201d\nWe encourage all our elected leaders to follow this example, so that our democracy remains a beacon of hope that contributes to solving the big problems that confront us.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=8061BFA7-0FE9-F8A2-E8DA-C5AC3EC6B117", "Bennet Presses Social Security Administration for Details of Coordination with Trump Voter Fraud Commission", "2017-11-13", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, joined his colleagues in pressing the Social Security Administration (SSA) for details of its coordination with the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity. As Bennet highlighted in recent efforts to uncover the Commission's motives, the Commission has sought sensitive voter roll data on the majority of the voting public and conducted highly partisan hearings based on discredited allegations of voter fraud-yet it has refused to provide Congress even the most basic overview of its operations. In a letter to SSA's Acting Commissioner Nancy Berryhill, the senators called on SSA to turn over its communications with the Commission.\r\n\"We are deeply concerned that SSA is becoming a cog in this Administration's machinery of voter suppression,\" the senators wrote. \"Full disclosure of any documents reflecting communication or coordination between SSA and the Commission is therefore necessary for Congress to provide appropriate oversight on this issue.\"\r\nThe senators presented evidence that strongly suggests the Commission is attempting to build a federal version of Commission Vice Chair Kris Kobach's \"Crosscheck\" voter identification system, which Kobach spearheaded as Kansas Secretary of State. Kobach is \"a leading propagator of false and unsubstantiated allegations of widespread voter fraud,\" the senators wrote, pointing to non-partisan voting experts who have roundly criticized his Crosscheck system for yielding wildly inaccurate results.\r\nCiting research from Stanford, Harvard, Yale, and the University of Pennsylvania, the senators wrote, \"Crosscheck gets it wrong over 99 percent of the time.' Mr. Kobach and the Commission, however, view Crosscheck's inaccuracy not as a bug in the program but rather a feature that legitimatizes their efforts to purge eligible citizens from the voter rolls.\"\r\nThe senators' letter adds to a growing list of Senate requests for information on the Commission, including those from Bennet. To date, the Commission and the Trump administration have failed to respond to several congressional oversight requests seeking a better understanding of the Commission's work. Last month, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) announced it would investigate the Commission in response to a letter from Bennet. Bennet has also filed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would have required the GAO to audit the Commission and called for the Commission's termination.\r\nA copy of the letter is available HERE.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=ED8B7C54-6FDC-CE81-9B21-807BDFFF9CEF", "Bennet Calls on Washington to Do Tax Reform the Right Way", "2017-11-13", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today delivered opening remarks in the Senate Finance Committee markup on the Senate Republican tax plan.\r\n\r\nA video of his remarks is available HERE. A copy of his remarks is below:\r\nWhen I left Washington last Thursday, hardly anyone had seen the Republican tax plan. One holiday weekend later, and here we are marking up the most consequential tax policy in 31 years, with no hearings or debate.  America needs tax reform. I joined the Finance Committee because I believe that. We haven't reformed our tax code since I was in college with a Smith Corona typewriter. Our economy has transformed since then, but our tax code remains frozen in the past. We should clean up special interest loopholes. We should help our businesses compete in a global economy. We need comprehensive and bipartisan reform. But in a break with tradition, this Committee has made no serious attempt to bring both sides together. Instead, the majority wrote a deeply flawed proposal that adds $1.5 trillion to our debt.  In 2014, a Republican member of this Committee wrote, \"It doesn't take a mathematician to see that we are sitting on a ticking time bomb of debt.\" Another said, \"Our nation's growing debt is costing us jobs and economic growth today, and it is an unfair burden to pass on to our children and grandchildren.\" I agree. But I think it's important in this context to review how we arrived at this point. In 2000, President Clinton left a $5.6 trillion projected surplus to his successor. At the time, Congress held hearings about how to invest in our future and pay down our debt. Some Members of the Senate were here for that. Then President Bush signed two major tax cuts and prosecuted two wars without paying for them. Then he signed Medicare Part D without paying for that. A number of people voted with the president on all of those steps who are still here today.  When President Obama came to office in 2009, he inherited a collapsing economy and a $1.2 trillion annual deficit. Then, amidst the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, Republican leaders all of a sudden remembered their fiscal conservatism. Citing the debt, nearly all of them opposed the economic recovery package to stabilize our economy and save millions from unemployment. Over the next eight years, despite bipartisan efforts to rein in the debt, Republicans consistently rejected a balanced approach.  As a result, rather than confront our fiscal challenges, Washington has taken the easy path by cutting investments in our future - in education, research, innovation, and infrastructure - while at the same time burdening our future with trillions more in debt. This should seem deeply unfair to Americans in their twenties and younger to know that we are investing less in them than our parents and grandparents invested in us. And that we have the nerve to say, \"You need to pay back the debt that we accrued investing in ourselves.\" For years, Republican Members of this Committee have raised alarms about our debt. I believe they are sincere. But I struggle to comprehend how they can square that view with support for this plan. As our debt grows, we will spend billions more - not on schools, roads, and innovation - but on interest costs. Worse, we are about to blow another hole in our debt without really helping the middle class. By 2019, the Senate plan would actually raise taxes on 19.4 million households earning under $200,000 while providing no benefit to nearly 54 million households. On top of that, we know that when deficits swell - as they surely will - cuts to Medicaid and Medicare are sure to follow, further burdening working families struggling to make ends meet. This is not at all what the American people want. We need to stop this and write a bill that is worthy of this Committee.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/the-podium-the-white-house-is-bent-on-sabotaging-the-affordable-care-act", "THE PODIUM: The White House is Bent on Sabotaging the Affordable Care Act", "2017-11-09", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "The Trump administration is bad for your health.\nThis administration tried to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, which would deprive millions of Americans of their coverage, and it appears they are still trying.\nIn the midst of the open enrollment season for health insurance under the ACA, the administration is taking steps through executive action to deprive people of insurance.\nPresident Trump is trying to discourage healthy people from entering the insurance market by all but ending advertising to draw attention to open enrollment, reducing funding for \u201cnavigators\u201d who in the past have helped members of the public answer questions about their coverage options, and allowing previously prohibited, cheap insurance plans that don\u2019t cover many common treatments.\u00a0 He has also shortened the national open enrollment period; though in Colorado, it extends to January 12, the deadline in most other states is December 15.\nAnd now his White House is reportedly reviewing a plan to waive the ACA requirement that all people obtain health insurance or face a fine, which is known as the Individual Mandate.\u00a0 At its most basic, this requirement ensures that healthy people get coverage as well as the sick, so that insurance companies won\u2019t go broke.\u00a0 This requirement is therefore crucial to keeping insurance markets and premiums stable. Without this mandate, many more health plans would opt out of the exchanges and the rates for the others would skyrocket.\nThe plan would be carried out through executive order unless the president persuades congressional Republicans to enact this \u201creform\u201d in the tax package now under consideration in the House of Representatives, effectively gutting the ACA.\nAll of these steps serve to make the president\u2019s misleading claims that the ACA is \u201cimploding\u201d a self-fulfilling prophecy.\nPolls show most Americans think Democrats and Republicans should work together to mend the Affordable Care Act, not end it. That means working on bipartisan solutions to the problems the American people want us to solve.\nDemocrats want to work with Republicans on a number of shared goals:\n Reducing premiums.\n\tLowering deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs.\n\tCreating conditions that favor competition and choice among health plans.\n\tMaking plans easier for consumers to understand and compare.\n\tBringing down prescription drug prices.\n And more.\nHere and there on Capitol Hill there is a willingness among some members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to try to work together on policy solutions where we have shared concerns about our health system.\nFor example, most everyone agrees that this country needs better coverage at a lower cost.\u00a0 But to do that takes a solid understanding of how insurance markets work, by pooling risk and incentivizing healthy people to take part.\u00a0 At some time or another, everyone uses health care.\u00a0 You can\u2019t get something for nothing.\u00a0 Insurance products simply don\u2019t come in\u00a0a la carte\u00a0form.\nAll of these issues are highly technical. \u00a0Addressing them will require consulting regularly with experts who can guide us to policies that help create more stability in the marketplace without eliminating vital consumer protections.\nThe product will be much better from the standpoint of politics as well as policy.\u00a0 As my Republican colleagues know full well from earlier this year, many of their constituents strongly objected to steam-rolling through bills to dismantle the ACA that were ill-considered and would have wreaked havoc on our health care system.\nWe didn\u2019t say the ACA was perfect when it became law. \u00a0Nobody\u2019s saying that now. Every modern federal program affecting public well-being, from Social Security to Medicare, has required changes over time. They\u2019ve all been improved through the years by changes to their founding statutes.\nAfter seven years of noisy partisan wrangling, I can confidently say there is a path forward for strengthening America\u2019s health care system.\u00a0 There are reasonable, effective solutions that can secure bipartisan support and help us fulfill the duties that we, as elected officials, have to all Americans.\nOur constituents are demanding it \u2014 that\u2019s why they\u2019ve been so passionate about protecting the ACA.\u00a0 Its approval among Americans is at higher levels now than it ever was.\u00a0 We should seize this moment and do what\u2019s best for them.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/degette-leads-bipartisan-exploration-of-insulin-pricing-alternatives", "DeGette Leads Bipartisan Exploration of Insulin Pricing Alternatives", "2017-11-09", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC \u2013 The co-chairs of the Congressional Diabetes Caucus, Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY), have released a bipartisan request for stakeholders to provide information about whether health plans can pay for insulin based on how well the particular drug product works for patients.\nDeGette and Reed have issued a Request for Information (RFI) into whether value-based contracting could be applied to insulin. Value-based contracting encompasses a number of different possible payment arrangements where reimbursement is tied to the achievement of certain pre-set goals.\u00a0 For example, these arrangements could reimburse for drugs based on patient outcomes or a drug\u2019s efficacy on different indications. They could also limit costs to a negotiated threshold or focus on a specific subset of patients. During their initial stakeholder meetings this summer, several groups argued that value-based contracts could hold promise for lowering cost burdens on patients who need insulin. This RFI is a follow-up to those conversations.\n\u201cWe\u2019re in the midst of a long-term inquiry into insulin costs and pricing that involves a variety of stakeholders from patient advocates to the major drug manufacturers. The goal is to explore all potential avenues that could make this life-saving medication more affordable for patients,\u201d DeGette said. \u201cStakeholders and experts are telling us that innovative value-based contracts could be one tool to provide relief for patients. But we don\u2019t know much about how these contracts are actually used in practice, and would like to learn more.\u201d\n\u201cI am committed to providing cost relief to diabetes patients,\u201d Reed said. \u201cSince the cost of insulin has skyrocketed over recent years, it has become a priority of the Diabetes Caucus to find answers to the insulin price problem. As co-chair, I am interested in finding how value-based contracts would potentially reduce the cost of insulin.\u201d\nStakeholders are asked in the RFI to address any of a number of questions, or to submit other information that they believe could be helpful. The questions include:\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 How does your organization define \u201cvalue-based contracts\u201d?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Please describe how value-based contracting might work in the context of insulin.\u00a0 You can provide examples of current contracts or hypothetical future contracts.\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 How common are value-based contracts for insulin?\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Please describe any regulatory or statutory barriers to value-based contracting for insulin.\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Please describe any operational or administrative barriers to value-based contracting for insulin.