Dems Building Back Better in 2021 and Beyond!

It's been quite a year, dear readers. Can you believe that it's December already?!

Democrats have gotten a lot done in just one year under the leadership of President Biden, Speaker Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Schumer. And with the clock running out on 2021, Democrats are working overtime to get a number of items passed before the year is finished, including:

• Passing the Build Back Better Act in the Senate
• Passing government funding and preventing a government shutdown
• Raising the debt ceiling

As a reminder, the House passed the BBB Act, with zero Republican support. Here's what the BBB Act means for Colorado:

• Cutting taxes for working families: The BBB act will extend the expanded Child Tax Credit, which was championed by Senator Michael Bennet. Working families will continue to see increases of up to $300 per month per child under 6 or $250/month per child ages 6 to 17. More than 293,000 low-wage workers across our state will see a tax cut of up to $1,500.
• Lowering health care costs: Closing the Medicaid coverage gap to help millions of Americans gain health insurance, extend through 2025 the American Rescue Plan’s health insurance premium reductions for those who buy coverage on their own, and help older Americans access affordable hearing care by expanding Medicare.
• Lowering child care & family care costs: This legislation will provide access to child care for 342,300 young children (ages 0-5) per year from families earning under 2.5 times the state median income (about $251,900 for a family of 4), ensuring these families pay no more than 7% of their income on high-quality child care. It will also expand access to free, high-quality preschool to more than 91,200 additional 3- and 4-year-olds per year and increase the quality of preschool for children who are already enrolled.
• Reduce housing costs and expand housing options. 379,000 renters in Colorado are rent-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent, while homeownership remains out of reach for many Colorado families. The Build Back Better Act will expand rental assistance for Colorado renters, while also increasing the supply of high-quality, affordable housing through the construction and rehabilitation of over 1 million affordable housing units nationwide.
• Making the largest effort to combat climate change in American history. From 2010 to 2020, Colorado experienced 30 extreme weather events, costing up to $50 billion in damages. The Build Back Better Act will cut pollution, reduce energy costs, and create good-paying jobs with a transformational investment to ensure America leads the clean energy economy.

CALL TO ACTION: Colorado's U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper both back the Build Back Better Act, and they're going to be fighting tooth and nail to get it passed! Give them a call, and cheer them on to continue fighting for Colorado and get the Build Back Better Act passed!

COVID-19 Updates

Here are Updates from Governor Polis on the Fight Against COVID-19

• To date, Colorado has given first doses to more than 53,000 kids ages 5-11 years old, and we continue pushing to meet our goal of having 50% of this population vaccinated by the end of January.
  • The state has already begun hosting clinics with partners like the Denver Zoo and Children’s Hospital, and we are working with groups across the state to ensure that everyone can get the lifesaving vaccine. 
• Colorado has passed an important milestone in the fight against COVID-19, with 80% of adults having received at least one dose of the lifesaving vaccine. 
  • 72.8% of eligible Coloradans are fully vaccinated. 
  • 30% have received a booster dose. 
• COVID-19 is still very much part of our communities. 
  • 1 out of every 49 Coloradans is infected with the virus. 
  • The Delta Variant is brutally effective at seeking out the unvaccinated, infecting them, and causing hospitalization or even death. It has never been more dangerous to be unvaccinated in Colorado than it is right now.  

The more Coloradans who get vaccinated, the sooner we can end this peak and end this pandemic. We all have an important role to play in ending this pandemic, and it’s going to take all of us working together. 

To find a vaccine provider near you, visit covid19.colorado.gov/vaccine. 

Colorado Conversations

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2 @ 6:00PM

Virtual Town Hall on Passing Immigration Reform

Fixing our broken immigration system is a task that has flummoxed administrations from both parties for decades. While progress has been made to protect DREAMers and provide a path to citizenship, there is still a lot of work to be done. Too many immigrant families find themselves stuck in a system that just isn't working. Meanwhile, the rhetoric around immigration and refugees has become increasingly toxic, xenophobic, and divisive.

In the final edition of Colorado Conversations for 2021, we assemble community leaders, subject experts, and elected officials from different levels of office to discuss what ongoing efforts are happening, what else must be done, and why we must finally pass true immigration reform.

Click here to sign up!

Getting Ready for the 2022 Legislative Session!

Colorado Dems are ready for the 2022 legislative session, and they need YOU to help them pass policies that deliver for hardworking families!

Share the graphic above, and encourage your friends and family in Colorado to stay engaged and be involved in the Democratic process!

Join the Defenders of Democracy!

If 2021 showed us anything, it's that we are no longer a party divided between liberals and conservatives. We are divided between people who are pro-democracy, and people who are anti-democracy.

Anti-democracy Republicans in Colorado are desperate to claw back power, and they'll say and do anything to make it happen. They have dark money, but we have you. Will you become a Defender of Democracy by giving $5 a month?

