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Dear Fellow Citizens,

The nation's school year rushes to a close and proms, awards ceremonies, and graduations take center stage, while hoped-for summer vacation plans take shape.

Since my last update to you in April, the Senate has acted on a variety of issues leading up to Memorial Day.

As you know the President vetoed the original emergency supplemental spending bill providing continued funding for our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as needed, immediate funds for veterans health, desperately needed emergency relief for our farmers and ranchers, and continued assistance to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita victims.  That bill also contained the goal of a timetable for eventual withdrawal of our troops from Iraq.  The President's main opposition to the bill is his opposition to any kind of guidance or advice on a new direction for Iraq, stubbornly adhering to an open-ended continued policing of another country's civil war.  Because neither chamber of Congress had the votes to override this veto (in the Senate, 67 votes are needed), Congress approved and the president signed a second version of the emergency supplemental, which includes at least significant benchmarks for the Iraqi government to meet, similar to those set out in legislation I have proposed (see below).

The emergency supplemental bill also includes two provisions, now made law, that I supported:  (1) $3 billion in agriculture disaster-assistance money that will help Colorado's farmers and ranchers who were hit hard by this past winter's record blizzards on the heels of disastrous drought and (2) finally, the first increase in the federal minimum wage in nearly a decade, from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour over the next two years.

In another effort to move forward in addressing the continued U.S. military presence in Iraq, Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) joined me in announcing our plan to introduce legislation after Memorial Day titled "Iraq Study Group (ISG) Recommendations Implementation Act of 2007."  Our legislation would make the Iraq-related ISG recommendations the basis for future U.S. involvement in Iraq and, importantly, eventual termination of that military involvement.

As I have reported in previous updates, I have been working for weeks on a daily basis with a bipartisan group of Senators to jump-start legislative action on comprehensive immigration reform.  We reached agreement on moving forward with S. 1348, a package of reforms that combines increased border security and resources, mandatory employer verification and tougher employer sanctions, a guest worker program, a path to legalization for illegal immigrants that meet the requirements (such as payment of thousands of dollars in fines, a crime-free record, payment of taxes, American civics and English proficiency, and an 8-13 year wait period at the end of the line behind existing green card and citizenship applicants) and an education/skills-based point system for future immigrants.  Under the proposal, the border security and employer verification requirements must be implemented before any of the visa and citizenship programs are created.  Our existing immigration system is a failed system.  Maintaining that system is to keep the status quo.  And that is not acceptable.   The Senate began debating amendments to this proposal and will continue this process after the Memorial Day recess.

The Senate passed S. 761, the America COMPETES Act, legislation intended to put America back in the forefront of scientific research and advancement through a combination of improved math and science education and expanded science research and development funding.  I am an original co-sponsor of this effort to remain globally competitive and innovative.

The Senate also passed S. 1082, legislation reauthorizing the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) programs.  This important bill establishes sweeping new powers to monitor drug safety, orders changes to drug labels, and restricts the use and distribution of medicines found to pose serious risks to consumers.  S. 1082 represents a fundamental change in the philosophy and operations of the FDA, requiring the agency to focus on the entire life cycle of a drug, not just the years prior to its approval, but also the experience of patients who later take it.

The Senate also passed the Water Resources and Development Act of 2007 (WRDA), critical legislation authorizing federal expenditures on water development, infrastructure, flood control and other projects conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation.  Among the items included in this legislation at my request are:  (1) $10 million authorization for the construction of the Arkansas Valley Conduit in southeastern Colorado, designed to provide fresh drinking water and promote economic revitalization to the people of the lower Arkansas Valley; (2) specific instructions to speed up completion of the Fountain Creek Watershed Study, the first step toward the clean-up and protection of Fountain Creek between Colorado Springs and Pueblo, but also affecting all the communities between and downstream from Pueblo.  The recent flooding of the Fountain in north Pueblo underscores the need to move this matter along; (3) $10 million authorization for construction of the Boulder County pipeline; (4) $13.7 million authorization for restoration of the South Platte; (5) $25 million for the Rio Grande Environmental Management Program in Colorado, New Mexico and Texas; and (6) $5 million authorization for a Colorado statewide selenium study (selenium, in high doses, can be fatal to humans, livestock and wildlife).  These WRDA projects are separate from the many other water programs that are annually addressed in other legislation.

The Senate and House also gave final approval to the fiscal year 2008 budget resolution, the congressional blueprint for funding and fiscal policy priorities for the upcoming fiscal year that begins in October.  This budget cuts taxes for middle class families, restores "pay-as-you-go" budgeting rules abandoned by the previous Congress under different leadership, and puts our Nation on the path to balancing the budget in four years.

Looking ahead, following the Memorial day recess, the Senate will continue its work on the  immigration bill then proceed to action on the energy bill.  Other potential items for consideration in June include any available appropriations bills, the 9/11 conference report (described in a previous update), the ethics reform conference report, and the FY 08 Defense Authorization bill.

I want you to also know that I appreciate your feedback on these updates.  Some of the replies I receive express disappointment I am not working on a particular favorite topic.  Please know that even though an update may not refer to a particular topic, it does not mean I have no interest or am not working on the issue.  The purpose of these newsletters is to simply give you a snapshot of my activity for that particular time frame, and necessarily cannot reflect all of the work I am doing on all of the issues before the Senate.  For example, most of my committee work, votes, co-sponsorships, letters, and the hundreds of issue meetings I attend simply cannot be reflected in these short updates.

