INDIVIDUAL ISSUES

We need to restore American energy dominance to reduce inflation and undercut the power of Putin and energy-rich tyrants.

We need a government-wide focus that embraces American energy production of all kinds — wind, solar, nuclear, natural gas and oil. We need a smart regulatory approach that leverages innovation to continue to drive down carbon emissions to address climate change. At the forefront of this national push, America needs a bold approach to permitting reform to get all sources of energy produced in a more robust, clean, and sustainable way.

Let’s unleash American innovation; let’s modernize permitting and bring more clean energy online like wind, solar, and nuclear. Let’s expand federal oil and gas leasing – our oil and gas is produced with tougher, smarter regulations than any other nation in the world. Let’s get pipelines moving. Let’s get natural gas permits on the Western Slope and across the United States, along with LNG terminal permits, in the review process and approved. Let’s open new markets for our natural gas in Europe and Asia.

By flooding the European and Asian markets with clean American natural gas, we can bring down emissions worldwide. American energy leadership is good for the world. Let’s throw the door open to an American energy revival that’s so bold it drives a stake in the heart of this inflation crisis and sends a message to Vladimir Putin and the Russians: the world doesn’t need your energy anymore.

Expanding energy production is one of the most important things we can do to attack America’s inflation crisis. Higher energy prices are the primary driver of inflation, making food, gas, and manufacturing more expensive. We can become a stronger country and help struggling families by reversing Biden’s war on energy. I won’t stop until we have a government-wide focus — and permitting reform to back it — that restores American energy dominance.

Senator Michael Bennet has failed at leading on this issue. In fact, he proposed a tax on American energy companies that would have only benefitted despots and dictators across the globe. Even an advisor to former President Barack Obama said it would “lead oil and gas prices to go up” for Coloradans.

I support efforts to hire more police officers and provide them with the resources and training they need to be successful at cracking down on crime and restoring trust in our communities.

Axios, 8-11-22: “O'Dea's late father, Edward ‘Doc’ O'Dea, worked as a Denver police officer, and rose to lieutenant before he died of a heart attack in 1989 while working an off-duty job.”

The country needs to get tough on crime. One way is zeroing-out the 87,000 new IRS agents and instead hiring 100,000 new local and state cops across America to protect our neighborhoods and schools.

Montrose Press, 3-2-22: “[Joe O’Dea] is supported by the Denver Police Protective Association (PPA), the largest police organization in the state, as well as well as former U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn.”

This is a commonsense proposal. President Bill Clinton, working with Republicans and Democrats, did the same thing as part of a crime bill during his Administration.

The border is bleeding fentanyl, our cities are overrun by crime, and too many of our schools just aren’t safe. That should be the focus of our resources, not turning the IRS into the 4th branch of the federal government.

Nick Rogers, President of the Denver Police Protective Association: “Elections matter more than ever because the safety of our communities is at stake. Our cities are under siege, and law enforcement is eager to stand with candidates who have the courage to stand with us. Joe is a man of wisdom, integrity and guts. Joe will represent the voice of working people, and Joe will stand up for the police."

Senator Bennet’s political party enabled the “Defund the Police” movement to crush the morale of our officers and led to police departments being dismantled across the nation. Throughout it all, Senator Bennet was silent. I will speak out when my party is wrong because I believe in putting Colorado first.

We must do everything in our power to fulfill our promise to seniors - and those approaching retirement - by protecting Social Security and Medicare.

I’ll oppose any cut to benefits for retirees and aging Americans, I’ll oppose investing Social Security in the stock market, and I’ll fight big spending politicians who raid the Social Security Trust Fund to spend on other programs. It’s wrong; I will not break our promise to seniors.

Big-spending politicians are the biggest threat to both programs. As Biden and Bennet spend between $300 billion and $1 trillion on student loan forgiveness, Social Security and Medicare are set to make cuts to benefits in 13 and 6 years, respectively.

“When politicians like Biden and Bennet spend in a reckless way, it’s inevitable that they’ll raid funds, cut benefits, and break promises to the seniors who rely on those programs,” concluded Lynne Cottrell of Aurora. “How do we know? Politicians like Bennet and Biden have been raiding the Social Security Trust Funds to spend on other programs for years.”

Read more about Joe’s promise to seniors on Social Security and Medicare.

I believe the United States should stand with Ukraine and that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a menace to the world. I have supported some of the aid the Congress has approved for Ukraine, but I do not support a blank check. We need oversight over the aid. However, we must be clear in our message to the world: the invasion is unjustified, NATO poses zero threat to Russia, and we will stand with our allies in the face of Russian aggression. Russia must be stopped in Ukraine. If they are not, I believe our allies and other nations in the region will be at grave risk.

President Joe Biden is our president; he won the 2020 election, but he’s doing a terrible job and he should not run again in 2024. Neither should Donald Trump.

A Biden vs. Trump rematch in 2024 would rip the country apart. I believe people are ready to move our country forward. We have a lot of talent out there, a lot of great potential candidates who can serve eight years. I will support someone else like Governor Ron DeSantis, Senator Tim Scott, or former Ambassador Nikki Haley.