\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To what extent is value-based contracting for pharmaceuticals being tested in government health care programs?\n\u00a0\nStakeholders are asked to provide their input by December 15, 2017 to Insulin.Inquiry@mail.house.gov.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://polis.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398481", "Polis, Ruiz bill will provide veterans with job opportunities on federal lands", "2017-11-09", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Jared Polis", "P000598", "polis.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., and Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., introduced the Veterans Conservation Corps Act today to connect veterans with employment opportunities in public lands maintenance.\u00a0\r\nThroughout the U.S., veterans who served in the military after 9/11 consistently have a higher unemployment rate than the general population.\u00a0 At the same time, the National Parks Service has a $12 billion backlog in maintenance, which is needed to mitigate wildfires, and protect our national, state, and tribal forests, coastal areas, wildlife refuges, and cemeteries.\r\nModeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s and nonprofit- and state-run corps, the bill will provide transitional assistance to veterans, employing them on projects designed to leverage the skills they developed in the military in fields such as water safety, construction, GIS mapping, and as park rangers.\u00a0 \r\n\u201cThe Veterans Conservation Corp goes a long way toward solving two problems: veterans\u2019 unemployment and the need for natural disaster assistance and public land improvements nationwide,\u201d said Polis.\u00a0 \u201cIt is truly a win-win.\u00a0 I am hopeful that we can all agree that we should support our veterans through concrete, meaningful actions, and that we should protect our precious public lands that we are so fortunate to share as Americans.\u201d \r\n\u201cEnsuring veterans can secure employment is a crucial part of serving our men and women who have bravely served in uniform. That is why I am proud to introduce the Veterans Conservation Corps Act, which will provide job opportunities to veterans who still want to continue serving our nation by working in our national and state forests, parks, and wildlife refuges to maintain our public lands and protect our natural resources,\u201d said Ruiz.\u00a0 \r\nStudies have shown the extensive benefits associated with employing veterans in public service and outdoor engagement.\r\nThe initiative has been widely praised by veteran and environmental advocates, as well as nonprofit and state-run conservation corps.\u00a0 \r\n\"Opportunities in our conservations corps are incredible ways for veterans to find new jobs skills, make connections with professionals and find a pathway to a career in land management and wilderness firefighting. I have seen hundreds of veterans rediscover their pride in service and get on their feet after transitioning from the military through hard work in our great outdoors.\" said Garett Reppenhagen, former US Army sniper.\r\n\"Living and working alongside other veteran crew members reminded me of the comradery and values I gained in the Marine Corps. My time in the Southwest Conservation Corps was an unforgettable experience and a life changing salvation, said Ray Curry, Marine Corps veteran, former crew leader at the Southwest Conservation Corps.\u00a0 \r\nIn Congress, Polis has actively advocated to increase funding for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and decrease wait times at VA medical facilities.\u00a0 In addition, he has advocated to protect LGBTQ service members, and his office offers robust constituent services for veterans, completing over 70 veteran/military cases in 2017 alone.\u00a0\u00a0For a complete summary of Polis\u2019s achievements on behalf of veterans, please click\u00a0here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=07394190-7540-B9D0-5A6E-5E0C6178A9E4", "Bennet Calls for Reversal of Administration Decision to Expose Thousands to Dangerous Deportations", "2017-11-09", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet signed a letter, along with 57 members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, calling on the Trump administration to reverse its recent decision to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals of Nicaragua and Sudan, extend TPS for the remaining eight nations that are currently designated, and continue to designate other countries for TPS as warranted by particular conditions.\nThe Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently terminated TPS for nationals of Nicaragua and Sudan, removing their legal protection and exposing them to deportation back to dangerous countries. The lawmakers urged DHS Secretary Elaine Duke to reverse this decision, writing that the decision would tear apart families and harm national security interests.\n\"Notwithstanding your decision to terminate TPS for Nicaragua and Sudan, we believe that the conditions in each of the countries currently designated for TPS provide ample statutory justification for extending the designation for each of these countries,\" the senators wrote. \"If the Administration disagrees, we urge you to work with Congress to pass legislation providing a pathway to U.S. citizenship for TPS beneficiaries from these countries.  To do otherwise would harm our national security interests by undermining the fragile security in these countries.  It also would negatively impact hundreds of thousands of American children, workers, and employers.\"\nThe lawmakers also called on the Administration to extend TPS for the remaining eight countries currently designated, including El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti, which comprise more than 90% of current TPS recipients. The TPS program provides safety in the United States to approximately 437,000 people from 10 countries and their families.\nA copy of the letter is available HERE.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/colorado-exchange-up-and-running-for-those-wanting-health-insurance", "Colorado Exchange Up and Running for Those Wanting Health Insurance", "2017-11-08", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Now\u2019s the time to go shopping \u2014 no, not for the holidays just yet, but for health insurance coverage.\nIt\u2019s open enrollment season, a time to compare policies and find the coverage that works best for you and your family as the new year approaches.\nEven if you\u2019re already signed up for health insurance this year, it\u2019s a good time to visit connectforhealthco.com and compare plans. You might wind up saving some money. And for most people, financial assistance is available.\nThanks to the Affordable Care Act, when you purchase insurance through the exchanges, you no longer can be charged higher premiums just for being a woman. And people with pre-existing health conditions won\u2019t be charged more than anybody else \u2014 again, thanks to the ACA.\nDon\u2019t be fooled by those who say the ACA is imploding \u2014 they\u2019re doing that to undermine the system and drive people away. What\u2019s more, the several attempts to dismantle the ACA in Congress this year have all failed.\nThe ACA was devised put affordable coverage within everyone\u2019s reach, and it\u2019s been doing so for millions of people. So many constituents have told me how it has helped them avoid having to make the horrible choice between treating an illness and going broke. We can\u2019t go back to those terrible days before the ACA.\nEnrollment in the exchange is simple \u2014 connectoforhealthco.com walks you through every step of the process. And it only takes a few minutes.\nIn Colorado, open enrollment lasts until January 12 \u2014 but why wait? Have a look at your options now, pick a plan that\u2019s right for you, and spread the word!", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/degette-introduces-legislation-to-raise-smoking-age-to-21", "DeGette Introduces Legislation to Raise Smoking Age to 21", "2017-11-08", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC \u2013 Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO) has introduced the Tobacco to 21 Act (H.R.4273), bicameral legislation that would prohibit the sale of tobacco products to anyone under age 21. \n\u201cSmoking is a deadly, addictive habit that can harm human health even in limited amounts,\u201d DeGette said. \u201cIt is especially hazardous to developing bodies. Why on earth would we wish to expose our young people to its dangers? As federal legislators, it is our moral obligation to ensure that the law does not favor the tobacco industry over the health and safety of our nation\u2019s youth. This bill would go a long way to keeping carcinogens out of young people\u2019s hands \u2013 and throats, and lungs.\u201d Every day, approximately 1,300 people die from smoking-related diseases, making tobacco the leading cause of preventable death in the United States.\u00a0 Laws can play an important role in preventing these deaths. Research from the National Academy of Medicine shows that raising the minimum legal age of sale of tobacco products to 21 nationwide would reduce the number of new tobacco users, decrease smoking frequency by 12 percent, and save more than 220,000 lives from deaths related to smoking. \u00a0Currently, ninety-five percent of adult smokers begin smoking before they turn 21. DeGette\u2019s legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Representatives Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Eliot Engel (D-NY), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), John Garamendi (D-CA), Steve Cohen (D-TN) and Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI). Its companion legislation in the Senate (S.2100) is sponsored by Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Dick Durbin (D-IL), and cosponsored by Senators Ed Markey (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Mazie Hirono (D- HI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Al Franken (D-MN). The Tobacco to 21 Act is supported by the Academic Pediatric Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, the American Pediatric Society, the American Public Health Association, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs, the Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs, the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the First Focus Campaign for Children, HMSA \u2013 Blue Cross Blue Shield Hawai\u2018i, the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors, the National Association of County and City Health Officials, the Pediatric Policy Council, the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine, the Society for Pediatric Research, the Society for Public Health Education, the Trust for America\u2019s Health, the University of Hawai\u2018i Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy, the University of Hawai\u2018i John A. Burns School of Medicine, the University of Hawai\u2018i Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work/Department of Social Work, and the University of Hawai\u2018i Office of Public Health Studies. For a summary of the Tobacco to 21 Act, click here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://perlmutter.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1873", "Perlmutter Requests Review of NCIC Database Reporting Procedures", "2017-11-07", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Ed Perlmutter", "P000593", "perlmutter.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Perlmutter Requests Review of NCIC Database Reporting Procedures \r\n   \r\n    \r\n       \r\n      \r\n  \r\n    \r\n      f \r\n      t \r\n      #\r\n      e\r\n      \r\n      \r\n    \r\n    \r\n      \r\n        Washington, D.C.,\r\n        November 7, 2017\r\n      \r\n       \r\n    \r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n      \r\n    \r\n  \r\n      \r\n    \r\n  \r\n    \r\n      \r\n      \r\n      Washington, D.C. \u2013 In the wake of the tragic gun violence in Sutherland Springs, Texas, U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CO-07) is requesting that the Department of Defense conduct an immediate and thorough review detailing their procedures of reporting to the National Criminal Information Center database.\r\n\u201cA strong background check system can help prevent gun violence but the system only works when relevant information is added in a timely and accurate manner,\u201d said Perlmutter. \u201cIt's important that we strengthen our background check system, but we must also take steps to make gun violence less easy, less frequent and less deadly. That means making it harder to get assault weapons, such as the semi-automatic weapon used in the Sutherland Springs tragedy.\u201d\r\nAs Vice Chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, Perlmutter supports several measures to reduce gun violence and keep our communities safe, including H.R. 4142, the Safer Communities Act of 2017 which was re-introduced in October 2017.\r\n\r\nClick here for a PDF of the letter.\r\n  ###\r\n\r\n    \r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n    \r\n      f \r\n      t \r\n      #\r\n      e", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=7A50A0BD-3ACF-0101-F2FA-5B7E2AA18164", "Bennet, Senate Democrats Call For Comprehensive Disaster Relief", "2017-11-07", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet joined Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) this week in calling on the Trump administration to put forward a comprehensive package to provide relief from the recent onslaught of natural disasters. The administration has committed to releasing such a package in the coming weeks.  In a letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, Senate Democrats outlined what must be included in a comprehensive package that would allow adequate investment in technology, conservation, and infrastructure to mitigate further damage in future disasters and make our communities more resilient.\r\n\"As with past disasters, the request must come in the form of emergency spending-the federal government owes it to the people of Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and our Western states to step up, now, when it is most needed,\" the senators wrote.\r\nIn the weeks since Hurricanes Irma and Maria, Bennet has led an effort to ensure federal funding can be used to rebuild more resilient and clean energy systems after disasters. He has also delivered a speech on the Senate floor, pressed Senate leadership several times, met with Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, and introduced legislation to secure a wildfire funding fix in future disaster aid legislation.  