Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet issued the following statement today on the Senate’s agreement to reopen the federal government and raise the debt-ceiling in order to avoid default. The measure includes a bill to raise a cap on the amount of emergency transportation funds Colorado can access to repair the state’s flood-damaged roads, bridges and highways. The language in the deal mirrors legislation authored by Udall and Bennet that the U.S. Senate passed late last month in the wake of floods that destroyed roads and bridges along the Front Range and into the foothills.
“This ridiculous manufactured crisis was a kick in the teeth for Coloradans, especially those doing the hard work of trying to recover from floods and drought. Shutting down our government and threatening our full faith and credit to score political points is absurd. And we did all of this for a short-term budget deal that barely keeps the lights on.
“In spite of all the dysfunction, we were able to pull together to ensure that the agreement included access to much-needed emergency funding to help Colorado rebuild our roads and highways.
“If Washington does not get its act together, we will find ourselves in the same situation in a matter of months. It’s why this town has earned its reputation as ‘the Land of Flickering Lights.’ What we really need, and what Coloradans have told me in countless town halls across the state, is a comprehensive, bipartisan budget plan that materially reduces the deficit and shows we’re all in this together. That sort of solution should include making important reforms to our antiquated tax code. We need to stop posturing for political points and start solving the problems that Coloradans have asked us to, beginning with bipartisan work on fixing our immigration system, passing a Farm Bill, and constructing an energy policy for the 21st century.”