Rep. Boebert's Nine Legislative Priorities Pass The House

Press Release

On July 20, 2022, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 8294, a package of six appropriations bills. Specifically, the package included Transportation and Housing and Urban Development; Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration; Energy and Water Development; Financial Services and General Government; Interior and Environment; and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bills for fiscal year 2023.

While Congresswoman Boebert opposed final passage of the bill due to reckless spending levels and a slew of "woke" policy concerns, she worked with the Appropriations Committee to secure nine of her individual requests for Colorado's Third District in the package. To read House Committee on Appropriations Ranking Member Kay Granger's full letter to Congresswoman Boebert, click HERE.

Congresswoman Boebert's nine legislative priorities that passed the House include:

Rep. Boebert secured $218.14 million for Bureau of Reclamation projects and $53.99 million in requests for rural water projects. This robust funding will advance the efforts of the Arkansas Valley Conduit (AVC), a project authorized by Congress back in 1962 the will provide an abundant supply of clean water from the Pueblo Reservoir to 50,000 people throughout Southeastern Colorado where groundwater is naturally contaminated by harmful microorganisms and radionuclides. The cities within Colorado's Third District effected by the AVC are in desperate need of a reliable water source, and it's far past time that Congress delivered on its promise to the citizens in the Lower Arkansas Valley. For more information, click HERE.
Rep. Boebert secured $7.66 million in support of the Bureau of Reclamation's Endangered Species Recovery Implementation Program affecting the Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basin. The Congresswoman implored the President to provide funding for projects that seek to recover four threatened and endangered fish species, continue water development projects, and ensure important compliance with the Endangered Species Act for water and power providers. As a result of this collaborative effort, approximately 2,200 water projects could take place in the Upper Colorado River basin. For more information, click HERE.
Rep. Boebert successfully advocated for collaboration amongst various federal agencies to establish a pilot program seeking to remove non-native Russian olive and salt cedars in the West. These phreatophytes consume vast amounts of water, with the salt cedars consuming about 200 gallons of water per day per plant. With the massive amounts of water they consume, salt cedars increase the risk and severity of wildfires in the riparian ecosystems they inhabit. Congresswoman Boebert is aggressively working to remove these invasive species. For more information, click HERE.
Rep. Boebert secured $10 million for the 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. For more information, click HERE.
Rep. Boebert secured $52.23 million in funding to protect western Colorado against the threat of wildfires and address the bark beetle epidemic. In 2020, Colorado residents witnessed one of the worst wildfire seasons in the state's history. It is time for Congress to address the problem through proactive management measures such as removing hazardous fuels and thinning overgrown forests. Not only will this create jobs for Americans, but it will protect people and local communities from dangerous wildfires. For more information, click HERE.
Rep. Boebert secured $1 million for the Wolf-Livestock Loss Demonstration Program. The Wolf-Livestock Loss Demonstration Program ensures livestock producers are compensated for the loss of livestock killed by wolves. For more information, click HERE.
Rep. Boebert secured full-funding for the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program for fiscal year 2023. This program is crucial to Colorado's Third Congressional District because it seeks to offset losses to local governments from massive amounts of federal land within their jurisdiction. PILT funding helps offset the challenges rural communities are facing and provides resources for construction of new schools, road maintenance, police protection, and life-saving search and rescue missions.
Rep. Boebert took action to improve I-70 by helping secure $28.44 billion in funds for the National Highway Performance Program (NHPP). A prime example of the necessary projects the National Highway Performance Program supports is located in Colorado's Third Congressional District. I-70 is the gateway to the West. Because of natural hazards, I-70 experiences significant closures through Glenwood Canyon that last greater than 1 week, three or four times a decade. Last year, I -70 was closed for 16.5 days through Glenwood Canyon due to severe mudslides and flash flooding that buried the interstate in 10 feet of mud. For more information, click HERE.
Rep. Boebert was able to advance protections for farmers and ranchers by securing a legislative provision that exempts livestock haulers from excessive Electronic Logging Device (ELD) regulations. The federal government severely misunderstands the impact these requirements could have on those in the commercial trucking industry, specifically livestock haulers. They could force livestock haulers to unload their livestock and reload them during a "mandated rest period'. Due to the unpredictable terrain of western Colorado this could increase the risk of injury and add additional stress to the livestock. The federal government has no business risking the lives of truckers and the livestock simply because they feel the need to over-regulate this industry.

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