Congress
Trump signs ‘historic’ VA oversight bill supported by all of Colorado’s congressional delegation
DENVER – President Donald Trump on Friday signed a bill supported by all of Colorado’s congressional delegation aimed at making it easier to fire bad Veterans Affairs employees and protect whistleblowers after several high-profile scandals over the past several years.
The VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 passed the Senate on June 7 with support from both of Colorado’s senators, Michael Bennet and Cory Gardner.
It passed the House on June 13, with all of Colorado’s House of Representatives members from both sides of the aisle voting in favor of the bill.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., fulfills one of the president’s campaign promises of dismissing employees at the VA “who let our veterans down,” he said at Friday’s bill signing ceremony, promising more VA reform in the future.
“What happened was a national disgrace and yet some of the employees involved in these scandals remained on the payrolls,” Trump said at the signing, according to NPR.
“After multiple scandals at the VA, Congress worked in a bipartisan fashion and passed additional reforms that will have a real impact on our nation’s veterans,” Gardner said Friday.
Gardner, Bennet and Coffman have all lauded the bill in recent weeks.
Bennet said the bill “encourages managers and patients to address poor performance and misconduct of VA employees and grants more oversight of the department.”
He and Gardner last year worked an amendment into the national defense budget that ordered the Government Accountability Office to study the VA’s oversight over construction projects, including the plagued Aurora VA hospital, which is running years behind schedule and millions of dollars over budget.
The bill also comes three years after several veterans died while waiting for care at the Phoenix VA hospital and other centers across the country as some VA employees covered up the lengthy wait times.
Gardner said upon the Senate’s passage of the bill that he was “thrilled” and that he looked forward to the president signing the bill.
Coffman called the bill’s passage in the House a “significant step in the right direction.”
The bill was the 40th piece of legislation so far signed by President Trump, according to NPR, though the majority of those pieces have repealed Obama administration policies or modified already-existing programs.
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Mike Coffman to meet with Russian ambassador Friday in attempt to get missing Colorado man home
DENVER – U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., will meet on Friday with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the U.S., to try and get extra help in finding and bringing home a Colorado police officer who went missing while climbing a Russian mountain last week.
Steven Beare, a Littleton Police Department officer and National Guardsman, went missing on June 16 while climbing Mount Elbrus as part of a quest to hike the world’s seven tallest mountains.
Beare is an avid climber who has already tackled more than 20 of Colorado’s 14ers, as well as Mount Kiliminjaro.
Beare’s wife, Olivia, says the Mount Elbrus climb was his first solo climb without a guide. She says that a blizzard hit the mountain days after her husband first went missing.
Russian search parties started looking for Beare on Sunday, but had to call the search off because of bad weather.
On Wednesday, Coffman sent a letter to Kislyak requesting a meeting with him and assistance from Russia in helping find Beare.
“Mr. Ambassador, I respectfully ask that your country lend any and all aid available to efforts underway to locate Mr. Beare and bring him back to his family safely,” Coffman wrote in the letter, which was also sent to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. “I would be extremely grateful for any assistance your government can provide.”
Beare’s family told Denver7 earlier this week they don’t believe the Russian government is helping enough to locate their loved one. They have gone so far as to hire two helicopter crews along with a private search crew, which they explained has not been inexpensive.
They have started a Facebook page where they are sharing updates on the search efforts.
On Thursday, they wrote that search efforts were again put on hold because of bad weather after an attempt at a morning search.
“Please continue to pray that this damn weather will improve,” they wrote.
A Russian police officer taking part in the search told ABC News Thursday that the initial search was delayed because no one had any idea where to begin searching. He added that the search would continue Friday, likely on the southern slope of the mountain, which is located in southern Russia.
Cory Gardner taking ‘first’ look at health care bill he helped create; Dems slam bill and process
DENVER – U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner said Thursday that he was taking his first look at the Senate’s version of the replacement for the Affordable Care Act, which he helped craft, and that the bill “deserves serious debate, not knee-jerk reaction.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell released the 142-page discussion draft of the Senate’s health care bill, which they have dubbed the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017, Thursday morning after weeks of anticipation and fervor over what has so far been a secretive process without any open committee hearings. Continue reading
Gardner calls for full embargo, travel ban on ‘terror sponsor’ N. Korea after ‘murder’ of American
DENVER – The U.S. should consider an absolute embargo and travel ban on North Korea after the “murder” of Otto Warmbier, U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., said Wednesday.
