Dear Fellow Citizens,
Fall has definitely arrived, with
snow beginning to crown our Rocky
Mountains. With the change in seasons,
the Senate resumed action on a number
of items in September on which I'd
like to update you.
The Senate gave final approval
to legislation renewing and expanding
the federal children's health
insurance program known
as S-CHIP to provide health care
coverage for approximately 10 million
children (96,000 in Colorado) whose
families earn too much to qualify
for Medicaid but not enough to be
able to afford private insurance.
Providing health care to our children
should be a moral and economic imperative,
and yet, curiously, the president
has threatened to veto this bipartisan
bill. The Senate also gave final
approval to legislation expanding
federal student financial
aid programs to make college
more affordable and reforming the
student loan industry.
The Senate also turned its attention
to approving annual FY 08
appropriations bills. We
passed the Military Construction-Veterans
Affairs, Foreign Operations and
Transportation-HUD Appropriations
bills.
We also resumed and completed consideration
of the Defense Authorization
bill, although we promptly
bogged down yet again over efforts
to force a change in the U.S. mission
in Iraq and to
begin bringing our troops home.
I voted for the Webb (D-VA) troop
deployment time limits
amendment to require our soldiers
to return home sooner, and for the
Reid (D-NV)-Levin (D-MI) amendment
directing DOD to commence a reduction
of U.S. troops in Iraq
within 90 days of the bill's passage,
initiation of a diplomatic "surge,"
and a change in mission
of any remaining U.S. troops from
combat to other missions. Those
efforts were, as with previous efforts
this year, thwarted by minority
procedural maneuvers. Likewise,
an amendment to the Defense bill
to reinstate habeas corpus
for non-citizens militarily detained
by the U.S., which I also supported,
failed on a procedural vote.
In October, we expect to pass the
remaining annual appropriations
bills. Other anticipated
legislative action in October includes
the Farm Bill,
final action on FDA reauthorization
approved by the Senate earlier this
year, Trade Adjustment Assistance
reauthorization, patent
reform, tax legislation,
and a possible U.S. Attorney
General nomination.
The following is an update on some
of my other activities in September.
Iraq. After
Labor Day, I made my third trip
to Iraq. I met with Colorado troops,
U.S. military officials, and Sunni,
Shiite and Kurdish leaders. My third
trip to Iraq and a review of the
many reports delivered to Congress
in August and September only reaffirm
my belief that we must take decisive
action to force the Iraqi government
and the Iraqi people to secure the
peace for Iraq. The Iraqis must
secure the peace for themselves.
The United States cannot do it for
them. The President's plan to keep
our troops in Iraq at the 130,000
pre-surge levels through 2008 will
not force the Iraqi government to
do what it must do now. We, therefore,
need a mission change. I have said
for many months that we need to
begin the transition of our troops'
mission in Iraq from one of combat
to one of training and support.
That was the core recommendation
of the Iraq Study Group for which
I have been trying to obtain legislative
approval. After meeting with Iraqi
leaders it became clearer in my
mind that there is no clear military
solution and that we should not
leave our troops in the middle of
sectarian strife dating back hundreds
of years.
Funding for Colorado's
Military Facilities.
I secured over $167 million for
Colorado's military installations
in the Senate's Appropriations Committee's
FY 08 Defense Appropriations bill,
including $142 million to accelerate
weapons destruction at the Pueblo
Chemical Depot, funding for data
network upgrades at Cheyenne Mountain
and USNORTHCOM and security upgrades
at Schriever Air Force Base and
other military programs and facilities
around the state.
I also secured over $600 million
for key Colorado military installations
in the Senate-approved FY 08 Military
Construction-Veterans Affairs Appropriations
bill. Included in the Colorado projects
is funding for the new Fitzsimons
VA Hospital in Aurora, military
construction funds for Fort Carson,
construction funds for the Air and
Space Integration Facility at Schriever
Air Force Base, funding for academic
facilities at the U.S. Air Force
Academy, funds for continued chemical
weapon destruction operations and
plans at Pueblo Chemical Depot,
funding to replace the Colorado
National Guard's outdated squadron
operations facility, and funding
for utility infrastructure improvements
at Buckley Air Force Base.
Army's Pinon Canyon
Expansion Proposal.
