Floor Speeches

Congressman Jared Polis Remarks Supporting the Ski Area Recreational Opportunity Enhancement Act Friday, July 30, 2010 Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a cosponsor of H.R. 2476. Mr. Speaker, I hope that you have had the chance to visit some of the terrific winter recreation and summer recreation areas in Colorado's Second Congressional District, in places that are known across the United States and across the world, like Vail, Beaver Creek, Copper Mountain, Arapahoe Basin, Keystone, Breckenridge, Wi... Read more

Congressman Jared Polis Remarks Against Kucinich Pakistan War Powers Resolution Tuesday, July 27, 2010 Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the rule and in opposition to the supplemental funding to escalate the war in Afghanistan. This Nation does face a very real terrorist threat, but the terrorist threat is a stateless menace, a menace that is not rooted in any one location or has any dominion in one particular area and is, in fact, mobile. In fact, the two countries that our Nation continu... Read more

Congressman Jared Polis Remarks Honoring Dr. Jane Goodall Monday, July 26, 2010 Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1543, which honors my dear friend Dr. Jane Goodall on the 50th anniversary of the beginning of her important and ground breaking work in Tanzania, Africa. Dr. Goodall is an inspiring, world-renowned primatologist, and the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees. We celebrate the educational significance of her research launched at the Gombe Stream Chimpanzee R... Read more

Congressman Jared Polis Remarks Honoring Sojourn To The Past on its 10th Anniversary Monday, July 26, 2010 Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of House Resolution 1058, which honors the 10th anniversary of Sojourn to the Past, an educational program dedicated to developing students' appreciation for an understanding of the Civil Rights Movement. The Civil Rights Movement transformed the United States of America, ensuring legal equality and civil rights for all people in our country reg... Read more

Congressman Jared Polis Remarks Recognizing the 20th Anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act Monday, July 26, 2010 Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1504, which recognizes and honors the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the most historic piece of legislation affecting the civil rights of people with disabilities in our Nation's history. Prior to its passage, too many people with disabilities received unequal treatme... Read more

Congressman Jared Polis Floor Speech Supporting the DREAM Act Tuesday, July 20, 2010 Mr. Speaker, there are hundreds of thousands of children in our country—cheerleaders on a high school cheerleading squad, members of the high school football team—students who work hard and play by the rules, get ready for college and yet are unable to ever enter the work force legally or go to college. Why? Because their parents violated the law and brought them here when they were 1 or 2 or 3 years old. The DR... Read more

Congressman Jared Polis Remarks at DREAM Act Graduation Ceremony (as prepared for delivery) Lutheran Church of the Reformation, Washington, DC Tuesday, July 20, 2010 I want to begin by simply apologizing to all of you that the immigration laws in our country are currently so out of touch with reality. As you’ve come to know, this country is a very good country with good people, but sometimes it takes a little while to get things right. Just by being here, through your advocacy work, through the ... Read more

Congressman Jared Polis Special Order Remarks on Opposition to Arizona Immigration Law S.B. 1070 Thursday, July 15, 2010 It should be common sense that with the limited dollars we have in law enforcement, diverting those law enforcement resources to hunt down immigrants detracts from our efforts to combat violent crime. However, believe it or not, some supporters of Arizona’s new immigration law actually claim it's a crime-fighting measure. That overlooks a basic point: crime rates have already ... Read more

Congressman Jared Polis Remarks at Ad-Hoc Hearing on Impact of Arizona Immigration Law S.B. 1070 on Children (Press Conference) Thursday, July 15, 2010 I want to welcome all of you to Capitol Hill. I know that many Members of Congress need to hear these stories, stories of kids and families that are torn apart by our immigration system. In my district in Colorado there are thousands of kids who go to school every day to learn like other Americans, who want to go to college, graduate high school,... Read more

Congressman Jared Polis Remarks Press Conference on LGBT Inclusive Immigration Reform Thursday, July 15, 2010 I’d like to thank Congressmen Gutierrez, Honda, and Nadler for their leadership on this issue. When Congressman Gutierrez speaks he speaks from a place of moral authority—a place of moral authority as a tireless advocate for those amongst us who have too few advocates. (He is) A champion of the population that lives in our country and lives in fear every day of the very authorities that ... Read more