Dear
Fellow Citizens,
The temperature has been hot in Colorado--and in the Senate! I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable celebration of our Nation's birthday.
As you may have read elsewhere, June was a busy month in the Senate. Two major policy initiatives addressing past inadequacies, present reality and future needs dominated the Senate's work schedule - energy and immigration reform. I was heavily involved in the crafting and debate of both pieces of legislation.
Despite minority efforts to block further action and passage, the Senate passed H.R. 6, the Renewable Fuels, Consumer Protection, and Energy Efficiency Act of 2007. This landmark legislation includes aggressive oil-savings' provisions and other substantial components I proposed or supported to promote greater use of biofuels, renewable energy and energy efficiency. Highlights of the bill include:
· Biofuels. Dramatically increases production and use of biofeuls, enough by 2022 to reduce projected U.S. imports a million barrels a day and eventually offset our imports from Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Libya combined.
· "25 by 25". Includes an amendment I sponsored that establishes a national goal of producing 25% of our energy by 2025 from renewable sources like solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass.
· Efficiencies and CAFÉ Standards. Establishes new efficiency standards for appliances, vehicles and buildings, including an increase in fuel efficiency standards for passenger cars, trucks and SUVs to 35 mpg by 2020. Since 2/3 of our oil consumption goes toward transportation, this increase in CAFÉ standards will be an effective way to save fuel.
· Promote advanced vehicles and vehicle technologies. Authorizes R&D programs in the use of light-weight materials in the construction of vehicles and on energy storage and advanced battery development for vehicles and electricity transmission. Includes an amendment I sponsored to promote the development and use of electric transportation technology, creating new programs to get advanced electric and hybrid vehicles ready for the market, including plug-in vehicles, and a special loan program to encourage electrification at major transportation centers such as truck stops, ports, and airports, to reduce the use of gasoline, jet fuel and diesel fuel by vehicles at such sites.
· Reducing Oil Consumption. Sets a target of 35% reduction in U.S. oil consumption by 2030, a provision originating from S.339, the DRIVE Act that I joined Senator Bayh (D-IN) in introducing earlier this year.
· Reduce Greenhouse Gases. Invest in carbon capture and storage technology. Includes an amendment I sponsored to require a national assessment of the capacity to sequester carbon (carbon capture and sequestration) to reduce pollutants from power plants, which produce an estimated 1/3 of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels.
· Consumer Protection. Makes price gouging a punishable federal crime, enhances federal authority to prevent and prosecute manipulation of fuel supplies and anti-competitive behavior, and increases the transparency of petroleum markets.
Unfortunately, Republican colleagues successfully prevented creating a renewable electricity standard (RES) requiring utilities to produce 15% of their electricity from renewable energy sources such as wind, solar or ethanol by 2020. They also blocked the Senate Finance Committee's proposal to re-direct some of the tax credits big oil receives to pay the cost of tax credits and other incentives to create new sources of clean energy and promote energy efficiency.
After a roller coaster five weeks of debate and action and 41 recorded votes, the Senate tried and failed to pass comprehensive immigration reform. I am disappointed that the Senate was unwilling to better secure our borders, establish for the first time employer verification requirements with teeth, enforce our immigration laws, and initiate a tough and orderly process to identify the millions of illegal immigrants in our Nation. It is an opportunity missed and a severe setback. I nevertheless hope that logic and reason will eventually prevail to pass legislation that protects America and modernizes our Nation's immigration system. The winner in this fight is the status quo. For those who claimed the immigration reform somehow constituted "amnesty," what they have achieved is a continuation of "silent amnesty." Enforcing our existing laws, as has been the refrain and proposed ‘solution' of many reform opponents, simply means perpetuating a broken system of inadequate border resources, no mandatory employer verification process, insufficient resources to enforce our immigration laws, and no system to track those who enter our country, either legally or illegally.
I heartily acknowledge that people in good faith disagree on how best to address our immigration problems. I recognize that reasonable people differ on the reasons for our immigration woes as well as honest concerns over proposed solutions. I welcome common sense ideas on how to fix our immigration system. I was disappointed, however, by the shrill and even hateful tone of many who opposed this bill. As an American whose family helped settle the Southwest before there was a Jamestown or a Plymouth, whose family helped settle Colorado before Colorado existed, I will not bow to such tactics. I remain undaunted. We have to fix our immigration system. Failure is not an option.
The Senate also tried, again, to start long-stalled conference proceedings with the House to reconcile the two chambers' differing versions of lobbying and congressional ethics reform and implementation of the 9/11 Commission homeland security recommendations. Incredibly, those efforts to proceed to a conference on these two measures were blocked by a handful of Republican senators.
In July, the Senate will turn its attention to the annual Defense Authorization bill, which I anticipate will provide another opportunity for many of us to try to craft a new direction in, and out of Iraq. Barring further delay tactics, we hope to finalize action on the 9/11 Commission homeland security recommendations and the lobbying and ethics reform bills, as well as begin considering the annual appropriations bills.
The following is an update on some of my other activities during the past month.
Iraq. In another effort to move forward in addressing the continued U.S. military presence in Iraq, I introduced the bipartisan S. 1545, the "Iraq Study Group (ISG) Recommendations Implementation Act of 2007." Three fellow Democrats and four Republicans, including Senators Bennett (R-UT) and Alexander (R-TN), joined me in introducing this bill to make the Iraq-related ISG recommendations the basis for future U.S. involvement in Iraq and, importantly, eventual termination of that military involvement. It is interesting to note that since I first raised this legislative idea in early May, more and more attention has been paid to this approach as the possible way to extricate the U.S. from its current untenable position in Iraq.
Law Enforcement Assistance Funding. The Senate Appropriations Committee has passed its version of the fiscal year 2008 Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations bill, including funding for 16 Colorado projects I requested. Among those Colorado projects given preliminary funding approval are more than $1 million for Drug Task Forces around the state, $350,000 to establish the Colorado Schools Safety Program at CU's Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, who I worked with to combat school violence while state attorney general, $300,000 for the Denver Police Department's Gang Bureau for assistance in addressing the growing gang problem in our capital city. The bill also includes, at my request, committee instructions to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to allocate the necessary funding to address security, prisoner monitoring and staff safety needs at the federal "Supermax" prison near Florence.
Veterans Education. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and I introduced legislation, S. 1718, the Veterans Education Tuition Support (VETS) Act to enable college students to keep their academic career on track after being called up to active military service. Our bill would require colleges and universities to refund tuition for service members (National Guard, reservists, and active duty military members) who deploy during the school semester and restore their academic status when they return. It would also extend the period of time before returning service members must re-enroll in school or face repaying their student loans, and cap student loan interest rates at 6% during deployment.
Veterans Health Care. In its markup of a sweeping package of veterans' health care legislation for 2007, the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee included a provision requested by Senator Allard and me to fully authorize the remaining funds needed for construction of the long-awaited Fitzsimons VA Hospital in Aurora. The Committee also included in its mark-up provisions from S. 1146, rural veterans legislation I introduced earlier this year with Senators Thune (R-SD) and Tester (D-MT), including creation of a program where the VA will partner with HHS and Indian Health Service to test new models for care that would improve access to health care for rural vets and Native American vets, creation of a VetsRide program to assist veterans with travel to VA medical centers, better travel reimbursement rates for vets' travel expense, and new reporting requirements on the VA's progress toward improving care for rural veterans.
Health Care in SW CO. In early June, in response to the looming health care access crisis for low-income families and seniors in La Plata County triggered by the closing of Valley Wide Health in Durango, I urged the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to approve La Plata County's application for a special federal health care designation (a Health Professional Shortage Area). Such a designation is designed to help attract more health care professionals to such an area thru such incentives as Medicare bonus payments to participating doctors, and possible re-payment of medical school loans or other incentives. Equivalent services provided thru Valley Wide are four hours away, in Grand Junction. I am pleased that in late June, HHS granted the designation request.
Health Care Funding. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved the fiscal year 2008 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill. Contained in the bill are more than $1.7 million in funding for Colorado-specific projects requested by me, including health care-specific programs in La Plata County, Denver, Larimer County, the San Luis Valley, and northwest Colorado.
Military Construction Funding. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved the fiscal year 2008 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill. Contained in that bill is funding for Colorado-specific projects requested by me, including $61 million for construction of Aurora's Fitzsimons VA Hospital; $355 million for various upgrades at Fort Carson to accommodate the arrival of an additional 12,000 on active duty and over 18,000 active duty family members due to arrive in the next few years; almost $40 million for Space Operations facilities at Schriever Air Force Base and cadet training facilities at the U.S. Air Force Academy, and approximately $35 million for construction of chemical weapon destruction facilities at the Pueblo Chemical Depot.
Colorado Land and Water Initiatives. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, on which I serve, approved legislation I joined Senator Allard in introducing to expand Mesa Verde National Park's boundaries (S. 126). Our bill authorizes the incorporation of 324 acres near the northeast gateway to the Park graciously offered by the property owners to protect the Park against development encroachment and to preserve the land itself for all time as part of the Park. The Committee also approved a bill I joined Committee Chairman Bingaman (D-NM) in introducing, S. 1139, the National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS) Act. Established by the Department of Interior in 2000, the NLCS is made up of all areas administered for conservation purposes by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). However, because the NLCS was established administratively without congressional mandate, it does not have permanence and funding otherwise provided by statute. Colorado's Canyon of the Ancients National Monument, McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area, and Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area are among those conservation areas to receive permanent protection under S. 1139.
Senator Allard and I introduced legislation authorizing $6.4 million to pay the federal cost-share to rehabilitate southwest Colorado's Mancos Project irrigation canal. Since its construction almost 60 years ago, the Project has been maintained by the Mancos River District and inspected by Bureau of Reclamation but has outlived its expected life and is now badly in need of rehabilitation. If the Project's irrigation canals experienced a catastrophic failure, it could result in Mesa Verde National Park being without water during the peak of its visitation and fire season, the town of Mancos suffering a severe water shortage and the possible loss of millions of dollars of crop production and sales.
Energy and Water Programs Funding. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved over $68 million in funding requested by me in its version of the fiscal year 2008 Energy and Water Appropriations bill to support 16 Colorado energy and water projects, including nine water projects and $1 million for the Colorado School of Mines' Colorado Center for Sustainable Energy to expand research and development of coal gasification and carbon sequestration technologies as well as hybrid fuel and biomass fuel systems.
Arkansas River Basin. Finally, I convened a meeting of Arkansas River Basin regional water users and administrators that included representatives of the cities and utilities of Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Aurora, Fountain, Pueblo West, and representatives of the Lower Arkansas and Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy Districts and the Colorado River Conservation District to discuss options for addressing critical water needs and concerns for the citizens and communities in the Arkansas River Basin.
As always, for more detailed information on my Senate activities in Colorado and Washington, I urge you to visit my Senate website at salazar.senate.gov.
Sincerely,