In October, the Senate passed a $36.5 billion emergency supplemental, which included $18.7 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Disaster Relief Fund, $16 billion for National Flood Insurance Program debt forgiveness, $1.27 billion for nutrition assistance for Puerto Rico, and $576.5 million to combat wildfires.\r\nIn September, the Senate passed a $15.25 billion emergency supplemental package that included $7.4 billion for the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund and $450 million for the Small Business Administration Disaster Loan Program. The legislation also provided $7.4 billion in Community Development Block Grant funding through the Department of Housing and Urban Development.\r\nA copy of the letter is available HERE.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=D786A75E-44AB-47D0-9D7C-59056D26D110", "Bennet, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Expand Services for LGBT Seniors", "2017-11-07", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Edward Markey (D-MA), and Al Franken (D-MN) today introduced the LGBT Elder Americans Act to improve services available for older lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) adults. The bill would build on the Older Americans Act to include LGBT seniors as a vulnerable population and permanently establish the National Resource Center on LGBT Aging.  \"Our laws and research are not current in addressing the unique needs of the aging generation of baby boomers,\" Bennet said. \"This legislation would provide LGBT seniors, who often face significant barriers to accessing health care, with targeted services and resources. By helping aging service organizations assist older LGBT adults and permanently establishing a National Resource Center, we will better meet the needs of the LGBT community.\" \"We should guarantee all of our seniors access to the care that truly meets their needs and so I am proud to advance this legislation that will improve services and support for LGBT older adults,\" Baldwin said. \"Too many LGBT older adults carry the harmful physical and emotional health effects of having lived through a lifetime of discrimination. It is past time we do something about it and strengthen the Older Americans Act to better support our LGBT seniors.\"  \"LGBT seniors can face unique challenges and have few LGBT-specific resources to help them cope,\" Merkley said. \"It's time to end that hurdle to services and pass the LGBT Elder Americans Act.\" \"Our LGBT seniors helped build this country, and we owe them dignity and access to services that address their specific needs,\" Markey said. \"I am proud to co-sponsor the LGBT Elders Act to ensure all of our seniors receive the care they have earned and deserve.\"\r\n\"We need to do all we can to support seniors in Minnesota and across the nation so that they can age safely and access vital programs that enrich their lives,\" Franken said. \"That's why I'm proud to join my colleagues in this effort to make sure we address the needs of our LGBT seniors by improving the quality of specialized services, and establishing the nation's first resource center devoted to older LGBT Americans.\"\r\nAs the number of Americans age 65 and older surges over the next few decades, the number of LGBT seniors is estimated to double to three million by 2030. The available research shows that LGBT seniors have fewer sources of support compared to heterosexual individuals and, therefore, face higher poverty rates.  The LGBT Elder Americans Act, first introduced in 2015, would permanently establish the National Resource Center on LGBT Aging, which would be the country's first and only technical assistance resource center aimed at improving the quality of services and support for older LGBT adults. The Center's resources would include educating mainstream aging service organizations about the needs of LGBT seniors and providing educational resources to LGBT seniors, their families, and their caregivers. The Center would also work with LGBT organizations to ensure that the special needs of older adults are taken into account. Additionally, the bill would prioritize research and development grants for organizations working to improve LGBT health, long-term care needs, and access to culturally-responsive services.  The bill is supported by Services & Advocacy for LGBT Elders (SAGE), the National Center for Transgender Equality, and the National LGBTQ Task Force.  \"LGBT elders, whose courage in the face of danger and adversity paved the way for progress on LGBT equality in recent years, deserve to be taken care of as they age, no matter where in the United States they live,\" said Michael Adams, CEO of SAGE. \"Our LGBT elder pioneers did not lead the movement birthed at Stonewall by being silent. We at SAGE follow their example by raising our voices in support of the LGBT Elder Americans Act of 2017 and to demand justice for this growing population. SAGE applauds Senator Bennet and Congressmen Bonamici, Deutch, and Crist for re-introducing this legislation and for being champions of LGBT older adults.\" A companion bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-1).  The bill text is available HERE.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/children-s-health-bill-clears-house-as-states-struggle-to-keep-programs", "Childrens Health Bill Clears House as States Struggle to Keep Programs Afloat", "2017-11-06", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON \u2014 The House passed a bill on Friday that would provide five years of funds for the popular Children\u2019s Health Insurance Program, over vehement objections from Democrats who opposed the way it would be financed.\nThe vote, 242 to 174, came a month after\u00a0funds for the program expired.\nThe Senate plans major surgery on the legislation to avoid\u00a0the partisan strife that split the House. But some states may have no choice but to freeze enrollment or start to shut down the program before Congress clears legislation to renew funding. No new funds have been available since Oct. 1.\nIn the House, 15 Democrats joined 227 Republicans in voting for the measure on Friday. Only three Republicans voted against it.\nThe bill would provide money for the Children\u2019s Health Insurance Program and clinics known as community health centers, which care for low- and moderate-income people around the country. Both programs have enthusiastic support across the political spectrum.\nBut lawmakers clashed over how to pay for them. To offset the cost, the House bill would increase premiums for Medicare beneficiaries with income of more than $500,000 a year, remove some lottery winners from the Medicaid rolls, and cut $6.35 billion over 10 years from a fund established by the Affordable Care Act to pay for public health initiatives such as preventing diabetes, heart disease, cancer and opioid abuse.\nIn addition, the bill would end insurance coverage for several hundred thousand people who fail to pay their share of premiums for insurance purchased in marketplaces under the 2010 health care law.\nMost people who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace receive subsidies to help pay their monthly premiums. Under the law, if they do not pay their share of premiums, insurers must give them a three-month grace period before terminating their coverage. The House bill would reduce the grace period to one month unless a state specified a different period.\nThe Congressional Budget Office estimates that the government would save nearly $5 billion over a decade because fewer people would have government-subsidized coverage.\nRepublicans said some people were abusing the longer grace period to skip out of their financial obligations. But Representative Diana DeGette, Democrat of Colorado, said, \u201cNobody should have to lose coverage in order for others to keep it.\u201d\n\u201cColorado is likely to run out of CHIP funding in January, with termination notices going out to worried families in the next few weeks,\u201d Ms. DeGette said. \u201cYet here we are with a partisan bill that asks us to pay for low-income children\u2019s insurance on the backs of seniors and the most vulnerable.\u201d\nRepublicans defended their path to pay for the children\u2019s health program, especially the higher Medicare premiums. It was reasonable to require wealthy people to help defray the cost of care for children from families of modest means, they said.\n\u201cWhen you are making a half-million dollars a year, you can pay a little bit more,\u201d said Representative Tom Cole, Republican of Oklahoma. \u201cWarren Buffett and Donald Trump don\u2019t need the same Medicare program that Ma and Pa Kettle living on Social Security do.\u201d\nDemocrats, who often seek higher taxes on high-income people, denounced the proposal.\n\u201cI\u2019m not worried about whether wealthy families can afford to pay increased Medicare premiums,\u201d said Representative Debbie Dingell, Democrat of Michigan. \u201cBut I\u2019m worried that these changes will result in wealthy people abandoning the program in large numbers, which would worsen the risk pool and ultimately increase the cost for middle- and lower-income seniors. It would fracture the universal nature of Medicare and put the entire program at risk.\u201d\nAARP, the lobby for older Americans, strongly supports the children\u2019s insurance program, but tried to block the increase in Medicare premiums.\n\u201cHigher-income Medicare beneficiaries already pay more in monthly premiums,\u201d Nancy LeaMond, an executive vice president of AARP, said in a letter to House members. In addition, she said, \u201chigher-income seniors have been paying more into the Medicare program throughout their working lives.\u201d\nBut Representative Greg Walden, Republican of Oregon and the chief author of the bill, said, \u201cWe are just asking the wealthiest seniors in America, those making $40,000 a month \u2014 not a year, a month \u2014 to pay about $135 a month more for their Medicare, so we can fund children\u2019s health insurance for five years.\u201d\nFive states \u2014 Arizona, California, Minnesota, Oregon and Washington \u2014 have received emergency infusions of federal cash to prevent an interruption in coverage of children. But the amount of unused funds available for that purpose is far less than the expected need, and an independent commission that advises Congress warned this week that 29 states \u201cwill exhaust all available federal funds\u201d by March unless Congress passed legislation to provide more money.\nIn the Senate, work on CHIP legislation has been bipartisan from the start. The Senate Finance Committee has voted to provide five years of funds for the program, but it has not specified a way to cover the cost.\nThe committee chairman, Senator Orrin G. Hatch of Utah, and Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the senior Democrat on the panel, have been discussing ways to pay for the bill. They have not reported much progress toward an agreement, but their talks hold more promise than negotiations between Republicans and Democrats in the House.\nThe Senate is unlikely to take up a free-standing CHIP bill. Funds could be included in a larger piece of legislation, perhaps a sprawling spending bill in December to keep the government open, senators say.\nThe House bill would send $1 billion in additional Medicaid funds to Puerto Rico as it tries to cope with damage from Hurricane Maria, and the island\u2019s delegate in Congress, Jenniffer Gonz\u00e1lez-Col\u00f3n, a Republican, endorsed the legislation.\nRepresentative Frank Pallone Jr., Democrat of New Jersey, said Republicans had missed the deadline for renewing the children\u2019s insurance program because they \u201cchose to spend the first nine months of this year trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act.\u201d\nBut Mr. Walden said Democrats were partly responsible because they had requested delays in hopes of finding other ways to pay for the legislation.\n\u201cWe cannot wait any longer,\u201d Mr. Walden said Friday. \u201cPatients cannot wait any longer. Patients need care. These critical programs need funding. And we must move forward.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/republicans-sneak-anti-abortion-language-into-tax-bill", "Republicans Sneak Anti-Abortion Language Into Tax Bill", "2017-11-06", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Republicans slipped anti-abortion language into the draft of the tax reform bill they released on Thursday. The move is part of an effort by the\u00a0Trump administration\u00a0and House\u00a0Republicans\u00a0to define life as beginning at conception, with an eye to rolling back Roe v. Wade.\n\n\tBuried on page 93 of the\u00a0429-page\u00a0tax\u00a0proposal is a provision that would allow\u00a0fetuses\u00a0to be named as beneficiaries of college savings accounts known as 529 plans \u2015 investment vehicles that come with a range of tax breaks.\n\n\tAbortion rights advocates were quick to call out the language. \u201cThis is a back-door attempt to establish personhood from the moment of conception,\u201d Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), co-chair of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, said in a\u00a0statement. \u201cThe tax code is no place to define what constitutes an \u2018unborn child.\u2019 What\u2019s next, giving a Social Security number to a zygote?\u201d\u00a0\n\n\tOstensibly, the idea is that parents can get a leg up on saving for their kid\u2019s education before he or she is even born. However, it takes care to define the terms \u201cunborn child\u201d and \u201cchild in utero,\u201d in what appears to be a naked attempt to establish so-called personhood for fetuses, a popular anti-abortion tactic.\n\n\tAbortion foes\u00a0believe\u00a0that if fetuses were legally considered people, then abortion would have to be outlawed. State and federal legislation attempting to classify fertilized eggs, human embryos and fetuses as people has failed repeatedly over the years. The tax reform provision appears to be a sideways attempt at something similar.\n\n\t\u201cA child in the womb is just as human as you or I yet, until now, the U.S. tax code has failed to acknowledge the unborn child,\u201d Jeanne Mancini, president of the anti-abortion group March for Life, told Politico.\n\n\tThere\u2019s nothing in current law stopping parents from opening a 529 savings account before a child is born, explained Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at\u00a0Bankrate.com, a personal finance site.\u00a0A parent opens the account in his or her own name, and once the baby is born, changes the account beneficiary, he explained. McBride said he did this for one of his sons.\n\n\t\u201cI don\u2019t know how this makes it different,\u201d he said. McBride said at most, the tax reform provision would allow parents to skip the step of naming a new beneficiary. \u201cTaking a nonstop flight instead of changing planes,\u201d he said.