Hundreds of thousands of Coloradans every day perform a great labor of love: caring for parents, spouses and other loved ones so they can remain in their homes.

Sometimes these family caregivers are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week – while also holding down a full-time job – and often they can’t even take a break. They help with bathing and dressing, meal preparation, transportation and chores. Many perform complex medical tasks like wound care, giving injections and complicated medication management.

Family caregivers anchor the new American family and they need some support.

Across political parties, more than seven in 10 registered voters age 40 and older say Congress should improve resources for family caregivers, according to a recent AARP survey. We applaud Sen. Michael Bennet, Democrat of Colorado, who took action by launching the bicameral, bipartisan Assisting Caregivers Today (ACT) Caucus, along with Sen. Kelly Ayotte, Republican of New Hampshire; Rep. Diane Black, Republican of Tennessee; and Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Democrat of New Mexico. The goal is to help bring greater attention to family caregiving and help people live independently, as well as educate Congress on these issues and engage legislators on a bipartisan basis to help lead to solutions.

Last week, Sen. Bennet continued his efforts to support family caregivers by cosponsoring the Recognize, Assist, Include, Support and Engage (RAISE) Family Caregivers Act, Senate Bill 1719, to require the development and maintenance of an integrated national strategy to recognize and support family caregivers. The bill was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, and Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Democrat of Wisconsin. House sponsors, Rep. Gregg Harper, a Mississippi Republican, and Rep. Kathy Castor, a Florida Democrat, expect to introduce the bill in that chamber soon.

Speaking of his commitment to family caregivers during a national AARP forum on the topic, Sen. Bennet said, “Every day, families in Colorado are splitting up responsibilities, organizing schedules, and pitching in to care for their loved ones. Family caregivers willingly take on these huge responsibilities, facing physical, emotional, and financial challenges along the way. We need to look at these issues in a comprehensive way to relieve some of the stresses these caregivers take on out of pure love and sacrifice for their family.”

Don Schierling is an 80-year-old Coloradan. Retired, but still working part-time, he cares for his beloved wife, who suffers from dementia. He spoke with Sen. Bennet and the other ACT Caucus co-chairs to share his experience, saying, “When you’ve lived with someone 50-some years, it’s natural, what happens to one person happens to the other. Being a caregiver and balancing that with the reality of life is a challenge. The person you’ve lived with and cared for, you’re caring for them differently. And I consider that an opportunity.”

Today in Colorado – and across this great country – family caregiving is the new normal. If you’re not a caregiver now, you will be one or will need one in the future. It’s time for not only the public sector, but the private sector to embrace the needs of the new American family.

The ACT Caucus and RAISE Family Caregivers Act are steps in the right direction at the federal level, and the state of Colorado continues to make strong strides with policies that support family caregivers, including the Caregiver Advise, Record, Enable (CARE) Act that was recently signed into law by Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. The CARE Act will help family caregivers when their loved ones go into the hospital and as they transition home.

But, we as Coloradans have much more to do to support family caregivers and the new American family. It’s time for the world to get a better picture of what it means to be you.

Morie Pierce Smile is state director of AARP Colorado. To learn more about family caregivers, visit aarp.org/iheartcaregivers.