Hitting the Ground Running

Dear Friends,

On January 3rd, I traveled to Washington D.C. with my wife Andrea and daughter Natalie to be sworn in to the United States House of Representatives as your next Congressman. As the son of refugees and first Eritrean American to serve in the people’s house, it was an honor to have my father sitting in the House Gallery able to witness this moment. Only in America is my story possible.

Since being sworn in, I have gotten to work immediately to introduce several pieces of original legislation that will benefit the 2nd Congressional District and the State of Colorado. I have been appointed to serve on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, an incredibly important committee that will take up work pertaining to immigration reform, criminal justice reform, voting rights and gun violence prevention, as well as many other critical issues in the 116th Congress. I have also been appointed to the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee that will handle important legislation pertaining to our public lands in Colorado. 

I had the opportunity to speak with many of you about the impacts of the partial government shutdown at town halls in Estes Park and Fort Collins over the past five weeks. I understand the real-life impact this shutdown had on so many of you, and am working to ensure that all our federal employees receive back pay in full and on-time, as well as discussing with my colleagues actions we can take to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.

I'm grateful to all of you who reached out and shared your stories, from speaking to air traffic controllers and TSA agents at Denver International Airport, speaking with small business owners outside of Rocky Mountain National Park, firefighters with the U.S. Forest Service and federal lab workers in Boulder County, I have been able to understand the impact of this shutdown on the over 15,000 federal workers in Colorado. In my first floor speech I shared some of the stories from these impacted workers in Colorado. It is important to me that your voices are heard in the halls of government.

In my first month in office, I've introduced seven pieces of original legislation. Last week, I introduced a public lands package with Senator Michael Bennet, that will protect approximately 400,000 acres of cherished landscapes, wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities, including 100,000 acres in the White River National Forest right here in the 2nd district. The CORE (Colorado Outdoor Recreation & Economy) Act was written by Coloradans, not by Congress, and is the culmination of years of collaborative input from out local governments, outdoor businesses, sportsman, ranchers and recreationists. I have also introduced legislation which would support and incentivize residential solar installations, spur the long-term job growth of the solar industry and help move the country towards a cleaner future.

In addition, I have introduced the bipartisan Arapaho National Forest Boundary Adjustment (WEDGE) Act and the bipartisan Bolts Ditch Access and Use Act, the Safe Helicopters Now Act, legislation that would ensure that all emergency helicopters are outfitted with safe fuel systems, as well as a bill to install a statue from an artist from Loveland, CO in Washington D.C. as a national monument dedicated to women’s suffrage.

I have also joined efforts from my colleagues to enact a sweeping legislative package that will lower the cost of prescription drugs, and have cosponsored H.R. 1, a bold democratic reform package aimed at increasing voters access to the ballot box and removing dark money from the political system, which I discussed when delivering the final Democratic Weekly Address of 2018. I have signed onto legislation to enact universal background checks, raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, ensure equal pay for equal work and pass Medicare for All.

As your representative, I want to hear from you. I hope you will consider visiting my office in Washington, stopping by our district offices in Fort Collins and Boulder, or writing me your thoughts and suggestions. Please also keep up with our important work by subscribing to our newsletter at /contact/newsletter-subscribe and following along on Twitter and Facebook.

Yours,

Congressman Joe Neguse