Gardner has been one of the leading voices in the Senate over the past year in pushing for sanctions against North Korea and its leader, Kim Jong Un, who last month called Gardner a “psychopath” in response to Gardner saying that Kim was a “madman.” Continue reading
Full transcript: Blair Miller interview with Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., on Senate health care bill 06/21/2017
FULL TRANSCRIPT (Link to story here)
INTERVIEW: DENVER7’S BLAIR MILLER AND SEN. CORY GARDNER (R-CO)
SUBJECT: SENATE HEALTH CARE BILL AND OTTO WARMBIER
DATE: JUNE 21, 2017 10 A.M. MT Continue reading
Despite being part of Senate health care work groups, Colorado’s Cory Gardner still hasn’t seen bill
DENVER – U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, who is one of a handful of Senate Republicans working in small groups to craft the Senate’s version of the American Health Care Act, said Wednesday he has still not seen a text version of the bill just a week before the full chamber is set to vote on it. Continue reading
Hickenlooper: ‘Kind of crazy’ that Senate Republicans are crafting health care bill in secret
DENVER – Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper joined Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich on CNN Monday night to argue that the secretive health care legislation being crafted by a handful of Senate Republicans would be better off with input from both sides of the aisle and from the governors who will have to implement any new health care system in their respective states.
“I’ve never had a good idea in my life that the moment I started talking about it with staff or people around me, that it didn’t suddenly get better,” Hickenlooper told CNN’s Anderson Cooper. “And to think that a small number of one party is going to come up with the right solutions is kind of crazy.”
Governors from both sides slam House GOP health care bill Governors @JohnKasich and @hickforco join @andersoncooper https://t.co/hQlQzhohIg
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) June 20, 2017
Hickenlooper and Kasich were among a group of seven bipartisan governors who sent a letter to the U.S. Senate’s majority and minority leaders Friday criticizing the House-passed version of the American Health Care Act—the bill Republicans aim use to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.
The governors said in the letter that the House-passed version of the bill “calls into question coverage for the vulnerable and fails to provide the necessary resources to ensure that no one is left out, while shifting significant costs to the states” and that provisions in the bill involving hundreds of billions in Medicaid cuts were “particularly problematic.”
In their interview with Cooper Monday, both Hickenlooper and Kasich criticized Republicans who have kept the crafting of the Senate’s bill secret from even some of their Republican colleagues.
Cooper asked Kasich if he felt, as a Republican, that the Senate secrecy, led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, was something he was supportive of.
“No, you think I’m going to say yes, Anderson?” Kasich quipped. “Of course it’s not. I mean they’ve got to let people know what they’re doing. This is like 1/6 of the U.S. economy. They have to do an analysis of this bill and know how many people it affects and how much it costs.”
Reach out to Senate Democrats,” Kasich continued. “Work this thing together. If you don’t, it’s not sustainable and the next administration is going to overturn this, and we never get to the issue of what’s driving up health care costs.”
Hickenlooper said that he and Kasich had been discussing the health care bills, and figured they only disagreed on about 5 percent of the issues.
“We could find compromises on almost everything,” he said.
Hickenlooper also added to Kasich’s call for Republicans, like Colorado’s Republican senator, Cory Gardner, to reach across party lines.
He also suggested that the governors should be more involved in the process, as they will be the ones who actually have to figure out how their states will put in place any changes to the nation’s health care system.
“Not only should Republican senators reach out to Democratic senators, but I would volunteer there are a bunch of governors, who actually have to implement what they come up with, who could give some substantive and meaningful suggestions on how to control costs and how not to have to roll back coverage,” Hickenlooper said.
Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said Tuesday that McConnell was writing the bill, and that the ongoing working committees Republicans like Gardner have pointed to as crafting the bill weren’t having as much input.
“We can say the budget committee, we can say the health committee, but McConnell is writing the bill.”
Three Democratic senators went on a quest Tuesday morning to find a copy of the secretive bill, paying a visit to the Congressional Budget Office, but coming up empty.
The Republican senators crafting the bill are expected to send it to the CBO to score this week, and McConnell has said he would like a vote on the new bill before the July 4 recess, and possibly as soon as next week.
But McConnell and other Republicans have been widely panned as hypocrites because of their secrecy.
