Iraq continues to be one of the most significant challenges facing our Nation and has now been going on for more than 4 years. We've been in Iraq today for a longer time than we were in World War II. Late last year, the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, co-chaired by former Secretary of State James A. Baker, III and former chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Lee H. Hamilton, laid out a bipartisan approach to bring a responsible conclusion to the Iraq war.

Last week, I and my colleague Sen. Lamar Alexander introduced a bill to make the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group the blueprint for future U.S. strategy in Iraq. The Iraq Study Group represented some of our Nation’s leading statesmen and women, and their work is a model for how Congress and our Nation can come together in good faith to develop a new way forward in Iraq. And this week, I supported Senator Warner’s Iraq amendment to the Emergency Supplemental bill because it is a first step in getting us toward that new direction. The Iraqi people are ultimately responsible for their future; this amendment requires accountability from the Iraqis to meet 18 benchmarks and accountability from the President to submit a report to Congress assessing the status of all 18 benchmarks.

On Monday, we announced a bipartisan agreement on a bill to designate nearly 250,000 acres of Rocky Mountain National Park as wilderness. This compromise brings to a close three decades of partisan wrangling, and represents what is best about Colorado: it is bipartisan, it protects the water rights we all hold dear and it ensures the Park remains unspoiled for future generations to come.

This week, the Senate passed the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). WRDA authorizes water projects around the Nation, which are especially important in arid West. This year, WRDA included authorization for six projects in Colorado, including a $10 million authorization for the construction of the Arkansas Valley Conduit in Southeastern Colorado. The construction of this conduit will fulfill a long-standing promise to the people of the lower Arkansas Valley for fresh drinking water and is the keystone for the economic revitalization of Southeastern Colorado.

Finally, this week and the last several weeks I have been working with my Republican and Democratic colleagues to develop a compromise on comprehensive immigration reform. I believe Congress has a responsibility to reform our broken immigration laws and I support an approach that is tough, fair, and practical. I continue to fight for a bill that is TOUGH at the border and on employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants, FAIR to those who agree to pay taxes and commit no crimes, and PRACTICAL by providing solutions to today’s illegal immigration problems and addressing our future workforce needs. On Thursday, we announced a broad, bipartisan, first-step agreement on immigration reform legislation that first and foremost secures our borders. This agreement is an important start in the process of moving this bill forward. This is an agreement that we can take to the floor process where I look forward to working with my colleagues to further improve it.”

Thank you,

Ken Salazar
United States Senator

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