Colorado federal lawmakers this week amplified efforts to protect state-enacted marijuana laws and cannabis businesses. Reps. Diana DeGette and Mike Coffman on Thursday introduced the Respect States’ and Citizens’ Rights Act of 2017, which would add a provision to the Controlled Substances Act that would prevent federal preemption of state law. A day earlier, Colorado’s two senators threw their support behind banking legislation for the marijuana industry. DeGette, a Democrat, and Coffman, a Rep... Read more

No matter where one stands on the legality of marijuana, or whether marijuana businesses should operate in your community, the safety of those businesses and the people who operate them is important. Without access to banking services, due to the fact that federal law still criminalizes the drug, dispensaries deal almost entirely in cash. Automatic teller machines in the lobby of marijuana retail establishments allow banks to collect service fees for those who want to withdraw cash to buy the pr... Read more

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CO-07) issued the following statement after Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced the appointment of a Special Counsel to oversee the Trump-Russia investigation. “After calling for an independent investigation for months, I am pleased to see the DOJ appoint former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel. This is a step in the right direction to ensure a thorough and independent investigation.” ### Read more

Members of Colorado’s congressional delegation backed Wednesday’s announcement that former FBI Director Robert Mueller had been named special counsel for the federal investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. Lawmakers praised the selection of Mueller, a former prosecutor who ran the FBI for 12 years, as a sound choice, even as some Democrats said they still believe an independent commission should be established to look into allegations of Russian involvement with associates... Read more

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former FBI Director Robert Mueller was given sweeping power Wednesday to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign, with a broad mandate that could encompass any questionable actions of President Donald Trump's associates and possibly even the circumstances of last week's abrupt firing of James Comey. The Justice Department's appointment of Mueller as a special counsel is an acknowledgment of growing public demands to place the politically charged inqui... Read more

Colorado Democrats and Republicans agree — at least the ones who are talking. Appointing former FBI director Robert Mueller to get to the bottom of whatever is going on between the Trump administration, its associates and the Russian government is a good move. Democrats, though, are taking a “it’s about time!” stance, while Republicans are a bit more cautious. Mueller was named “special counsel” on Wednesday. If you’re wondering what the difference is between a special prosecutor and a special c... Read more

This Saturday, May 20 marks the first-ever Colorado Public Lands Day, a holiday created as a non-political celebration of public lands, but whose meaning seems amplified in a national political climate where public lands protection is under threat. More than 100 events of all kinds are planned around the state to ring in the new holiday, which is the only state-specific celebration of public lands (National Public Lands Day happens every September 30). There’s a group run in Durango, a hiking gu... Read more

Washington, D.C. –Today, U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CO-07) and 45 members of the New Democrat Coalition (New Dems) sent a letter to President Trump encouraging him to focus on tax reform and fixing our nation’s infrastructure. For too long, Congress has relied on irresponsible, stop-gap measures that hinder economic growth and make it more difficult to revitalize our outdated infrastructure and overly-complicated tax code. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) rated our the U.S.’s infrast... Read more

Colorado Democrats are calling for an independent investigation in the face of a bombshell media report that President Donald Trump shared highly sensitive, classified intelligence about the Islamic State with Russian diplomats during a White House visit last week, a revelation that Trump appeared to both confirm and defend early Tuesday. The original report from the Washington Post said Trump revealed highly classified information about the self-proclaimed Islamic State to Russian Foreign Minis... Read more

The human toll of Alzheimer's is obvious. Today, there are more than 5 million Americans living with this disease - the only leading cause of death without a way to prevent, cure or even slow its progression. Barring the development of medical breakthroughs, the number of Americans with the disease is set to triple over the next 35 years. , and the cost of care will increase to $1.1 trillion in 2050. This year, the annual cost of caring for individuals living with Alzheimer's or other dementias ... Read more