\n\t\n\t\tIt\u2019s unclear how the anti-abortion language got into the tax bill. Another\u00a0anti-abortion group, however,\u00a0thanked Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) \u201cfor his leadership on this important effort.\u201d\n\t\n\t\n\t\tThe GOP tax reform plan is still in its early stages, and it\u2019s unclear if the anti-abortion provision will survive. Two\u00a0tax policy groups \u2015 one conservative, one progressive \u2015 declined to speak on the topic with HuffPost.\n\t\n\t\n\t\tParents use the widely popular 529 accounts to sock away money for their kids\u2019 education expenses. The accounts come with a few tax breaks: You pay no tax on interest earned. And, if you use the money for education expenses, you don\u2019t pay taxes when you withdraw the money, either. In some states, you also get a tax deduction for contributing money to a 529 account.\u00a0\n\t\n\t\n\t\tSo-called personhood language also made an appearance in a\u00a0draft strategic plan\u00a0for the Department of Health and Human Services released last month. In a note about the department\u2019s organizational structure, HHS said its mission was to protect \u201cAmericans at every stage of life, beginning at conception.\u201d\n\t\n\t\n\t\tAnd earlier this week, the House held a hearing on a bill that would ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. The ban doesn\u2019t have a chance of passing, HuffPost\u2019s Laura Bassett\u00a0reported\u00a0on Tuesday.\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\u201cIt\u2019s time to emancipate every little unborn baby,\u201d\u00a0Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said at the hearing.\n\t\n\t\n\t\tThe draft tax bill also offers a tax break to another of the\u00a0 GOP\u2019s favorite kind of people: corporations. The proposal would reduce the corporate tax rate to 20 percent from 35 percent.\n\t\n\t\n\t\tActual human children and adults fare less well. The proposal gets rid of an\u00a0adoption tax credit\u00a0and ends popular tax deductions on medical spending and student loan interest. Although, perhaps if fetuses can save for college, kids of the future will rack up less in school debt.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/degette-and-mckinley-introduce-national-energy-policy-legislation", "DeGette and McKinley Introduce National Energy Policy Legislation", "2017-11-06", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. \u2014 Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO) today joined Congressman David McKinley (R-WV) in introducing bipartisan legislation that would create a commission to develop a comprehensive energy policy for the United States.\n\u201cIt\u2019s still possible to get important things done in Washington, even in the midst of partisan rancor and gridlock,\u201d DeGette said. \u201cEveryone should agree that energy development is key to our country\u2019s economic strength: It drives innovation and job creation. And most experts agree that to tackle climate change, we need to embrace new approaches. This bill will help unify efforts to shape the future of national and global energy policy.\u201d\n\u201cFor too long we have lacked a coherent energy policy, which has negatively impacted our economy and made the U.S. less secure,\u201d McKinley said. \u201cThe creation of this commission will allow leaders from various field including labor organizations, utilities, energy researchers, environmental advocates, utilities, and economists to develop a comprehensive energy policy. It will seek to develop a national energy plan that creates jobs, grows our economy, and puts us on the path to energy independence, which strengthens our national security. We often disagree on a lot of issues in Congress, but it is important to reach across the aisle to find common ground.\u201d\n\u00a0\nBackground on Biennial Energy Commission on Energy Policy Act of 2017\nReps. McKinley and DeGette have introduced legislation to create the Energy Commission before in 2013 (H.R. 3565) and 2016 (H.R. 4929).\nThe purposes of the Commission:\n Establish a national bipartisan commission on energy policy composed of 15 members from a range of backgrounds appointed by Congress.\n \u00a0\n To examine and evaluate all current laws, regulations and policies of the Federal government pertaining to energy, energy efficiency, sources of energy (including fossil fuels, wind, water and nuclear), and power sources.\n \u00a0\u00a0\n Develop recommendations for future laws, regulations and policy to assist America achieve energy independence.\n \u00a0\n Report to the President and Congress on its findings, conclusions, and recommendations for corrective measures that can be taken to create a comprehensive national energy policy for the United States.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/colorado-lawmakers-file-amicus-brief-in-masterpiece-cakeshop-case", "Colorado Lawmakers File Amicus Brief in Masterpiece Cakeshop Case", "2017-11-03", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Congresswoman Diana DeGette, along with Senator Michael Bennet and Representatives Ed Perlmutter and Jared Polis, banded together with more than 200 members of Congress this week to file an Amicus Brief in the case Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, which will be heard before the U.S. Supreme Court on December 5.\nThe brief is in support of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, which enforces the state\u2019s anti-discrimination statute providing civil rights protections for historically marginalized groups, including the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community. A ruling against the Commission could create a \u201clicense to discriminate,\u201d allowing businesses to deny service to Americans, including LGBTQ people.\n\u201cI\u2019m honored to join 210 of my House and Senate colleagues in signing this brief, which helps ensure that businesses in Colorado and across America are open to all,\u201d DeGette said. \u201cLGBTQ Americans deserve the full protection of the law; this case is about that, and more. Our brief affirms freedom from discrimination for all people in our society. This case isn\u2019t about wedding cakes, just as it wasn\u2019t about water fountains half a century ago.\u201d\n\u201cIn signing this brief, we are sending a clear signal that every American \u2013 regardless of race, color, sexual orientation, or gender \u2013 should be guaranteed freedom from discrimination in all aspects of their lives,\u201d Bennet said. \u00a0\u201cWe are hopeful that the Supreme Court will affirm this principle and set an important anti-discrimination precedent.\u201d\n\u201cIf a business is open to the public, it should be open to everyone regardless of their sexual orientation or who they love,\u201d Perlmutter said. \u201cEvery American has the right to be treated fairly and equally, and should have the freedom to live the life they want. I\u2019m proud to sign on to this amicus brief and support other legislation to ensure equal rights for all Americans.\u201d\n\u201cIt\u2019s a basic principle: discrimination of any kind is wrong in a public accommodation,\u201d Polis said. \u201cWe must not chip away at anti-discrimination protections under law.\u00a0 The liberty of all Americans, not just LGBTQ Americans, is at stake.\u201d\nIn 2012, Charlie Craig and David Mullins were denied a wedding cake by Masterpiece Cakeshop because of their sexual orientation. The shop\u2019s owner, Jack Phillips, cited religious objections to same-sex marriage as a justification for his refusal. The Colorado Civil Rights Commission ruled that the shop could not lawfully deny services to individuals based on their sexual orientation under the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act and required the shop to provide staff training and issue reports on steps taken to come into compliance with the ruling. Masterpiece Cakeshop appealed the ruling, which was eventually upheld by the Colorado Supreme Court. The shop appealed the decision, and the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on December 5th.\u00a0 If the court finds that a business owner\u2019s religious conviction or expressive intent trumps civil rights laws, it could undermine local, state, and federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination in accessing public accommodations.\nIn the friend-of-the-court brief, 36 Senators and 175 House members urged the Supreme Court to affirm the Colorado Civil Rights Commission\u2019s initial decision to require Masterpiece Cakeshop to comply with the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act. The brief considers the history of federal nondiscrimination laws, such as Title II of the Civil Rights Act and Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and how rulings regarding those statutes apply to the pending case. Signers warned that the outcome of the case could have broad implications for the civil rights of groups that already face discrimination and that creating exemptions to public accommodations laws \u2013 in this case based on a business\u2019 arguably expressive conduct or religious belief \u2013 would undermine the government\u2019s interest in prohibiting discrimination against minority groups.\nThe brief is supported by One Colorado, Human Rights Campaign, the American Civil Liberties Union, Bend the Arc Jewish Action, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD),\u00a0 Lambda Legal, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, National Center for Lesbian Rights, National Center for Transgender Equality, National Employment Law Project, National LGBTQ Task Force, National Women\u2019s Law Center, People for the American Way Foundation, SAGE, Transgender Law Center, Equality California, Equality Delaware, Equality Florida, Equality New Mexico, Equality North Carolina, and Garden State Equality.\nA full version of the brief is available HERE.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://perlmutter.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1865", "Colorado Lawmakers File Amicus Brief in Masterpiece Cakeshop Case", "2017-11-03", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Ed Perlmutter", "P000593", "perlmutter.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, along with Colorado U.S. Representatives Diana DeGette, Ed Perlmutter, and Jared Polis, are among 211 Members of Congress who this week filed an Amicus Brief in the case Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, which will be heard before the U.S. Supreme Court on December 5.\r\nThe brief is in support of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, which enforces the state\u2019s anti-discrimination statute providing civil rights protections for historically marginalized groups, including the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community. A ruling against the Commission could create a \u201clicense to discriminate,\u201d allowing businesses to deny service to Americans, including LGBTQ people.\r\n\u201cIn signing this brief, we are sending a clear signal that every American \u2013 regardless of race, color, sexual orientation, or gender \u2013 should be guaranteed freedom from discrimination in all aspects of their lives,\u201d Bennet said. \u00a0\u201cWe are hopeful that the Supreme Court will affirm this principle and set an important anti-discrimination precedent.\u201d\r\n\u201cI\u2019m honored to join 210 of my House and Senate colleagues in signing this brief, which helps ensure that businesses in Colorado and across America are open to all,\u201d DeGette said. \u201cLGBTQ Americans deserve the full protection of the law; this case is about that, and more. Our brief affirms freedom from discrimination for all people in our society. This case isn\u2019t about wedding cakes, just as it wasn\u2019t about water fountains half a century ago.\u201d\r\n\u201cIf a business is open to the public, it should be open to everyone regardless of their sexual orientation or who they love,\u201d Perlmutter said. \u201cEvery American has the right to be treated fairly and equally, and should have the freedom to live the life they want. I\u2019m proud to sign on to this amicus brief and support other legislation to ensure equal rights for all Americans.\u201d\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s a basic principle: discrimination of any kind is wrong in a public accommodation,\u201d Polis said. \u201cWe must not chip away at anti-discrimination protections under law.\u00a0 The liberty of all Americans, not just LGBTQ Americans, is at stake.\u201d\r\nIn 2012, Charlie Craig and David Mullins were denied a wedding cake by Masterpiece Cakeshop because of their sexual orientation. The shop\u2019s owner, Jack Phillips, cited religious objections to same-sex marriage as a justification for his refusal. The Colorado Civil Rights Commission ruled that the shop could not lawfully deny services to individuals based on their sexual orientation under the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act and required the shop to provide staff training and issue reports on steps taken to come into compliance with the ruling. Masterpiece Cakeshop appealed the ruling, which was eventually upheld by the Colorado Supreme Court. The shop appealed the decision, and the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on December 5th.\u00a0 If the court finds that a business owner\u2019s religious conviction or expressive intent trumps civil rights laws, it could undermine local, state, and federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination in accessing public accommodations.\r\nIn the friend-of-the-court brief, 36 Senators and 175 House members urged the Supreme Court to affirm the Colorado Civil Rights Commission\u2019s initial decision to require Masterpiece Cakeshop to comply with the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act. The brief considers the history of federal nondiscrimination laws, such as Title II of the Civil Rights Act and Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and how rulings regarding those statutes apply to the pending case. Signers warned that the outcome of the case could have broad implications for the civil rights of groups that already face discrimination and that creating exemptions to public accommodations laws \u2013 in this case based on a business\u2019 arguably expressive conduct or religious belief \u2013 would undermine the government\u2019s interest in prohibiting discrimination against minority groups.