As this new year begins, I want to wish you and your family much prosperity for 2022. I also want to thank the people of Colorado’s Third District for the opportunity to serve you this past year in Congress. It is a privilege to represent you and fight each and every day on your behalf. I want to share the highlights and some of the things we were able to accomplish together for the people of Colorado and the Third Congressional District.
These numbers provide a snapshot of all the work we’ve done for Colorado during my first year in Congress, but they only tell part of the story. It is impossible to adequately capture all the great things that transpired this year including helping veterans receive proper care, assisting seniors with Medicare issues, nominating Colorado’s brightest to our prestigious service academies, partnering with local stakeholders to invest grant money in rural Colorado, working behind the scenes to draft and improve legislation, meeting with so many great people throughout the district and hearing their stories, and so much more.
I’ve worked hard to make sure my local district offices are accessible and accountable to everyone who needs services in our communities. This year alone we opened over 650 cases and helped constituents in the district secure more than $400,000 in federal benefits to which they were entitled but not receiving because of government bureaucracy. We are one of the few federal offices that keeps regular mobile office hours in every county of our 50,000 square mile district so people don’t have to drive far distances to meet with my team and receive help.
I’m very proud of the work I am doing in Congress. I serve on the Natural Resources and Budget Committees, I am co-chair of the Congressional Second Amendment Caucus and after only a few months, I was elected to the Board of the House Freedom Caucus and was also appointed to serve on the Future of American Freedoms Task Force. I also serve as the Vice Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus.
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- Led the Colorado federal delegation in securing emergency assistance to get I-70 repaired and reopened following this year’s catastrophic mudslides.
- Passed an amendment to actively manage forests near power transmission lines to prevent catastrophic wildfires.
- Secured a $1.8 billion appropriations request for community health centers, including the eight in the Third District that provide high-quality healthcare to rural areas.
- Delivered $137.6 million for the Bureau of Reclamation’s water conservation and delivery programs to combat Western drought and deliver clean water to rural Colorado while also supporting the Arkansas Valley Conduit, which will supply clean water from the Pueblo Reservoir to 50,000 people in Southern Colorado.
- Introduced a bill and led a pressure campaign that resulted in the Biden administration dropping its plan to give illegal immigrants separated at the border $450,000 checks.
- Secured an important win for six counties in the San Luis Valley by ensuring data from their new radar system is incorporated into the National Weather Service system. Prior to my involvement, government bureaucracy, for over a year, prevented the $1.8 million community-funded radar’s data from being implemented and utilized to serve the local community.
- Removed red flag laws, removed provisions requiring women to register for the Selective Service, removed massive land grabs in Colorado, and removed numerous “woke” provisions from the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to ensure that our military remains the most lethal and effective force for freedom on earth.
- Led the charge and worked with Governor Polis as well as Senators Hickenlooper and Bennet when extremists wanted to move the Bureau of Land Management out of Grand Junction and back to the Swamp. Thanks to my public pressure campaign, Grand Junction will be the Bureau’s Western Headquarters and 36 good-paying jobs will stay there, up from 16 initially announced by the Biden administration.
- Passed an amendment to study a responsible all-of-the-above energy strategy that delivers for the environment and for working families.
- Supported farmers and ranchers threatened by liberal policies by securing funding to compensate farmers and ranchers whose livestock are killed by wolves.
- Stood with farmers and truckers to pass an appropriations request delaying the implementation of regulations targeting the livestock transportation industry.
- Strengthened rural communities by fully-funding PILT which provides resources for law enforcement, firefighting, education, and infrastructure in counties with public lands.
- Passed an amendment with bipartisan support to prohibit the Biden administration from moving the Bureau of Land Management Headquarters out of Grand Junction.
- Co-sponsored legislation signed into law to award the 13 servicemembers killed in the terrorist attack in Afghanistan the Congressional Gold Medal.
- Fought Navy bureaucracy to help reinstate an honorably discharged veteran discharged due to medical issues who subsequently recovered and was eligible to reenlist.
