Updates from Michael
Success Story: Growing a Medical Practice
Amid the most difficult recession since the Great Depression, I’ve heard from small business owners and entrepreneurs across the state who have been struggling to stay afloat, let alone grow and hire workers, because they lack access to credit. This was why passing the Small Business Jobs Act was so important, and already it is starting to help small business owners in Colorado.
Dr. Jeff Kulp in Colorado Springs owns his own practice, where he, along with two nurse practitioners, treats senior citizens on Medicare. He has benefited directly from the Small Business Jobs Act. The Small Business Administration loans and fees that have been waived under the bill have saved him more than $40,000, allowing him to move forward with a plans to build a new medical office and expand his services. He will be hiring architects and builders for the construction phase, plans to hire another nurse practitioner soon, and eventually will hire more staff to serve his patients.
It took Washington months to get this bill to a vote, but small business owners like Dr. Kulp are wasting no time. Thanks to the bill’s common sense provisions to help grow small business lending, He is expanding his practice, which will provide better care for his patients, and he is bringing work to local contractors and creating jobs—exactly what we all knew small businesses owners could do once they had the support they needed.
Success Story: Honoring a Fallen Secret Service Member
Joseph A. Walker served in the Secret Service for 19 years. He had a successful career, serving on the security detail of President Grover Cleveland. He was the head of the Denver division, in charge of four states, when he was tragically killed while performing an investigation in Durango. On November 3, 1907, he became the first member of the Secret Service to be shot in the line of duty. At the time of his death, the Secret Service had no policy in place to honor his burial.
His grandson, Robert T. Walker Jr., recently contacted the Secret Service hoping to attain a tombstone with an appropriate marker of Walker’s historical significance. When he didn’t hear back, Robert called my office to see if we could expedite the process and bring honor to his grandfather’s sacrifice.
After we intervened, The Board Association for Former Agents of the U.S Secret Service contacted the Walker family to inform that they would provide the installation of a marker on Agent Walker’s gravesite at Denver’s Fairmont Cemetery. The Secret Service will work with the Walker family to ensure that work is completed in time for the anniversary of his death.
Advancing Stem Cell Research
Stem cell research has shown great promise with the potential to save lives. I’m cosponsoring a bill that will allow this research to continue being performed responsibly and comply with a recent federal court ruling. The Stem Cell Research Advancement Act will require that the embryonic stem cells come from excess supply at fertility clinics that would have otherwise been discarded.
The bill represents a commonsense solution that will allow doctors and scientists to perform cutting-edge research to continue to lead the fight to cure Alzheimer’s, cancer, and countless other conditions. I’m urging my colleagues in the Senate to quickly pass this bill so we can continue this vital research without delay.
Increasing Broadband Access
Access to high-speed internet is now within reach for over a million Colorado households, with the news that Colorado is receiving over $100 million in grants for rural broadband from the Department of Commerce. These funds will allow Centennial BOCES to provide affordable high-speed service to as many as 230 community groups, 3.8 million people and 50,000 businesses.
For too long, some of Colorado’s most vulnerable communities have gone without consistent and reliable access to broadband internet. Hundreds of communities that have lacked reliable or any high-speed Internet will now be connected to new opportunities online. Expanding access to broadband in Colorado will connect students with new opportunities to learn, workers with new skills and small businesses with new markets and customers that will help them grow and create jobs.
In this day and age, so much is happening on the internet. We need to ensure that the opportunities created by the web are accessible to all parts of our state, so that we can all grow and prosper. I’m excited that these funds will enable countless Coloradans to connect to the information superhighway.
Moving Forward on the Aurora VA Hospital
As I talk with veterans across the state, they tell me that access to VA healthcare is a top concern. Too many vets are forced to travel long distances to get the care they need. They have been waiting too long for a state-of-the-art Veterans Hospital to call their own. Now, we are one step closer to reality, because the Department of Veterans Affairs has selected a contractor for the new VA Medical Center in Aurora.
Our veterans have risked their lives to defend our country and keep us safe, and we need to do everything we can to provide them with the best care when they come home. The new medical center will provide top-notch care for thousands of veterans in Colorado and the Rocky Mountain West and will create thousands of jobs for Coloradans.
The Aurora facility will create 185 full time jobs, in addition to 1,750 workers on the construction site, and approximately 10,000 workers will be employed over the course of construction. The contractor also intends to work with Helmets to Hardhats, to put returning veterans to work on the construction of the site.
The VA Medical Center in Aurora will be a full-service VA hospital with comprehensive specialty care services, including a 30-bed Spinal Cord Injury Center. This brand new facility will finally give Colorado veterans the level of care they deserve.
