Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and applaud Katherine Moore for receiving the Arvada Wheat Ridge Service Ambassadors for Youth award. Katherine Moore is a 8th grader at North Arvada Middle School and received this award because her determination and hard work have allowed her to overcome adversities.

The dedication demonstrated by Katherine Moore is exemplary of the type of achievement that can be attained with hard work and

perseverance. It is essential students at all levels strive to make the most of their education and develop a work ethic which will guide them for the rest of their lives.

I extend my deepest congratulations to Katherine Moore for winning the Arvada Wheat Ridge Service Ambassadors for Youth award. I have no doubt she will exhibit the same dedication and character in all her future accomplishments.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and applaud Karen Villagrana for receiving the Arvada Wheat Ridge Service Ambassadors for Youth award. Karen Villagrana is a 11th grader at Jefferson Senior High and received this award because her determination and hard work have allowed her to overcome adversities.

The dedication demonstrated by Karen Villagrana is exemplary of the type of achievement that can be attained with hard work and perseverance. It is essential students at all levels strive to make the most of their education and develop a work ethic which will guide them for the rest of their lives.

I extend my deepest congratulations to Karen Villagrana for winning the Arvada Wheat Ridge Service Ambassadors for Youth award. I have no doubt she will exhibit the same dedication and character in all her future accomplishments.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and applaud Judith Gonzalez for receiving the Arvada Wheat Ridge Service Ambassadors for Youth award. Judith Gonzalez is a 12th grader at Arvada High School and received this award because her determination and hard work have allowed her to overcome adversities.

The dedication demonstrated by Judith Gonzalez is exemplary of the type of achievement that can be attained with hard work and perseverance. It is essential students at all levels strive to make the most of their education and develop a work ethic which will guide them for the rest of their lives.

I extend my deepest congratulations to Judith Gonzalez for winning the Arvada Wheat Ridge Service Ambassadors for Youth award. I have no doubt she will exhibit the same dedication and character in all her future accomplishments.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and applaud Juan DeLaTorre for receiving the Arvada Wheat Ridge Service Ambassadors for Youth award. Juan DeLaTorre is a 9th grader at Jefferson Senior High and received this award because his determination and hard work have allowed him to overcome adversities.

The dedication demonstrated by Juan DeLaTorre is exemplary of the type of achievement that can be attained with hard work and perseverance. It is essential students at all levels strive to make the most of their education and develop a work ethic which will guide them for the rest of their lives.

I extend my deepest congratulations to Juan DeLaTorre for winning the Arvada Wheat Ridge Service Ambassadors for Youth award. I have no doubt he will exhibit the same dedication and character in all his future accomplishments.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and applaud Joey Quintana for receiving the Arvada Wheat Ridge Service Ambassadors for Youth award. Joey Quintana is a 8th grader at Bell Middle School and received this award because his determination and hard work have allowed him to overcome adversities.

The dedication demonstrated by Joey Quintana is exemplary of the type of achievement that can be attained with hard work and perseverance. It is essential students at all levels strive to make the most of their education and develop a work ethic which will guide them for the rest of their lives.

I extend my deepest congratulations to Joey Quintana for winning the Arvada Wheat Ridge Service Ambassadors for Youth award. I have no doubt he will exhibit the same dedication and character in all his future accomplishments.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and applaud Kathleen Jackson for receiving the Arvada Wheat Ridge Service Ambassadors for Youth award. Kathleen Jackson is a 7th grader at Wheat Ridge Middle School and received this award because her determination and hard work have allowed her to overcome adversities.

The dedication demonstrated by Kathleen Jackson is exemplary of the type of achievement that can be attained with hard work and perseverance. It is essential students at all levels strive to make the most of their education and develop a work ethic which will guide them for the rest of their lives.

I extend my deepest congratulations to Kathleen Jackson for winning the Arvada Wheat Ridge Service Ambassadors for Youth award. I have no doubt she will exhibit the same dedication and character in all her future accomplishments.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and applaud Joslin Hoffschneider for receiving the Arvada Wheat Ridge Service Ambassadors for Youth award. Joslin Hoffschneider is a 12th grader at Jefferson Senior High and received this award because her determination and hard work have allowed her to overcome adversities.

The dedication demonstrated by Joslin Hoffschneider is exemplary of the type of achievement that can be attained with hard work and perseverance. It is essential students at all levels strive to make the most of their education and develop a work ethic which will guide them for the rest of their lives.

I extend my deepest congratulations to Joslin Hoffschneider for winning the Arvada Wheat Ridge Service Ambassadors for Youth award. I have no doubt she will exhibit the same dedication and character in all her future accomplishments.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and applaud Juan Gonzalez for receiving the Arvada Wheat Ridge Service Ambassadors for Youth award. Juan Gonzalez is a 7th grader at Mandalay Middle School and received this award because his determination and hard work have allowed him to overcome adversities.

The dedication demonstrated by Juan Gonzalez is exemplary of the type of achievement that can be attained with hard work and perseverance. It is essential students at all levels strive to make the most of their education and develop a work ethic which will guide them for the rest of their lives.

I extend my deepest congratulations to Juan Gonzalez for winning the Arvada Wheat Ridge Service Ambassadors for Youth award. I have no doubt he will exhibit the same dedication and character in all his future accomplishments.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Colorado Humanities. The Colorado Humanities and State Humanities councils offer programs in every congressional district in this country. These programs strengthen individuals, families and communities. Councils support K-12 education, family reading programs, local heritage initiatives, veterans programs, public discussion forums, online state encyclopedias, book festivals, documentaries, lectures, library and museum exhibits, professional development and more. Without these programs many schools and small museums would go without essential educational programs.

