Dear
Friend,
Colorado
Capital
Conference
This
week,
Senator
Bennet
and
I
hosted
the
Colorado
Capital
Conference,
in
partnership
with
Colorado
Mesa
University
and
University
of
Colorado,
to
provide
an
opportunity
for
Coloradans
to
visit
Washington,
D.C.
and
hear
from
elected
officials,
journalists,
and
academics
to
gain
a
better
understanding
of
how
our
government
operates.
This
year’s
speakers
included
Chuck
Todd,
Charlie
Cook,
Bill
Kristol,
Ambassador
to
South
Korea
Ho
Young
Ahn,
White
House
Chief
of
Staff
Denis
McDonough,
Majority
Leader
Mitch
McConnell
(R-KY),
and
Senators
Marco
Rubio
(R-FL),
Tim
Scott
(R-SC),
Cory
Booker
(D-NJ),
and
Chuck
Schumer
(D-NY).
The
Colorado
Capital
Conference
is
a
wonderful
Colorado
tradition
that
brings
together
Coloradans
from
across
the
state
to
our
nation's
capital.
Washington
D.C.
cannot
operate
in
a
vacuum,
and
I
appreciated
hearing
from
Coloradans
about
how
policy
affects
them
and
their
local
communities.
I
encourage
all
Coloradans
to
apply
next
year
to
be
considered
for
the
2017
Colorado
Capital
Conference.
Attendees
applied
for
the
Colorado
Capital
Conference
earlier
this
Spring.
Information
about
how
to
apply
to
the
2017
Colorado
Capital
Conference
will
be
posted
on
Gardner’s
website
in
early
2017.
Fighting
for
Affordable
Health
Care
for
Coloradans
Earlier
this
week,
the
Colorado
Division
of
Insurance
confirmed
four
insurance
companies
will
reduce
the
number
of
individual
health
care
plans
or
stop
offering
them
entirely
next
year,
and
several
companies
will
significantly
raise
their
premiums
for
2017
some
as high
as
40.6%
on
the
individual
market.
We
also
found
out
that
about
92,000
people
must
find
a
new
plan
in
2017,
as
their
current
ones
are
being
canceled.
The
impact
of
Obamacare
will
force
approximately
20%
of
Coloradans
that
purchase
insurance
on
the
individual
market
to
find
a
new
plan.
Coloradans
across
the
state
are
once
again
being
forced
to
confront
the
ugly
reality
of
President
Obama’s
disastrous
Affordable
Care
Act.
When
the
President
rammed
his
partisan
healthcare
law
through
Congress,
he
repeatedly
promised
the
American
people
"if
you
like
your
plan,
you
can
keep
it."
President
Obama
and
those
that
supported
this
partisan
law
are
now
silent
as
92,000
Coloradans
must
find
a
new
insurance
plan.
The
President
also
promised
the
average
family
of
four
would
pay
$2,500
less
annually
by
the
end
of
his
first
term,
but
has
no
answers
for
families
in
Colorado
that
will
have
to
deal
with
these
outrageous
increases.
While
the
President
continues
to
sell
the
American
people
a
myth
that
Obamacare
is
working,
we
know
this
simply
is
not
true.
It’s
time
for
the
President
to
admit
Obamacare
is
a
disaster
for
the
American
people.
I
will
continue
to
work
tirelessly
to
repeal
and
replace
Obamacare
with
a
patient-centered
health
care
system
that
actually
lowers
costs
and
increases
choice.
Promoting
Competition,
Controlling
Costs,
Protecting
National
Security
This
week,
I
introduced
an
amendment
to
the
National
Defense
Authorization
Act
for
Fiscal
Year
2017
(NDAA).
The
bill
provides
funding
for
the
Department
of
Defense
(DoD). My
amendment
would
allow
for
the
DoD
to
purchase
rockets
from
any
certified
launch
provider
between
now
and
December
31,
2022
and ensures
fiscal
responsibility
as
it
has
the
potential
to
save
DoD
up
to
$5
billion.
The
DoD
must
have
access
to
launch
vehicles
that
it
can
afford.
My
amendment
promotes
competition
and
acknowledges
the
difficult
fiscal
environment
by
requiring
the
DoD
to
purchase
rockets
from
certified providers
that
offer
the
best
possible
value.
It
also
protects
our
national
security
by
ensuring
continued
access
to
space,
which
is
critical
to
the
detection
of
missiles,
transmitting
secure
communication,
and
gathering
intelligence.
In
order
for
the
United
States
to
remain
competitive
when
it
comes
to
space
exploration,
the
DoD
should
have
the
ability
to
conduct
a
fair
and
open
contracting
process
that
allows
any
certified
launch
provider
to
compete.
Protecting
Colorado
Small
Businesses
The
Department
of
Labor’s
overtime
rule
will
hurt
Coloradans
and
Americans
throughout
the
country,
in
particular
small
businesses
and
non-profits,
and
significantly
reduce
flexibility
in
the
work
schedule.
I
continue
to
meet
with
numerous
small
business
owners
across
Colorado
who
worry
about
the
impact
this
rule
will
have
on
their
employees
and
ability
to
remain
viable.
Once
again,
the
Obama
Administration
is
imposing
its
one-size-fits-all
approach
to
regulation,
and
it
will
undoubtedly
hurt
the
very
people
it
was
designed
to
protect.
After
eight
years
of
slow
economic
growth
under
President
Obama,
the
last
thing
this
country
needs
is
more
burdensome
regulation.
I
will
continue
to
work
to
get
Washington
out
of
the
way
and
allow
small
businesses
do
what
they
do
best:
create
jobs.
Read
a
story
from
the Denver
Business
Journal here.
Celebrating
the
Denver
Broncos
Super
Bowl
Championship
The Denver
Broncos were
honored
at The
White
House for
their
Super
Bowl
50
championship.
Congratulations,
let’s
do
it
again
next
year!
Thank
you
for
taking
the
time
to read
my
weekly
update.
If
I
can
be
of any
assistance
to
you,
please
contact my
Washington,
D.C.
office
at
(202)
224-5941.
Sincerely,
Cory
Gardner
United
States
Senator
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