I derive a lot of the values that I try to bring into the public sphere from my private faith.
— Jared Polis
Colorado is a trade-dependent state.
The Federal Communications Commission needs to listen and serve the American people, not special interests.
There are a lot of children in our country that, because of their neighborhood or socio-economic status, do not have the opportunity to attend a good school that will prepare them for life's challenges.
To be effective in Congress, you must focus. With so many issues and debates occurring at any given time, it is easy to spread yourself too thin and lose sight of your goal.
In the absence of federal leadership, Coloradans should take our rightful role as leaders seriously and work with other states and countries to reduce carbon emissions.
The passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act - or stimulus bill, as it is often called - is a perfect example in which dire circumstances necessitate immediate action. But with such large amounts of taxpayer money at stake, a hastily developed, under-thought-out plan could have been disastrous.
In the business world, if you're not looking ahead, you're missing something.
We can pass practical, comprehensive immigration reform.
In order to create real, long-lasting reform, we must create a pathway to legal status for the millions of undocumented immigrants who have made lives for themselves and their families in the United States.
No one should be denied the opportunity to choose his or her spouse. It is a basic human right and deeply personal decision.
One of my heroes growing up was Jackie Robinson. My mom, an ardent baseball fan from whom I got my love of the game, had an old baseball card of his from the 1950s and told us his amazing story of courage in integrating baseball.
When I was first elected to the Colorado State Board of Education in 2000, we had to carry a big binder filled with hundreds of pages to every meeting. By 2004, the State Board had gone paperless. We even persuaded the less-tech-savvy members to use laptops to pull up their information during meetings.
I believe that in order to sustain a governing majority, the Democratic Party has got to learn that it can govern without raising taxes.
Enterprise zones have succeeded in attracting needed capital to our urban poverty centers. Businesses and investors that wouldn't otherwise give these blighted areas a second glance react to the incentives and invest.
If becoming a member of Congress is like going to college, then crafting legislation is our homework.
My favorite part of the experience of serving in Congress is knowing that my time and effort are spent for the greater good and for the betterment of our nation.
My parents were active in the anti-war movement in the 1960s, so I grew up with a tradition of civic activism around our dinner table and going to different marches for different causes.
We want a Colorado that works for everybody.
Americans' information independence is under attack, whether it's the repeal of net neutrality or the repeal of broadband privacy protections.
One of my main legislative efforts in education is to help expand and replicate successful charter schools. Charter schools are public schools with site-based governance.
Coloradans of all walks of life value the environment.
We cannot afford a dead stop on all of the progress we have made under President Obama in saving our planet from the devastating consequences of climate change.
Patience, they say, is a virtue. Yet in times of emergency, the government needs to be able to make snap decisions and take bold, decisive action to protect the American people.
Far too many of our elected officials are chained to an ideology that is rooted in the past. They are keepers of normalcy who embrace things as they've always been.
Trying to enforce our out-of-touch laws is as foolish and impossible as trying to enforce a law requiring that water flow uphill.
The so-called Defense of Marriage Act is a valueless tradition that, like laws against interracial marriage that were finally overturned by the Supreme Court in 1967, undermines the spirit of love and commitment that couples share and sends the wrong message to society.
Churches should be able to decide what kinds of unions are sanctified by their denomination, but not what kinds of unions are accepted in the civil arena.
Creating a sustainable, economic, social, and ecological environment that provides everyone the opportunity to succeed is my mission in Congress.
Technology improves our lives in so many ways - from our toasters, ovens, and refrigerators at home to our computers, fax machines, and BlackBerrys at work. Technology makes once-burdensome tasks easy and fun.
The role of the speaker of the House is to deliver enough votes by understanding and accommodating the individual bottom lines of enough members to pass the bill.
The House of Representatives provides a special, nonpartisan staff of lawyers, called Legislative Counsel, who are experts in various areas of the law.
The most important thing to keep in mind in being effective is focus.
When I first arrived, I likened Congress to being back in school again as a freshman. Well, just like school, we have an 'August recess,' but don't let the name fool you - it's not even close to a vacation.
I wouldn't ask other people to invest in my race if I wasn't willing to invest in it myself.
A free and open Internet is essential to our democracy, economy, and modern way of life.
Without net neutrality protections, the Internet would no longer be a free and open ecosystem for innovation.
Improving our nation's education system has long been the cornerstone of my policy agenda.
There is a great deal of innovation occurring in Colorado, with some of the most brilliant minds and creative startup companies in the world formulating climate-change solutions right in our backyard.
Sometimes you hear that many politicians vote for a bill in various forms before they vote against it, or vice versa. The conflict, negotiation, and eventual compromise involved in this process form the essence of the democratic process.
We need innovation and creativity.
While most of my public service work centers on improving our schools and fixing our broken immigration system, I also strongly stand for personal freedom.
It is essential for our national security to know who resides within our borders.
Throughout history, we have only moved forward when society has distinguished between traditional values and valueless traditions.
The life of a congressional spouse is harder than the life of the member. They do all the work and get none of the recognition.
From my own perspective, I value productivity more than tradition, but the customs of the House evolve slowly.
We need to prove to American voters, particularly independent voters who gave us this opportunity to lead, that this is not your grandfather's tax-and-spend Democratic Party.
Negotiating deals among members of Congress is an exercise in wearing masks, scaring up votes, and, oftentimes, bluffing.
Co-sponsoring a bill is fairly easy, like a group project which you work on with others.
Humans and nations are imperfect, and through our collective efforts, we hope to improve our nation and bring hope and opportunity to millions who lack it.
