Gov. Bill Ritter said today that the $7.5 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds heading to Colorado’s 15 Community Health Centers will improve care for Colorado residents and create and preserve jobs all across the state.

“Community Health Centers are a vital part of our health care safety net,” Gov. Ritter said. “They provide high-quality care to 500,000 Coloradans, many of whom are uninsured or on Medicaid. This Recovery Act funding will help protect or create good jobs in the health care sector and ensure these health centers continue providing care at time when more and more families are relying on safety-net services.”

These Recovery Act funds will help create or protect more than 150 Colorado jobs and provide 40,000 new patients with access to care, according to the Colorado Community Health Network.

The $7.5 million is included in $338 million the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is allocating to states through the Recovery Act.

The following Colorado Community Health Centers will be receiving funds:

Small Biz Credit, Job Training & Future Research Get Boosts

(DENVER) – As the daily economic news darkens, House Democrats announced the rare bit of good news:  three bills designed to bolster Colorado’s economy and create jobs passed out of House committees.

Senate Bill 67 establishes the Colorado Credit Reserve Program which will increase the availability of loans to small businesses to help them expand, meet payroll, and create jobs. Co-sponsored by Sen. Rollie Heath( D-Boulder) and Rep. Don Marostica (R-Loveland), Rep. Sara Gagliardi (D-Arvada) led the bill to unanimous passage in the House Business Affairs Committee.

“A small state investment guarantees a pool of up to $50 million in new loans to small businesses,” said Rep. Gagliardi.  “Loans of up to $500,000 will be made available for job creation in a time when small businesses desperately need access to capital.”

House Bill 171, New Energy Economy Job Training, offers targeted funding for community colleges to work directly with new energy companies to create customized job training programs. The House Transportation & Energy Committee unanimously endorsed HB 171, sponsored by Sen. Gail Schwartz (D-Snowmass), Rep. Nancy Todd (D-Aurora), and Rep. Edward Vigil (D-Alamosa).

Senate Bill 31, the Clean Technology Discover Grant Program sponsored Sen. Heath and Rep. Jim Riesberg (D-Greeley) advances research and the development of clean technology.  As amended, the program will now be funded by gifts, grants and donations.  The bill “sets up the framework” so that if money becomes available in the future, it can be easily directed to these ends.

Rep. Riesberg said, “Colorado is known for its tremendous research capability.  We always produce big results from small investments.”

SB 31 passed out of the House Transportation & Energy Committee unanimously.

From the Colorado for Obama blog:

Coloradans aren’t the only people working to help Barack win the Rocky Mountain State — thousands of volunteers from states such as Utah, Maine, New York, South Dakota and even Alaska have traveled to Colorado and are knocking on doors and calling folks to get out the vote.

I spoke with a couple of Californians who had arrived in Denver yesterday. Danielle told me why she came to Colorado for the last few days.

There wasn’t much we could do in California so we decided to come to Colorado. This is our big push to get people to vote — to not be complacent, to not get over confident about Barack being ahead in the polls. We’re making people to get out and vote and just do everything we can to make sure we actually win.

Angelo, another Californian, had just returned from knocking on doors when I spoke to him. He told me about one of the people he had met while canvassing.

There was a Republican on my list who I started talking to. He had voted Republican his entire life but he was on the fence — he didn’t like McCain but he didn’t know anything about Obama. I know a bit about Obama, I’m not going to say I’m an expert in any way. But I talked to him. I asked him what mattered to him and tried to put it into context — that it would help you and the ones you care about more if you vote for Obama rather than McCain. And he said he would vote for Barack.

It’s not to late to join the campaign. Sign up to volunteer.

From the Colorado for Obama blog:

Today marked the beginning of the end. Today was the start of GOTV – the final four days, the time when hundreds of thousands of supporters across the nation knock on doors and call voters reminding them to get out the vote.

This evening, we stopped by a staging location in Colorado Springs that was run by a volunteer named Marco.

He said:

We had over 100 phone bankers and nearly 100 canvassers, including about 18 people who came in and hadn’t even signed up to canvass. It’s a wonderful thing.

Steve, the phone bank captain at the staging location, took a second between training volunteers to tell us about his day.

He said:

We had teenagers phonebanking, we even had an 11 year-old making calls with her dad. Everyone had such an upbeat positive attitude, it has been great.

We need all the help we can get these last few days, sign up to volunteer near you!

From the Colorado for Obama blog:

There are only eight days until Election Day and the excitement is growing across Colorado. People from across the country are visiting Colorado to take part in helping Barack win the Rocky Mountain state.

Last Friday, Senator Hillary Clinton was one of those people. She visited Aurora, where she spoke to around 1,600 people about why Barack must be elected on November 4th.

