Dear Neighbor,  During challenging times, I often find myself thinking of a phrase I’ve heard echoed throughout the communities that make up Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District: Stronger Together.  For me, the phrase is a reminder that beyond our disagreements, we as a community are at our strongest when we come together—to listen to each other, to show empathy and respect each other’s differences, and to work to solve complex problems. As we prepare to ring in the new year, please know that I remain committed to doing the same, and will do everything I can to ensure a better and brighter future for everyone—working to foster a sense of community that is rooted in care and compassion.  As the Representative for the 2nd District, I’ve spent this year working with many of you to tackle a number issues important to our community, and in turn, we’ve been able to deliver some pretty exciting results for the people of Colorado. In 2023, we launched three congressional caucuses: the Bipartisan Wildfire Caucus, the Bipartisan Fentanyl Prevention Caucus, and the Bipartisan Congressional Colorado River Caucus. And by bringing together a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, we were able to reach across the political divide to make real progress for our communities on each front.  We also introduced extensive legislation to tackle the Western wildfire crisis and bolster drought resilience and preparedness programs, prevent mass shootings and build safer communities, address the housing shortage in our rural and mountain communities, support small businesses and foster Colorado’s innovation landscape, protect critical benefits for veterans, and so much more. And I am proud to announce that through our work to address these challenges, we’ve introduced 77 bills—more bills than any member of Colorado’s congressional delegation. Just last week, 2 of these Colorado-led bills were signed into law by the President, including our Mental Health for Military Families Act and the Federal Data Center Enhancement Act. These laws will address critical priorities for folks in our community by eliminating several fees for mental health care for Colorado’s military families and bolstering the resilience of federal data centers.  We also fought to secure federal funding for our communities, including investments for infrastructure improvements, like those to create safer roadways and better transportation corridors and transit networks, and for the groundbreaking research underway in Colorado’s federal labs. This year, we successfully secured $275 Million in federal grant funding and more than $23 million in Community Project Funding.  For households in Colorado’s 2nd District, we returned over $6 million back to constituents—closing more than 2,200 casework inquiries for folks in our communities. Our work doesn’t stop here, and as we enter the new year we will continue to work to meet the urgent needs of families and individuals across the state.