Congress
Colorado’s CHP+ program has funding through January, but state says Congress needs to act quickly
DENVER – Colorado officials say the health insurance program for children and pregnant women has enough federal money left over to remain operational through the first month of the year, but warn the money could be gone after that if Congress does not act to restore funding in the next couple months.
Funding for the federal Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ran out Saturday when Congress failed to act to restore funding for the 2017-18 fiscal year. Continue reading
‘Devastated’: Colorado officials react to deadly Las Vegas Strip shooting
DENVER – Elected officials from Colorado are reacting to the shooting on the Las Vegas Strip that has left at least 58 people dead and 515 injured. Continue reading
ICE arrests 63 in Denver during operation targeting ‘sanctuary cities,’ but city pushes back
DENVER – Immigration agents arrested 63 people in Denver as part of a four-day operation that netted nearly 500 arrests in cities federal officials say are “sanctuary” cities, despite Denver’s claim it isn’t a sanctuary city.
According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the operation, dubbed Operation “Safe City,” “focused on cities and regions where ICE deportation officers are denied access to jails and prisons to interview suspected immigration violators or jurisdictions where ICE detainers are not honored.” The four-day operation wrapped up Wednesday. Continue reading
EPA chief Scott Pruitt chartered private plane between Denver and Durango for Gold King Mine tour
DENVER – EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt opted to charter a private plane from Denver to Durango and turned down an offer from Gov. John Hickenlooper to ride on his state plane for the trip to the Gold King Mine in early August.
The governor’s office confirmed to Denver7 Wednesday that Pruitt had declined Hickenlooper’s invitation, but did not offer further comment. CBS News first reported Tuesday that Pruitt had used a private plane.
The EPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday, but told CBS News that Pruitt’s flight to Durango had been “significantly delayed” and that Pruitt didn’t want to miss the meeting outside of Durango. Continue reading
Colorado’s officials ponder next moves on health care after failure of Graham-Cassidy
DENVER – After the latest Senate Republican effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act died before being brought to the floor Tuesday, Colorado’s senators and governor were quickly back to offering more solutions to fix some of the issues with the federal health care law.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced at a weekly lunch with Republican leadership that he wouldn’t bring the Graham-Cassidy measure to the floor for a vote because his party was short. Continue reading
Sen. Cory Gardner still uncommitted on Graham-Cassidy health care bill as it nears death
DENVER – U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., remained noncommittal Monday as to whether or not he supports the latest Senate Republican effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act as it was dealt another blow that could prove fatal.
The Senate Finance Committee held an hours-long committee hearing on the Graham-Cassidy bill Monday morning, as Democrats continued to bash the bill and Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana defended it. Continue reading
Colorado’s election system was ‘scanned’ by Russians but not breached, DHS tells state
DENVER – Russians scanned Colorado’s election system for possible points of weakness in the weeks before last year’s election but were not able to penetrate it, the Department of Homeland Security told the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office Friday.
Colorado was one of 21 states DHS informed Friday were “impacted” by Russian activity in the run-up to the election. But the secretary of state’s office maintains it was not breached, as it has for months now. Continue reading
Sen. Michael Bennet says it would be ‘a shame’ if Graham-Cassidy prevails over bipartisan talks
DENVER – As Senate Republicans try to get another measure to the floor to repeal the Affordable Care Act with the Graham-Cassidy amendment, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., sat down to discuss the measure and bipartisan health care reform discussions he’s been a part of in recent weeks.
Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, said Friday he couldn’t “in good conscience” vote for Graham-Cassidy, and Sen. Ron Paul, R-Ky., has also said he wouldn’t support the bill. Continue reading
Colorado Hospital Association opposes Graham-Cassidy as another analysis shows losses for state
DENVER – The Colorado Hospital Association said Thursday that the latest effort by Senate Republicans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act “has the potential to have a significant and harmful impact on the health of all Coloradans” as another nonpartisan analysis found the measure could cost Colorado billions in federal health care dollars.
The hospital association says that forecasted Medicaid cuts under the latest Republican proposal, Graham-Cassidy, “will likely impact hospital’s ability to provide care for Colorado’s most vulnerable patients.” Continue reading
Bennet, Gardner back legislation to separate wildfire prevention, suppression money
DENVER – Both of Colorado’s U.S. senators are calling for changes to the system that funds firefighting efforts as we reach the end of what has already been the costliest fire season in U.S. history.
Sens. Michael Bennet (D) and Cory Gardner (R) are cosponsoring a bill with senators from several other western states that would move funding to fight wildfires into a natural disaster fund and separate the money from the fire prevention fund.
The U.S. Forest Service and Interior Department currently have to take money from fire prevention programs in order to pay for the services to fight active wildfires.
The firefighting budgets for each year are currently based on the average cost of suppression over the past 10 years, and the senators say that Congress often has to appropriate more money after the initial budget is finalized because firefighting costs are underestimated.
The bill Bennet and Gardner are cosponsoring would keep the prevention and suppression funds separate. The renewed legislation comes after pushes by both senators to have Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell revamp wildfire funding.
The Forest Service and Interior Department said last week that more than $2.3 billion had already been spent fighting wildfires this year, and 64 fires were still burning across 10 states.
“This bill would end the practice of fire borrowing—a necessary step that will enable the Forest Service to make responsible investments on the front end to restore our forests and safeguard our watersheds,” Bennet said.
“I’ve been working to advance this legislation to stop fire borrowing for several years, and I appreciate the strong bipartisan support to ensure the Forest Service has the funds it needs for clean-up and prevention efforts while also finally requiring the government to treat wildfires like it does other natural disasters,” Gardner said.
This year’s fires have burned more than 13,000 square miles—the fourth-highest total in a decade.