Keeping Up With Our Work in Washington!

July 31, 2023

Dear Neighbors, On Friday, I traveled back home from Washington, D.C. eager to spend some time with our community after a busy few weeks in our nation’s capital. During the August District Work Period, I plan to be out and about—traversing across our wonderful district, and connecting with constituents at town halls and community events from Eagle to Fort Collins, Steamboat Springs to Longmont (and everywhere in between!) To stay up to date with our August plans follow @RepJoeNeguse on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and – now – Threads!

Before leaving Washington, we had a jam-packed month of July. I was honored to introduce several of our office’s top priority bills, from pushing the federal government to fully fund special education to tackling airplane noise pollution and so much more…

To fulfill Congress’ promise to fully fund special education, I helped introduce the IDEA Full Funding Act, a bill that ensures every child with a disability has access to educational opportunity. Read more HERE.
To invest in rural schools on Colorado’s Western Slope, I introduced the Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act. This critical bill makes certain that rural schools receive the funding they need to support our students. Read more HERE.
To reduce airplane noise pollution, I introduced an amendment to the FAA Reauthorization Bill that would address community concerns regarding the aviation industry (and as a member of the Rules Committee, I was able to successfully add it to the bill!) Read more HERE.

Also, as some of you may have already seen, two weeks ago Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-Lakewood) and I introduced legislation to improve access to mental health care services for America’s farmers and ranchers. This idea, and the bill I introduced to provide federal support for sustainable agriculture and soil research (the bipartisan Sustainable Agriculture Research Act), both came from community conversations with local stakeholders from across Colorado’s 2nd District.

Our work continues, and I am looking forward to seeing your friendly faces very soon!

LIVE AND IN-STUDIO

Last week, I joined host Alex Wagner on MSNBC to discuss our work to address issues of real importance to everyday Americans: lowering costs, growing the middle class, and building safer communities.

WHAT ELSE HAVE WE BEEN WORKING ON?

We convened a meeting of the bipartisan Colorado River Caucus. As the founder and co-chair of this group, I am committed to holding conversations and continuing to underscore the importance of protecting the Colorado River.
I joined my good friend and Texas Congressman, Greg Casar, last week as he rallied folks in support of federal heat safety protections. As record-breaking heat waves scorch our communities, workers across the country are being subjected to grueling conditions.
Joined our summer intern class on #NationalInternDay to answer the phones in our office earlier this week. It was great to get to chat with Coloradans, answering their questions on the important issues facing our country.
Hosted Ear Community Founder, Melissa Tumblin, in D.C. this week! In 2019, Melissa’s 10 year-old daughter Ally wrote to our office explaining the need for affordable specialized hearing devices. Since then, we’ve worked to enact insurance reforms to ensure coverage of these essential devices through Ally’s Act.

Should you need any assistance from our office, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Please stay safe, stay healthy, and stay hopeful!