Growing up on a ranch in the San Luis Valley, there will always be a special place in my heart for the small towns, ranches and farms of rural America. Unfortunately, Washington all too often ignores the needs of these places, which I call the “Forgotten America.” This week, I introduced two bills to help revitalize rural America.

The first is a bipartisan bill to create a special, rural-focused law enforcement training institute – a Rural Policing Institute – to ensure rural police departments and law enforcement agencies receive cutting-edge training. Too often, rural law enforcement agencies face a difficult choice between training opportunities and keeping officers on the street. My Rural Policing Institute will help change that.

The second bill will improve rural education and ensure rural students have access to a quality public education. Earlier this year, I conducted a survey of Colorado educators on their experiences with the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law, and more than 2,000 Colorado teachers, administrators and others responded. One of the findings of this survey was that rural schools face a serious challenge to recruit and retain highly qualified teachers. An experienced and gifted teacher can make all the difference in a student’s education, and the Rural Teacher Retention Act I introduced this week will create a grant program to help rural schools retain highly qualified and experienced teachers.

Also this week, I was extremely disappointed that USDA decided to ignore the needs of our farmers and ranchers in southeastern Colorado and refused to provide a disaster declaration for counties hit hard by recent blizzards. This development came despite my offer to Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns to take him on a tour of the snow-covered region so that he could see the disaster firsthand.

Last week, I joined with Senator Allard to request a hearing for the Arkansas Valley Conduit in the Senate Energy Committee. The Conduit is the key to clean and safe drinking water for the people of the Lower Arkansas Valley who have waited too long for a solution on this issue. This joint proposal between me and Senator Allard is identical to the bill we pushed last year in the 109th Congress. I am hopeful that we will see real progress in the 110th Congress.

On the issue of Iraq, last week the United States Senate missed an opportunity to debate the war and its future direction. I was disappointed the minority party in Congress used procedural maneuvers to block public debate on the war in Iraq. However, I am optimistic that the Senate will still have an opportunity to express the need for a new plan and a new direction in Iraq.

Next week, the Senate breaks for a non-legislative work-period. I will spend time holding meetings across Colorado throughout the entire week. I am looking forward to touring the federal “Supermax” prison facility in Florence with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, where I will discuss funding and personnel concerns with him. As the week continues, I will hold meetings across northern Colorado on the issues of renewable energy, health care and education. I hope to see you in your community soon.

Sincerely,

Ken Salazar
United States Senator

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