Concerns about the economy, employment opportunities, purchasing power, health care, education — these are all issues Coloradans care about greatly, but none more so than women like us these days.
For the first time in our nation’s history, women now outnumber men as their family’s primary and co-breadwinners. In Colorado, women outnumber male heads-of-household by nearly three to one. Our state also ranks fifteenth in the nation for the number of woman-owned firms, with forty-two percent of all private businesses in the state owned by women. In the Denver Metro Area alone, businesses owned by women doubled in less than a decade and generate over $19 billion in sales.
Make no mistake about it, women will be the driving force behind Colorado’s and America’s economic recovery. For these reasons and many more, women in Colorado are interested in the important legislative accomplishments House Republicans have made to help restore economic opportunity and build a better Colorado.
House Republicans — and House Republican women in particular — have focused on a legislative agenda that clears away barriers to employers and that creates a stable environment for job creation. No other state legislature in the nation is better represented by women than Colorado’s General Assembly, and House Republican women have led the charge in drawing attention to issues affecting women everywhere.
Cheri Gerou, a Republican legislator from Evergreen who chairs the Joint Budget Committee, led the General Assembly in passing a state budget that respects the needs and fiscal realities of every family and small business. Our budget also fulfilled the promise we made to Coloradans last summer, when we announced we would protect Amendment 35 dollars to ensure they go to funding cancer research, prevention and treatment — a top priority for the American Cancer Society and a top priority for our Colorado House GOP.
In this year alone, over 6,000 Coloradans will learn they have breast cancer. Our efforts this last legislative session will give women across the state the support and resources they need to help them fight and defeat their illness by increasing access to programs like low and no-cost mammograms.
Our budget also helped address an issue of primary importance to every head of family: the education of their children. The House Republican budget increased funding for education by $57 million. For K-12 education alone, House Republicans budgeted $106 million more than Gov. Hickenlooper requested in his proposal. We also maintained a balance of $100 million in the State Education Fund so we can save for the future success of every child in Colorado.
In addition to the budget we passed, House Republicans instituted many other policy changes to help families in Colorado close the gap in their own monthly budget, including a bill to reduce the $100 fee on late vehicle registrations. Another bill allowed cottage bakers like Mandy Gabelson of Mesa County’s Ava Sweet Cakes, to sell their goods from home and pursue her real passion: “being a mom, at home with my kids.”
House Republicans recognize the positive advancements in America’s workforce and family bread winners, but we also recognize the achievements women have made in the class room and on the sports field. That’s why Rep. Carole Murray, a Republican from Castle Rock who also serves as the House GOP Caucus Chair, sponsored a resolution this year celebrating the 40th anniversary of Title IX — to encourage, educate and empower America’s next generation of CEOs and Nobel Prize winners.
The communities we live in today are greatly evolving and constantly changing. Our Colorado House Republicans recognize and understand the challenges families face now and we are proud that our legislative accomplishments will help families across Colorado make ends meet. We’re also hopeful that we’ve done our part to increase opportunity for every Coloradan by working with job creators to build a better economic environment in our state.
We’re moms and grandmas, we’re sisters and aunts, and we’re confident that our leadership in the Colorado House of Representatives has helped to build a better Colorado.
This commentary was signed by the following women who serve in the Colorado 68th General Assembly and are members of the House Republican Caucus: Majority Leader Amy Stephens, R-Monument; Caucus Chair Carole Murray, R-Castle Rock; Majority Whip B.J. Nikkel, R-Loveland; Rep. Cindy Acree, R-Aurora; Rep. Laura Bradford, R-Colbran; Rep. Kathleen Conti, R-Littleon; Rep. Cheri Gerou, R-Evergreen; Rep. Marsha Looper, R-Calhan, and Rep. Libby Szabo, R-Arvada. To learn more about the 2012 legislative session please visit or follow us on Twitter at @COHouseGOP.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an online-only column and has not been edited.