It was time to end the war in Afghanistan, but President Joe Biden’s half-baked plan to leave the nation to the Taliban was foolish. Unfortunately, Senator Michael Bennet called Biden’s plan the “right decision.” In the end, the nation fell to one of the most radical religious groups in the world and thirteen U.S. service members lost their lives during the withdrawal. Thousands of Afghans, many who assisted the United States during our time there, have been brutalized and murdered in the aftermath.

The United States could have effectively ended offensive combat operations while still keeping a small force to coordinate logistics, train the Afghan Army, and maintain a key strategic base in the region - Bagram Airfield.

Did you know that we still have over 30,000 troops stationed in Germany, over 50,000 in Japan, and over 25,000 in South Korea? Even though it is indisputable that World War II and the Korean War ended long ago, these troop positions have helped maintain peace and strengthen relationships with our allies.

In the GOP primary there was a debate about pre-existing conditions and Obamacare. I said I opposed repealing Obamacare because of its protections for people with pre-existing conditions. It probably cost me votes. That’s okay. I am who I am.

Colorado Sun, 6-21-22: “O’Dea said he would not vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, because of changes to the law that were made during the Trump administration, including the rollback of tax penalties for the uninsured.”

Americans need to know they can get access to health care. If we want to fix health care here in the U.S. we need to get big government out of the way; we need innovation, we need competitiveness, we need choices.

This is about innovation. This is about making sure consumers have more choice—making sure we have more competition in the marketplace. That’s how we can drive down costs.

I support reforms that would allow more portable coverage and allow employees to have more control over their health spending, while also giving employers more options.

As an example, I back giving small business owners the ability to band together through Association Health Plans. Small business owners deserve access to economies of scale that larger companies enjoy to reduce costs.

I also recognize no two states are the same, and health care policy should reflect that reality. States should be empowered to approve health insurance plans tailored to consumers’ largest needs. Congress should lift cookie-cutter regulations that limit choice for working people when it comes to health insurance.

In addition, I believe we need to promote health care access by ensuring health care providers are paid fairly and in a timely way by insurance companies.

Another critical area of the health care system in need of reform is skyrocketing insulin costs.

I thought the amendment in the so-called Inflation Reduction Act to cap insulin costs would have been a good first step. While the amendment was not ultimately adopted, I support the bipartisan bill from Senator Susan Collins: Improving Needed Safeguards for Users of Lifesaving Insulin Now (INSULIN) Act. The legislation would:

1. Ensure insurance plans and pharmacy benefit managers cannot collect rebates on insulins that limit list price to the 2021 net prices for Medicare Part D or equivalent levels;

2. Make insulins eligible for cost-sharing protections, including waiver of any applicable deductible and limiting copays or coinsurance to no more than $35 per month or 25% of list price; and,

3. Support patient access to such insulins by ensuring coverage and prior authorization, step therapy or other medical management requirements cannot be imposed to limit beneficiary use.

Insulin costs are out of control. I hope the Senate can get this legislation done this year, but if not I will make it a priority when I get to Washington. There’s bipartisan support for this, and we need to get moving for Americans who rely on lifesaving insulin.

The proof is in the pudding.

• The retail price that Medicaid pays for drugs is actually higher than Medicare – and the price that both Medicaid and Medicare is paying for the most popular drugs are skyrocketing.

• The average retail price of a prescription covered by Medicaid is much higher than that of a prescription covered by Medicare. (CBO)

• Since 2008, Medicare and Medicaid have both experienced substantial increases in the prices they pay for brand-name drugs. For Medicaid, the average retail price more than doubled, from $262 to $584. (CBO)

Access to generic drugs has been the biggest change that has improved the overall affordability of prescription drugs for Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance patients.

I could not care less what the pharmaceutical industry thinks about me. The industry does important things, but they have way too much power in D.C. This is one area where there is a real opportunity for bipartisanship. The rules for the industry and the way the government pays them need to be turned on their ear. I’m interested in a real strategy that drives down costs of life-changing medicines, not career politicians patting themselves on the back during an election year for a law that’s riddled with loopholes. Mark my words: President Biden’s plan to lower prescription drugs will work as well as Joe Biden’s plan to lower inflation.

The West is growing rapidly, the climate is getting warmer, and we have difficult choices ahead of us as we work to address our water challenges. We need partnership. We need collaboration. We need a bold approach that allows us to store more water. We need members of Congress who will lean-in and fight for our state’s fair share of water in disputes with other states. We must protect the environmental integrity of our rivers and streams. If we hope to balance all of these vital and competing values, Colorado needs leadership.

Water management is a critical issue facing the State of Colorado and will be a top priority for me in Washington D.C. Addressing growth demands, the loss of productive agricultural lands, compliance with our state’s river compact obligations, and adapting to ongoing drought conditions are just a few of the challenges we face. I will pursue policies at the national level that support all water users in Colorado, and will seek to provide resources for water providers that are struggling to respond to reduced water supplies while protecting environmental and recreational values. Pressure on the Colorado River system from downstream states in response to drought conditions requires leadership that is committed to protecting Colorado’s interests while at the same time finding solutions that address the root causes of the shortage. I will work with local, regional, and state water managers as well as the appropriate federal agencies to ensure that the lower basin states that are overusing their allocations are held accountable. The approach taken by the current administration has driven us toward a near collapse of the system and new leadership is needed.