Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today welcomed the long-awaited announcement from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it has approved final rules for crowdfunding. Crowdfunding will provide a new avenue for Colorado small businesses and start-ups to acquire capital while ensuring strong protections for individuals who make small investments in these businesses. Bennet was a lead sponsor of the CROWDFUND Act, which was signed into law in 2012, that initiated the SEC's rulemaking process.

Senator Michael Bennet announced today that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated Delta County as a primary disaster area due to damage caused by severe periods of freezing that took place April 2nd through the 19th . Gunnison County, Mesa County, and Montrose County have been designated as contiguous disaster areas. Both of these designations make farm operators in these counties eligible to be considered for federal assistance, including Farm Service Agency (FSA) emergency loans.

Following a discussion in the Senate Agriculture Committee about childhood hunger and the summer meals program with actor Jeff Bridges, Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet is pressing his colleagues to pass his bipartisan bill to improve access to child nutrition programs during the summer months. The bill, introduced with Senator John Boozman (R-AR) in August, would make the summer meals programs more effective and flexible to help them reach more children in need, particularly children in rural communities.

Today, Senator Michael Bennet announced the formation of a bipartisan advisory committee that will implement an open process to recommend highly qualified applicants to fill an upcoming vacancy on the U.S. District Court in Colorado, created by Judge Robert Blackburn's taking senior status on April 12, 2016.

Following today's vote in the House of Representatives to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank), Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet is calling on the Senate to quickly take up and pass the bill. The Ex-Im Bank is an economic engine that has helped Colorado companies finance the export of domestically-made products to overseas markets for more than 80 years.

Today, the U.S. Senate passed a provision written by U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Rob Portman (R-OH) to strengthen federal cybersecurity by implementing a consistent framework for identifying cyber-related positions and recruiting qualified personnel across the federal government. The measure was included as part of the bipartisan Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA), which allows public and private sector entities to share cyber threat data through a centralized Department of Homeland Security (DHS) portal.

Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet issued the following statement on a report released today by the Department of Interior on the Gold King Mine spill in southwest Colorado caused by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Rob Portman (R-OH) have included a bipartisan provision to strengthen federal cybersecurity in the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA). The Bennet-Portman measure will implement a consistent framework for identifying cyber-related positions and recruiting qualified personnel across the federal government.

Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and Cory Gardner today joined Senators Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Dean Heller (R-NV) to introduce a bill to reauthorize the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act (FLTFA). Before it expired in 2011, FLTFA allowed the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service in the western United States to use the proceeds from sales of certain federally designated areas to protect lands of exceptional conservation value.

Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet joined Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Coons (D-DE), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mark Warner (D-VA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), and Cory Booker (D-NJ) to express profound concern in a letter to Secretary Kerry about the October 11th Iranian ballistic missile test.