Monthly donations enable us to be able to plan our budget ahead of time and ensure that we can pay our organizers and staffers to continue to defend democracy. Monthly donors empower us to plan our budget, and they ensure that we can fully fund our 2022 Win Plan.

Will you become a Defender of Democracy and chip-in just $5 a month?

Help Fund President Biden's Portrait in the Colorado State Capitol!

Did You Know the Colorado State Capitol has

a Presidential Portrait Gallery?

Democratic State Rep. Susan Lontine (HD1) is working with the Creativity Lab of Colorado to raise the $15,000 needed to commission a portrait of President Joe Biden for the Presidential Portrait Gallery in the Colorado State Capitol, and they need your help! Click here or read below to learn more:

Please help us achieve the fundraising goal of $15,000 to commission Colorado artist, Sarah Boardman, create the 46th president’s portrait to add to the Presidential Portrait Gallery on the third floor rotunda of the Colorado State Capitol. gallery of the capital’s rotunda. Boardman has been commissioned to create presidential portraits for the state capital of past presidents.

Help Wanted!

Colorado Dems are currently hiring a Coordinated Finance and Operations Manager for the 2022 cycle! Know someone who would be a great fit position?

Click here to read the job description and learn more!

Colorado County Spotlight!

By Jill Duvall, CDP Vice Chair of Rural Outreach

Featuring Guest Writer Robert Thomasson of Elbert County: 

In 1903, Saint Ann's Church was built in the town of Kiowa.  It was a natural stone building built without electricity, running water or a modern heating system. It was heated by a single wood stove and the warmth of a small yet devout congregation of parishioners. In a document describing the congregation written in 1923 to the Catholic Bishop of Denver by Rev. Andrew C. Murphy of the Sacred Heart in Elbert, Colorado he said, "The congregation is scattered and few."  It appears there were fewer than ten families in about a twelve mile radius. These facts made it impossible to make upgrades to the church.

Then in 1960 things improved somewhat. A band of local volunteers from both Elizabeth and Kiowa pulled together to modernize the church.  It was a wonderful and unifying experience.  Everything was donated. Finally, St. Ann's had power and lights along with modern plumbing.   

By May 6th, 1968 the church was serving twenty-four families but alas, only nine of them were in the immediate Kiowa area.  The Catholic Church of Colorado was undergoing a consolidation of properties and then Catholic Archbishop of Denver, James Vincent Casey (September 22, 1914 – March 14, 1986), decided to close the church.

Thanks to the quick thinking of Elbert County Attorney George Elsner (an old Elbert County name) he proposed that the church be donated to the County of Elbert for use as a library.  Elsner donated his services to do the transfer and the sitting BOCC quickly approved the measure.

Today, this building is a gem.  It is a historical building that has served the people of Elbert County for 118 years.  It is part of the Pines to Plains Library District and lovingly tended to by the library staff of Ruben, Chelsea, Susan Brenda, Andra and Sharon.  Come on down and introduce yourself and see how this amazing structure has been improved and turned into a first class place of learning! 

Volunteer of the Week!

This week's Volunteer of the Week goes out to Melanie Potyandy in Larimer County!

Being a public educator who works with high schoolers with disabilities, I have always been a service-oriented person. However, it wasn't until I moved to Fort Collins in 2015, especially following the 2016 presidential election, that I realized that political involvement was such a critical vehicle for change and one that seemed to suit me. Through my involvement in the Poudre Education Association, participating in my city's citizens' academy, and working with one of my local lawmakers on a bill, politics began to feel tangible to me and, for the past five years, I have found a huge sense of purpose in political action.

We need the right people in elected office--kind, ethical, innovative people with a heart for service--and we need to constantly be advocating for better policies at the state, local, and national level. I love that I have found so many opportunities to spread the word to voters about candidates and issues I believe in and that my voice carries power. I am proud to have discovered the fire I need to keep pushing for positive change and intend to be an active political volunteer for decades to come.   

Want to volunteer and help elect Democrats across Colorado like Melanie is doing? Click the button below to join our talent bank, and we'll get you plugged in!

David's Messaging Minute!

Voters Like the Infrastructure Package, and The More They Hear About It, the More They Like It!

Two In Three Americans Support Biden’s Infrastructure Legislation

YEP! You heard that right. Perhaps, not so coincidentally with a rise in his poll number, voters really like the bipartisan infrastructure package that President Biden and Democrats got across the finish line.

The agenda of President Biden and Democrats is overwhelmingly popular. This polling from Navigator shows that a majority of the American people support the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law even before they hear specifics — and net support grows to a stunning 40-point margin when Americans read about the policies in it.

Another important thing to keep in mind here is that not only do voters support the Democratic agenda, but voters trust President Biden and Democrats to reduce the cost of living for working families and work across the aisle to accomplish bipartisan solutions.

The message is breaking through: President Biden and Democrats deliver for the working families across our state and country, while Republicans just play games because they're all talk and no action.

And remember...

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