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Hello everyone,
When President Trump made the abrupt decision to move U.S. Space Command out of Colorado two years ago, he put politics first over our national security.
National security cannot be an afterthought when it comes to determining where the permanent headquarters of Space Command should be. It has to be the central priority.
For two years, Senator John Hickenlooper and I have made that case to President Biden, White House officials, and the Department of Defense. We’ve told them again and again that in the interest of our national security, Space Command must remain in Colorado.
This week, Senator Hickenlooper and I met with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to express our concerns with Trump’s politically-motivated decision. We reiterated that politics should have no role in the Space Command basing decision process, and that protecting our national security should be the main factor in determining Space Command’s location.
I’ll keep fighting to put our national security first, and to keep Space Command in Colorado.
Sincerely,
Michael
(With U.S. Space Force Lt. Gen. John Shaw, U.S. Space Command deputy commander, and Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) during our visit to Schriever Space Force Base in March 2022)
BRINGING CLEAN DRINKING WATER TO SOUTHEAST COLORADO
In 1962, the federal government promised Colorado the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project to deliver reliable and clean drinking water to communities throughout Southeast Colorado. Over sixty years later, the project is not complete. That’s outrageous.
The final piece of the decades-long project, promised by the federal government, is the Arkansas Valley Conduit – a 130-mile water-delivery system from the Pueblo Reservoir to communities in Bent, Crowley, Kiowa, Otero, Prowers, and Pueblo counties.
Since coming to the Senate, I’ve continuously pushed the federal government to provide funding to complete construction of the Conduit and deliver on their word. And this week, Senator John Hickenlooper and I urged the Bureau of Reclamation to allocate more funding from this year’s federal budget and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help us complete construction once and for all. I won’t stop working until this vital project is done.
EXTENDING PROTECTIONS FOR VENEZUELAN MIGRANTS
Nicolas Maduro and his illegitimate regime have wreaked havoc on Venezuela. Maduro’s corruption and brutal repression has led to widespread violence, political persecution, and food and medicine shortages throughout the country. As a result, Venezuelans are fleeing for their safety by the thousands.
This week, Senator John Hickenlooper and I urged the Department of Homeland Security to extend temporary protections to Venezuelan nationals who have arrived in the United States in the last year as a result of the conflict in their home country.
I will continue to work in Washington on comprehensive immigration reform, including common sense steps to secure the border and a legal pathway for DREAMers, TPS recipients, and essential workers.
IMPROVING HEALTH CARE ACCESS FOR COLORADANS
Over the last two years, Democrats in Congress have made strides to make health care more affordable and accessible. In the American Rescue Plan, we passed and expanded tax credits to help millions of Americans – and thousands of Coloradans – reduce the cost of their health insurance during the pandemic. Last year, in the Inflation Reduction Act, we extended those tax credits for three more years so that more people could afford health care, especially as health care prices continue to rise. As a result, over 200,000 Coloradans enrolled in a health insurance plan on the state’s marketplace this year.
While this is remarkable news, these are temporary fixes to a broken health care system. That’s why this week, I joined my colleagues in reintroducing the Improving Health Insurance Affordability Act to make these tax credits permanent. Our work is not done until every American has access to high-quality, affordable health care.
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