She said:

This election is too important for anyone to be on the sidelines of history. This election will determine whether or not America gets back on the right track for the kind of future that all of us, our children and generations to come deserve.

Hillary has been fiercely campaigning for Barack, traveling all over the country to talk to folks about why they should vote for him. She said she has seen strong support for him wherever she goes:

I have been all over the country and from Florida to New Hampshire to Pennsylvania where I was this morning. Everywhere I go people are being convinced that they must join with us.

I believe that on the merits, voters are recognizing what the Obama/Biden ticket offers. I also believe that the economic crisis that we have been enduring and that unfortunately will continue to play out over the months ahead is a wake up call to all Americans because for the months a head because, as the governor was saying, just looking at the returns here in Colorado and the number of people who have already voted, Barack Obama will be elected not only by Democrats, but by Independents and Republicans who know we have to change.

From the Colorado for Obama blog:

On Tuesday, Joe Biden came to Colorado for the first time since August. It may have been a few months since he was last here, but the vice presidential nominee certainly made the most of his visit — stopping in Greeley and Commerce City on Tuesday and Colorado Springs and Pueblo on Wednesday. Over 7,000 Coloradans came out to see him over the two day trip.

The Senator spoke about the state of the economy, Barack’s and his dedication to helping the middle class and the importance of voting early in Colorado. Speaking to an enthusiastic crowd at Sierra Hills High School in Colorado Springs, he said:

I want you to turn off the TV about red states and blue states. I want you to turn it off. I want you focusing on one thing — get out now and vote now. Because you know something is going to come our way. You know these guys are not only going to throw the kitchen sink, they’re going to find the bathroom sink. There’s going to be a lot coming our way. Maybe I’ve been down this road too many times before, but we cannot afford to wait. So for those of you who have not voted yet… you have no excuse, go vote now.

We have the best ground operation this state or any state has ever seen. We have committed volunteers, we have over fifty offices… We are not taking a single thing for granted. The stakes in this election could not be higher. This is the single most important election any of you no matter how young or old you are in this gymnasium will have ever voted in.

After his two rallies on Monday, the Senator stopped at the office in Parker, thanking the volunteers for their hard work and encouraging them to give all they can to the next two weeks.

Patrick was one of the volunteers at the office when Joe showed up.

He said:

I got a phone call saying that somebody might come in the office that night, so I stopped by to make some phone calls. It was amazing seeing Biden, there was just this energy that filled the office when he entered the room. He was right there in front of me, while he gave his speech. He even pulled my baby brother out of the audience and held him while he was talking. He was incredibly nice and it was really inspiring to get to see him in person.

From the Colorado for Obama blog:

Colorado State Director Ray Rivera just sent out this email and we wanted to share it with you:

Dear Jenn,

From now until the end of the month, every day is Election Day in Colorado.

Early voting is fast, easy, and it could make the difference in this crucial battleground state. Show your friends and family that you’ve made up your mind and you’re ready for change now.

Barack recorded a short video about Early Vote in Colorado.

Watch the video and find your early vote location today:

Early voting is simple, safe, and convenient. It’s also a vital part of our strategy.

The more supporters who make their voices heard now, the more energy and resources we can devote to our get out the vote efforts closer to Election Day.

Vote early today and see if you can get five or more friends to vote early with you.

All across the country, supporters like you are working together to grow this movement for change. We know that Colorado families can’t afford four more years of failed Bush-McCain policies.

That’s why we need you to help make sure we have an advantage in Colorado before Election Day.

Take a moment now to watch the video, fill out some basic information, and make your voice heard:

http://co.barackobama.com/ColoradoEarlyVote

This is our chance to take America in a new direction — so the next four years don’t look like the last eight.

We can’t do this without you.

Thanks,

Ray

Ray Rivera
Colorado State Director
Obama for America

P.S. — After you vote early, help Barack bring the change we need to Washington by making sure others vote early as well. Join us for a neighborhood canvass and help get out the vote. Learn more now:

http://co.barackobama.com/COgetinvolved

From the Colorado for Obama blog:

It’s something that guys dream about — Eva Longoria, visiting their college campus, talking to them about how much they mean to her.

Last Saturday, it actually happened.

Eva, as well as actors Kal Penn and Adam Rodriguez, spent the day visiting college campuses around Colorado talking to students about their vital role in this election. The three started their day at Auraria campus where they spoke to several dozen students about the upcoming election and the importance of the youth vote.

Eva said:

People keep complaining about the government, complaining about Bush, complaining about the economy. But complaining is not going to change it — only you are going to change it. Obama has said many, many time “change can not start at the top. It starts with us.” That’s the middle class, that’s college students, that’s you and you and you.

