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Colorado GOP: Governor can’t ‘cry foul’ about federal funding cuts after ignoring warnings

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Colorado’s House Republican leaders are criticizing Democratic Gov. Jared Polis for not heeding their advice against enacting legislation that could lead to the state losing federal funding.

Earlier this week, Polis announced that the state created a dashboard to track funds that are either being cut or are at risk from the Trump administration, as well as the state’s efforts to protect those funds through legal action. As of June 19, about $76 million in federal funding has been cut, and another $56 million are at risk, while more than $282 million has been reinstated across state agencies, the dashboard showed.

The dashboard also showed federal funding tied to nine of the state’s 20 agencies. It does not yet include the largest source of federal funds: the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, which receives more than half of the federal funds sent to Colorado, primarily for Medicaid.

Polis said Tuesday the Trump administration is trying to “rip away local and state funding that supports cybersecurity and public safety, helps Coloradans access or charge low-cost electric vehicles, helps people access food and more.”

“This is federal funding that has already been allocated to states by Congress, and now the administration is working to take it away. We are doing everything in our power to protect this funding for Coloradans and local governments, including pursuing legal action when necessary. This dashboard will help increase transparency and accountability,” he said.

House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese of Colorado Springs and Assistant Minority Leader Ty Winter of Trinidad said they saw all of this coming and tried to warn Polis about it — but that he didn’t listen. 

“House Republican leadership identified numerous bills that risked violating federal law and jeopardizing critical funding,” Pugliese and Winter said in a joint news release. “Despite these warnings, the Governor moved forward with signing the legislation, knowing the risks to Colorado’s fiscal health.”

Among those bills is Senate Bill 276, which limits federal immigration authorities’ access to certain buildings, such as schools and churches, and prohibits law enforcement from disclosing information about inmates’ immigration status to federal authorities. Polis signed the bill into law last month.

Supporters of the measure argued that it would help ensure the civil rights of all Coloradans are protected, regardless of their immigration status.

Republican lawmakers warned it would lead to funding cuts from the federal government, as Trump has issued an executive order threatening to withhold funding from “sanctuary cities.” While the governor has maintained that Colorado is not a “sanctuary state,” the Department of Homeland Security has designated several cities, including Denver, Aurora, Boulder, and Durango, as “sanctuary” jurisdictions.

“We’re gonna lose money on this because it is the federal government’s role to enforce federal immigration law and what we are trying to do is we are trying to roadblock that for them,” Rep. Jarvis Caldwell, R-Colorado Springs, said during a House debate on the bill in May.  

In March, Pugliese and Winter, sent Polis a letter that identified several bills they believe could risk federal funding cuts if passed. They said they offered amendments that would have repealed the measures if they risked federal funding, but those proposed changes failed to pass. 

“Governor Polis cannot now cry foul,” said Winter. “Our letter, the rejected amendments, and repeated floor debate made it absolutely clear that the majority’s legislative agenda would trigger federal consequences. The Governor had the chance to veto these bills — and he did not.”

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