Some of the issues you write to me about have been discussed in previous newsletters, posted at salazarforcolorado.com.  It is also important to remember that many issues are being worked on in other committees of jurisdiction by other Senators, or are awaiting full Senate consideration, at which time I will have the opportunity to act.

The following is an update on some of my other activities since the April newsletter.

Attorney General Gonzales.  Over the past several months I have followed closely the events and revelations related to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.  I have concluded that it is in the best interest of the Department of Justice to have new leadership to restore the trust and confidence of the American people in this keystone department of our Nation's government.  I accordingly announced my opinion that Attorney General Gonzales should resign his office.  I called the Attorney General and urged him to resign.

School Safety.  I reported back in February that Senators Boxer, Lautenberg, Schumer, Durbin and I introduced the School Safety Enhancement Act of 2007 to help ensure better security at America's schools.  In the wake of the horrific Virginia Tech massacre in April, we joined together again in adding new provisions to the bill to (1) require each college and university that receives federal student aid funding to conduct an annual campus safety assessment in consultation with local law enforcement officials and (2) require that those colleges and universities develop and implement a campus emergency response plan to address law enforcement emergencies such as active shooter situations and bomb threats.  While the federal government's role is necessarily limited in addressing school violence and safety, the ability to plan as much as possible for these kinds of emergencies just makes sense.

Gasoline Prices.  In the wake of soaring gasoline prices, at a recent Senate Energy Committee hearing, I questioned oil industry experts on the behavior of the gasoline market in the U.S., including the amount of money going from consumers' pockets that is leading to record-breaking profits being made by the oil companies and refineries.  Witnesses testified that production cuts by OPEC, higher than usual refining outages in the U.S., and increasing demand for gasoline are leading to the record gas prices.  These factors once again bring to the forefront the problems our country faces because of our continued reliance on foreign oil, the limited number of domestic refineries, and the need to develop robust renewable and alternative energy sources and energy efficiency standards and programs.

Energy Independence.  The Senate Energy Committee approved a package of proposals designed to promote energy independence and reduce American addiction to foreign oil, as well as addressing climate change and other environmental concerns.  These package will be considered by the full Senate in connection with June action on a comprehensive energy bill. Among those proposals were four measures supported by me as sponsor and co-sponsor:  (1) S. 987, establishing a renewable fuel standard of 36 billion gallons per year by 2022 and other steps to increase American investment in and use of biofuels; (2) S. 731, my bill to develop a comprehensive inventory of the nation's ability to store carbon in appropriate geologic features and other natural basins (carbon sequestration—carbon dioxide gas is a leading cause of global climate change); (3) S. 962, legislation establishing pilot carbon sequestration projects to validate information on the cost and feasibility to safely contain carbon dioxide; and (4) S.1115, Energy Efficiency Promotion Act, which sets the goal of reducing U.S. gasoline consumption by 45% by 2030 thru various energy efficiency standards and incentives.  When the full Senate considers this package, I hope to offer amendments to increase and promote energy efficiency beyond the Energy Committee's actions.

Protecting Our Seniors.  In the wake of allegations that insurers offering private Medicare-eligible plans, known as Medicare Advantage, have improperly pressured vulnerable senior citizens to enroll in such plans (which provide a greater return to insurance agents and companies than traditional Medicare), I called for an immediate investigation by the Senate Finance Committee into these allegations.  If the reports that individuals and companies are preying on seniors and defrauding the taxpayers is true, the unscrupulous agents must be prosecuted and the insurance plans banned from the Medicare program.

Veterans Mental Health Care.  Senator Allard joined me in sending a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting that GAO expand its current limited review of Department of Defense mental health/brain injury screenings, diagnoses, referrals and treatment of returning service members to a system-wide review.

Rural Broadband Access.  The U.S. economy is becoming increasingly dependent on access to information.  However, rural communities already at risk of being left behind face the additional hurdle of a lack of broadband Internet access, preventing them timely access to a wealth of relevant information.  Accordingly, I joined Senator Roberts (R-KS) in introducing S.1439, legislation to improve broadband delivery to rural America.

Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness Protection.  Amidst the backdrop of rugged Long's Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park, Senator Wayne Allard and Representative Marilyn Musgrave joined me and Representative Mark Udall in announcing the introduction of S. 1380, my legislation to designate nearly 250,000 acres of Rocky Mountain National Park as wilderness.   This effort has been a long time coming, since the 1970s, in fact.  Finally, with a united congressional delegation behind this effort, I look forward to protecting this crown jewel of the National Park Service for generations yet to come.

Wildfire Fighting and Prevention Funding Update.  In April I reported on the Forest Service's puzzling decision to cut $4.3 million in funding for wildfire fighting and prevention in Colorado for the upcoming wildfire season.  The entire Colorado delegation demanded in a letter to the Forest Service that it immediately restore the funds.  In a partial victory, the Forest Service has agreed to restore $2 million in funds that will go to high priority, on-the-ground fuel treatment projects in communities affected by the bark beetle infestations as well as to on-the-ground fuel treatment projects around at-risk communities in the Front Range's wildland-urban interface.

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,

Ken Salazar
United States Senator