Greetings
from U.S. Senator Ken Salazar Greetings, fellow Coloradans. As summer officially arrives, Colorado’s forests and farms are suffering the effects of drought and heat. Just this afternoon, the Senate wrapped up work on the Defense Authorization Bill, which sets policy for the Pentagon for next year. I voted for this bill to provide our men and women in uniform the training, supplies and materials they need. I am pleased to report that the Senate included three of my proposals in the bill: sending a clear message regarding the destruction of chemical weapons at the Pueblo Chemical Depot; changing the name of “Death Gratuity” to “Fallen Hero Compensation” for families of the service members who die on Active Duty; and supporting the success of the High Altitude Aviation Training Site (HAATS) in Eagle County. I also supported an amendment on the Iraq war. I want the United States to succeed in Iraq. For that to happen we need Iraqis to take greater responsibility for their own security and future. I have every confidence in our troops; they are performing admirably in extremely dangerous circumstances. We need a policy worthy of them. Americans and Iraqis need to know that we are not in Iraq forever. Even Iraq’s national security advisor recently noted that the legitimacy of the democratically elected Iraqi government is called into question by our open-ended presence. The United States and Iraq need a clear destination and a distinct path. This amendment asked the President to lay that roadmap out in an appropriate and timely fashion. On another topic, I am extremely concerned about the number of fires around our state, such as the 10,000 acre Mato Vega Fire in Costilla County. The extreme drought coupled with widespread bark beetle infestations has put Colorado in the crosshairs of a potential wildfire disaster this summer. This past week, I urged the Forest Service to streamline its funding guidelines to allow for more efficient prevention and firefighting activities and called on the USDA and Forest Service to move quickly to provide funding to prevent fires and for additional equipment. Colorado faces a wildfire emergency, and now is the time for action, not bureaucracy. Our farmers, ranchers and rural communities are facing a worsening drought with no relief in sight. I have joined a bipartisan group of Senators to provide emergency agriculture disaster relief to aid these hard working men and women who have suffered from drought and other natural disasters and higher input costs. Our ranchers in Colorado face the additional concern of financial losses from a closed beef market in Japan. Ranchers in Colorado and across America have waited more than two years to once again have free and fair access to the Japanese beef market. This week I helped introduce bipartisan legislation that would impose additional tariffs on Japanese exports to the U.S. until Japan agrees to reopen their markets to U.S. beef. Finally, this week also saw the National Park Service unveil new proposed management rules which restore the 90-year-old management principle to “First, do no harm” and abandon efforts to institute a less protective approach to park management. Over the past year and a half, I have repeatedly pushed former Interior Secretary Gale Norton, current Interior Secretary Kempthorne, National Parks Service Director Fran Mainella, and others in the Administration to re-think their proposed rules which would have decreased protections for National Parks. I am delighted that they have done so. In just over a week, our Nation will celebrate its independence on July 4th. I hope that you are able to join this celebration with friends and family, and have a safe holiday weekend. Working for Colorado Sen. Salazar supports troops, Colorado projects Sen. Salazar votes for Iraqis to be in charge of Iraq’s security In the NewsSalazar amendment urges phased Iraq redeployment Environmentalists praise reversal of policy on parks Senate to Pentagon: Destroy chemical weapons ASAP Japan to consider importing U.S. beef Colorado's senators unite to oppose exit deadline Senate committee looks at mine cleanups Senator wants more time for Roan comment Senators propose act to clean up mines Senate panel approves
bill to fund chem demil
Senator Ken Salazar's DC office is located at 702 Hart Senate office building, Washington, DC 20510. He has Colorado regional offices in Denver, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, Ft. Morgan, Pueblo, Durango, Grand Junction and Alamosa. For contact and mailing info, click here.
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