{"id":37568,"date":"2022-11-01T03:40:30","date_gmt":"2022-11-01T09:40:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/u-s-rep-lauren-boebert-breaks-down-five-issues-facing-southwest-colorado\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T02:38:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:38:12","slug":"u-s-rep-lauren-boebert-breaks-down-five-issues-facing-southwest-colorado","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/u-s-rep-lauren-boebert-breaks-down-five-issues-facing-southwest-colorado\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert breaks down five issues facing Southwest Colorado"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"U.S.
U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert<\/span>Patrick Cavan Brown<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

According to U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, who grew up in a \u201cDemocrat household on welfare,\u201d her conservative political beliefs were informed by her experience dropping out of high school to accept an assistant manager position at her local McDonald\u2019s in an effort to provide for her family.<\/p>\n

She said her decision led to a realization that she \u201ccould provide better for (herself) than the government ever could.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Durango Herald<\/em> requested an interview with the freshman congresswoman, but she agreed only to answering questions in an email.<\/p>\n

The Republican candidate broke down how she would address what she views as the top five issues facing Southwest Colorado if reelected to represent the 3rd Congressional District this November.<\/p>\n

Economy and inflation<\/div>\n

Boebert said rising inflation and costs of living across the country can be attributed to \u201ctrillions of dollars of wasteful federal spending.\u201d She cited her proposal of a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution, which would restrict the federal budget from spending more than it receives, as a step she has taken during her term to reduce national debt.<\/p>\n

To accommodate agricultural workers, Boebert said she supports repealing the federal \u201cdeath tax\u201d \u2013 or estate tax \u2013 because she sees \u201cno reason to tax our ranchers and farmers again when they pass the family farm on to the next generation.\u201d She also supports making the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which reduced tax rates for individuals and businesses, permanent.<\/p>\n

According to Boebert, employers in the district have voiced that \u201cthey have good jobs they need to fill but can\u2019t find good people to hire.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA huge part of this problem were excessive unemployment bonuses on top of normal unemployment,\u201d Boebert wrote to the Herald<\/em>. \u201cAs a result, I called on Governor Polis to end the pandemic posturing, reject federal unemployment bonuses, and get Coloradans back to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Energy<\/div>\n

Boebert said she supports \u201can all-of-the-above energy strategy that includes hydropower, nuclear, natural gas, oil, and renewables.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boebert criticized the Biden administration\u2019s shutdown of the Keystone XL Pipeline project, which was designed to transport crude oil from Canada to the Midwest and Gulf Coast regions of the U.S. She cited her introduction of the Ukraine Assistance and American Energy Acceleration Act, which would restart construction of the Keystone Pipeline as well as ban the import of Russian oil and natural gas, as an example of her focus on energy independence.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy bill will increase American energy exports to boost our economy and project American strength while exporting freedom throughout the world,\u201d Boebert wrote of the proposed legislation.<\/p>\n

Water<\/div>\n

\u201cWater is the lifeblood of rural Colorado,\u201d Boebert wrote to the Herald<\/em>. \u201cFor years, Colorado and the West have suffered from drought.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boebert attributed water shortages to \u201caging infrastructure and increased populations,\u201d as well as the export of water from the 3rd Congressional District to other states.<\/p>\n

In her email, Boebert wrote that she \u201csecured $10 million through a provision signed into law to address the deferred maintenance backlog and increase water storage at projects like the Pine River Indian Irrigation Project that provides irrigation to the Southern Ute Indians.\u201d While she sent a letter to the leaders of the House subcommittee on Interior and Environment and Related Agencies urging them to support the Indian Irrigation Fund, she voted against the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022, which ultimately designated the $10 million funding to the project.<\/p>\n

Boebert added that she opposes federal water grabs and is working to remove invasive salt cedar trees in Southwest Colorado, which consume about 200 gallons of water daily per plant.<\/p>\n

Border security and drugs<\/div>\n

Boebert said \u201cMexican drug cartels have shifted their transportation routes away from interstate highways and towards secondary highways \u2013 to include U.S. Highways 160, 550, and 491 \u2013 and southwest Colorado has borne the impact\u201d of illicit fentanyl presence in local communities.<\/p>\n

To mitigate fentanyl\u2019s prevalence nationwide, Boebert introduced the Fentanyl is a Weapon of Mass Destruction Act, which she said would \u201cincrease interagency cooperation and allocate additional resources, like improved sensors and data-based analytics, to combat the fentanyl crisis.\u201d She added that she is working to have Montezuma County designated as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, which would grant the county federal funding to combat illegal drug production and distribution.<\/p>\n

In terms of her immigration policy, Boebert cited her introduction of the Secure the Southern Border Act, which would require the Department of Homeland Security to take action on constructing a border wall along the border with Mexico, prohibit the release of immigrants who don\u2019t appear to be safety or flight risks from DHS custody in anticipation of their court proceedings and reinstate former President Donald Trump\u2019s \u201cremain in Mexico\u201d policy which restricts migrants attempting to immigrate to the U.S. from staying in the country while their cases are reviewed in U.S. courts.<\/p>\n

Housing<\/div>\n

Boebert cited the La Plata County Economic Development Alliance\u2019s 2021 workforce housing report as evidence of the housing crisis in Southwest Colorado, noting the finding that people earning $63,000 to $98,000 annually for a two-person household are priced out of the open market but do not have a low enough income to qualify for subsidized housing.<\/p>\n

\u201cRent increases are rising quicker than wage increases as the average median rent in Durango is now $2,200 per month, a 30% increase from a year ago,\u201d Boebert wrote to the Herald<\/em>, adding that the median price of a house in Durango is currently $650,000.<\/p>\n

Boebert said she is working to remove tariffs on Canadian lumber to reduce the cost of building homes and \u201cfighting for regulatory relief\u201d as far as building codes.<\/p>\n

\u201cBuilding codes and regulations that make sense in Washington D.C. and Denver doesn\u2019t always make sense for Southwest Colorado,\u201d Boebert wrote.<\/p>\n

To increase the availability of affordable housing, Boebert supports opportunity zones, which allow private investors to develop real estate in low-income census tracts in exchange for federal capital gains tax advantages. Durango currently has one designated opportunity zone, in which about 23% of the city\u2019s population lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is private capital going into communities that need it most, and Durango is also benefitting (sic) through its opportunity zones,\u201d Boebert wrote.<\/p>\n

Beyond her political goals, Boebert wrote that people are always curious to know what her go-to McDonald\u2019s order is as a former employee. Her answer: \u201cOG Hot \u2018n Spicy McChicken, extra lettuce, add cheese and tomato with a 6-piece chicken nuggets with hot mustard, and a medium soda water.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kate Corliss is an intern for The Durango Herald and The Journal in Cortez and a student at American University in Washington, D.C. She can be reached at kcorliss@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Republican incumbent recounts leaving high school to work for McDonald\u2019s as shaping views<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34581,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[981,266,28,1722,367],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-37568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-colorado-3rd-congressional-district","tag-election","tag-headlines","tag-regional-elections","tag-u-s-rep-lauren-boebert"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37568"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37568\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83699,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37568\/revisions\/83699"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37568"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=37568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}