- Defeated H.R. 1443 on the suspension calendar to prevent financial institutions from using woke ideology to determine which businesses receive loans.
- Led all Colorado House members in time spent speaking on the House floor addressing critical issues important to Colorado.
- Elected to the Board of Directors of the House Freedom Caucus.
- FreedomWorks Member of the Month and Bill of the Month for July 2021.
- “A” rating and 100% Liberty Score from Conservative Review’s analysis of my first-year voting record.
- “A+” rating on the Susan B. Anthony National Pro-Life Scorecard.
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The Minority Leader appointed me to the Future of American Freedoms Task Force to plan policies and initiatives that conservatives will take once we retake the House. I have been putting forth substantive conservative policy since I took office. - Introduced 24 bills and resolutions and co-sponsored nearly 200 pieces of legislation.
- Introduced the World Health Organization Accountability Act to investigate the origins of COVID-19 and ensure America holds both the WHO and China accountable.
- Introduced the Active Forest Management, Wildfire Prevention, and Community Protection Act, the most comprehensive forest management bill in decades, to prevent wildfires, invest in rural economies, remove beetle-killed trees that serve as kindling, and protect the environment.
- Introduced the Western Water Security Act to protect private property rights, prevent federal water grabs, and help ensure an abundant supply of clean water for future generations.
- Introduced the Secure the Southern Border Act to end “Catch and Release”, finish building the wall, defund sanctuary cities, restore the “Remain in Mexico” policy, and secure the border.
- Introduced the No Amnesty Act to nullify and defund Biden’s unconstitutional amnesty executive actions.
- Introduced the Protecting American Energy Jobs Act to repeal Biden's job-killing executive mandates, ensure reliable and affordable energy supplies, and foster economic growth and job creation in rural communities.
- Introduced the Paris Agreement Constitutional Treaty Act to prohibit Congress from spending funds on the Paris Agreement until the Senate ratifies it.
- Introduced the 30 x 30 Termination Act to protect ranching, grazing, and multiple-use and block this radical landgrab initiative.
- Introduced the America’s Infrastructure Modernization Act to fund actual infrastructure like roads and bridges without increasing taxes or wasting money on the left’s Green New Deal spending spree.
- Introduced the Stop AOC Act to prohibit the use of future federal funds for AOC’s new COVID funeral grant program.
- Introduced legislation to designate Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization.
- Joined 175 Members of Congress in an amicus brief defending the Second Amendment before the Supreme Court in the case of New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen.
- Cosponsored the Protecting Financial Privacy Act to prevent the IRS from snooping on Americans’ bank accounts.
- Cosponsored the Afghanistan Accountability Act to ensure accountability for Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.
- Cosponsored the Medical Freedom in the Military Act to prohibit disciplinary action against a member of the Armed Forces for not receiving a COVID vaccination.
- Cosponsored the Beat China Act to incentivize companies to combat the supply chain crisis.
- Cosponsored the Championing Our Parents Act which prohibits federal funds from being used to target and call parents concerned about education “domestic terrorists.”
- Cosponsored the Defending Veterans’ Second Amendment Rights Act to prohibit the VA from transferring veterans’ information to NICS solely because they have received a disability rating for a mental illness.
- Joined over 100 Members in protecting the Second Amendment and urging Biden not to rejoin the unconstitutional United Nations Arms Trade Treaty.
- Cosponsored the Antitrust Enforcement Venue Act of 2021 to help state attorney generals take on Big Tech.
- Cosponsored legislation to prohibit federal funding for the Biden administration’s program that flies illegal immigrants from three Central American countries to the U.S. to prevent them from making the so-called "dangerous journey by land."
- Cosponsored legislation to prevent the return of the 2015 WOTUS rule, a land and water grab that sought to assert Clean Water Act and federal jurisdiction over areas with the slightest connection to water resources.
- Cosponsored the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act to ensure federal funds aren’t paying for abortions.
- Cosponsored the Defund Planned Parenthood Act to prohibit Planned Parenthood from accessing federal funds to perform abortions.
- Cosponsored the Life at Conception Act to protect the unborn.
