Too often in Washington special interests urge us to fight one another just because we belong to different parties. It is time for this to stop and for Washington to focus on what needs to be done.

Meth is a major problem not only in our urban areas, but in most of the rural areas of Colorado. No region has been immune from this scourge and it is getting larger.

Our country has suffered from an on-again, off-again energy policy that has failed to get us to energy independence. As President Obama has said, we need a comprehensive energy plan for the country that includes conventional resources like oil and gas, but that also takes advantage of wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, and other renewable resources.

On the Native American front, we have turned a new page in the 400-year history of the interface between the American settlers of this country and the nation's first Americans. That's included a new relationship where the sovereignty of tribes is in fact recognized.

I think the future for solar energy is bright.

My family has spent 400 years farming on the banks of the Rio Grande. We know the value of hard work, love of the community, love for water and land.

In my time in the U.S. Senate, I tried to craft an energy policy... I will be part of President Obama's efforts to achieve energy independence and enhance the landscape. I am also part of his reform agenda.