\r\nThe brief is supported by One Colorado, Human Rights Campaign, the American Civil Liberties Union, Bend the Arc Jewish Action, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD),\u00a0 Lambda Legal, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, National Center for Lesbian Rights, National Center for Transgender Equality, National Employment Law Project, National LGBTQ Task Force, National Women\u2019s Law Center, People for the American Way Foundation, SAGE, Transgender Law Center, Equality California, Equality Delaware, Equality Florida, Equality New Mexico, Equality North Carolina, and Garden State Equality.\r\nA full version of the brief is available HERE.\r\n ###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=5FABB470-6064-CABC-71D6-295CE211BEB9", "Bennet Introduces Bipartisan, Bicameral Bill to Advance Treatment for Dialysis Patients", "2017-11-03", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, along with Senators Todd Young (R-IN), Bill Nelson (D-FL), and Dean Heller (R-NV), this week introduced the Dialysis Patient Access to Integrated-care, Empowerment, Nephrologists, and Treatment Services (PATIENTS) Demonstration Act to deliver high-quality, integrated care to patients receiving dialysis for end-stage renal disease (ESRD). \"This bipartisan legislation would help the thousands of Coloradans making burdensome trips to a dialysis clinic to receive necessary care,\" Bennet said. \"As we continue to think holistically about health care-from care coordination to quality of life-this legislation is a practical step to improving health outcomes for some of the most vulnerable patients.\"  Currently, patients who receive dialysis to treat ESRD spend three days a week at a dialysis clinic and still must make time for their other medical and social needs. The Dialysis PATIENTS Demonstration Act would establish an ESRD integrated care demonstration program where interdisciplinary teams, led by a nephrologist, would provide holistic management for all of the patient's health care needs. The program would utilize the dialysis facility as a central command point for patients to access the coordinated health care services. This practical approach to care delivery would improve health outcomes, reduce hospitalizations and readmissions, and increase quality of life for ESRD patients. A companion bill was introduced in the House by U.S. Representatives Jason Smith (R-MO), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), and Tony Crdenas (D-CA).  A one-page summary of the bill is available HERE.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=BC6C12A1-B621-B913-3547-C4DB99002418", "Colorado Lawmakers File Amicus Brief in Masterpiece Cakeshop Case", "2017-11-03", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, along with Colorado U.S. Representatives Diana DeGette, Ed Perlmutter, and Jared Polis, are among 211 Members of Congress who this week filed an Amicus Brief in the case Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, which will be heard before the U.S. Supreme Court on December 5.\r\nThe brief is in support of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, which enforces the state's anti-discrimination statute providing civil rights protections for historically marginalized groups, including the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community. A ruling against the Commission could create a \"license to discriminate,\" allowing businesses to deny service to Americans, including LGBTQ people.\r\n\"In signing this brief, we are sending a clear signal that every American - regardless of race, color, sexual orientation, or gender - should be guaranteed freedom from discrimination in all aspects of their lives,\" Bennet said. \"We are hopeful that the Supreme Court will affirm this principle and set an important anti-discrimination precedent.\"\r\n\"I'm honored to join 210 of my House and Senate colleagues in signing this brief, which helps ensure that businesses in Colorado and across America are open to all,\" DeGette said. \"LGBTQ Americans deserve the full protection of the law; this case is about that, and more. Our brief affirms freedom from discrimination for all people in our society. This case isn't about wedding cakes, just as it wasn't about water fountains half a century ago.\"\r\n\"If a business is open to the public, it should be open to everyone regardless of their sexual orientation or who they love,\" Perlmutter said. \"Every American has the right to be treated fairly and equally, and should have the freedom to live the life they want. I'm proud to sign on to this amicus brief and support other legislation to ensure equal rights for all Americans.\"\r\n\"It's a basic principle: discrimination of any kind is wrong in a public accommodation,\" Polis said. \"We must not chip away at anti-discrimination protections under law. The liberty of all Americans, not just LGBTQ Americans, is at stake.\"\r\nIn 2012, Charlie Craig and David Mullins were denied a wedding cake by Masterpiece Cakeshop because of their sexual orientation. The shop's owner, Jack Phillips, cited religious objections to same-sex marriage as a justification for his refusal. The Colorado Civil Rights Commission ruled that the shop could not lawfully deny services to individuals based on their sexual orientation under the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act and required the shop to provide staff training and issue reports on steps taken to come into compliance with the ruling. Masterpiece Cakeshop appealed the ruling, which was eventually upheld by the Colorado Supreme Court. The shop appealed the decision, and the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on December 5th. If the court finds that a business owner's religious conviction or expressive intent trumps civil rights laws, it could undermine local, state, and federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination in accessing public accommodations.\r\nIn the friend-of-the-court brief, 36 Senators and 175 House members urged the Supreme Court to affirm the Colorado Civil Rights Commission's initial decision to require Masterpiece Cakeshop to comply with the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act. The brief considers the history of federal nondiscrimination laws, such as Title II of the Civil Rights Act and Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and how rulings regarding those statutes apply to the pending case. Signers warned that the outcome of the case could have broad implications for the civil rights of groups that already face discrimination and that creating exemptions to public accommodations laws - in this case based on a business' arguably expressive conduct or religious belief - would undermine the government's interest in prohibiting discrimination against minority groups.\r\nThe brief is supported by One Colorado, Human Rights Campaign, the American Civil Liberties Union, Bend the Arc Jewish Action, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), Lambda Legal, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, National Center for Lesbian Rights, National Center for Transgender Equality, National Employment Law Project, National LGBTQ Task Force, National Women's Law Center, People for the American Way Foundation, SAGE, Transgender Law Center, Equality California, Equality Delaware, Equality Florida, Equality New Mexico, Equality North Carolina, and Garden State Equality.\r\nA full version of the brief is available HERE.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/gop-tax-plan-a-one-sided-partisan-scam-benefiting-the-wealthy-degette", "GOP Tax Plan a One-Sided, Partisan Scam Benefiting the Wealthy, DeGette Says", "2017-11-02", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC \u2013 Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO), Chief Deputy Whip, said the Republican tax plan unveiled this morning is a one-sided partisan effort that does little for the middle class while rewarding the wealthy.\n\u201cThe Ryan-McConnell plan will slash the corporate tax rate and taxes for the one percent,\u201d DeGette said. \u201cRather than trying to ram through this one-sided scam, a behemoth of more than 400 pages written behind closed doors that is reportedly being rushed to a vote before Thanksgiving, Republicans should work in good faith with Democrats on real and meaningful tax reform.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/tax-code-is-no-place-to-define-unborn-child-degette-says", "Tax Code is No Place to Define Unborn Child, DeGette says", "2017-11-02", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC \u2013 Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO) said the provision in the just-released GOP tax plan allowing the start of a 529 college savings plan for an \u201cunborn child\u201d is an extreme policy that has no place in the tax code.\n\u201cThis is a back-door attempt to establish personhood from the moment of conception,\u201d DeGette said. \u201cEven in the tax reform debate, Republicans could not resist including offensive provisions to appease an extremist minority. The tax code is no place to define what constitutes an \u2018unborn child.' What\u2019s next, giving a Social Security number to a zygote?\u201d\nDeGette is Chief Deputy Whip and co-chair of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://perlmutter.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1863", "Perlmutter Reacts to GOP Tax Plan", "2017-11-02", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Ed Perlmutter", "P000593", "perlmutter.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CO-07) issued the following statement denouncing the Republican tax plan released today:\r\n\u201cThe Republican tax bill is a non-starter. While I agree it\u2019s time to clean up the tax code, this proposal will cut taxes for the wealthy and corporations, leaving higher taxes for the hardworking people in the middle. The bill also adds more than $1.5 trillion to the national debt over 10 years, and today\u2019s announcement makes clear it could be significantly more.\r\n\u201cTrue tax reform has been talked about by individuals, businesses, and members of both political parties for years. We should be working together to reform our tax code in a simple and fair way that is more conducive for economic growth and makes it simpler to file. But threatening important programs like Medicare and Medicaid and hurting investments in seniors, healthcare, education, science, and environmental protection is unacceptable.\r\n\u201cWe should reform our tax code, but to do that we have to responsibly look at both sides of the ledger - expenses and income. That's the way businesses get ahead, and that's the way America will get ahead. I hope House Republicans abandon this attempt to race this massive tax cut for the wealthy through Congress and instead work with Democrats to develop a real bipartisan proposal.\u201c\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://polis.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398473", "Polis says GOP tax plan only plunges the nation deeper into debt and devastates the middle class", "2017-11-02", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Jared Polis", "P000598", "polis.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., gave the following statement about the Republican tax plan, co-authored by President Trump and Speaker Ryan.\r\n\u201cThe GOP's so-called \u2018Tax Cuts and Jobs Act\u2019 would be more appropriately titled the \u2018Nailing the Middle Class to the Wall and Mortgaging our Future Act.\u2019\u00a0 The plan, hurriedly crafted behind closed doors, would plunge our nation deeper into debt, and bankrupt Medicare and Medicaid, all the while providing tax breaks for corporations and the top one-percent,\"\u00a0said Polis.\u00a0 \"I refuse to sit idly by as the GOP moves this plan forward as the only option.\u00a0 That is why I am willing to collaborate with anyone and everyone who agrees that we need to rein in the national debt, simplify the tax code, and level the playing field.\u00a0 I have crafted several proposals that help, and I will continue to advocate for policies that grow the economy for all to prosper.\u00a0 It\u2019s past time we draft a fairer, simpler, bipartisan tax code,\u201d\u00a0said Polis.\r\nPolis has been outspoken about eliminating special interest loopholes, reducing the national debt, and promoting small businesses and entrepreneurship.\r\nPolis continues to advocate for the middle class, attempting to ensure they have fair wages; increased paid sick leave; and access to affordable, quality preschool.\u00a0 He is the author of the\u00a0Child Care for Working Families Act, legislation that would create a federal-state partnership to make sure families making less than 150 percent of their state\u2019s median income do not pay more than seven percent of their income on child care.\r\nPolis also believes that any new tax code must be forward thinking and reduce our debt, by leveling the playing field between fossil fuels and renewable energy. Along with fellow Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC) members, he authored a\u00a0letter\u00a0to Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady detailing sustainable tax reform priorities, such as a \u2018carbon price\u2019 to hold polluting corporations financially accountable.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=41BAE391-81DE-E2CC-B16A-C35F9F258C89", "Bennet Statement on Nomination of Jerome Powell to Federal Reserve Chairman", "2017-11-02", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today issued the following statement in response to President Trump's nomination of Jerome Powell to be the next Chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve.\r\n\"Janet Yellen has been an exceptional Chair of the Federal Reserve, guiding it through complicated financial times with skill and thoughtfulness,\" Bennet said. \"In failing to renominate Yellen, President Trump missed an opportunity to keep a proven leader at the helm of this important American institution.\"\r\nWith the nomination of Powell, President Trump broke a decades-long precedent of presidents renominating the residing Chair. President Ronald Reagan renominated Chairman Paul Volcker (originally nominated by President Jimmy Carter); President Bill Clinton renominated Chairman Alan Greenspan (originally nominated by Reagan); and President Barack Obama renominated Chairman Ben Bernanke (originally nominated by President George W. Bush).", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=968828B4-496E-22D4-8134-80D7F1C36458", "Bennet, Gardner, Thune Introduce Bill to Protect Utility Infrastructure from Wildfire Damage", "2017-11-02", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Cory Gardner (R-CO), and John Thune (R-SD) today introduced legislation to authorize a pilot program that would encourage vegetation management on U.S. Forest Service land to protect utility infrastructure from passing wildfires.  \"Wildfires this season have caused significant damage to utility infrastructure across the West,\" Bennet said. \"This pilot program would create an opportunity for the Forest Service to partner with utility operators to protect infrastructure in our rural communities. We applaud House passage of the bill and encourage its speedy passage in the Senate to ensure our communities' power supplies are out of harm's way.\" \"This bipartisan, commonsense bill will strengthen grid resiliency and protect our energy infrastructure by increasing vegetation management near energy utilities in our National Forests,\" Gardner said. \"Reducing forest fires in Colorado and protecting our grid are two major priorities and Senator Bennet and I will work together across party lines to accomplish these goals.\" \"Wildfires cause catastrophic damage to homes, property, and infrastructure, including electric transmission lines and facilities,\" Thune said. \"In drafting farm bills and other legislation, I've taken an active role in efforts to improve forest management practices that would reduce risk of forest fires. This bill offers a voluntary pilot program for proactive vegetation management near utility infrastructures, which could potentially offer protection of transmission lines and equipment when in the path of wildfires.\" The deteriorating health of forests across the Western United States has resulted in an increased fire threat to utility infrastructure on U.S. Forest Service (USFS) land. The National Forest System Vegetation Management Pilot Program Act of 2017 would create a voluntary pilot program that allows the USFS to partner with utility operators to conduct limited and selective vegetation management on a proactive basis. The program participants would be responsible for the cost of the projects, which could include thinning, fuel reduction, and creation and treatment of fuel breaks. The projects would be at the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture in a manner that creates the least disturbance necessary for protection. Companion legislation (H.R. 2921), led by Congressmen Kevin Cramer (R-ND-At-large) and Jared Polis (D-CO-2), passed the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this week.  The text of the bill is available HERE.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=DE6068AC-E32A-7119-75C0-D854ECF8A9E4", "Bennet Statement on Republican Tax Plan", "2017-11-02", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today issued the following statement in response to the newly-announced House Republican tax plan.\r\n\"Tax reform is hard-and the only way hard things get done the right way is through a bipartisan, consensus-building process,\" Bennet said. \"The House Republican tax plan takes the opposite approach. It relies on the tired notion that huge giveaways at the top eventually trickle down to everyone else-yet no good evidence supports this. It's time for Republicans to work with Democrats on real, lasting reform that will spur job creation, grow paychecks, and help real small businesses.\"\r\nEarlier today, Bennet held a press conference with U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) to highlight the similarities between the failed 2012 Kansas tax experiment and the Republican tax plan. Jim Ward, Kansas State House Minority Leader, who led the bipartisan effort to overturn Kansas' tax breaks, was also in attendance.\r\n\"Coloradans don't have to look far to imagine the results of this misguided tax plan,\" Bennet said. \"In Kansas, after passing tax cuts for the wealthy that aren't paid for, the economy stagnated, job creation lagged, and services were slashed. At the same time, right next door in my home state of Colorado, we brought unemployment down to the second-lowest rate in the country and growth boomed. If states are laboratories of democracy, the Kansas experiment was a five-alarm lab fire. We must not repeat this failed experiment across the entire country.\"", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/opioid-commission-ideas-a-positive-step-but-more-funding-needed-to-fight", "Opioid Commission Ideas a Positive Step, But More Funding Needed to Fight the Opioid Epidemic, DeGette Says", "2017-11-01", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC \u2013 Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO), Chief Deputy Whip, said today\u2019s recommendations by the President's Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis are a positive step, but don\u2019t negate the urgent need for increased federal funding to fight the opioid epidemic.\n\u201cSeveral solid, evidence-based recommendations by the commission address parts of the puzzle, but they\u2019re not the whole picture. And without adequate funding, that picture will remain grim,\u201d DeGette said. \u00a0\u201cLet\u2019s see President Trump and congressional Republicans step up the support this country provides to the fight against opioid abuse.\n\u201cNearly a year ago, we provided a billion dollars for that in the 21st Century Cures Act, which I was proud to co-author and shepherd into law. But that funding was never meant to cover the entire array of tools at the government\u2019s disposal, and it lasts only until the end of 2018. The president\u2019s budget for next year should reflect the urgency of the opioid crisis.\u201d\nDeGette is a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over health care and has had multiple hearings on the opioid crisis in recent years.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=38EAD2C5-6027-3EA0-C975-24C097780496", "Bennet, Gardner Urge FCC to Ensure Access to Affordable Broadband in Rural Communities", "2017-11-01", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C.- Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D) and Cory Gardner (R), along with a bipartisan group of nearly 40 senators, today sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) officials urging them to affirm their commitment to provide affordable and reliable broadband for consumers in the hardest to reach communities across rural America.\r\n\"In every county across our state-especially in rural areasColoradans tell me how critical high-speed, affordable broadband is to succeeding in the 21st century economy,\" Bennet said. \"We hope the FCC will address the issues that many of our innovative, forward-thinking rural leaders face so they can continue to deliver reliable internet access to their communities.\"\r\n\"Rural Coloradans need access to broadband to grow their economies and keep our rural communities strong,\" Gardner said. \"The Federal Communications Commission should take the necessary action to make sure rural broadband providers are receiving the resources they need to serve rural America.\"\r\nIn the letter, the senators pressed the FCC to address the budget shortfall of the High-Cost Universal Service Fund (USF), a program that is critical to achieving national broadband goals and closing the digital divide.\r\n\"A lack of resources to meet our [shared national broadband] goals is undermining investment and consumer access to affordable broadband across much of rural America,\" the senators wrote in the letter. \"For this reason, we write to encourage the FCC to take the much-needed step of addressing this USF budget shortfall...Many of the providers that serve rural consumers and businesses in our states have already begun to feel the pain of an arbitrary budget cap on High-Cost USF support. We urge the FCC to take action as quickly as possible to ensure the High-Cost USF program provides sufficient and predictable support to help deliver affordable, high-quality broadband to rural consumers.\"\r\nA copy of the letter is available HERE.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://perlmutter.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1861", "Perlmutter Applauds Study on Quiet Zones", "2017-10-31", "2017", "2017-10", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Ed Perlmutter", "P000593", "perlmutter.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CO-07) applauded the release of the Government Accountability Office\u2019s study on railroad quiet zones.\u00a0The report was conducted after an amendment authored by Perlmutter was included in the Fixing America\u2019s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act signed into law in December 2015.\u00a0\r\n\u201cToday\u2019s report confirms what communities in my district have been telling me for years.\u00a0Establishing quiet zones are costly, burdensome, and lack clear guidance from the Federal Railroad Administration to standardize and simplify the process,\u201d said Perlmutter.\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m glad GAO can help shine a spotlight on the problems facing communities wanting to establish quiet zones to reduce train horn noise, improve safety, and allow continued economic development near railways.\u201d\r\nGAO\u2019s report included interviews with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission and the cities of Commerce City, Fort Collins, and Windsor as well as other cities and experts across the country. The report makes clear that while there are no federal sources of funding specifically for establishing quiet zones, significant costs can be incurred by local communities to meet strict safety requirements often requiring significant consultation and approval from FRA.\u00a0\r\nAdditionally, the report acknowledges the lack of research on the benefits of establishing quiet zones such as improved quality of life, economic development, and safety improvements to the crossings. The GAO included a recommendation for the FRA to develop guidance for inspectors to help standardize training across all FRA regions which could reduce administrative burden on establishing quiet zones, a significant complaint from stakeholders interviewed.\u00a0\r\n\u201cI hope the FRA takes this report to heart and works quickly to reopen the 2005 train horn rule to find ways to improve coordination between the FRA and local communities and simplify the quiet zone process,\u201d Perlmutter continued.\u00a0\u201cMy constituents and communities face train noise issues every day of the year. I look forward to continuing to work with the FRA to improve the 2005 rule and issue new guidance so our communities can be safe while also seeing relief from train horns.\u201d\r\nThe Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) released a Notice of Safety Inquiry on March 7, 2016 inviting comments on the 2005 train horn rule requiring the use of a locomotive horn while traveling through railroad crossings unless a Quiet Zone was established under the rule.\u00a0The notice generated over 300 comments from communities and stakeholders across the country.\u00a0\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=BD23150C-2D59-1BF1-A836-AA821EF07BC0", "Bennet Leads Effort to Ensure Federal Funding Can Be Used to Rebuild More Resilient and Clean Energy Systems After Disasters", "2017-10-31", "2017", "2017-10", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO), along with Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM), today introduced legislation to ensure federal disaster funding can be used to build more resilient, efficient, clean, and low-cost energy systems. The bill targets critical infrastructure and directs the Department of Energy's national labs to provide assistance in rebuilding efforts. The introduction comes on the heels of today's U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing addressing the federal response to this year's hurricanes.\r\n\"As we rebuild infrastructure across the country-from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to Florida and Texas-it is critical that we invest in smarter, stronger, and cleaner energy technologies,\" Bennet said. \"Revising the law to reflect the priorities of our 21st century economy and climate will ensure we are better prepared for future disasters, while also putting in place cleaner energy sources for the next generation.\"\r\nUnder current law, only a portion of federal funding can be used to build more resilient energy systems following a disaster. Furthermore, the outdated law does not prioritize clean energy, efficiency, or decreasing energy bills.\r\nThe Rebuilding Resilient Energy Systems Act would provide much-needed clarity to ensure Fiscal Year 2017 disaster funding can be used to rebuild smarter and stronger energy systems-in particular for critical infrastructure-that maximize clean energy sources and energy storage technologies. This clarification is critical as systems are being rebuilt in Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Texas, and Florida.\r\nThe bill directs the Department of Energy's national labs to provide technical assistance to state, local, and private entities and other federal agencies interested in developing plans to improve the resiliency and efficiency of their energy systems and replacing their energy systems following a disaster. The bill also directs Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) to improve coordination with private entities seeking to donate energy storage technologies during a disaster.\r\nSupport in the Senate\r\nLast week, in a letter from 35 Senate Democrats sent to FEMA and US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) officials, in which they demanded agencies expedite and better coordinate the ongoing power restoration efforts in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the senators included language about this Bennet-led bill to address long-term recovery.\r\n\"In the coming weeks, we also intend to seek your assistance to ensure the electric grid is rebuilt in a more resilient way, with more distributed energy resources that rely on solar and wind power and microgrids, a transition away from reliance on fossil fuel imports, and a strong independent regulatory body that can ensure accountability and lower rates for consumers,\" the senators wrote in the letter. \"We urge you to work with other relevant federal agencies to submit specific legislative language requests to Congress for the next disaster supplemental appropriations bill, given that additional authorities will be necessary in order to rebuild a more resilient grid in Puerto Rico and USVI.\"\r\nSupport from Stakeholders\r\nSeveral organization have expressed their support for the Rebuilding Resilient Energy Systems Act, including the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), GridWise Alliance, Energy Storage Association, and Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).\r\n\"In rebuilding from recent disasters, Senator Bennet's bill will help address the next one,\" said Steve Nadel, Executive Director of ACEEE. \"It recognizes that energy efficiency boosts resilience by distributing energy resources, putting less pressure on the power grid, and keeping homes and buildings comfortable during power outages-all while saving money.