- Led the charge to reform Congress by reinstating the ban on corrupt practices like earmarks that waste taxpayer dollars.
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During this fiscal year’s appropriations process, I led and utilized every available avenue to deliver on our priorities. I authored and introduced 106 appropriations amendments—more than any other Member of Congress—to fight for the Third District and the American people. Some of the highlights include:
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- Prohibited funding institutions of higher education that teach Critical Race Theory.
- Prohibited federal funds for gain of function research in China.
- Prohibited funds from being used to implement vaccine passports.
- Prohibited funds from being used for vaccine lotteries.
- Prohibited funds from being used for the salaries or expenses of any federal employee going door to door to encourage Americans to get vaccinated.
- Prohibited funds from being used for sanctuary cities.
- Prohibited funds from being used by the Department of Veterans Affairs to grant illegal aliens VA benefits.
- Prohibited funds from being made available for any program, project, or activity that is a congressional earmark.
- Prohibited funding to alight the White House with rainbow lighting or fly the rainbow flag.
- Prohibited funds from being used to fund any activity by the President promoting Obamacare.
- Prohibited funds from being used to carry out a ban on the importation of assault weapons.
- Prohibited funds from being used to contribute to the Green Climate Fund.
- Cut funds for an incentivization program for red flag and gun licensing laws.
- Prohibited funds for the Department of Veterans Affairs for gender transition surgeries.
- Prohibited funds from being used to compensate any employee who received an immunity agreement in exchange for testimony regarding eco-terrorism tree spiking.
- Prohibited funds for carrying out the EPA’s Endangerment Finding regulations.
- Prohibited banks from sharing personal customer information with federal agencies without probable cause or a warrant.
- Prohibited funds for carrying out the 30 x 30 landgrab program.
- Cut spending by $416,897,000 to prevent IRS bureaucrats from spying on your bank account.
- Prohibited funds from being used to establish a National Center on Anti-racism and Health Equity.
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- Redirected $1 million from Department of Energy bureaucrats to the Corps of Engineers’ Investigations Budget to help combat drought in the West.
- Transferred $3 million from Department of Energy bureaucrats to the Corps of Engineers’ Construction Budget to help combat drought in the West.
- Redirected $1 million from Department of Energy bureaucrats to the Colorado River Storage Project to help combat drought in the West.
- Transferred $3 million from waste to the Wildland Fire Management account to help prevent catastrophic fires.
- Redirected $3 million to police body cameras from DOJ bureaucracy.
- Transferred $1 million from VA bureaucracy to suicide prevention and mental health services for veterans.
- Redirected $1 million to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals from VA bureaucracy to reduce its backlog and process veterans’ claims more quickly.
- Transferred $2 million from waste to reduce the veterans’ disability claims backlog.
- Redirected $1 million from VA bureaucracy to VA IT systems to assist with reducing the veterans’ disability claims backlog.
- Transferred $2 million from Bureau of Land Management bureaucracy to the Wildland Fire Management account to prevent catastrophic wildfires.
- Redirected $1 million from Forest Service bureaucracy to the National Forest System account to prevent catastrophic wildfires.
- Prohibited funds from being used to move the Bureau of Land Management Headquarters in Grand Junction and associated positions.
- Transferred $2 million to assist homeless Native American veterans from HUD bureaucracy.
- Redirected $2 million from HUD bureaucrats to the Inspector General to meet the budget request in order to hold federal bureaucrats accountable.
- Transferred $2 million from federal bureaucrats to the Holocaust Memorial Museum account.
- Redirected $2 million from federal bureaucrats to prevent the spread of noxious weeds.
- Transferred funds in the bill to increase funding for Rural Health Community Facilities.
- Redirected $2 million from climate change modeling to the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children.
- Prohibited funds from being used for bonuses for passport employees or senior passport employees until the passport backlog is relieved.
- Withheld funding to the WHO until the Secretary of State can certify that the WHO has conducted a transparent investigation into the origins of COVID–19.
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What are your top legislative priorities for 2022?
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