Dear Friend,

The Latest Developments on North Korea

When I was sworn in to the Senate in 2015, I referred to Kim Jong Un as the “Forgotten Maniac”.  At the time, few were paying attention to the grave threat posed by North Korea to the U.S. and our allies, while the Obama Administration followed a failing policy of “strategic patience”. As Chairman of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee focused on East Asia policy, I held a series of hearings and began working on legislation that would require mandatory sanctions on the regime and would set parameters for U.S. policy toward North Korea. This legislation, the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act, was signed into law in February 2016. It now forms the basis of the maximum pressure campaign against North Korea and sets a high bar for any lifting of sanctions on North Korea.

Per U.S. law, the President must demand that North Korea make significant progress toward complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization & comply with all UN Security Council Resolutions before any sanctions relief or normalization of relations with North Korea can be considered. But we haven’t received any of these commitments from Kim Jong Un's regime to date.

The maximum pressure campaign that my legislation started, and President Trump has continued, has brought us to this point today. Now we need to keep up the pressure and negotiate from a position of strength. My new bipartisan bill, the LEED Act, would impose an economic embargo on North Korea and its enablers, wherever they are based.

As a starting point for any negotiations, we must demand that the regime adheres to the commitments it has already made to the United States to denuclearize, and has since repeatedly violated. In the meantime, as I wrote in my letter last week with my colleagues on the Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committee, sanctions and joint military exercises with our allies must continue.

Kim Jong Un must know that we will not hesitate to protect the U.S. homeland, our troops in the region, and our treaty allies, with overwhelming military force, if necessary. We must verify BEFORE we trust. The stakes are high. The President can change the course of history, but it must be done through a position of strength and be consistent with long-standing U.S. policy and national security goals. 

I joined Morning Joe on Friday to discuss these views.

(Click here or on the image above to view the interview.)

Funding the Southwest Chief

Last week, the Department of Transportation awarded a $16 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant that will help rehabilitate railroad segments that Amtrak’s Southwest Chief line runs on, including in Colorado.

(Click here or on the image above to view the interview.)

This is great news for southern Colorado. The Southwest Chief is an important means of transportation for Colorado rural communities and the surrounding region. I was proud to fight for this grant at the federal level and am thrilled to deliver this news to southern Colorado.

Meeting with Coloradans

I also had the opportunity to stop by the U.S. Military Service Academy and ROTC Information Day at Fort Morgan High School last weekend and spend time with our military service members and students thinking about attending service academies. If you or someone you know is looking for more information on how to apply to a service academy, please click here.

Restoring and Rebuilding our National Parks

Last week, Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and I, along with eight of our colleagues, introduced a bipartisan, bicameral bill that will use revenues from energy production on federal lands to help pay for the over $11 billion maintenance backlog at our national parks. We have been working with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on the National Park Restoration Act, which will help restore and rebuild roads, buildings, campgrounds, trails and water systems in the country’s national parks for the next generation of visitors.

Coloradans know firsthand how important it is to make timely investments and infrastructure upgrades to our parks. This bipartisan legislation provides the funding necessary to help address the billions of dollars in deferred maintenance that the park system is currently facing in Colorado and across the country. It’s time to show our love to our beloved national parks.

Bipartisan Policy Center’s Legislative Action Award

The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) announced I have been awarded their Legislative Action Award. The awards are presented annually to members of Congress within their first six years in office who work to build consensus, elevate the tenor of the debate, practice civility, and advance legislation on pressing issues.

Putting partisan politics aside and focusing on enacting actual policy solutions for my constituents is one of my top priorities in the Senate. I appreciate the Bipartisan Policy Center recognizing my commitment to working across the aisle everyday with people like my Democratic colleague from Colorado Michael Bennet, and hope that in the coming year there are more legislative achievements we can point to that prove the best way to get meaningful things done is through bipartisanship.

“Senator Cory Gardner demonstrates the power of strong principles combined with a willingness to reach across the political aisle on issues of consequence to the nation,” said BPC President Jason Grumet. “On matters as diverse and important as immigration, cybersecurity, and the threat from North Korea, Senator Gardner’s primary focus has been on action and results. He is at once a proud member of his party and an effective legislator who places the interests of the country first.”  

Need Help with a Federal Agency? 

My staff is available to assist you with finding out the status of a case and requesting additional information from a federal agency. I have offices in Denver, Durango, Pueblo, Grand Junction, Fort Collins, Greeley, Yuma, and Colorado Springs. Learn more about how we can help here. 

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

Unsubscribe