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Congressman John T. Salazar -- Defending Rural Values -- Third District of Colorado
  For immediate release  
  Wednesday, January 24, 2007  
 

Moving Colorado In A New Direction

 
 

 

For the first time in years, members of Congress are working together to make your life a little easier.  It started last year, during the historic election of 2006, when voters demanded change and overwhelmingly voted in a Democratic majority.  The new majority listened and in less than a month, House Democrats passed several key bills that- upon passage by the Senate and a signature from the president- will improve our quality of life.

By raising the minimum wage, expanding funding for stem cell research, making college more affordable, and investing money that would otherwise be given to oil companies to develop clean, renewable energy, our country is moving in a new direction.  It’s exciting for me to now hear my colleagues talk about the same issues that we talk about with our families at the dinner table.  

The first step we need to take in moving our country forward is to strengthen our middle-class families.  We strengthen families by increasing salaries to an affordable, living wage.  While inflation has continued to rise, salaries for working families have not.  Last week, I voted to increase the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour over the next two years.  Colorado voters led the way on this issue when they voted last November to increase the minimum wage and keep it stable with inflation.     

Our next step is to focus on health care.  Although this is a complex problem with no easy solution, Congress is taking steps to begin solving this problem.  During the last three weeks, House members voted to lower the cost of prescription drugs for our seniors and to expand funding for stem cell research. After losing my father to Alzheimer's, I know first hand the importance of finding a cure for such a devastating disease.

When I was growing up, my mother told me that an education is something that can never be taken away.  She and my father made sure that all seven of my brothers and sisters went to college.  Although we went, our parents could not afford to pay for our education.  It was my responsibility and it took me a while to pay off the student loans, but it was worth every penny.  However these days, college tuition in Colorado continues to skyrocket along with interest rates.  That is why I voted to cut interest rates in half on student loans. By lowering the cost to go to college, more of our young people, especially those in rural areas, will now have that opportunity.
Finally, renewable energy is critical to our national security.  I believe that with Colorado’s vast natural resources, we should lead the country in the fight for energy independence.  In fact, the Lower Arkansas Valley has some of the best wind resources in the country, the San Luis Valley has extraordinary potential for solar development and farmers in Costilla County have already begun producing bio-fuels.

It is my promise that I will continue addressing the everyday concerns of Colorado families—from making health care and college more affordable, to making our state a leader in renewable energy, this is just the beginning.  Working together, we will continue to move our country in a new direction.

 

 
 

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