\"\r\n\"Rebuilding after extreme events, such as the recent hurricanes, in a manner that is more resilient and smarter' is essential. We have learned from the recovery efforts from previous natural disasters that it is critical to do so,\" said Steve Hauser, CEO of GridWise Alliance. \"The innovative approaches that have been developed at our National Laboratories as well as by utilities of all types and technology companies must be applied to these unique and life-critical situations.\"\r\n\"In the wake of multiple devastating natural disasters impacting millions of Americans, this important legislation would make prudent use of taxpayer funds by rebuilding more resilient and reliable energy infrastructure,\" said Kelly Speakes-Backman, CEO of the Energy Storage Association. \"As we look to rebuild and recover from major grid disruptions of all types, it is critical to create a more flexible and resilient electric grid to ensure that we are better prepared for the next disaster, and provide benefits to the grid and consumers every day of the year.\"\r\nThe bill text is available HERE.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/degette-indictments-a-step-in-process-that-should-include-independent", "DeGette: Indictments a Step in Process that Should Include Independent Commission", "2017-10-30", "2017", "2017-10", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC \u2013 Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO), Chief Deputy Whip, issued the following statement in response to news today of the first indictments from the office of Special Counsel Robert Mueller:\n\u201cProtecting our democracy from being undermined from overseas is not a partisan issue; it\u2019s a national security imperative. We need to know the extent of Russia\u2019s influence on the U.S. electoral system and how to stop it from happening again. Indictments by the Special Counsel\u2019s office are a step in that process, as are the faltering but still ongoing congressional investigations. But we also need an independent commission that can examine the issue and make recommendations to prevent further interference.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://perlmutter.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1859", "Perlmutter Statement on Three Former Trump Campaign Officials Charged by Special Counsel Robert Mueller", "2017-10-30", "2017", "2017-10", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Ed Perlmutter", "P000593", "perlmutter.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Perlmutter Statement on Three Former Trump Campaign Officials Charged by Special Counsel Robert Mueller \r\n   \r\n    \r\n       \r\n      \r\n  \r\n    \r\n      f \r\n      t \r\n      #\r\n      e\r\n      \r\n      \r\n    \r\n    \r\n      \r\n        Washington, D.C.-,\r\n        October 30, 2017\r\n      \r\n       \r\n    \r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n      \r\n    \r\n  \r\n  \r\n    \r\n      \r\n      \r\n      Washington, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CO-07) released the following statement today after three former Trump campaign officials are charged by Special Counsel Robert Mueller:\r\n\u201cToday\u2019s news proves the Special Counsel\u2019s investigation is absolutely necessary and needs to continue.\u00a0Robert Mueller will follow the facts wherever they lead him, and the Trump Administration and Congress need to support the investigation without interference so we can learn the truth.\u201d\r\n###\r\n    \r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n    \r\n      f \r\n      t \r\n      #\r\n      e", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=A021D4D5-49EF-72E3-8B0F-930A53B043D6", "Bennet, Colleagues Urge EPA to Show Their Work on Clean Power Plan Repeal", "2017-10-30", "2017", "2017-10", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, along with 18 Senate Democrats, sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt asking for more information on the agency's decision to repeal the Clean Power Plan. The proposal, released by the agency earlier this month, relies heavily on skewed scientific and mathematical data in order to justify repealing the Clean Power Plan.\r\nAdministrator Pruitt's repeated attempts to undermine science led Bennet to introduce the Pollution Transparency Act, a bicameral bill that would standardize the metric used by federal agencies to measure the cost of climate pollution. This would effectively prevent the Trump administration from ignoring science and economics when valuing the costs of climate change in rulemakings, including the Clean Power Plan and the Bureau of Land Management's methane standards.\r\n\"Our review of the 2017 Repeal proposal reveals significant deficiencies associated with the cost-benefit analysis used to support the 2015 Rule's repeal,\" the senators wrote in the letter. \"At seemingly every turn, the 2017 Repeal proposal uses mathematical sleights of hand to over-state the costs of industry compliance with the 2015 Rule and under-state the benefits that will be lost if the 2017 Repeal is finalized. Denying the science and fabricating the math may satisfy the agency's paperwork requirements, but doing so will not satisfy the requirements of the law, nor will it slow the increase in frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, the inexorable rise in sea levels, or the other dire effects of global warming that our planet is already experiencing. It will also not improve our standing in the international community or bring certainty to power markets as states plan for their future energy needs.\"  \"Your rejection of the scientific consensus that greenhouse gas pollution causes global warming is well-known,\" the senators continued. \"Additionally, we continue to await your response to the April 7, 2017 letter requesting more details about your views related to the cause of global warming and the agency's plan to repeal and replace the 2015 Clean Power Plan Rule. Our review of the 2017 Repeal proposal only heightens our concerns.\"  This is not the first time the EPA, under Pruitt's leadership, has attempted to skew the facts to achieve a desired outcome. In April, reports showed that the analysis of EPA career staff regarding pending legislation was eliminated entirely from the official comments that the agency ultimately submitted to the Congressional Budget Office. Just last month, reports in The New York Times revealed that political appointees at EPA directed career scientists to delete the Clean Water Rule's $500 million in economic benefits from a regulatory package that the agency submitted to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review. EPA has not responded to Senate inquiries on either of these reports. The senators requested all documents, including but not limited to emails, memos, meeting notes, and correspondence, sent or received by EPA that are related to EPA's cost-benefit analysis for its 2017 Repeal of the Clean Power Plan no later than December 1, 2017.  Bennet has spoken out in the past against Pruitt's proposal to repeal the Clean Power Plan, believing it would threaten the economy and clean air standards.\r\nA copy of the letter is available HERE.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=7BDA44B3-DF50-CBB3-08C0-A38CE8E9F1A0", "Bennet, Western Senators Urge Extension of Greater Sage-grouse Comment Period", "2017-10-27", "2017", "2017-10", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Michael Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today led six other Western senators in sending a letter to Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke urging him to extend the comment period for changes to the Greater Sage-grouse conservation plans. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-NV) signed the letter.\r\nEarlier this month, the Trump administration published a Notice of Intent to amend Greater Sage-grouse conservation plans with a 45 day comment period closing on November 27, 2017. The existing conservation plans were developed over many years through a robust process with public comments and meetings. The senators wrote a letter to Secretary Zinke requesting he extend the comment period by at least 45 days.\r\n\"Given the importance and complexity of the proposed rule, and the intersection with BLM's resource management plans, it is essential that all stakeholders have sufficient opportunity to prepare and provide feedback,\" the senators wrote. \r\nIn the letter, the senators noted that any change to the land use plans will affect stakeholders across 11 Western states. They emphasized that in addition to keeping the Greater Sage-grouse off of the Endangered Species list, the original plans protected habitat for other species and provided certainty for landowners and producers.\r\n\"Westerners spent years working on state and federal plans to improve the management of public lands, to address the threat of wildland fire to sagebrush habitat, and to provide incentives for landowner and livestock producers to conserve sage grouse habitat,\" the senators wrote. \"Western governors continue to stress that a complete overhaul of the sage grouse conservation plans are not needed and have requested to be involved in any proposed changes.\"\r\nA copy of the letter is available HERE.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/president-s-opioids-declaration-is-far-from-sufficient-degette-says", "Presidents Opioids Declaration is Far from Sufficient, DeGette Says", "2017-10-26", "2017", "2017-10", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC \u2013 President Donald J. Trump\u2019s just-announced plan to address the opioid epidemic is far from sufficient \u2013 starting with funding for the effort, Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO), Chief Deputy Whip, said today.\n\u201cThe president\u2019s declaration falls far short and does not deliver on his promise to make fighting the opioid epidemic a top priority,\u201d DeGette said. \u201cOur state and local officials on the front lines of this fight have been very clear: They need more funding. The one billion dollars we provided in the 21st Century Cures Act was badly needed and a step in the right direction.\u00a0 But we must commit to devoting more funding and extending these vital dollars beyond 2018.\n\u201cSo far, there\u2019s no evidence of an intention by the Trump administration to press for that. Instead, they have worked tirelessly to rip health insurance coverage away from millions of Americans, even though access to coverage is a lifeline for people suffering from addiction.\u201d\nDeGette is the Democratic co-author of the 21st Century Cures Act, which President Barack Obama signed into law last December, addressing a number of biomedical research needs including providing $1 billion in funds to fight the opioid epidemic over the next two years. The Trump administration has noted that it is spending half that amount this year, but has not built additional opioid crisis funding into its own budget for the next year.\nThe public health emergency declaration that the president made today is valid for only 90 days, after which it can be renewed.\nColorado received $7.8 for opioid treatment and prevention as a result of 21st Century Cures in 2017, which distributes these funds state-by-state by need. The funding is managed by the Colorado Department of Human Services\u2019 Office of Behavioral Health. The state uses these funds to pay for medication-assisted therapy, family therapy, overdose reversal medications (naloxone), emergency room pilot studies, expansion of crisis services, training for primary care doctors and nurses, residential treatment and partnerships with law enforcement.\u00a0\nAs a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, DeGette has fought hard in Congress to reduce the opioid epidemic\u2019s impact through legislation, hearings and investigations into the systems that enable prescription drug abuse.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://degette.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/pro-choice-leaders-call-on-president-trump-to-reverse-birth-control", "Pro-Choice Leaders Call on President Trump to Reverse Birth Control Access Rollback", "2017-10-26", "2017", "2017-10", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Diana DeGette", "D000197", "degette.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC \u2014 Pro-choice leaders in Congress, led by Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Pro-Choice Caucus Co-Chairs Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Louise Slaughter (D-NY), and Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY), today called on President Donald J. Trump to reverse his recent moves to limit women's access to birth control. In a letter this morning to top Trump administration officials, 189 members of Congress expressed their opposition to recent rules proposed by the president that roll back the Affordable Care Act\u2019s provision requiring insurers to cover birth control at no cost. If implemented, the president\u2019s recent rules could rip away contraception coverage from millions of women who have access to birth control without out-of-pocket costs under the ACA, forcing women to pay the full cost of their birth control or go without it.\n\u201cThe White House\u2019s despicable new rules overrule a woman\u2019s right to basic preventative care and then force her to pay the cost,\u201d said Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. \u201cIt is with great pride that I join\u00a0so many colleagues in speaking out against\u00a0the Trump Administration\u2019s\u00a0immoral assault on a woman\u2019s right to make her own intimidate decisions about her body and family. Every woman has the right to basic preventative health care.\u201d\n\u201cBirth control is health care, plain and simple,\u201d the members wrote in their letter.\u00a0\u201cThe Administration\u2019s decision to isolate contraception from other health care benefits discriminates against women by forcing them to pay more for common health care services they need. It also ignores the well-established facts about contraception\u2019s important role in women\u2019s health.\u00a0The harmful policies in the IFRs also take effect immediately despite the complete absence of an urgent public need justifying the abandonment of traditional notice-and-comment rulemaking.\u201d\nLast week, four House leaders on women\u2019s rights introduced a bill to block the president\u2019s recent actions.\u00a0Congresswomen DeGette and Slaughter, along with Judy Chu (D-CA) and chair of the Democratic Women\u2019s Working Group Lois Frankel (D-FL), authored the Protect Access to Birth Control Act to safeguard this right for every woman in America.