McConnell complained about the process in passing the Affordable Care Act, which had more than three weeks of total floor time and discussion over the months it was put together in open session, in both 2009 and 2010.
“The real bill will soon be cobbled together in a secret conference room somewhere in the Capitol by a handful of Democratic senators,” he said in 2009, before saying just months later that Americans were “tired of giant bills negotiated in secret, then jammed through on a party-line vote in the middle of the night.”
Gardner, who is reportedly one of the 13 senators crafting the Senate version of the bill, hasn’t addressed the transparency concerns despite sharing those same concerns just four months ago.
In February, Gardner himself said, “It’s important to me that this debate be open and that the American people see what’s happening and taking place,” according to a transcript from HuffPost. “I think as this committee hearings and legislation is being drafted, it’s not going to be something behind closed doors. Everybody is going to be a part of it.”
Gardner says he will “continue working with my Senate colleagues on legislation that strengthens Medicaid, protects people with pre-existing conditions, and allows Coloradans to have access to more affordable insurance plans.”
But even some of his Republican Senate colleagues were starting to share the same transparency concerns Gardner and others have been derided over in recent weeks.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., lamented that no one had seen the Senate’s version possibly less than 2 weeks before a vote.
“We used to complain like hell when the Democrats ran the Affordable Care Act. Now we’re doing the same thing,” McCain told NBC News.
MCCAIN: “We used to complain like hell when the democrats ran the Affordable Care Act, now we’re doing the same thing.” https://t.co/wEONV4HNqw
— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) June 20, 2017
Sen. John Cornyn said Tuesday that Democrats would get to see the bill as soon as Republicans saw it, and McConnell said early Tuesday afternoon he believes a “discussion draft” of the Senate’s bill would be released on Thursday.
Health insurance rate deadline for Colorado hits as Hickenlooper, DeGette talk health care Monday
DENVER – Health care is slated for a big day in Colorado Monday, as several Democrats are holding high-profile events on the same day that insurance companies are supposed to submit their rate hike proposals to the state’s insurance division.
Gov. John Hickenlooper will join Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 at 6 p.m. Mountain Time Monday to extrapolate on a letter they and a bipartisan committee of governors sent to the U.S. Senate Friday asking for better protections in the Senate’s version of the American Health Care Act.
The Friday letter came from governors from both sides of the aisle in states that opted to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
The governors say that the House-passed version of the bill “calls into question coverage for the vulnerable and fails to provide the necessary resources to ensure that no one is left out, while shifting significant costs to the states.”
The governors wrote that the provisions in the bill involving Medicaid were “particularly problematic.”
They said they were ready to work with senators “to develop a proposal that is fiscally sound and provides quality, affordable coverage for our most vulnerable citizens.”
The letter asks that Congress focus on “improving” the private health insurance system in the U.S., and says that the House version of the bill fails to protect “millions of Americans, including many who are dealing with mental illness, chronic health problems, and drug addiction.”
Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., had some strong words for his Republican colleagues Monday, who have been accused of keeping all details of the Senate’s health care bill secret — even from the Republicans not working on the bill.
Sen. Cory Gardner (R) has drawn criticism for being one of the 13 Republican senators reportedly developing the bill in private months after he called for transparency in the process to reform health care in the U.S.
“[Senate Republicans] are so ashamed of health care bill, they won’t even share it with GOP colleagues–much less Dems or American [people],” Bennet tweeted, following up with a hashtag: #NoHearingNoVote.
Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., brought further light to some of those concerns Monday morning when she hosted a news conference with providers, families and young people who might be affected by the potential cuts to Medicaid.
Though the Senate is reportedly working on a version of the AHCA that differs from the House-passed version, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says the House bill would cut more than $800 billion in Medicaid funding over the next decade, something that has caused concern and pause to Democrats, health care groups and groups serving low-income families and people with disabilities.
Estimates have shown that more than 400,000 people in Colorado added Medicaid coverage under the ACA’s expansion, and that nearly 1.3 million total Coloradans rely on Medicaid coverage.
DeGette said Monday that the AHCA was an “assault on our health care” and said it was time for lawmakers “to do the right thing for our kids.”
Monday is also a big day for Colorado’s insurance market, as it is the last day for insurance companies operating in the state to file their rate requests with the Colorado Division of Insurance.
Those filings could have huge ramifications in Colorado. Depending on the rate hike requests, and if Anthem decides to stay in Colorado, the coverage for people in more than a dozen Colorado counties could be up in the air.
