The right to speak freely, the right to a free press, to practice a religion, to petition our government, to be secure at home, and the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
This is freedom.
This is what your service gave America.
Your commitment is as storied as our nation’s history, from the banks of the Delaware to our western frontiers, from Normandy to the Rhineland, from Africa to Asia, from Beirut to Baghdad, you answered the call and served with honor.
We must never forget our brothers and sisters, our sons and daughters, our husbands and wives we lost in places of which we had never heard and now we can never forget.
For this we are forever grateful.
We must demonstrate our gratitude, we must act on our obligation for all you have given us, and we must repay our debt to every service person who wore the military uniform.
You stood up for your country when your country needed you. Now it is time for your country to stand up for you.
Your country fails you when there are 800,000 claims pending before the Veterans Administration, when errors in military records number in the hundreds of thousands, or when our government fails to provide the resources to sustain our servicemen and women over the long term care.
You deserve the best medical care, the best education this country has to offer.
You deserve the support of your fellow Americans, and most of all you deserve the promise of America of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
God bless you, and God bless America.
Posted by SenatorShaffer as Blog at 5:31 PM UTC []
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Senate Bill 108 or FASTER—the transportation omnibus bill you’ve heard so much about passed its first step in the legislative process today. That means we are one step closer to boosting our economy by investing in our transportation infrastructure, one step closer to creating thousands of jobs and thousands of paychecks, and one step closer to ensuring safe means of transporting people, goods, and services.
This legislation is critical to climbing out of the recession, and I look forward to continuing to work with members of both parties in the House and Senate to get this bill to the Governor’s desk.
Posted by SenatorShaffer as Blog, Transportation at 11:23 PM UTC []
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We often romanticize Colorado as a rugged land of individualism, where cowboys on horseback roam across measureless mountain ranches. Over a century ago, the myth of men taming the wild frontier rose out of our Rockies, stretched across our eastern plains, and bloomed alongside our Columbines. Over time, this wistful idea of the West has thrived in Colorado’s identification.
In reality, we do still have cowboys and Indians, and a flourishing agricultural industry, but we also have active urban centers like Denver and Colorado Springs, high tech companies, and world class education opportunities. Perhaps this juxtaposition is best portrayed with the annual National Western Stock Show taking place adjacent to city skyscrapers. City folk welcome the cowboys, just as the rural residents welcome the city folk and travelers from around the world to relish the beauties of their resorts and ranches.
That’s one of the reasons I like 4-H Day so much: 4-H brings the hardy spirit of the outdoors to the Colorado that is, in reality, one big community. We honored 4-H in the Senate today. The voices of 4-H participants resonated throughout the Senate Chamber as they said their pledge: “I pledge my Head to clearer thinking, my Heart to greater loyalty, my Hands to larger service, and my Health to better living, for my club, my community, my country, and my world.”
This club recognizes the importance of the individual—so often emphasized in the characterization of Coloradans—in making broad impacts to the society at large. It brings together the rural and the urban, the individual and the community. I was proud to honor the 4-H participants at the Capitol today, and I’m proud to serve the community that is Colorado.
Posted by SenatorShaffer as Blog at 5:36 PM UTC []
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