Author: Tom Ramstack, special to Colorado Politics
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Gardner, Bennet want to ease permitting on federal lands
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WASHINGTON – Colorado’s U.S. senators introduced a bill Friday to boost the outdoor recreation industry on public lands. It would benefit outfitters, educational organizations and community groups by giving them easier access to the permits they need to work or seek recreation on federal lands. Senators Cory Gardner, a Republican, and Michael Bennet, a Democrat, call…
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DeGette at congressional hearing: "Forcibly" tearing families apart at border "cruel"
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WASHINGTON — Colorado U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, the new head of a congressional oversight panel, led a congressional hearing Thursday on a controversial Trump administration immigration policy that separated thousands of migrant children from their parents if they entered the United States illegally. “What happened to these children should never happen in this country,” DeGette,…
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Hickenlooper touts record in D.C. ahead of decision on 2020 bid
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WASHINGTON — John Hickenlooper continued to drop hints that he might run for president during a public policy presentation Thursday in the nation’s capital. “No, we haven’t made a decision,” the former Colorado governor told a moderator during a discussion on how to formulate government policies at the Brookings Institution, a social science research foundation.…
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Anti-legal-pot group reports marijuana-industry contributions to Colorado lawmakers
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WASHINGTON — Colorado’s delegation in Congress is being criticized by an advocacy group for the thousands of dollars in campaign donations that several of the state’s elected officials have received from the marijuana industry. A spokesman for U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, one of the Congress members mentioned by the group, responded by noting that cannabis…
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Federal appeals court denies BLM gate keys to inspect oil, gas sites in Colorado
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A federal appeals court in Denver ruled Friday against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in a dispute with a well operator and landowners over access to oil and gas lease sites in western Colorado. The BLM — which administers 8.3 million acres in Colorado — has broad authority to inspect drill sites, but the…
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Bennet presses VA on veteran suicide prevention efforts
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WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen Michael Bennet has joined other senators in demanding answers from the Department of Veterans Affairs about what they allege are its misuse of suicide prevention resources on the heels of a report showing Colorado’s rate of veteran suicides is among the nation’s highest. Bennet made the demand in a letter co-signed…
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New Rep. Joe Neguse ‘finding ways that we can work together’
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WASHINGTON — One of Colorado’s two new members of Congress foresees problems with the Trump administration but also opportunities to help resolve problems confronted by the state and the 2nd District he represents. “I think there are far more opportunities than obstacles,” U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, a Boulder Democrat, told Colorado Politics. After being sworn…
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Pentagon says U.S. military is losing its advantage with artificial intelligence
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WASHINGTON – The U.S. military is starting to lose a high-tech advantage as China and Russia develop sophisticated artificial intelligence, Pentagon officials are warning Congress. A recent subcommittee hearing on the issue held special significance for Colorado Springs defense subcontractor Polaris Alpha, which last May won a $2.3 million Defense Department contract to develop artificial intelligence…
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Gardner gets agreement on vote for conservation-fund reauthorization
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WASHINGTON — Congress headed for adjournment without taking action on renewing the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, but U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner said Thursday he has worked out an agreement with Senate leadership to introduce and vote on legislation next month to reauthorize the fund. The fund directs federal revenue from offshore oil and…
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Colorado senators pressure VA to improve veteran health care
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WASHINGTON — Colorado’s U.S. senators are demanding that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs take action to reduce wait times at the agency’s health care facilities in the state after Congress held a hearing on medical treatment for veterans. Senators Cory Gardner, a Republican, and Michael Bennet, a Democrat, asked in a letter for a…
