Joe Neguse

88 years ago, President Roosevelt established the Civilian Conservation Corps, a national service program that employed millions of Americans during the Great Depression to complete conservation projects across the country. Joe, along with PP leader Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) introduced the Civilian Climate Corps Act which would authorize the Biden administration to utilize existing national service programs to address our public lands maintenance backlog and restore our forests in the wake of devastating western wildfires. Thankfully for Joe and Abigail, President Biden included $10 billion in his American Jobs Plan to establish the Civilian Climate Corps. Now we will have to wait and see if the American Jobs Plan gets passed.

Joe was once again thrust into the national spotlight this week when the most recent senseless act of violence at the hands of an assault weapon fell in Joe’s district of Boulder, Colorado. It has reawakened calls for more serious and significant new gun safety laws. He released a full statement on the devastation, pointedly saying “enough is enough”. He went further in a tweet saying that ending the filibuster would result in a clear path to achieving this – a move that most Republicans and some Democrats are against. It remains to be seen what actions Congress will take, if any at all. Perhaps a comforting reminder behind that cynical reality is that Joe will be fighting for his constituents.

Joe became an overnight rising-star after his performance as a House manager during the second Trump impeachment trial, and he’s not letting that momentum go to waste. His Federal Labs Modernization Act caught our eye, which looks to invest in modernizing our science and research labs. It turns out that his district is a hot-bed for scientific research, with over 30 federally funded labs in the area. Joe’s bill calls for an evaluation every two years on necessary improvements and directs funds to make it happen. So let the experimentation begin, but please don’t blow the roof off the place, okay fellas?

After President Trump’s second impeachment hearing, Joe emerged as the Democrats’ new star. You might be one of his 60,000+ new Twitter followers so this could be old news to you, but his 16-minute speech was a plea to Republicans to put country over party and drew from his upbringing as the son of Eritrean refugees. Some are comparing this to President Obama’s speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention. Where to next though? In his home state of Colorado, the Governor and Senators are favorites and locked in so we might see Joe pivot to some new areas of leadership. But where does Joe see himself 5 years from now? “I hope I’m coaching my daughter’s Little League team.” Early Nominee for Best Dad Award in 2026.

There are too many health issues to count that we still cannot do much about. Hearing, however, is an area that has taken grand scientific leaps in recent years – granting the gift of sound to many hearing-impaired through cochlear implants and another device called a bone anchored hearing aid (BAHA). One of Joe’s constituents, 11-year-old Ally, who has a BAHA, wrote a letter to him a couple years ago lamenting that her implant was not covered by insurance and that she was sure so many others who needed it couldn’t afford it. Joe introduced Ally’s act back in 2019, but has reintroduced it now to the 117th Congress to make such hearing aid devices covered by insurance. The bill now has bicameral and bipartisan support with Sens. Shelley Capito (R-WV) and Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) support.

With Democrats now controlling all Congress and the White House, perhaps it was the perfect time for Joe to re-introduce his bill called “Ally’s Act” increasing access to specialized hearing care. Inspired by an 11-year-old from his district named Ally, this bipartisan, bicameral bill (which means it has support in both the House and Senate) would require private insurance companies to cover osseointegrated hearing devices (OIDs) including bone anchored hearing aids and cochlear implants, exactly like the one Ally’s insurance company denied her receiving due to high cost. Ally’s mother wrote to Joe, who took to the charge like a bolt of lightning, and now must shepherd its passage into law. Also noteworthy is that Joe, a former litigator, was named by Speaker Pelosi as one of nine impeachment managers who will argue the case in front of the Senate.

Joe is certainly a member of Congress who knows how to get things done, having sponsored or co-sponsored 20 bills that became law. Now, he’s calling on that no-nonsense attitude to condemn the objections to the election, stating, “no substance, no evidence, no facts, no explanation for why over 88 judges across this land have rejected the very same claims [of voter fraud].” He continued, “the bottom line is this…the people have spoken.” Joe was one of the first to sign on for VP Pence to invoke the 25th amendment and voted yesterday to impeach the president. He also spoke on the House floor defending the election results when Arizona was being debated.

Joe’s district was home to the largest wildfire in Colorado history this year – it burned for 3.5 months and affected 208,913 acres. He has now started the bipartisan Wildfire Caucus in the next Congress. “Wildfire mitigation and response must be a year-round priority,” he said. Joe and his Republican co-founder, Rep. John Curtis of Utah will use the group to advocate for the needs of local fire crews. Other goals include promoting science-based wildfire mitigation strategies and boosting federal resources to communities subject to fire damage. If you live in a state affected by wildfires, this is an effort to be applauded and watched that can hopefully change the disastrous course we’re on.

Whistleblower is a hot-button word these days and Joe has just passed legislation to further protect folks who step forward to report wrongdoing, often at their own peril. The Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act is a bipartisan bill that extends whistleblower protections to private sector employees who report criminal antitrust violations. Antitrust violations often result in higher prices, less innovation, and less choice, therefore without accountability from the employees, price and wage fixing would go unreported. The measure passed the Senate last year thanks to Joe working with Senator Chuck Grassley (R), and now with the successful House vote, it heads to the President’s desk for his signature.

Considered the 8th leadership position in Congress, Joe was elected as the Co-Chair of the Caucus’ messaging arm – the Democratic Policy and Communication Committee. At Political Playlist, we love to see our young politicians elected to these leadership positions in their party. This isn’t Joe’s first rodeo; he was previously the Co-Representative for the Freshman Class of the 116th Congress. His new position will give him the opportunity to craft messaging and policy formulation… something most Democrats can agree they could be a little better at.