Expansion of the Army's Pinon Canyon
Maneuver Site in southern Colorado
continues to be a thorn of contention
between the Army and local ranchers
and communities fearful of the effects
of expansion on their livelihoods.
I support ensuring our soldiers
are adequately trained but so far
the Army has not proved to my satisfaction
the purpose or need for expansion.
As part of the FY 08 MilCon-VA Appropriations
bill, by a vote of 47-45 I gained
Senate approval of my amendment
to prohibit expansion at Pinon Canyon
in fiscal year 2008 (identical to
the House-passed amendment). I also
obtained Senate approval of my amendment
to the Defense Authorization bill
requiring the Army to justify any
future expansion of Pinon Canyon,
with an independent review by the
GAO's of the Army's position.
A New Direction for
Energy. In mid-September
I addressed the national legislative
conference of the National Association
of Automobile Dealers where I stressed
the importance of creating a clean
energy economy for the 21st century
as a national, economic and environmental
security imperative. Among the many
elements of this energy strategy
that I discussed was the need to
increase vehicle efficiency standards,
also known as CAFÉ standards,
something the auto industry has
resisted.
Seniors Access to Health
Care Services. I introduced
S. 2099, legislation to ensure continued
Medicare patient access to and competition
among clinical medical laboratories,
preserving the ability of seniors
to get lab tests from clinical labs
most convenient to them. A law passed
by Congress three years ago seeks
to limit Medicare-approved clinical
laboratories, potentially driving
smaller labs out of business.
Veterans Health Care.
As part of the Senate's FY 08 MilCon-VA
Appropriations bill I successfully
added my and Senator Tester's (D-MT)
legislation to increase the mileage
reimbursement rate for veterans
traveling to VA facilities for health
care needs.
Protecting Our Environment.
The Senate Finance Committee on
which I serve approved a natural
resources tax package that includes
incentives for conservation and
land restoration in our Nation and
in Colorado. Among the items included
in that package are bills I co-sponsored
to permanently extend the tax deductions
for contributions to conservation
easements (S. 469) and legislation
creating new tax incentives related
to the recovery and restoration
of endangered animal and plant species
by private landowners (S. 700).
Investing in Water Resources.
The Senate gave final approval to
the Water Resources Development
Act (WRDA) authorizing critical
water development, infrastructure,
flood control and other projects
around the country. At my request,
over $120 million in Colorado projects
was authorized in the WRDA bill,
including $79 million for the long-promised
Arkansas Valley Conduit to provide
fresh drinking water to the residents
of the lower Arkansas River Valley,
and funding authorization of other
projects such as the Boulder County
Pipeline, South Platte River flood
mitigation, habitat restoration
and improved recreation, the Rio
Grande Environmental Management
Program, for water and wastewater
infrastructure for the Ute Mountain
Project in southwestern Colorado,
as well as specific instructions
to speed up completion of the Fountain
Creek Watershed Study, the first
step toward the clean-up and protection
of Fountain Creek for all of the
communities impacted by that watershed,
including Colorado Springs, Fountain,
Security, Pueblo and other communities.
The president has threatened to
veto this bill.
Highway Funds for Colorado.
The Senate Finance Committee approved,
as part of the reauthorization of
the Aviation Trust Fund, critical
funding for the Highway Trust Fund,
which is currently forecasted to
experience a shortfall in revenues
in 2009. This shortfall, which if
left unaddressed, would mean a $100
million loss for Colorado highways
in 2009. As a member of the Finance
Committee, I worked to ensure this
funding was included in the bill.
I also secured over $150 million
in new federal funding for Colorado
transportation projects in the Senate's
FY 08 Transportation-HUD Appropriations
bill. Included in those Colorado
projects was funding for RTD's West
Corridor Light Rail Project and
Southeast Corridor Multi-Modal Project
(T-REX), the I-25 interchange at
Fort Carson's Gate 20, CDOT's Ports-to-Plains-U.S.
287 Project at Lamar, and CDOT's
resurfacing of State Highway 150
near the Great Sand Dunes, and funding
for projects of the Colorado Transit
Coalition. Also included in the
bill at my request was funding for
Denver's homeless veterans housing
program and funding for a new Colorado
River Park in Grand Junction.
As always, for more information
on my Senate activities in Colorado
and in Washington, I urge you to
visit my website at salazar.senate.gov.
Sincerely,
