Press Releases

Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) issued the following statement today in response to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s decision not to lift the preliminary injunction that has temporarily halted the implementation of the Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) program: “Yesterday’s decision was disappointing, but completely unsurprising. Fortunately, and after an inappropriately long delay, the decision finally cleared the way for the Department of Justice to appeal this matter... Read more

An amendment authored by Representative Jared Polis (CO-02) to designate I-70 from Denver to Salt Lake City as a Corridor of High Priority passed the House of Representatives today as part of a major transportation bill that funds the country’s roads, bridges, and highways. With this Congressional designation, I-70 will now be eligible for certain federal funding streams to help with maintenance and improvement on what is a notoriously congested highway, especially during peak ski travel times. ... Read more

A measure calling for federal research into the most scientifically sound methods for stopping marijuana-impaired driving, originally proposed by Reps. Jared Polis (CO-02) and Ed Perlmutter (CO-07), was included in the comprehensive transportation reauthorization bill that passed the House today. “No matter what side of the legalization debate you fall on, we all agree on the importance of keeping our roads safe from impaired drivers,” Rep. Polis said. “Unfortunately, we’ve failed to make studyi... Read more

Senator Bernie Sanders today introduced the Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act, a bill to lift the federal ban on marijuana. The bill is companion legislation to H.R. 1013, the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act, a bipartisan bill that Polis introduced in February along with Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), and nine other original cosponsors. Polis has led the same measure in each of the last two sessions of Congress. “Just as alcohol prohibition failed in the 19... Read more

Rep. Jared Polis (CO-02) today introduced several amendments to H.R. 22, a six-year surface transportation reauthorization bill, to address longstanding problems affecting Coloradans. The amendments follow a letter Polis sent in September to the leaders of the House Transportation Committee outlining Colorado priorities for the upcoming highway bill. Polis-authored measures included: An amendment to reduce train horn noise in Fort Collins, Loveland, and other areas of Northern Colorado. Polis’s ... Read more

Rep. Jared Polis (CO-02), drawing inspiration from the Republican Study Committee’s proposal to require Congress to enact a hodge-podge of right-wing wish-list items before raising the debt ceiling, today released an alternative plan that would make staving off a global economic calamity contingent upon the immediate implementation of his personal whims and legislative preferences. Polis’s plan, entitled the “Default Avoidance and Polis Personal Decree Act of 2015,” would raise the debt ceiling ... Read more

Reps. Jared Polis (CO-2) and Ed Perlmutter (CO-7) today sent a letter pushing the Federal Aviation Association (FAA) to move quickly and efficiently to revise its safety regulations regarding crash-resistant fuel systems for civil helicopters. Today’s letter comes in the wake of a tragic Flight for Life helicopter crash that occurred in Frisco, Colorado over the summer, killing Pilot Patrick Mahany and critically injuring two flight nurses. While the crash itself appeared to be survivable, the r... Read more

Rep. Jared Polis (CO-02) today announced that his office will begin accepting artwork for Art Through the Ages: The 2015 Congressional Senior Art Competition on Oct. 26. Any senior, age 65 or older, who resides in the second Congressional district, is eligible to apply. This fall’s competition is the fourth annual senior art show that Polis has sponsored. “My mom is a poet and my dad is an artist, so I’ve always been committed to supporting the arts in all their forms,” Polis said. “Seniors in o... Read more

Reps. Jared Polis (D-CO) and Richard Hanna (R-NY) today introduced the Earnings Contingent Education Loans (ExCEL) Act, a bipartisan bill to streamline the complicated student loan process and peg graduates’ repayments to an affordable percentage of their income until the loan is repaid. Under the ExCEL Act, graduates would pay nothing during periods of unemployment and would pay more throughout their careers as their incomes rise – without any additional paperwork, since payments would be deduc... Read more

Rep. Jared Polis (CO-02) today joined with Rep. Rubén Hinojosa (TX-15) and Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Al Franken (D-MN), and Angus King (I-ME) to introduce the Affordable College Textbooks Act, a bill to combat skyrocketing textbook costs by making high-quality textbooks easily accessible to students, professors, and the public for free. Over the last decade, the cost of new textbooks has increased by 82 percent – four times faster than inflation. The Affordable College Textbooks Act creates a... Read more