\nThe two interim final rules issued this month allow nearly any employer to be exempt from the requirement to cover birth control and other forms of contraception without cost-sharing. This legislation would treat these rules as though they had never taken effect, thereby securing the right to birth control coverage as guaranteed by the Affordable Care Act. Companion legislation was introduced in the Senate by Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Bob Casey (D-PA).\nContraception not only helps women plan families in a medically-safe way, it is also used to treat conditions such as endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome.\n\u00a0\nA copy of the letter is included below and is available online here:\nDear Secretary Mnuchin, Secretary Acosta, and Acting Secretary Hargan:\nWe write today in strong opposition to two interim final rules (IFRs) released on October 6, 2017, that may leave women across the United States without access to health insurance coverage for birth control. We call on the Administration to rescind these IFRs and restore policies that facilitate access to affordable contraception for millions of women.\nBirth control is health care, plain and simple. The Administration\u2019s decision to isolate contraception from other health care benefits discriminates against women by forcing them to pay more for common health care services they need. It also ignores the well-established facts about contraception\u2019s important role in women\u2019s health.\u00a0 The harmful policies in the IFRs also take effect immediately despite the complete absence of an urgent public need justifying the abandonment of traditional notice-and-comment rulemaking.\nBirth control is vital to both the nation\u2019s public health and women\u2019s health care in particular.\u00a0 It empowers women and their partners to decide when and how to start and grow a family. A few examples of how access to affordable contraception improves women\u2019s health include:\n It helps ensure healthy spacing between pregnancies, enabling women to avoid the risks that arise by getting pregnant less than 18 months after giving birth. A recent study found that \u201cthe most significant health risks are associated with the shortest birth intervals.\u201d\n\tIt helps prevent poor birth outcomes and poor health conditions for women, including pregnant women. It reduces the risk of premature birth, placental abruption, low birth weight, and pre-eclampsia, among other health conditions.\u00a0 More than half of all women who take birth control pills rely on them for other medical purposes. Over one million of these women use birth control exclusively for non-contraceptive reasons.\n\tIt reduces the incidence of unintended pregnancy, and in turn, reduces the need for abortion. For example, the Contraceptive CHOICE Project revealed dramatic declines in unintended pregnancy among at-risk women who were given free contraception and counseling. In addition, a 2016 study found that the rate of unintended pregnancies decreased 18 percent between 2008 and 2011, with larger declines (44 percent) occurring among women aged 15 to 17. The study\u2019s authors say those declines are likely due to increases in overall contraceptive use among women at risk of unintended pregnancy that occurred over the same period.\u00a0\n The evidence clearly demonstrates that birth control is a public health success story. That\u2019s why Congress embraced contraception as a vital health care benefit for millions of women in the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA requires health plans to cover recommended preventive services for women without cost-sharing. In response to these ACA provisions, HHS commissioned the non-partisan experts at the Institute of Medicine to identify preventive services necessary to protect women\u2019s health and well-being. Those experts recommended coverage of all contraceptive methods approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The recommendations were reviewed and recommended again by the Women\u2019s Preventive Services Initiative, and adopted by Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), just last year. Thanks to these protections in the ACA, over 62 million women now have coverage of birth control with no out-of-pocket cost, saving consumers over one billion dollars each year. \u00a0\nThe Administration\u2019s IFRs severely undermine congressional intent under the ACA. The ACA\u2019s fundamental goal is to expand access to affordable insurance that covers a core set of health benefits. Preventive services are singled out in numerous places throughout the law as especially important benefits that must be accessible and affordable. Nevertheless, the IFRs create broad exemptions that virtually any employer, insurance company, or institute of higher education can use to deny contraception coverage. Compliance with existing accommodations, which guarantee women access to affordable birth control when their employers deny contraception coverage, also becomes optional under the IFRs. And because the accommodation is now optional, many women will have no reasonable way to access birth control coverage.\nThe IFRs\u2019 impact on women and their families is not hypothetical. These rules threaten to reverse the progress for women\u2019s health, equality, and economic security made under the ACA. Women who lose access to contraception coverage will not only incur higher out-of-pocket costs, they will be forced to pay the full cost of their birth control.\u00a0 Without insurance coverage, birth control pills can cost as much as $50 per month, with long-acting forms of contraception costing as much as $1,000.\u00a0 These are not trivial costs for millions of women across the United States. The reality is, for many women, these expenses could put the birth control they need out of reach. Ironically, the IFRs claim that low-income women should be able to access affordable contraception through other government programs, such as Title X and Medicaid, even though the Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans have worked tirelessly to undermine and dismantle these programs.\nEmployers and insurance companies should not have effective veto power over women\u2019s access to birth control coverage. We certainly agree that religious liberty is a fundamental value protected by the First Amendment. However, it does not give employers the right to discriminate and impose their beliefs on others, especially in a manner that causes harm to health, well-being, and financial security. Contraception should be treated like any other preventive health care benefit under the ACA, which remains the law of the land.\nRather than taking yet another harmful action to undermine health care access for women, we ask that the Administration rescind these misguided IFRs. Instead, the Administration should engage in an open and transparent process with all the key stakeholders prior to changing current law.\u00a0\n\u00a0\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://perlmutter.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1856", "Perlmutter, Thompson Introduce Legislation to Keep Communities Safe, Help Prevent Future Gun Violence Tragedies", "2017-10-26", "2017", "2017-10", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Ed Perlmutter", "P000593", "perlmutter.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC \u2013 Today, Congressmen Mike Thompson (CA-05), Chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, and Ed Perlmutter (CO-07), Vice-Chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, introduced H.R. 4142, the Safer Communities Act of 2017, legislation aimed at reducing and preventing gun violence by keeping guns away from people who should not have them. The legislation closes the gaps in current federal gun policy by clarifying and expanding existing federal prohibitors related to mental health, substance abuse, history of violence, and other risk factors; provides states with the tools needed to strengthen and enforce gun violence prevention laws; provides resources for mental health crisis intervention services; and improves records reporting into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). \u201cAfter nearly every gun violence tragedy, we\u2019ve heard many say that guns are not the problem, mental health is. The Safer Communities Act we\u2019ve introduced today would address that problem and keep guns out of the hands of the dangerously mentally ill,\u201d said Rep. Thompson. \u201cWhile those suffering from mental illness are far more likely to be victims than perpetrators of violent crimes, we recognize that improving our mental health system, and keeping firearms from those with other risk factors such as a history of substance abuse disorders and violence, can help prevent gun violence. And by improving intervention services, boosting evidence-based research, and giving law enforcement more tools to get guns out of the hands of those who pose a danger to themselves or others, we can make our country safer and get people the help they need, while also respecting the rights of law-abiding gun owners.\u201d\r\n\u201cThis is a common sense proposal to reduce the likelihood of individuals suffering from mental illness from accessing firearms. It\u2019s important to keep guns away from individuals who pose a threat to themselves or others and instead provide them with the mental health services they need,\u201d said Rep. Perlmutter. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen far too many tragedies in our communities and we must take steps to prevent future tragedies by making gun violence less easy, less frequent and less deadly.\u201d\r\nThe Safer Communities Act of 2017 clarifies and expands existing federal prohibitors to help keep guns away from those who are determined to pose a danger to themselves or others. Specifically, the legislation prohibits the purchase or possession of a firearm by individuals subject to involuntary outpatient commitment if a court finds they pose a significant and dangerous threat to themselves or others. Current federal law has been interpreted to apply only to inpatient commitments.\r\nRecognizing that states play an important role in preventing gun violence and ensuring safe communities, the legislation provides states with the tools needed to strengthen and enforce gun violence prevention laws. Specifically, it further supports federal and state partnerships by providing grants to states to strengthen gun violence prevention laws that prohibit individuals with certain risk factors such as a history of dangerous mental illness, substance abuse, and violence from possessing firearms. For example, states could:\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Create laws that enable law enforcement to petition for a warrant to temporarily remove firearms when there is probable cause to believe that an individual poses an imminent risk of harm to self or others. The process by which a warrant is obtained and a gun is removed must be consistent with due process; and\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Create laws that temporarily prohibit the purchase and possession of a gun after an involuntary hospitalization on an emergency basis due to serious mental illness;\r\nThe legislation also requires the FBI to expand its current alert system so state and local law enforcement can pursue cases where prohibited persons try to purchase guns \u2013 particularly those prohibited due to serious mental illness.\r\nThompson and Perlmutter\u2019s bill also provides resources for mental health crisis intervention services, boosts mental health research, enhances information sharing and research on gun violence, and improves the submission of mental health records into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), the database used to determine whether or not a prospective buyer is eligible to buy a firearm.\r\nThe bill changes the outdated and stigmatizing \u201cmental defective\u201d terminology currently used in federal firearms statute and replaces it with \u201cineligible due to disqualifying mental status.\u201d\r\nFinally, Safer Communities Act of 2017 establishes a minimum restoration standard, ensuring a fair restoration process of firearm ownership rights that balances public safety with individuals\u2019 rights. One year after an individual\u2019s involuntary commitment ends, they may petition the court to have their rights restored. The application must be accompanied by a clinical opinion of a psychiatrist, psychologist, or licensed mental health professional. After considering a variety of factors, the judge would determine if restoring gun ownership rights is compatible with the public interest.\r\n ###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "truncated": false, "filtered_table_rows_count": 651, "expanded_columns": [], "expandable_columns": [], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "units": {}, "query": {"sql": "select url, title, date, year, month, party, chamber, state, member_name, bioguide_id, domain, scraper, source, date_source, text, has_text, collected_at, updated_at from releases where \"party\" = :p0 and \"state\" = :p1 and \"year\" = :p2 order by date desc limit 101", "params": {"p0": "Democrat", "p1": "CO", "p2": "2017"}}, "facet_results": {"party": {"name": "party", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?party=Democrat&state=CO&year=2017", "results": [{"value": "Democrat", "label": "Democrat", "count": 651, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?state=CO&year=2017", "selected": true}], "truncated": false}, "chamber": {"name": "chamber", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?party=Democrat&state=CO&year=2017", "results": [{"value": "House", "label": "House", "count": 651, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?party=Democrat&state=CO&year=2017&chamber=House", "selected": false}], "truncated": false}, "state": {"name": "state", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?party=Democrat&state=CO&year=2017", "results": [{"value": "CO", "label": "CO", "count": 651, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?party=Democrat&year=2017", "selected": true}], "truncated": false}, "year": {"name": "year", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?party=Democrat&state=CO&year=2017", "results": [{"value": "2017", "label": "2017", "count": 651, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?party=Democrat&state=CO", "selected": true}], "truncated": false}}, "suggested_facets": [], "next": "2017-10-26,https~3A~2F~2Fperlmutter~2Ehouse~2Egov~2Fnews~2Fdocumentsingle~2Easpx~3FDocumentID~3D1856", "next_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?party=Democrat&state=CO&year=2017&_next=2017-10-26%2Chttps~3A~2F~2Fperlmutter~2Ehouse~2Egov~2Fnews~2Fdocumentsingle~2Easpx~3FDocumentID~3D1856&_sort_desc=date", "private": false, "allow_execute_sql": true, "query_ms": 898.3009909279644, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}