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Rep. Boebert Delivers Legislative Victories for Colorado Through Accepted Appropriations Requests

August 23, 2021

Rep. Lauren Boebert  secured key legislative wins for rural Colorado by passing appropriations requests that will support rural communities, combat Western drought, prevent wildfires, support farmers and ranchers, and increase access to rural healthcare as part of the appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2022.

Rep. Lauren Boebert stated: “Even though the appropriations bills are still Democrat wish-lists, I was able to improve them by adding key appropriations requests that will combat Western drought, bring funding to rural communities, prevent wildfires, actively manage our forests, support farmers and ranchers, and increase access to rural healthcare. I’ll never stop fighting for rural Colorado, and I will keep working to make sure that our Western values are represented in the final appropriations package that Congress passes this year.”

Background:

Rep. Boebert advocated for rural Colorado to the Appropriations Committee and was able to secure seven appropriations requests that support rural Colorado:

  1. Rep. Boebert secured $1.8 billion in appropriations requests for Community Health Centers that provide medical care to rural communities. Community Health Centers save the health care system $24 billion annually since they cost less than one-sixth of an average visit to an emergency room. In Colorado’s Third Congressional District, there are eight Community Health Centers, and this appropriations request will provide better access to quality medical care, provide more jobs, and strengthen rural communities.
  2. Rep. Boebert secured $137.6 million in additional funding for Water Conservation and Delivery for the Bureau of Reclamation in order to combat Western drought and deliver clean and sustainable water to rural Colorado. The Arkansas Valley Conduit was authorized 60 years ago, and it is almost time to start construction on this long-overdue project. The extra funding will help the Bureau of Reclamation move this project forward and supply clean water from the Pueblo Reservoir to 50,000 people throughout Southeastern Colorado where groundwater is naturally contaminated by harmful microorganisms and radionuclides.
  3. Rep. Boebert previously called on the Biden administration to fully the Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program in its fiscal year 2022 budget, and she also secured an appropriations request to fully fund the PILT program. More than 55% of Colorado’s Third Congressional District is federal land, so PILT payments are critical for county governments to make up for lost revenue due to the large presence of tax-free federal land in their jurisdictions.
  4. Rep. Boebert secured $13 million for the U.S. Forest Service to address high-priority invasive species and pests like the bark beetle infestations ravaging Colorado and creating deadly wildfire hazards. Bark beetle-killed trees are deadly kindling for wildfires, and bark beetles have taken over 1.8 million acres of forest in Colorado since 2000. As the bark beetle epidemic continues to grow, Colorado experienced the largest wildfires in state history in 2020, and wildfires have been raging throughout this past summer. This victory will put the Forest Service on the right path to preventing wildfires and responsibly managing our forests.
  5. Rep. Boebert secured $10 million for the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Indian Irrigation Fund to address the deferred maintenance backlog and increase water storage for a number of already authorized projects like the Pine River Indian Irrigation Project that provides irrigation to the Southern Ute Indians. This project has become dangerous in the past few years due to agency neglect and maintenance issues, and this funding will help address these problems and increase responsible water storage.
  6. Rep. Boebert secured $1 million in appropriations requests for the Wolf-Livestock Loss Demonstration Program to compensate farmers and ranchers whose livestock are killed by wolves reintroduced by federal programs. Since the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service operates the gray wolf recovery program, it bears the responsibility for ensuring that ranchers and livestock producers are compensated for wolf attacks, and Rep. Boebert’s appropriations request will ensure that it fulfills that moral duty.
  7. Rep. Boebert secured another win for farmers and ranchers by securing an appropriations request that delays the implementation of Electronic Logging Devices for livestock haulers for one year as the industry awaits a determination from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on the hours of service for livestock haulers. Federal bureaucracy shouldn’t be meddling in the complexities of livestock hauling, since it is difficult to load and unload livestock at rest areas. Until workable hours of service rules are established, livestock haulers shouldn’t have any more bureaucracy shoved down their throats.