| Dear
Fellow Citizens,
 January 2007
saw the opening of the 110th Congress,
with a new leadership and new goals.
Along with the new Congress, I hope
to expand my efforts to keep you apprised
of my activities on behalf of Colorado
and the nation.We
have already seen results from this
change in Congress. In both January
2005 and 2006, a total of two recorded
votes were taken. In January 2007,
we cast a total of 39 recorded votes.
In the opening weeks of this two-year
session the Senate has taken up and
passed an increase in the federal
minimum wage, a landmark congressional
ethics and lobby reform bill, and
attempted, over Republican objections,
to debate a new direction for Iraq.
In
the 110th Congress I will continue
my focus and expand my work on protecting
America, fighting for the middle class,
and fighting for rural America. In
connection with that focus, I want
to update you on some of my work these
first several weeks of 2007.
Iraq Troop Surge. I worked
with a core group of Senators to fashion
the bipartisan Warner-Levin resolution
opposing the President's escalation
of U.S. involvement in Iraq by his
proposed surge of 21,500-41,000 additional
American troops. Unfortunately, a
vote on this resolution was blocked
by my Republican colleagues, as was
a later effort to consider the House
resolution regarding this important
matter.
Criminal Street Gangs.
As Colorado's Attorney General, I
made gang prevention a top law enforcement
priority. In the wake of alarming
news that gang activity in Colorado
and elsewhere is on the rise, I joined
a bipartisan coalition of Senators
in introducing the Gang Abatement
and Prevention Act, legislation to
fight gang violence with greater law
enforcement resources and investments
in programs to prevent our youth from
joining gangs, and establishing tougher
penalties to deter and punish members
of violent street gangs.
Rural Law Enforcement.
I re-introduced legislation to create
a Rural Policing Institute, a special,
rural-focused law enforcement training
institute to assist rural agencies
in receiving cutting-edge training
without sacrificing public safety.
Of the nearly 17,000 police agencies
nationwide, nine out of ten serve
a population of fewer than 25,000
and operate with fewer than 50 sworn
officers. Yet Washington fails to
recognize the crisis these law enforcement
agencies face from the combination
of decreased funding, increased homeland
security responsibilities, and the
scourge of methamphetamines. Rural
law enforcement agencies face a difficult
challenge in receiving up-to-date
training, with tight budgets and small
staffs frequently forcing a choice
between training opportunities and
keeping officers on the street.
Renewable Energy & Energy Independence.
I introduced legislation, joined by
24 of my colleagues, declaring that
by 2025 at least 25% of America's
energy consumed should be provided
from renewable resources. I also joined
a bipartisan group of Senators in
introducing the DRIVE Act, legislation
aimed at breaking America's over-dependence
on foreign oil. Through a combination
of increased renewable energy production
and tax incentives to encourage the
production of fuel efficient vehicles,
the goal of the DRIVE Act is to reduce
U.S. oil use by seven million barrels
per day in 20 years - more than twice
what we import from the Middle East
today. And in early February I wrote
to Colorado's state legislative leadership
urging state lawmakers to double the
renewable energy standards of Colorado's
Amendment 37 passed by voters in 2004.
Amendment 37 currently requires Colorado
utilities to generate or purchase
a percentage of their electricity
from renewable sources (ultimately
10% by 2015). Amendment 37 was the
first set of renewable energy standards
in the nation to be passed by citizen
initiative.
Veterans Cemetery. Senator
Allard and I re-introduced legislation
I first proposed last year to establish
a Pikes Peak Region Veterans Cemetery.
Veterans Mental Health.
In a letter to the leadership of the
Senate Armed Services and Veterans
Affairs Committees, I renewed my call
from last year for a joint hearing
by these committees to address mental
health treatments for our returning
military service members and veterans.
It has become increasingly evident
that some incidents of Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD) among our warfighters
are not being properly diagnosed or
addressed.
Congressional Ethics Reform.
In connection with the congressional
ethics and lobby reform bill passed
by the Senate, two amendments I proposed
were adopted. One, which Sen. Kerry
and I earlier introduced as a separate
bill, "the Duke Cunningham Act", eliminates
congressional pensions for Members
of Congress who are convicted of bribery
and other white-collar crimes. The
other amendment requires congressional
committees to post hearing transcripts
within 14 days of the hearing. A third
amendment I proposed, to extend many
of the new restrictions that would
apply to Congress to the senior levels
of the Executive and Judicial branches
of government, was not adopted. I
am hopeful this issue will be addressed
separately in the coming months, as
pledged to me by the Senate Government
Affairs Committee.
Minimum Wage and Small Businesses.
