Congressman Joe Neguse was back on home turf to meet with constituents on Friday, holding events in Estes Park, Fort Collins and Longmont.
A standing-room-only crowd filled the student center at Front Range Community College in Fort Collins, mostly asking Neguse questions about recent tumult in Washington, D.C. Earlier in the week, President Donald Trump issued a vague, wide-reaching pause on federal funds before it was temporarily blocked by a judge.
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Neguse, whose district includes Boulder, Fort Collins, Breckenridge and Steamboat Springs, highlighted the impact of federally-funded climate programs that help prevent wildfires and protect rivers and streams.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 promise you that they are not going to implement drastic and cruel cuts to these programs,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut I can promise you that I will use every tool that is available to me in the legislative process to stop it.鈥�
The event was originally billed as a 鈥淪tate of the District,鈥� but Neguse scrapped his planned presentation and held a question and answer session instead.
鈥淚鈥檇 be remiss, I think, to go back to Washington, particularly at a time like this,鈥� he said, 鈥渨ithout checking in and getting a sense of how you all are feeling and what you think we ought to do about it.鈥�
He spoke to an overwhelmingly friendly crowd, and garnered big applause for his promises to push back on the new administration.
鈥淚 am so thrilled we have a representative like this,鈥� said Hope Hartman, who attended the event. 鈥淚 feel like he鈥檚 really listening to the people. He hears all of our concerns, he understands the conundrum, the stress. I feel like we have a strong voice going back to the White House.鈥�
Hartman, who directs the Larimer Small Business Development Center, said many small business owners are 鈥渟hell shocked鈥� and fear that an unstable economy will cause people to spend less money.
Neguse encouraged the crowd to stay 鈥渉opeful, optimistic [and] resolved鈥� heading into the next few years. He said bipartisanship can be difficult at a time like this, and indicated that it was difficult to see eye-to-eye with some of his colleagues, especially around the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
鈥淪ome of the members of Congress on the other side of the aisle, whom I have worked closely with in the past on wildfire mitigation or securing funds for watershed resilience, are now some of the same members defending the propriety of pardons issued by the president of the United States for violent individuals who assaulted police officers who were protecting them and me.鈥�
