{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hickenlooper.senate.gov/press_releases/icymi-hickenlooper-visits-southeast-colorado-highlights-water-housing-veterans-care-healthcare/", "ICYMI: Hickenlooper Visits Southeast Colorado, Highlights Water, Housing, Veterans\u2019 Care, Healthcare", "2026-09-09", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "CO", "John W. Hickenlooper", "H000273", "www.hickenlooper.senate.gov", "hickenlooper", "https://www.hickenlooper.senate.gov/press/page/", "scraper", "COLORADO \u2013 In case you missed it, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper visited Hasty, La Junta, Pueblo, Limon, and Lamar to meet with Coloradans and discuss top-of-mind issues.\n\nHickenlooper stopped by the John Martin Reservoir to receive an update on the progress of the Arkansas Valley Conduit (AVC), which he has helped secure hundreds of millions in federal funds to complete. They highlighted how President Trump has risked 50,000 Coloradans\u2019 access to clean drinking water by vetoing Hickenlooper\u2019s bipartisan Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act.\n\nWatch our video at the reservoir to hear more HERE.\n\nIn La Junta, Hickenlooper toured the 6th Judicial District Attorney\u2019s Office and met with county officials. They discussed the community\u2019s concerns about the Pueblo sewage spill impacting farmers and ranchers downstream, as well as the strains on rural healthcare and the importance of completing the AVC.\n\nEarlier, Hickenlooper toured the Vail Hotel in Pueblo \u2013 one of Colorado\u2019s historic hotels turned into a public housing project \u2013 and met with local leaders to discuss the increasing cost of housing in Pueblo. From 2014 to 2024, Pueblo\u2019s average rent rose from $593 in 2014 to $1,161 in 2024 \u2013 a 96% increase. Meanwhile, the average renter in Pueblo makes just over $39,000 a year. Hickenlooper highlighted how the bipartisan 21st Century Road to Housing Act, will help bring down the cost of housing and address the housing shortage Colorado faces.\n\nWatch Hickenlooper speak at visit to the Vail Hotel HERE.\n\nOn Wednesday, Hickenlooper convened local leaders to discuss the impacts and clean-up plans for the recent sewage spill in Pueblo, which released more than four million gallons of raw sewage into the Arkansas River Thursday, August 27th.\n\nLocal health officials say that E. Coli levels down-stream of the spill are \u201cextremely high,\u201d which poses a severe health risk to recreationists and down-stream ranchers and farmers. Officials have expanded advisories, urging residents to stay out of the water until testing shows it\u2019s safe. Drinking water for surrounding communities remains unharmed by the spill.\n\nWatch Hickenlooper react to his visit HERE.\n\nHickenlooper toured the Prowers Medical Center in Lamar to highlight how Trump and MAGA Republicans\u2019 extreme budget gutted our healthcare system and created a healthcare crisis. A report by Public Citizen identified Prowers Medical Center as one of nine hospitals most at-risk of being forced to cut services or close due to Republicans\u2019 healthcare cuts. There, he heard about the importance of the hospitals\u2019 birth center \u2013 the only facility offering comprehensive labor and delivery services in Southeast Colorado. When the center closed briefly between 2021 until 2023, expectant mothers had to drive all the way to Pueblo for care \u2013 a significant health risk in emergencies.\n\nHickenlooper met with local veterans, Veterans Service Officers, and state veterans affairs representatives to discuss challenges veterans living in rural areas face, including having to drive hours to receive their care and benefits.\n\nHickenlooper also heard from local ranchers and farmers about how they\u2019re adjusting to the extreme drought, this administration\u2019s tariffs, and the increasing costs of diesel and fertilizer caused by the war in Iran. One young farmer shared that he had to sell all of his cattle to pay off debts and, ultimately, close his family\u2019s farm after he couldn\u2019t keep up with rising costs.\n\nCheck out what they\u2019re saying:\n\nPueblo Chieftain: Leaders discuss next steps after 4 million-gallon Pueblo sewage spill\n\nAbout a week after millions of gallons of raw sewage spilled into the Arkansas River through a defective wastewater pipe, U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper and state and local leaders met at Pueblo\u2019s Confluence Park to discuss a path forward.\n\n\u2026\u201cThis is the worst nightmare,\u201d Hickenlooper said at a Sept. 2 press conference.\n\n\u201cWe do everything we can to make sure that our sewage stays where it is supposed to be and goes where it needs to get so that we can process it, and make sure we don\u2019t have any risk to our food we grow and the water we drink. Once in a while, problems happen.