Throughout his years in the Senate, Michael has worked hand-in-hand with Coloradans to improve our communities and deliver for our families. Over the last four years, he has brought over $12 billion in federal funds to every corner of Colorado to help build an economy that grows for everyone, not just those at the top.
The Expanded Child Tax Credit
The 2021 American Rescue Plan included Michael’s bill to expand the Child Tax Credit, which cut child poverty nearly in half and provided economic security to millions of families. For one year, the bill dramatically increased the tax credit’s value, delivered the credit monthly, and made the credit fully refundable so that 27 million low-income children, including 350,000 Colorado children, could claim the full value. Since then, 11 states, including Colorado, have adopted their own Child Tax Credits.
Upgrading Colorado Infrastructure
Michael helped pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the largest investment in American infrastructure since President Eisenhower was in office. Since its passage, Michael has secured a record $7.2 billion in federal funding to support over 1,000 projects to improve Colorado transportation, water systems, clean energy, climate resilience, and broadband access.
Broadband for Colorado
During the pandemic, Michael wrote the BRIDGE Act with Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Angus King (I-Maine) to provide $40 billion in flexible funding to states and $2 billion to Tribal governments to deploy affordable, high-speed broadband in unserved communities. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law included Michael’s BRIDGE Act to create the single largest federal investment in broadband. Colorado has received $826 million from this program.
Establishing Colorado as a Quantum Tech Hub
Michael helped pass the CHIPS & Science Act to strengthen our semiconductor industry, invest in public R&D, and create the Tech Hubs program to advance emerging technologies domestically. Michael fought for Colorado to become a Tech Hub, and the Biden Administration established Boulder-based Elevate Quantum as a Hub for advancing quantum tech.
Building A Better Health Care System
Michael fought to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which required Medicare to negotiate drug prices and capped drug costs for seniors at $2,000 annually. A former Senate HELP Committee member, Michael has passed several bills to cut red tape in our healthcare system and expedite research, development, and approval for disease and cancer treatments. In 2020, Michael passed his No Surprises Act to protect Americans from surprise medical bills.
Leading the Space Command Fight
After President Trump abruptly moved Space Command from Colorado to Alabama in the last week of his first term, Michael spent three and a half years urging President Biden to reverse course. In July 2023, President Biden established U.S. Space Command’s permanent headquarters at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs.
Securing Benefits for Veterans
In 2022, Michael helped pass the PACT Act to expand VA healthcare eligibility to over 3.5 million veterans with toxic exposure- and burn pit-related conditions. As of May 2024, the VA had granted more than 1 million PACT Act claims, including over 50,000 claims in Colorado.
Advocating for Farmers and Ranchers and Sounding the Alarm on Western Drought
As a member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee since 2009, Michael has passed two bipartisan Farm Bills that reflect Colorado’s priorities and needs. Recently, Michael has used his Committee seat to sound the alarm on the Western water crisis facing Colorado farmers, ranchers, small business owners, and communities. In the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, Michael secured $10.5 billion for forest health, nearly $20 billion for agricultural conservation, and $4 billion for drought in the Colorado River Basin.
Funding the Arkansas Valley Conduit
Since arriving in the Senate, Michael has fought to secure the funding necessary to complete the Arkansas Valley Conduit and deliver clean drinking water to 39 communities and 50,000 people in Southeast Colorado. Michael has secured over $500 million for the Conduit, a majority from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. To date, Colorado has received over $842 million from the law for water conservation and infrastructure, salinity control, and municipal water projects.
Protecting Colorado’s Public Lands and Historic Sites
Michael worked with Colorado counties, businesses, recreationists, and conservationists to write the CORE Act to protect 420,000 acres of Colorado public land. Michael successfully urged President Biden to use his authority to protect landscapes in the CORE Act, including establishing the Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument as his administration’s first monument and approving a 20-year mineral withdrawal in the Thompson Divide. Biden also signed Michael’s bill to add Camp Amache on the Eastern Plains to the National Park System.
Fighting Climate Change and Boosting Clean Energy
Michael helped write and pass the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the most significant climate legislation in the planet’s history. Michael advocated for the IRA to include long-term tax credits for clean energy and helped write the bill’s tax credits for wind and solar energy, domestic battery, and critical mineral production. Michael pushed for the bill to expand “direct pay” to rural electric cooperatives, public power companies, and Tribes so that they could benefit from the bill’s tax credits, too.
Investing in Rural Clean Energy
Michael helped secure roughly $10 billion in the IRA to help rural electric cooperatives transition to clean energy. Michael repeatedly urged the Department of Agriculture to support Colorado co-ops for this funding, and his efforts helped provide over $3 billion for Tri-State, United Power, CORE Electric, Yampa Valley Electric, and Poudre Valley Rural Electric.
Remaking Colorado’s Bench
Michael has worked to quickly fill Colorado’s federal judicial vacancies with qualified, diverse, and historic nominees. In four years, the Senate confirmed six Colorado judicial nominees to the District Court of Colorado and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals with bipartisan votes.
Securing Aid for Ukraine’s Democracy
Michael has fought relentlessly to support Ukraine’s battle for democracy against Russian aggression. After months of negotiations, Michael successfully led the Senate to pass $61 billion in aid to Ukraine. When House Speaker Johnson refused to put the bill to a vote, Michael worked closely with a bipartisan group of senators, including Minority Leader McConnell and Majority Leader Schumer, to pressure the House to pass the aid.
