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Guest Columnist – Senator Gardner: a policy champion on healthcare, immigration and economic growth

The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by our guest columnists do not reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of this publication.

By Angel Merlos / Advisor at the Libre Initiative Action-CO

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Hispanics in Colorado know that we’re a pretty diverse community. While I’m lucky enough to have been born and raised here, some are newcomers – and others come from families that have been here for literally hundreds of years. Our state is special and successful because of contributions from everyone. And we are fortunate to have a leader like Senator Cory Gardner who recognizes that, and supports policies that empower each of us to succeed. And that’s why, this November, Senator Gardner deserves the support of the Hispanic community.

Our nation was built on the American dream — the idea that each generation can, through hard work, do better than the last. We count on our leaders to share a commitment to that dream. If you listen to the voices of the Hispanic community in our state, a few priorities are clear. We’re concerned about economic growth, quality health care, and immigration reform. Those issues touch virtually every family and worker, and they affect our ability to build better lives. Hispanic families succeed when policies set in Washington allow us to work and earn, access affordable health care, and benefit from a reformed immigration system.

We recognize that effective advocacy is more important than partisan labels because these challenges aren’t solved by one political party alone. It takes someone willing to reach across the aisle and build bipartisan coalitions for common-sense reforms. And Gardner has shown a commitment to doing that.

We’ve seen it on health care, where Gardner has earned bipartisan praise for his efforts on coronavirus, and has reached across the aisle to protect our state’s ability to offer health care best suited to the needs of the people of Colorado.

He has also worked to build bipartisan support for efforts to reform our broken immigration system – earning him the title “Immigration Champion.” That includes legislation to offer certainty to Dreamers — young people brought here as children, and who still lack a way to earn permanent legal status.

Gardner also voted to reduce taxes for an estimated 65 percent of Americans. In 2018, the average household paid $1,600 less in federal due to the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which Gardner supported. For Hispanic families, this has been an important step forward — one that helps grow the economy and allows us to keep more of our hard-earned income.

In times like these — when our nation faces serious challenges — it’s important to remember that while America isn’t exempt from troubles, Americans pull together and overcome them. As in the past, we will recover stronger – working through issues, resolving differences, and building a more prosperous nation. We in Colorado are fortunate to be represented by U.S. Senator Cory Gardner, who’s helping to make that process work better. But Colorado Hispanics cannot take his leadership for granted. We need to re-elect Senator Gardner this November so our state can continue to be represented by a proven policy champion.