Standing up for Local Communities

Living in rural Colorado, I understand the unique challenges that our communities face. With sparse populations, large swaths of tax-exempt federal land, a lack of infrastructure, and limited employment opportunities, we often get left behind by Congress and get the short end of the stick. I work hard every day to make sure you are represented well and have a voice.

Some of the important local victories I have secured for the Third District include:

• My Pueblo Jobs Act was signed into law as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This bill will create at least 1,000 new jobs in Pueblo and help bring new businesses to Southern Colorado.
• I played a key role in securing Glenwood Springs a $50 million grant for the South Bridge project. This project would establish a new bridge connection that will provide a critical second access point between State Highway 82 and the western side of the Roaring Fork River in the south corridor of Glenwood Springs.
• I passed six amendments through the House with bipartisan support to increase funding for veterans’ care by $13,000,000.00 by redirecting funds from the bureaucracy to funding for veterans.
• My Restoring American Energy Dominance Act passed the House as part of the Interior Appropriations Bill for FY24 and blocks the Bureau of Land Management’s proposed Fluid Mineral Leases and Leasing Process rule to protect domestic energy producers from excessive costs and regulations put forth by the Biden Regime.
• My Colorado Energy Prosperity Act passed the House as part of the Interior Appropriations Bill for FY24 and prohibits the Bureau of Land Management from locking up 1.6 million acres of land in Colorado from responsible oil and gas production.
• My Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins Endangered Fish Recovery Programs Reauthorization Act passed the House Natural Resources Committee and safeguards four endangered fish species while providing long-term certainty for 2,500 water and power users that benefit from the program.
• My Trust the Science Act, which delists the gray wolf from the Endangered Species List and allows state management of this species to protect farmers and ranchers’ livestock, passed the House as part of the Interior Appropriations Bill and also passed the House Natural Resources Committee as a standalone bill.
• My Clifton Opportunities Now for Vibrant Economic Yields (CONVEY) Act passed the House Natural Resources Committee and directs the Bureau of Land Management to convey over 31 acres to Mesa County for new economic development in Clifton.
• My Western Water Accelerated Revenue Repayment Act passed the House Committee on Natural Resources and permanently authorized a provision that allows agriculture and municipal water users to prepay what they owe to the federal government. 
• I secured $1,576,000 for the Huerfano County Water Storage Project which will be used to fortify the bank of Sheep Mountain Reservoir in Walsenburg, Colorado.
• I secured $5,000,000 for a water conservancy project in Rangely, Colorado. This funding will help build critical water infrastructure and stimulate rural development in the area.
• I secured $1,750,000 for a new water plant in Silt, Colorado.
• I secured $1,750,000 for a new water plant in Gunnison, Colorado.
• I secured $1,500,000 for the Cottonwood Pass Blue Hill Project. I-70 through Glenwood Canyon has a high probability of frequent closures due to rockslides and mudslides because of the Grizzly Creek Fire in 2020. These funds will provide much-needed safety improvements.
• I secured $1,547,000 for the town of Bayfield, Colorado, so they can begin construction of a new public roadway on the north side of the intersection along US Highway 160.
• I secured $1,000,000 for an extension of the Medal of Honor Boulevard in Pueblo, Colorado.
• I secured $2,000,000 for the construction of a new interchange on the I-70 at 29 Road in Grand Junction, Colorado.
• I secured $1,400,000 for the South Bridge Project in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.
• I secured $2,200,000 for the city of Craig, Colorado, to construct new water distribution infrastructure for fire flows, airports, parks, and recreational assets.
• I cosponsored and voted for legislation that passed the Resources Committee to stop the Bureau of Land Management's so-called “Conservation Rule” Land Grab. 
• I passed three amendments to the Strategic Production Response Act through the House of Representatives to help reduce gas prices, increase American energy production, and protect Colorado energy jobs.  
• I passed two amendments and voted for legislation to ensure parents have a say in education curriculum being taught to their children. 
• In Fiscal Year 2023, I helped secure $1.85 billion for community health centers that provide care to rural communities.
• I played a pivotal role in keeping the Space Command headquarters in Colorado.
• I helped secure a $5,109,735 grant for the Pueblo Community Health Center.
• I secured $1.74 billion in a legislative provision signed into law for Community Health Centers that provide medical care to rural communities. Colorado's Third District has eight Community Health Centers.
• I secured hundreds of millions for Bureau of Reclamation projects and rural water projects, including the Arkansas Valley Conduit that will provide an abundant supply of clean water for 50,000 people in Southeastern Colorado. 
• I secured $48 million in legislation signed into law for the U.S. Forest Service to actively manage our forests and address high-priority invasive species and pests like the bark beetle infestations ravaging Colorado and creating deadly wildfire hazards.
• When I-70 was shut down for 16.5 days following a catastrophic mudslide, I was one of the first elected officials to visit the scene and led Colorado’s bipartisan congressional delegation in securing more than $11.6 million to reopen and repair I-70.
• I delivered a victory for the San Luis Valley by getting its new weather radar integrated with the National Weather Service’s system. After a year of bureaucratic delays, I stepped in and got the job done.
• I stood up for rural healthcare and helped Delta Health secure Sole Community Hospital Provider Status. This designation will help stabilize drug prices, allow Delta Health to remain independent, and secure more healthcare infrastructure for the community.
• When the Biden bureaucracy tried to move the Bureau of Land Management headquarters in Grand Junction back to the Swamp, I led a public pressure campaign that kept the Western Headquarters, 56 Headquarter jobs, and 70 other good-paying Bureau of Land Management jobs in Grand Junction. 
• In a legislative provision signed into law, I secured $10 million for the Indian Irrigation Fund to address the deferred maintenance backlog and increase water storage projects like the Southern Utes’ Pine River Indian Irrigation Project.
• I delivered a win for farmers and ranchers by providing regulatory relief from overreaching regulations targeting livestock haulers through a legislative rider signed into law.
• I secured full funding for the Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILT) Program, which provide critical revenues for rural communities and local governments to carry out vital services including firefighting, road and bridge maintenance, education, school construction, law enforcement, and search and-rescue operations
• My legislative provision prohibiting listing the greater sage-grouse as an endangered species was signed into law.
• I passed a statutory provision into law directing the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of the Interior to establish a pilot program to combat salt cedar and Russian olive infestations in the West. Invasive salt cedars can consume 200 gallons of water per day per plant.

Since day one, my office has been busy helping constituents who aren’t getting answers from federal agencies, like veterans seeking to get the care they earned from the VA, travelers that need expedited assistance to receive a passport on short notice, taxpayers being harassed by the IRS, and senior citizens having issues with the Social Security Administration or Medicare. My office has hosted over 233 mobile office hours in every county in the District, helped over 2,716 people, and returned over $5,585,510.31 to constituents. If you are having trouble with a federal agency, please reach out and my office will be happy to help you.

Additionally, I know Colorado’s Third District is huge—trust me, I’ve been everywhere—and driving long distances is challenging for many folks. That’s why my office has been hosting mobile office hours in locations across the District. My office has hosted over 233 mobile office hours in every county in Colorado's Third District. If you need help with a federal agency or want to express your view on a legislative matter, please come out to one of our mobile office hours and my staff will be happy to assist.

It is the greatest honor of my life to be the Representative for rural Colorado. I encourage you to stay directly engaged with the work I am doing by signing up for updates HERE.

I am here to fight for Colorado’s Third Congressional District, and I fight to win.