Allard talks water, looks forward to new session

U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard paces as he talks about the issues facing Weld County residents.

It's a pace suited for a man with a lot on his mind, especially ahead of what's sure to be a busy legislative session that begins Jan. 22, but he's careful to look each resident in the eye while listening to concerns about how they want him to represent them in Congress.

Allard, R-Loveland, met with more than 20 Greeley and Weld residents Monday afternoon as part of an ongoing series of town meetings Allard uses to keep in touch with constituents.

Residents at the meeting spoke about water, immigration, possible constitutional amendments and agriculture at the hour-long meeting, and Allard assured each resident that he would represent their concerns in the U.S. Senate before leaving his seat this year.

Allard called the last session of Congress "not particularly effective" because of early presidential caucuses and primaries.

"We're facing longer campaigns," he said. "I've always been in favor of shorter and less expensive campaigns, so we're going the wrong way on that."

<strong>CONTACT ALLARD </strong> Sen. Wayne Allard 521 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Phone: (202) 224-5941; Fax: (202) 224-6471; Web site: http://allard.senate.gov/public

After a resident asked about repealing Amendment 14 -- which guarantees citizenship for every person born in the United States -- Allard said he'll be taking a closer look at it, though he couldn't say if he was in favor of such a move.

Some believe that Amendment 14 is not fair because it gives citizenship to children born in the United States to undocumented workers.

Other residents were concerned about pork-barrel spending, which allows legislators to attach pet projects to larger bills.

"What can be done?" asked Willis Kulp, of Greeley. "It's a serious problem."

Allard said he'll may work to stop such spending by trying to require each earmark to have its own bill, although that is a difficult thing to accomplish, he said.

Allard said some of his major goals for the new session include getting a budget passed, providing more money for the military, addressing the high cost of energy and Colorado's role in that, dealing with health-care issues and making permanent tax cuts, which he says is central in the role of stimulating the economy.

But in Weld, Allard said, the most pressing issue is water: both its availability and quality.

A bill presented by Allard and co-sponsored by Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Fort Morgan, that would designate Rocky Mountain National Park a wilderness area hinges on a water agreement that assures the resource comes out of the park to Colorado farmers, Allard said.

"Water is vital to Weld County," he said. "They're pioneers in managing water. ... It's vital we get that water running to farmers in Weld."