Colorado is a swing state. Colorado is one of the deciding states in this election. You don’t want to be known as the state that lost hope for the rest of the country. You want to be the state that changed the face of the nation by standing up and showing up and saying ‘no more, we want change.’ The people who are going to bring change to this country are you.

The actors then traveled up to University of Northern Colorado, where a field filled with students listened as Adam Rodriguez from CSI Miami spoke to the crowd.

He said:

The biggest part of what makes mediums like Youtube and Facebook so powerful is their capacity to spread virally. And that’s what you guys need to be today, you need to be the Facebooks and the Myspaces and the Youtubes once we leave here. You guys are the ones who want change and that’s why you’re here today. The important part is what you take from here and what you do after you leave here today. Let’s spread this virally. Let’s take this excitement we have, this opportunity to create change, and let’s be a part of making that change — this change that is going to carry us through the rest of our lives.

From the Colorado for Obama blog:

On Tuesday, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius visited Colorado, stopping in Pueblo, Colorado Springs and Denver to talk to Coloradans about Barack’s plans to support small businesses.

In Denver, Kathleen was joined by four other women, including Lieutenant Governor Barbara O’Brien for a panel discussion about small businesses. Speaking to a crowd of around 60 people in Denver, she said:

You don’t need to go any further than the local news station to know this country is teetering is on the brink of an economic crisis, the likes of which we haven’t seen since The Great Depression. For a lot of Colorado families and for a lot of families in our state, those economic woes were not a surprise because they’ve really been struggling with the cost of groceries and gas going up, jobs disappearing in this country; 660,000 jobs have been lost this year alone across America.

There are serious economic challenges and I think it has become abundantly clear that we cannot continue to do what we’ve been doing the past eight years and expect it to turn out differently. Albert Einstein said that awhile ago, he called it insanity. And that’s really what voters are faced with in this upcoming election.

Senator Obama has focused on the challenges facing those working families, feeling that it starts with a fair tax policy, that you have to shift to reward work once again and that working men and women should get a tax break. He has proposed a $500 per worker tax break. Ninety-five percent of the citizens of this state will get a tax break from the Obama administration just from that one element alone.

He thinks it’s important that small businesses be recognized as the engine of the economy that they are here in Colorado, in Kansas and across the country. Most workers work for companies employing fewer than 50 people. And those employers would no longer pay capitol gains tax as a way to incentivize additional investment in hiring new workers.

And that really is compared to the McCain tax policy which not only continues the Bush tax breaks, which at one point John McCain opposed — now he supports and supports continuing those tax breaks. Senator McCain has proposed the need to add an additional $300 billion in tax breaks for the wealthiest corporations and the wealthiest individuals in the country — starting with the big oil companies; they would get a big chunk off the top of that. No tax plan for working middle class Americans, most would not receive any relief at all, under the McCain tax plan.

One of the panelists, Leanna Clark, is a co-owner of a public relations firm that has been experiencing difficulties paying for their clients’ health insurance because of the problems in the economy.

She said:

I love what I do. I love the business, the staff and the clients. But I hate a lot of what goes along with owning a small business — primary in my mind is the rising cost of health care. Over the past nine years at my company we have seen our health care costs increase 219%. And we are a company who philosophically believes in covering the health care costs for our employees and will continue to do so, but nobody can bear that kind of increase without making some kind of adjustments.

I believe that Barack Obama gets it and the plan that he is proposing makes a lot of sense. I asked a lot of questions, and I did a lot of research… Senator Obama’s direct tax credit to my company would cut what we’re spending annually on health care in half, and that is amazing.

From the Colorado for Obama blog:

Two weeks ago the Colorado Campaign for Change issued a challenge to supporters across the state: whoever knocked on the most doors over a weekend would get the opportunity to meet Barack. And last Monday, when Barack returned to Colorado, eight volunteers from across the state shook hands and spoke with the senator before he took the stage at Mount View High School.

Christine was one of those canvassers — she knocked on around 400 doors in Arapahoe County over the course of two days and on Monday she found herself in front of Barack.

Here’s what she said about the experience:

When he walked into the room I was speechless. He is a very real and genuine person. I felt that he really does care about what we all think, what we all are going through out here in the real world. I am prouder than ever to support and campaign for this man and know that he will put America back on the right track.

Christine brought her son Jordon with her. She says the seven-year old was incredibly excited about meeting the senator. She said:

He told me after that he was very nervous about meeting him. I know that he will remember this day for the rest of his life. And, my hope is that I have taught, and will continue to teach him that being a citizen of this country is about something more than just yelling at the television when you disagree with your leaders — it is about putting actions with those words. It’s about more than just voting. That if you see something wrong you do whatever you can to make it right. It is about getting out there and doing whatever you can to change the world in which you live. As he grows up I hope he holds on to the memories from this election and knows that he was part of something special.