Latest News

• 11/17/15: Polis Selected to ESEA Conference Committee

• 11/12/15: Polis: DOL Home Care Rule ‘a long-overdue victory for millions of working families’

• 11/10/15: Polis statement on Appeals Court’s deferred action ruling

• 11/05/15: Notorious Ski Highway Gets Critical First Step on Road to Relief

• 11/05/15: Provisions of Polis-Perlmutter bill to prevent marijuana-impaired driving pass House of Representatives

• Happy Father's Day to all the fathers, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers out there!
  
  A Boy and His Dad
  
  by Edgar A. Guest (from When Day Is Done, 1921)
  
  A boy and his dad on a fishing-trip—
  There is a glorious fellowship!
  Father and son and the open sky
  And the white clouds lazily drifting by
  And the laughing stream as it runs along
  With the clicking reel like a martial song,
  And the father teaching the youngster gay
  How to land a fish in the sportsman’s way.
  
  I fancy I hear them talking there
  In an open boat, and the speech is fair;
  And the boy is learning the ways of men
  From the finest man in his youthful ken.
  Kings, to the youngster, cannot compare
  With the gentle father who’s with him there.
  And the greatest mind of the human race
  Not for one minute could take his place.
  
  Which is happier, man or boy?
  The soul of the father is steeped in joy,
  For he’s finding out, to his heart’s delight,
  That his son is fit for the future fight.
  He is learning the glorious depths of him,
  And the thoughts he thinks and his every whim,
  And he shall discover, when night comes on,
  How close he has grown to his little son.
  
  A boy and his dad on a fishing-trip—
  Oh, I envy them, as I see them there
  Under the sky in the open air,
  For out of the old, old long-ago
  Come the summer days that I used to know,
  When I learned life’s truths from my father’s lips
  As I shared the joy of his fishing-trips—
  Builders of life’s companionship!
  
  
  
• Every June since 1962, Republicans and Democrats take their rivalries from the halls of Congress to the brickdust of the baseball diamond for the Congressional Baseball Game. This great American tradition--dating back to 1909--continues this Thursday when I’ll join the Democrats in taking on the Republicans at Nats Park. We’ve been practicing three days a week at 7 a.m. and are feeling good about defending our six-game winning streak. Even better, proceeds from the game support local charities including The Washington Literacy Council, The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington, and the Washington Nationals Dream Foundation.
  
  It’s one of the best days of the year. After all what’s better than baseball on a warm spring night?
  
  
  
• The DEA's bulk surveillance program, uncovered through a series of investigative reports in 2013, was the first known US effort to gather bulk data on American citizens, regardless of whether or not they were suspected of committing a crime. To the best of any of our knowledge, the program has been suspended since 2013 but who really knows. The DEA bulk warrantless surveillance formed the basis for the NSA's spying program and our modern surveillance state.
  
  We'e trying to fix this. I'm thrilled that an amendment I introduced tonight to stop this illegal practice just got accepted to a larger appropriations bill moving through the House (yes we sometimes offer amendments late into the night, mine was voted on at 10:30 pm!). Our amendment protects the rights of law-abiding Americans by preventing the DOJ and the DEA from restarting their illegal and unwarranted bulk data collection.
  
  
  Before The NSA, The DEA Used Phone Records To Track Drug Cartels
  www.npr.org
  NPR's Arun Rath speaks with USA Today reporter Brad Heath about how the Drug Enforcement Administration collected the records of billions of American telephone calls.
• Over 1.3 million American men and women have given their lives to defend our great nation. We must never forget these heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice to defend our liberties and freedom. As you celebrate the unofficial start of summer this weekend with your family and friends, I hope you will join me in taking a moment to reflect and marvel at the patriotism and sacrifice of our fallen servicemen and servicewomen.
  
  
  
• We’re excited to announce that “The Continental Divide Wilderness and Recreation Act” is the winner of our first “Name Your Own Bill” contest! Bob Waters of Boulder, Colorado submitted the winning suggestion. We’re thrilled to have a name that both descriptively captures the area we’re trying to preserve and is locally sourced from someone who knows the space well, and we’re grateful to the dozens of Coloradans who suggested names.
  
  The bill – which we’re planning to introduce this Thursday – would protect 58,000 acres of wilderness lands in Summit County and eastern Eagle County – lands bordering the Continental Divide and some of the most popular outdoor spaces in the state. The goal is to preserve these lands to help sustain recreation resources, protect watersheds, preserve important wildlife corridors, and strengthen the tourism economy.