In addition to my support of the federal
minimum wage increase, I introduced
legislation, the Business RAISE Act,
designed to balance the needs of small
businesses that may be particularly
affected by the wage increase. My
bill authorizes 15-year depreciation
periods for improvements to retail
property that is owned and for the
cost of restaurant construction and
renovation. The current depreciation
period is 39 years. It also provides
tax incentives for businesses to hire
disabled veterans, identical to legislation
I introduced in the 109th Congress,
the ‘Warm Welcome Home Act". The Senate
adopted these provisions as part of
its minimum wage increase-small business
tax relief package.
Education Survey. I also
released the results of a survey I
initiated last year reflecting the
comments and observations of over
2,000 Colorado educators, school principals
and administrators, parents, education
experts and others regarding No Child
Left Behind (NCLB), which is up for
reauthorization this year. Among the
findings of that survey are (1) teachers
are forced to focus on testing instead
of teaching; (2) rural schools are
facing a hiring crisis; and (3) NCLB
is plagued by unrealistic goals. I
have shared the full results of this
survey with other Senators involved
in crafting the NCLB reauthorization
bill.
National Heritage Areas.
I re-introduced two bills to designate
new National Heritage Areas (NHA)
in Colorado: the South Park NHA and
the Sangre de Cristo NHA. The South
Park NHA would help protect from development
19 working ranches along 30 miles
of stream corridor and 17,000 acres
of wetlands and agricultural lands
of the headwaters of the South Platte
River in South Park, Park County.
The Sangre de Cristo NHA would encompass
Conejos, Costilla and Alamosa Counties
in the San Luis Valley - the confluence
of Native American, Hispanic and Anglo
cultures and serve as a vehicle to
help preserve this unique cultural
area of America as well as to promote
it.
Korea's Beef Import Ban.
In January I met with Korean Ambassador
Lee Tae-sik, joining fellow Senators
in the meeting and in a follow-up
letter urging Korea to immediately
resume U.S. beef imports. We noted
that continued refusal by Korea to
re-open its markets could put at risk
U.S. Senate support for the Korea-U.S.
Free Trade Agreement currently being
negotiated. In September 2006, South
Korea, America's third largest beef
export market before its 2003 U.S.
beef ban, announced it would once
again allow U.S. beef imports, but
has continued to reject U.S. beef
shipments.
Arkansas Valley Conduit.
I joined Senator Allard in introducing
S. 134, a bill to allow the Bureau
of Reclamation to move forward with
the construction of the Arkansas Valley
Conduit, first authorized by Congress
45 years ago. We also requested an
early hearing on the bill by the Senate
Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
The Conduit is intended to ensure
clean and safe drinking water to the
financially-strapped communities and
citizens of the Lower Arkansas Valley.
The economic viability of an entire
region of our state, southeast Colorado,
is at risk.
Agriculture Disaster Relief.
I joined Senate colleagues in re-introducing
last year's agricultural disaster
relief bill that we attempted to have
considered over the old leadership's
successful objections. I pushed for
and added to the relief package disaster
assistance for those Colorado ranchers
whose herds are being devastated by
the recent snow storms and bitter
cold. I urged Agriculture Secretary
Johanns to approve the state's disaster
declaration request for Colorado's
hardest hit counties and release any
available funds for recovery efforts,
and invited him to personally visit
our state and tour the agriculture
areas most affected.
Bark Beetle Infestation and Fire-Prevention.
In a hearing of the Senate Energy
Committee, I called upon Administration
officials present to refocus Forest
Service efforts on fire prevention
and bark beetle infestation management
to help reduce that agency's staggering
explosion in firefighting costs (40%
of the Forest Service's total budget).
Because of the increased firefighting
costs, the Forest Service has been
unable to address other critical forest
management issues, including recreation
management and fire-prevention activities
such as hazardous fuels mitigation
and combating bark beetles. All three
of these issues are at crisis levels
right here in Colorado.
Farm Bill. I launched
a "Farm Bill Update Page" on my Senate
website, salazar.senate.gov, to provide
farmers, ranchers and others interested
an opportunity to comment on the Administration's
proposed Farm Bill reauthorization
and the farm bill in general. The
Farm Bill sets agriculture policy
for America for the remainder of the
decade and as a member of the Senate
Agriculture Committee, I will be playing
a direct role in the writing of this
key policy document.
Service Academy Nominations.
And finally, I had the great pleasure
of hosting two receptions in Denver
and Colorado Springs to honor my 2007
U.S. Service Academy nominees. Forty
of the 60 nominees from all over the
state were able to attend the receptions.
As always, for more detailed information
on my Senate activities in Colorado
and in Washington, I urge you to visit
my Senate website at salazar.senate.gov
Sincerely,
Ken
Salazar
U.S. Senator |
