Conservative Victories for Colorado!
DELIVERING FORESTRY AND WATERSHED SOLUTIONS
I spoke at Club 20’s Watershed Summit and shared the important policy priorities I have been working on for rural Colorado, including efforts to manage our forests and protect watersheds. I discussed my Active Forest Management, Wildfire Prevention, and Community Protection Act which will get a handle on wildfires plaguing Colorado by removing beetle-killed trees, increasing active management, and reinvesting in rural America. I’ve visited wildfire sites across Colorado and received briefings from firefighters and forestry experts, and my bill will give them the tools they need to effectively prevent wildfires and protect our communities.
My forestry bill is also critical to helping Colorado combat drought. 80% of Coloradans rely on forest watersheds for their household water, and my bill will keep our forest watersheds healthy for years to come. I have met with water district managers and visited water storage projects across Colorado. Additionally, I introduced the Western Water Security Act to prevent the federal government from seizing private water rights.
JOINING THE BIPARTISAN COLORADO DELEGATION IN WORKING TO KEEP U.S. SPACE COMMAND IN COLORADO
I joined Colorado’s bipartisan Congressional Delegation in a letter to Joe Biden requesting that he reevaluate the decision to move U.S. Space Command from Colorado to Alabama. Colorado is the logical home for Space Command since it already houses the National Space Defense Center, the National Reconnaissance Office’s Aerospace Data Facility, U.S. Northern Command, and the North American Aerospace Defense Command. Colorado is also home to the second-largest aerospace economy in the country that supports more than 232,000 local jobs.
I am proud to stand with Colorado’s aerospace industry, and I recently secured significant federal support for our cutting-edge space development programs with one of my legislative provisions signed into law.
MEETING WITH RANCHERS AND HUNTERS ABOUT PREDATOR ISSUES
This week, I was in Ignacio to meet with the Colorado Farm Bureau, the Colorado Mule Deer Association, the Colorado Outfitters Association, the Wildlife Advisory Board, local businesses, and local farmers and ranchers to discuss how wolf re-introduction and an activist judge's decision to relist gray wolves may lead to further livestock losses and harm their way of life. I also discussed my legislative provision signed into law to provide $1 million to compensate farmers and ranchers who lose livestock to wolves. I stand with rural Colorado, and I want to know how to best represent your interests in Congress.
MEETING WITH MONTEZUMA COUNTY TO ADDRESS WATER CONSERVATION AND NOXIOUS WEED MANAGEMENT
Montezuma County and other communities in the West are being plagued by the proliferation of Russian olive and salt cedar trees that consume large amounts of precious water and choke out native species. Salt cedars can consume up to 200 gallons of water per day per plant, and they exacerbate drought conditions. I wrote a letter of support for Montezuma County’s application for a grant from Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Wetlands Program to address these water-guzzling trees. Additionally, I am sending an appropriations request to the House Appropriations Committee to ensure that federal agencies assist local governments in addressing salt cedar and Russian olive infestations.
BLOWING THE WHISTLE ON KETANJI BROWN JACKSON’S NOMINATION TO THE SUPREME COURT
The Supreme Court is one of the most important institutions in American society. The Justices sitting on the Court must have a firm commitment to the rule of law. Unfortunately, Judge Kentanji Brown Jackson doesn’t appear to have that commitment. In every child pornography case she has ever ruled on, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson gave the pedophile less time in prison than the Sentencing Guidelines demanded and averaged 44% less time than the liberal prosecutors recommended. In U.S. v. Hawkins, an adult extensively traded child pornography images graphically depicting boys younger than 13-years-old being violently assaulted. The Sentencing Guidelines recommended 8 to 10 years in federal prison for such a heinous offense, but Judge Jackson sentenced the offender to just three months in jail. After he got out, he continued to look at inappropriate images of young boys.
I wrote a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee urging them to consider Judge Jackson’s soft-on-crime sentencing decisions when considering her nomination.
