Press Releases

Last week Representatives Jared Polis (CO-02) and Brad Schneider (IL-10) sent a letter signed by fifteen Members of Congress to US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairwoman Mary Jo White calling on her to expand the criteria for potential investors in startups and other small businesses beyond a purely financial metric. Under federal securities law, “individual accredited investors” are permitted to invest in an array of assets, including individual businesses, VC funds, PE funds, and ... Read more

On Monday, Representatives Jared Polis (CO-02), Raul Grijalva (AZ-03), David Cicilline (RI-01), and Zoe Lofgren (CA-19) sent a letter signed by forty-four Members of Congress to President Barack Obama urging him to include protections for LGBT immigrants as he develops and implements new executive actions on immigration. The Representatives recognized that the President alone cannot fix our nation’s broken immigration system, but called on him to use the executive powers he does have to address ... Read more

Representative Jared Polis (CO-02) today introduced a discharge petition on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a bill which would prohibit discrimination against LGBT employees. Currently, a majority of states still allow workplace discrimination against LGBT employees. A discharge petition is a procedure to force a vote on legislation if it receives signatures from the majority of the House of Representatives. This move comes after the House Republican leadership has continued to ref... Read more

Representatives Jared Polis (CO-02), Darrell Issa (CA-49), Scott Peters (CA-52) and Vern Buchanan (FL-16), co-chairs of the House Innovation and Entrepreneurship Caucus, along with a bipartisan group of twenty-six colleagues, today sent a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Mary Jo White urging her to complete the “crowdfunding” rulemaking process as soon as practicable. The JOBS Act, which passed both houses of Congress with broad bipartisan support and was signed into law ... Read more

Yesterday, the House of Representatives unanimously passed H.R. 3136, the Advancing Competency-Based Education Demonstration Project Act, sponsored by Representatives Jared Polis (CO-02) and Matt Salmon (AZ-05), by a vote of 414-0. The bill would increase access and affordability in higher education by allowing institutions the flexibility to provide a degree that is based on a student’s knowledge and skills instead of seat time. “I am thrilled that the House of Representatives recognized the pr... Read more

Representative Jared Polis (CO-02) today issued the following statement after President Barack Obama’s announcement that he will issue an executive order banning businesses from receiving federal government contracts unless they have a policy prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity: “This executive order is a major step toward ensuring that LGBT employees have the same protections against discrimination and harassment that their colleagues already enjoy. I comm... Read more

U.S. Senator Mark Udall and Congressman Jared Polis hailed the U.S. Senate's passage of their bill to help Summit County support local businesses and jobs by expanding affordable workforce housing. The Lake Hill Administrative Site Affordable Housing Act conveys 40 acres of federal administrative land from the U.S. Forest Service Dillon Ranger District to Summit County to build affordable workforce housing while supporting a new Dillon Ranger District administrative building nearby. The bill now... Read more

Today, Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Jared Polis (D-CO) passed an amendment to the Energy and Water Appropriations bill which would boost funding for the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) by $20 million, to a total of $300 million a year. Started in 2009, ARPA-E is a revolutionary program that advances high-potential, high-impact energy technologies, leveraging federal funds to generate additional private sector investment. Schiff offered similar amendments in 2011 and 2013, both ... Read more

Today, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce passed the Advancing Competency-Based Education Demonstration Project Act, sponsored by Representatives Matt Salmon (AZ-05) and Jared Polis (CO-02), by voice vote. The bill would increase access and affordability in higher education by allowing institutions the flexibility to provide a degree that is based on a student’s knowledge and skills instead of seat time. “Our universities need to be allowed the freedom to discover new and innovat... Read more

Representative Jared Polis (CO-02) today made the following statement after the bipartisan, bicameral Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act overwhelmingly passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 415 to 6: “I am thrilled that the House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, sending it to the President’s desk for his signature. This bipartisan, bicameral compromise makes critical changes to our workforce development system to better a... Read more