\u201d\n\n\u2026Hickenlooper says Trump\u2019s denial of disaster funding for Democratic-led states is \u2018not acceptable\u2019\n\nHickenlooper told the Chieftain there have been recent issues with the processing of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster applications for Colorado and other Democratic-leaning states under the Trump administration. In March, Politico reported that \u201cblue states\u201d are three times less likely than Republican-leaning states to have disaster funding approved under Trump.\n\n\u201cObviously, that\u2019s not acceptable,\u201d Hickenlooper said. \u201cThis country has never functioned that way, and it never should. We are working with Republicans, as well as Democrats, to make sure that we\u2019re all unified on this, because this could happen anywhere.\u201d\n\nFOX 21: Officials provide update on cleanup efforts after major Arkansas River spill\n\nColorado Senator John Hickenlooper stood alongside state and local officials on Wednesday, Sep. 2, as they gave an update on how they\u2019re addressing the Arkansas River sewage spill. As state officials said bacteria levels are still \u201csignificantly elevated,\u201d Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) has expanded water contact advisories to more locations.\n\n\u201cThe key is to not lose our unity and to recognize that the way to get through this is to come together,\u201d said Sen. Hickenlooper.\n\n\u2026But for farmers, ranchers, and locals, Sen. Hickenlooper said dealing with the spill is a challenge. \u201cWe\u2019re already having one of the worst droughts in Colorado\u2019s history. It\u2019s been just as bad down here, a little wetter this summer, but hailstorms, all the challenges, the people that grow our food have had to endure all summer long; this is the culmination of a very hard time,\u201d he said.\n\nSen. Hickenlooper said he will push for help in Washington when disasters like this happen.\n\n\u201cWe have a responsibility in the federal government to step up and support not just the water providers and the growers of our food, but the whole community, so we\u2019re going to do everything we can in Washington, I guarantee that,\u201d said Sen. Hickenlooper.\n\nKOAA 5: U.S. senator visits Pueblo to discuss affordable housing law and local development plans\n\nU.S. Senator John Hickenlooper visited Pueblo Wednesday to discuss the affordable housing crisis with local leaders, gathering for a roundtable focused on how the city plans to address the shortage.\n\n\u2026The 21st Century Road to Housing Law was passed by Congress in July. The law creates incentives for states and local governments to increase housing production and reduce barriers to construction.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s a huge investment in financing for affordable housing,\u201d Hickenlooper said.\n\nHickenlooper said the law also addresses corporate purchasing of residential properties.\n\n\u201cIt also restrains that Wall Street can\u2019t come into your community and buy a bunch of houses, which raises the price, doesn\u2019t add any housing, just makes it more expensive for everybody,\u201d Hickenlooper said.\n\n\u2026\u201cIt\u2019s looking at how can we be simpler and not have to go through all the red tape and bureaucracy when we\u2019re trying to build affordable housing,\u201d added Hickenlooper.\n\nKKTV: Officials say Sewage leak stopped, but Arkansas River contamination moves downstream\n\nState and local officials gathered in Pueblo on Wednesday to address a sewage spill that sent millions of gallons of untreated wastewater into the Arkansas River.\n\n\u2026Sen. John Hickenlooper joined Pueblo County and state officials at the news conference, emphasizing the need to address both the immediate contamination and the cause of the spill.\n\n\u201cWe have a team that\u2019s going to do everything possible to make sure we find out why it happened, B, do everything we can to make sure it doesn\u2019t happen again, and C, deal with this situation in real time,\u201d Hickenlooper said.\n\nKKTV: U.S. senator visits Pueblo to discuss affordable housing law and local development plans\n\nU.S. Senator John Hickenlooper visited Pueblo Wednesday to discuss the affordable housing crisis with local leaders, gathering for a roundtable focused on how the city plans to address the shortage.\n\n\u201cThere\u2019s a shortage, there\u2019s a backlog,\u201d said Steven Trujillo, Director of the Housing Authority of Pueblo.\n\n\u2026The 21st Century Road to Housing Law was passed by Congress in July. The law creates incentives for states and local governments to increase housing production and reduce barriers to construction.