News List

Washington, DC – Today, as President Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announce new commitment to combat climate change, 75 Democratic Members of Congress wrote to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, encouraging the agency to finalize proposed rules for new and modified sources of methane emission and to develop proposals to regulate existing sources of methane in the oil and gas industry. The previously-announced proposed rules for new and modified sources of methane would avoid the... Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, Rep. Jared Polis (CO-02) and Dr. Raul Ruiz (CA-36) passed key provisions of the Wildfire Prevention Act of 2015, in the broader Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Disaster Assistance Reform Act. The FEMA Disaster Assistance Reform Act of 2015 was a bipartisan piece of legislation that would authorize $947 million annually from fiscal 2016 through 2018 for all disasters. The Wildfire Prevention Act included in this comprehensive legislation, acknowledges wild... Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) and Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) released the following statements regarding legislation protecting natural disaster victims from unfair Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recoupments. The FEMA Disaster Assistance Reform Act, which passed in the House yesterday, included important requirements that safeguard individuals who have been harmed by misfortunes, such as the recent floods throughout Colorado. Both members have been strong advocates for ... Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Jared Polis (CO-02) released the following statement today regarding the federal government’s order for Apple to develop new software allowing the FBI access into an encrypted iPhone. “The federal government’s demand to force a private company to develop new decryption software for its own device in the name of national security will produce the exact opposite results,” said Polis. “Not only will this weaken the security of Americans, but who doesn’t believe that cybercri... Read more

Rep. Jared Polis (CO-02), Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), and Tom Reed (NY-23) today introduced bicameral legislation to expand dual and concurrent enrollment programs, which improve higher education access by enabling high school students to enroll in college courses for credit. The bill, entitled the Making Education Affordable and Accessible Act, will provide funding for colleges and universities to develop and expand dual enrollment programs at local high schools. “... Read more

Nearly six years ago, in May 2009, the Colorado state Legislature passed a bill that created rules for concurrent enrollment programs, which allow high school students to take courses for college credit. Last year, 94 percent of school districts in our state participated in this program, with roughly 20,000 Colorado high schoolers taking advantage of the opportunity to work towards a college degree, for free, while in high school. For many of these students, it means getting a head start on thei... Read more

Rep. Jared Polis (CO-02), Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO), and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) today introduced legislation to address Bolts Ditch in the town of Minturn, Colorado. When Holy Cross Wilderness Area was designated by Congress in 1980, Bolts Ditch was inadvertently left off of the list of existing water facilities. This legislation would authorize special use of the Bolts Ditch headgate and the segment of the Bolts Ditch within the Holy Cross Wilderness Area, allowing of Minturn to use its exis... Read more

Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), Rep. Norma J. Torres (D-CA), and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) were joined by thirty Members of Congress in sending a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson and Attorney General Loretta Lynch reiterating concerns about due process and the safety of recently deported Central American families. The letter points out that many of the families may require special accommodation, given that a high percentage of Central American families suffer from depression and/or p... Read more

Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) released the following statement today following the House Judiciary Committee’s announcement that the committee will markup the Email Privacy Act (H.R. 699), an overwhelmingly popular online privacy bill sponsored by Polis and Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-KY). “The last time our email privacy laws were updated, I was a sixth-grader and playing computer games meant inserting a floppy disk into an Apple II. As a result of Congress’s failure to keep pace with technology, every Ameri... Read more

Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) today hosted an Industrial Hemp expo at the U.S. Capitol bringing together leading policymakers and entrepreneurs in the movement to restore industrial hemp to American agriculture. The expo, which drew more than 100 visitors, featured television personality Montel Williams and former CIA Director and Ambassador James Woolsey as keynote speakers, and showcased more than a dozen small busine... Read more