Joe was first elected in 2018 to represent Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, becoming the first African-American elected to serve in Congress in Colorado history. He serves as Chair of the Subcommittee on Public Lands and was elected by his peers to the No. 8 position in House Democratic Leadership as the Co-Chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee.
Every student should be able to obtain a quality public-school education. To support Colorado’s rural and mountain communities, Joe introduced and enacted legislation to support rural schools through funds for supplies, building improvements and more. To support college students, Joe is sponsoring measures to expand the use of free, open-access textbooks and make the transfer process easier for students at community college. Joe has also sponsored measures to ensure that every public higher education graduate finishes debt-free, and to protect the internet as a vital tool for innovation and economic growth by reinstituting net neutrality and preserving internet freedom. Joe also continues to fight for increasing teacher pay, federal Title I funding for low-income students, and federal Title II funding for teacher training, and during the House appropriations process, he successfully worked with his colleagues to secure millions of dollars in increased funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to ensure every student is set up to succeed, regardless of their background or abilities.