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s a huge investment in financing for affordable housing,\u201d Hickenlooper said.\n\nHickenlooper said the law also addresses corporate purchasing of residential properties.\n\n\u201cIt also restrains that Wall Street can\u2019t come into your community and buy a bunch of houses, which raises the price, doesn\u2019t add any housing, just makes it more expensive for everybody,\u201d Hickenlooper said.\n\n\u2026\u201cIt\u2019s looking at how can we be simpler and not have to go through all the red tape and bureaucracy when we\u2019re trying to build affordable housing,\u201d added Hickenlooper.\n\nThe Prowers Journal: Senator John Hickenlooper visits Prowers Medical Center to discuss rural health care challenges with representatives from area hospitals\n\nSenator John Hickenlooper visited Prowers Medical Center on September 3, taking a tour of the facility and then meeting with representatives from area hospitals to discuss rural health care challenges. Present for the meeting were: Karen Bryant, CEO at PMC, Dr. Richard Book, Chief of Staff at PMC, Rita Bastian, Nursing Manager of New Beginnings Birth Center at PMC, Tina Sandoval, Chief Clinical Officer at PMC, Beth Bell, CEO at Weisbrod Memorial Hospital in Eads, and Dr. Anthony Brocato, CEO at Southeast Colorado Hospital District in Springfield. Also present were Joe Spitz, Board Chairman for PMC, Lamar mayor Kirk Crespin, and Prowers County Commissioner Roger Stagner. Amber Thompson, Executive Assistant to CEO Karen Bryant, was the moderator for the discussion, presenting the questions and introducing the speakers. Ms. Bryant opened the discussion by thanking Senator Hickenlooper for reaching out and asking if he could come to Lamar and hear them talk to him about rural health care in southeast Colorado.\n\nHickenlooper told the group \u201cMy main point in being here is to gather stories and express gratitude. Thank you all, for not just coming today, but for being part of the solution. As humans, we\u2019ve always got problems; we\u2019re always trying to sort through things. The only way we can do that is by coming together and hearing and actually listening, so I\u2019m here to listen.\u201d Speaking of the divide in government in Washington, he said \u201cHealth care is going to be THE battle. I\u2019m sure Karen (Bryant) has told you, come January 1 and really so on April 1, we are going to see many cuts in Medicaid and we will have real challenges. It\u2019s a reality that we all share and the more good stories I can take back to D.C., the higher the probability that I will have a story that will catch hold of some appropriator. It\u2019s stories, not just the cold facts, but the stories that help us. In the past, we were pretty successful in getting our share of federal support and I think we can get back to that. Your stories are helping.\u201d\n\n\u2026The open discussion that followed included the nursing shortage as well as those contract labor costs. Senator Hickenlooper said he felt that there needed to be new ways to train nurses, including developing programs that start in high school. Brant said that PMC is on pace to spend $11 million this year just for contract labor in addition to the $17 million for salaried employees, which is a huge burden for the hospital. She said they feel they need to have the physician staff levels that they do because \u201cwe never know what\u2019s going to be coming through our doors. It\u2019s just really important to make sure you hear our story. We\u2019re in rural America. We\u2019re it. As we talked about on the tour- the OB-GYN that\u2019s here or the surgeon that\u2019s here, they\u2019re it. They\u2019re 24 hours for the two weeks they\u2019re on, so we\u2019ve got to support them to care for patients\u201d.\n\nHickenlooper concluded the discussion, telling the group \u201cYour stories are so valuable. We have to have healthcare in these rural areas. Thanks so much for being here \u2013 you\u2019re doing God\u2019s work\u201d.\n\nWATCH:\n\nFOX (Colorado Springs, CO): Arkansas River Sewage Spill\n\nNBC (Colorado Springs, CO): Arkansas River Sewage Spill\n\nCBS (Grand Junction, CO): Arkansas River Sewage Spill\n\nNBC (Colorado Springs, CO): Pueblo Affordable Housing Roundtable\n\nFOX (Colorado Springs, CO): Pueblo Affordable Housing Roundtable\n\nLISTEN:\n\nKOA (Denver, CO): Arkansas River Sewage Spill\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-10T09:25:58Z", "2026-09-10T09:27:09Z"]], "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"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.hickenlooper.senate.gov/press_releases/icymi-hickenlooper-visits-southeast-colorado-highlights-water-housing-veterans-care-healthcare/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 4.014160018414259, "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"}