When Senator Marsha Blackburn asked Judge Jackson what a woman is, she responded, “I’m not a biologist.” This should have been the simplest question in the whole hearing, but Judge Jackson could not answer. Judge Jackson’s disastrous hearing demonstrated clear flaws in her decision-making and judgment. She should not be confirmed to the Supreme Court.
REMEMBERING JOE STEVENSON
I joined the Montezuma County Commissioners, family members, and loved ones in a memorial service for Commissioner Joe Stevenson. In honor of Joe’s lifetime of service to southern Colorado’s agricultural community, I presented his family with a copy of the Congressional Record containing my speech honoring Joe on the House Floor and with a flag flown over the Capitol. The world needs more cowboys, but I know that heaven gained a good one!
ANNOUNCING THE 2022 CONGRESSIONAL ART COMPETITION!
Calling all high school artists! My office is currently accepting submissions for the 2022 Congressional Art Competition. The winner’s artwork will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol for one year. Colorado has some of the most talented student artists in the country, and I look forward to showcasing their work in the U.S. Capitol.
Last year, Arianna, a senior at Centennial High School in Pueblo, perfectly captured the beauty of Colorado’s Third Congressional District in her piece, Early Morning. Her painting has been displayed in the U.S. Capitol for the last year, and I’ve enjoyed walking past it every day on my way to vote on the House Floor. Great work Arianna!
Submissions are due on April 27, and winners will be announced in early May. If you are interested in the Congressional Art Competition, please see my website for more details!
SECURING LEGISLATIVE WINS FOR COLORADO WITH PROVISIONS SIGNED INTO LAW
I promised to provide a voice for the people and to fight tirelessly for our communities. I was able to get nine legislative provisions signed into federal statute through the normal appropriations process. In short, these legislative victories will improve the lives of rural Coloradans and create policies that put America first.
My legislative victories include:
- $1.74 billion for Community Health Centers to serve rural communities;
- $515 million for the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program so rural counties can fund education, law enforcement, wildfire prevention, and infrastructure;
- $48 million for the U.S. Forest Service to address the bark beetle infestations ravaging Colorado and to actively manage our forests;
- $10 million for the Indian Irrigation Fund for the benefit of the Southern Ute Tribe to combat western drought through water storage projects;
- $1 million to compensate farmers for livestock lost to wolves;
- Important pro-life protections like the Hyde and Weldon amendments;
- Preventing the greater sage-grouse from being listed as an endangered species and protecting American energy jobs in the process;
- Securing important federal resources for NASA and Colorado’s space program; and
- Exempting livestock haulers from burdensome Department of Transportation electronic logging device mandates.
Many of these legislative priorities came from meetings with constituents. It’s a top priority of mine to take your concerns to Congress and deliver conservative solutions in a meaningful way.
BOEBERT BLAST
The Journal, Family and friends honor late Commissioner Joel Stevenson in Cortez
“In honor of Stevenson, Boebert gave an American flag that has flown over the U.S. Capitol to the family…‘Stevenson will be remembered as a larger-than-life champion of rural Colorado who never wavered in his belief that the world needs more cowboys. America needs more cowboys like my friend Joe Stevenson, but I know that heaven just gained one.’”
The Gazette, Colorado delegation urges Biden to consider national security, cost in Space Command basing decision
“Keep U.S. Space Command in Colorado Springs. That was the message Colorado's congressional delegation made loud and clear in a letter delivered to President Joe Biden Tuesday.”
UPCOMING MOBILE OFFICE HOURS
Serving the people of Colorado’s Third Congressional District is the greatest honor of my life. If you are having issues with a federal agency or want your voice to be heard, please come to one of our mobile office hours, and a member of my team will be happy to assist you.
My team will be available to help 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. Additionally, constituents are invited to come to the office hours to express their viewpoints on legislative issues or request special Congressional Commendations from the Congresswoman recognizing outstanding public achievements.