U. S. HOUSE DISTRICT 3 CANDIDATES
What will your top three priorities be if elected?
Lauren Boebert: My first vote will be to fire Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House who decided to spend years on a frivolous attempt to impeach the president instead of taking him up on his offer to get important job- creating infrastructure projects underway. I’ll focus my efforts on supporting high- paying jobs for our local energy, agriculture and steel industries, which starts with working to make sure our businesses are open and more international markets are available with fair trade terms. This includes supporting the Jordan Cove pipeline to open international markets for our district’s clean natural gas and I’ll address health care as described below.
Should the Affordable Care Act be replaced? If so, what would you replace it with?
Only my opponent has advocated for replacement of the ACA ( she’s pushed for Bernie Sanders’ single- payer, government- run, rationed care debacle). I will never vote for any legislation that takes away Coloradans’ health insurance. I’ll work to make sure the promises made to our seniors, children and those with preexisting conditions are protected while expanding access and lowering the cost of health care. We need providers and patients to be brought closer together. We should have health care be personal and portable and prices be transparent so we can empower individuals and start shifting results in favor of our people. The system now wastes $ 800 billion per year on administrative costs that benefit everyone but the providers and patients. That’s wrong and I intend to help fix that.
Do you support a ban on fracking? Why or why not?
No. Fracking is directly responsible for high- paying jobs in my district and has led our country to energy independence. I do not want to return to having Americans subsidize foreign terrorist states like Iran every time we go to the gas station. I’m proud of our energy industry developing its resources safely and responsibly.
Diane Mitsch Bush: First, lowering health care costs by strengthening the ACA, authorizing Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices, funding the Children’s Health Insurance Program ( CHIP), funding for rural hospitals and ending surprise billing. Second, I propose a federal infrastructure bank to invest in infrastructure that puts Coloradans back to work and brings prosperity. COVID has shown how weak the medical supply chain is, so I propose incentives to manufacture medical supplies products in CD 3. Third, protecting public lands. They’re our heart and soul, and a major economic driver in Colorado because 500,000 jobs in Colorado rely on our public lands
Mitsch Bush: No, it is the only law on the books that protects more than 300,000 people in CD 3 with a preexisting condition. Repeal would also eliminate the ACA’s mental health parity provisions, roll back Colorado’s Medicaid expansion— taking coverage away from thousands of people in our district— and prevent young people from staying on their parents’ health insurance plans until age 26. We need to strengthen the ACA by ending surprise billing and increasing competition among insurers. Repeal would be disastrous in the middle of the pandemic.
Mitsch Bush: Authority over permitting on private lands resides with state and local governments. Congress has authority over permitting on federal public lands. I don’t support a blanket ban. I support partnerships and consensus agreements like the Thompson Divide Agreement which set aside some areas on our public lands as off- limits to oil- gas exploration and development. Development is already prohibited on wilderness areas. Public lands leasing needs a full National Environmental Policy Act ( NEPA) process to consider all impacts. We must reinstate and enforce the methane rule and other air, water and wildlife protections. I oppose sale of our public lands.
Republican Party
Age: 33
Residence: Silt
Profession: Business owner
Education: High School diploma and enrolled in CSU business classes
Family: Married to Jayson, who works in our local energy industry. Mother to four boys
Experience: Business owner ( Shooters Grill), Second Amendment advocate, second largest signature gatherer to repeal National Popular Vote ( out of 229,000 gathered)