A message from Senator Michael Bennet

Supporting Major Disaster Declaration Requests for Colorado Wildfires

What’s happening: Starting in June, Colorado experienced two large, destructive fires within 48 hours, the Aspen Acres Fire and Gold Mountain Fire, due to prime wildfire conditions including high winds, extreme heat, and prolonged drought. These fires burned over 140,000 acres collectively across Pueblo, Custer, and Ouray Counties and destroyed hundreds of homes and structures, as well as energy and water infrastructure. The burn scars left by these fires also contributed to significant post-fire flooding and debris flows that led to one fatality in Beulah, Colorado. 

What I believe: Without needed federal support, residents could face insurmountable barriers to rebuilding homes and businesses, increased drinking water and electric utility costs, and the loss of important habitat and grazing lands. In addition, these communities face ongoing hazards from the post-fire burn scars, including debris, burned trees, and threats to water quality and drinking water infrastructure. We must ensure a successful recovery to bring residents home and restore our local economies. 

What I’m doing: On Monday, Representative Jeff Hurd and I led the entire Colorado Congressional delegation in a letter to President Trump expressing strong support for Governor Jared Polis’ request for a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for Pueblo, Custer, and Ouray Counties. This request responds to more than $18 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency-validated damages from Colorado’s Aspen Acres and Gold Mountain fires. I have made wildfire resilience, forest health, and watershed protection a central focus of my work for Colorado, and will continue to ensure that our state gets the federal support it deserves during this challenging time. 

2. Ensuring Prompt Approvals of Wind and Solar Energy Projects

What’s happening: In July 2025, the Department of the Interior (DOI) released an order requiring Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s personal approval for routine wind and solar energy project permitting decisions, which led to massive delays in power projects across the West. In April 2026, the U.S. District Court issued a preliminary injunction to prohibit the DOI and its officials from applying the July 2025 order and other internal orders that make wind and solar permitting processes needlessly delayed and difficult while the court case proceeds. Since then, numerous wind and solar developers have reported that DOI personnel have illegally continued to force project applicants to repeatedly document and prove their eligibility for these court protections. 

What I believe: Western states depend on reliable and affordable energy to keep our grid secure and our economies competitive. Wind and solar are the least expensive and fastest-to-deploy sources of new electricity generation available. Dragging out permitting timelines in direct violation of a federal court order is not only illegal, but needlessly stalls private investment and drives up household energy costs. Moreover, impeding the deployment of the lowest-cost energy sources directly undermines the administration’s stated goals of unleashing American energy and ensuring affordability.

What I’m doing: This week, I led Senators John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) in a letter demanding the DOI comply with a preliminary injunction to ensure covered wind and solar permitting reviews are conducted promptly without illegal bureaucratic roadblocks. This follows our November 2025 letter, where Senators Hickenlooper, Luján, and I demanded answers to DOI’s original order, but never received a response. I have continuously fought to protect funding for Colorado’s energy projects and condemn partisan project reversals under the Trump administration, and I remain committed to such efforts.

3. IN THE NEWS THIS WEEK

• Mail-in ballots go out to Colorado voters in just a few weeks, but Trump is working tirelessly to sow doubt in our elections and make voting more difficult. Stripping Coloradans of their access to vote-by-mail is wrong and absurd. We have spent years building a secure, accessible system that Coloradans trust, and I’ll keep fighting to preserve it.
• As Colorado’s kids return to school, Trump’s war with Iran and reckless tariffs are driving up groceries and back-to-school costs, some by as much as 20 or 30 percent. Trump created this mess, and Colorado families are paying the price. I won’t stop fighting to end the war and undo these tariffs.
• Last week, Senator Hickenlooper and I joined U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen and six of our Senate colleagues to demand answers from the Trump administration about recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions in airports. This comes after a string of incidents nationwide, in which ICE agents – with apparent cooperation from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) – have targeted people at airports, including at Denver International Airport. Such actions have only served to disrupt local communities, create fear among immigrant families, and undermine the travel and tourism sector by actively discouraging travelers from visiting the United States. I will continue to fight against this administration’s inhumane immigration policies. 
• New Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows that Colorado’s childhood vaccination rates are going in the wrong direction. Parents need clear, science-backed guidance, not politics, chaos, and confusion from the Trump administration. I will continue fighting against this administration’s anti-science agenda to ensure the best possible health outcomes for Colorado kids and families. 
• Instead of working to cut costs, President Trump has continued his tariff war of choice with Canada, one of our largest trading partners. These tariffs make no sense. They will only raise prices for farmers, ranchers, and small businesses, while making it harder for Colorado families to put food on the table. I have voted repeatedly to undo them, and will continue to do everything I can to overturn them. 
• Last week, the national debt reached a record $40 trillion. By handing out massive tax breaks to the richest Americans, Trump has blown a hole in our deficit and added trillions to this debt. Instead of investing in the middle class, he has prioritized the ultra-wealthy and put the economic security of our children at risk. Our country has an obligation to leave the next generation with more opportunity, not more debt. 
• Happy 110th birthday to our National Park Service! Let's get outdoors this week to celebrate what makes Colorado special and stand together against Trump’s attacks on our public lands and the workforce that protects them.

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