But the Division of Insurance tells Denver7 that the requests will have to be analyzed and will likely not be publicly available until mid-July.
In a weekend story, The Denver Post reported that Kaiser Permanente was the only Colorado health care provider that explicitly committed to selling plans next year on the state health exchange, Connect for Health Colorado.
Spokespersons for Cigna and Anthem would only say they were eyeing the market conditions in the state.
Two of the seven companies operating on the state exchange, Colorado Choice Health Plans and Rocky Mountain Health Plans, did not respond to The Post’s requests for comment.
After the rate requests are made public, they will be open for public comment into August before the state decides whether to approve the new rates or to deny them.
The Senate continues to craft a bill through various committee meetings with Republicans and the president, though most senators admit they have yet to see a text of the bill.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has floated the idea of trying to vote on the Senate’s version of the bill before the July 4 recess.
Democratic senators are also expected to try and hold the Senate floor Monday night to open up the debate on the health care bill. It’s unknown at this time if Sen. Michael Bennet will join them.
Gardner reneges on transparency concerns as Colo. Dems, bipartisan governors call for AHCA changes
DENVER – Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper on Friday joined several other Republican and Democratic governors in criticizing the House-passed version of the American Health Care Act, saying it does not adequately protect millions of Americans and needs fixing.
Hickenlooper, a Democrat, joined Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R), Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D), Massachusetts Gov. Charles Baker (R), Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval (R), Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) and Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) in signing the letter criticizing the House version of the bill. Continue reading
Race already heating up for Polis’ congressional seat after he announces governorship candidacy
DENVER – The race to replace Jared Polis as Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District representative is already heating up just days after the congressman announced he was running for governor in 2018.
Joe Neguse, an attorney and former CU regent who is the son of Eritrean immigrants, announced his candidacy for the seat—which covers either most of or all of Boulder, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Eagle, Gilpin, Gran, Jefferson, Larimer, Park and Summit counties—on Monday.
Neguse narrowly lost to Wayne Williams in the 2014 secretary of state race after winning the Democratic nomination.
“My family’s story embodies the American Dream, but today under President Trump that dream is turning into a nightmare for far too many, and it’s up to us to fight back,” Neguse said.
Gov. John Hickenlooper also announced Tuesday that Neguse would resign from his current position as executive director of the state’s Department of Regulatory Agencies effective June 26 after serving two years in Hickenlooper’s cabinet. He was among the youngest cabinet members in Colorado history.
“He has been an invaluable asset to DORA as he consistently worked to cut red tape all the while championing consumer protection,” Hickenlooper said of Neguse. “We will miss his leadership, but wish him much success.”
He co-founded New Era Colorado in the mid-2000s, which became the largest youth voter registration nonprofit in the state, and also worked to fight climate change.
His parents immigrated to the U.S. as refugees, and many of his policies surround equal opportunities for refugees, immigrants and minorities.
Neguse has already received endorsements from dozens of former and current state and local officials.
Though he is the only person so far to announce his intent to run for the seat, which has been held by Democrats since Tim Wirth won the seat in the 1974 election, there are more likely to follow, as Mark Udall’s 1998 win over Bob Greenlee was the only time since 1990 that Republicans have come within 10 percentage points of the Democratic candidate.
Among those whose names have been floated for the seat are Shannon Watts and Ken Toltz—both of whom who are also liberal Democrats.
“A Congressional seat opening up where I live…Hmmmm,” Watts tweeted after Polis announced his governorship candidacy.
A Congressional seat opening up where I live… Hmmmm. https://t.co/8FWk31p8uU
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) June 11, 2017
She is a former executive who founded Moms Demand Action following the Sandy Hook massacre, a group aimed at bringing “common-sense” solutions to U.S. gun control who moved to Colorado in recent years.
She also was the impetus for a story that made national news after two girls were kicked off a United Airlines flight for wearing leggings in violation of the company’s travel orders for standby tickets.
Toltz has been fighting gun violence since before 2000, when he ran against Tom Tancredo, and eventually created Safe Campus Colorado to lobby against firearms usage and concealed carrying on state campuses.
Polis has held the seat since he was elected in 2008 and sworn in in early 2009. He defeated Republican challenger Nicholas Morse by nearly 20 percentage points in 2016.
Polis joins a crowded field for the governorship that already includes fellow Rep. Ed Perlmutter on the Democratic side, among many others.