The funding for these programs is possible through the National Endowment for the Humanities. Some have suggested the termination of the National Endowment for the Humanities. All of the participating councils stretch federal dollars by diligent fiscal management, strategic collaborations and leveraging of resources at the local level. Some of the programs including the online state encyclopedias can help generate revenue by providing an important resource for state tourism. Without federal funding councils could potentially lose the matching and in kind donations they use to double the federal funding they receive. The lack of federal support affects the future donation by private companies and donors. In 2010, the state councils used their funding to leverage $5.15 for every federal dollar awarded in grants, worked with 9,600 partner organizations and conducted programs in 5,700 communities nationwide.

The Colorado Humanities is an innovative leader, community resource and important partner for humanities programs. The Colorado Humanities is the only statewide organization exclusively dedicated to support humanities education for adults and children. They developed 57 unique programs and awarded 1504 grants in its 36-year history to support humanities education for adults and children. There are three annual community Chautauqua festivals, the Young Chautauqua history curriculum for K-12 students and the distribution of Colorado history documentaries to school and public libraries statewide. The Colorado humanities also provide schools with student writing competitions, the Colorado Book Awards, traveling exhibitions and numerous institutes for teachers.

The termination of NEA funding would impact numerous schools and museums in Colorado and the 7th Congressional District would lose multiple educational programs. Our nation's schools and museums already face budgetary cuts on the state level. Colorado Humanities demands little funding, practices diligent fiscal management and is staffed almost entirely by volunteers. The cuts proposed would eliminate an important program for all Colorado residents.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and applaud Jossie Ferris for receiving the Arvada Wheat Ridge Service Ambassadors for Youth award. Jossie Ferris is an 8th grader at Arvada K-8 and received this award because her determination and hard work have allowed her to overcome adversities.

The dedication demonstrated by Jossie Ferris is exemplary of the type of achievement that can be attained with hard work and perseverance. It is essential students at all levels strive to make the most of their education and develop a work ethic which will guide them for the rest of their lives.

I extend my deepest congratulations to Jossie Ferris for winning the Arvada Wheat Ridge Service Ambassadors for Youth award. I have no doubt she will exhibit the same dedication and character in all her future accomplishments.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and applaud Jordan Nicks for receiving the Arvada Wheat Ridge Service Ambassadors for Youth award. Jordan Nicks is an 8th grader at Moore Middle School and received this award because his determination and hard work have allowed him to overcome adversities.

The dedication demonstrated by Jordan Nicks is exemplary of the type of achievement that can be attained with hard work and perseverance. It is essential students at all levels strive to make the most of their education and develop a work ethic which will guide them for the rest of their lives.

I extend my deepest congratulations to Jordan Nicks for winning the Arvada Wheat Ridge Service Ambassadors for Youth award. I have no doubt he will exhibit the same dedication and character in all his future accomplishments.

Mr. Speaker, as one of the previous Members on the Democratic side talked about, tomorrow is April Fools. April 1, April Fools. The Republicans would like to have everybody believe that a bill that just passed the House but has never passed the Senate, never been signed by the President, is going to become law. I mean, we all know from our civics class that just isn't what the Constitution says, but they'd like us to believe that.

Now, that's a bad enough joke on America, but the real bad joke is what's in that bill. We're finally starting to get this country on its feet economically. We're starting to make things in America again. Manufacturing is on the rise. But they'd like to see that cut. They want to cut our research into clean energy, which, in Colorado, for every job that we have in research, there are four private sector jobs. They want to cut that. That's the bad joke that's coming up on April Fools.

The cuts that they ask really pull the rug right out from under the feet of America, and we've got to stop it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and applaud Lizbeth Blanco-Ramos for receiving the Arvada Wheat Ridge Service Ambassadors for Youth award. Lizbeth Blanco-Ramos is a 12th grader at Warren Tech North and received this award because her determination and hard work have allowed her to overcome adversities.

The dedication demonstrated by Lizbeth Blanco-Ramos is exemplary of the type of achievement that can be attained with hard work and perseverance. It is essential students at all levels strive to make the most of their education and develop a work ethic which will guide them for the rest of their lives.

I extend my deepest congratulations to Lizbeth Blanco-Ramos for winning the Arvada Wheat Ridge Service Ambassadors for Youth award. I have no doubt she will exhibit the same dedication and character in all her future accomplishments.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and applaud Kayla Koval for receiving the Arvada Wheat Ridge Service Ambassadors for Youth award. Kayla Koval is a 7th grader at Drake Middle School and received this award because her determination and hard work have allowed her to overcome adversities.

The dedication demonstrated by Kayla Koval is exemplary of the type of achievement that can be attained with hard work and perseverance. It is essential students at all levels strive to make the most of their education and develop a work ethic which will guide them for the rest of their lives.

I extend my deepest congratulations to Kayla Koval for winning the Arvada Wheat Ridge Service Ambassadors for Youth award. I have no doubt she will exhibit the same dedication and character in all her future accomplishments.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and applaud Kayleen Lawton for receiving the Arvada Wheat Ridge Service Ambassadors for Youth award. Kayleen Lawton is an 8th grader at North Arvada Middle School and received this award because her determination and hard work have allowed her to overcome adversities.

The dedication demonstrated by Kayleen Lawton is exemplary of the type of achievement that can be attained with hard work and perseverance. It is essential students at all levels strive to make the most of their education and develop a work ethic which will guide them for the rest of their lives.

I extend my deepest congratulations to Kayleen Lawton for winning the Arvada Wheat Ridge Service Ambassadors for Youth award. I have no doubt she will exhibit the same dedication and character in all her future accomplishments.