Michael F. Bennet
Senator for Colorado · Democratic · United States
“The other kids in the school need to be vaccinated. The other kids in the classroom need to be vaccinated for vaccines to work. And, until this administration, that wasn't controversial because we could see what the science told us.”
Senate23 September 2026Source ↗
“Based directly on what they saw at Fort Lewis and similar outbreaks at that time, the CDC updated its guidelines in 1989 to establish the two-dose MMR schedule recommended for every schoolchild in America today. This updated recommendation paved the way for measles to be officially eliminated across the United States in the year 2000.”
Senate23 September 2026Source ↗
“But that peace of mind is being undermined by the current administration--including by the President of the United States and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, who have worked tirelessly to undermine decades of settled science around routine vaccinations that have kept kids safe in this country and around the world for years.”
Senate23 September 2026Source ↗
“I think we should be having a debate in this country about the state of healthcare in the United States of America and about the ways in which we failed this generation and the next generation in providing a system that actually delivers better healthcare at a reasonable price and mental health care at a reasonable price, instead of plung…”
Senate23 September 2026Source ↗
“And the last thing that they wanted to worry about was getting a free vaccine for their children or whether they should have that vaccine at all.”
Senate23 September 2026Source ↗
“They had to send him out on live television to contradict the President of the United States, who said that this routine vaccine that we have relied upon to save millions of lives was ``quite lethal.'' Meanwhile, Secretary Kennedy spent last week serving as the keynote speaker for an anti-vax convention.”
Senate23 September 2026Source ↗
The complete record
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“Do you know that, today, in the United States of America, our life expectancy is 6 years shorter than if you live in an industrialized country in the world that has a universal healthcare system that costs half of what this healthcare system costs? If you are African American in the United States of America, your life expectancy is 12 years shorter than if you live in a country that has a universal healthcare system that costs half of the one in the United States of America. And those systems, by the way, are very different. Some of them are all public systems. Some of them are a combination of for-profit and nonprofit and government healthcare. But the thing they share in common is that everybody is covered and that they cost much less than the healthcare that is delivered in the United States of America.”
Senate3 April 2025Source ↗
“Before he leaves the floor, I just wanted to thank my colleague from Georgia for the moral clarity of his remarks tonight. It is interesting to think for a moment of what we are dealing with and what the context of this budget is. We are living in the wealthiest country in the world, but unlike almost any other industrialized country in the world, we don't provide healthcare to everybody in the United States. This is the wealthiest country in the world. Per capita, we are far wealthier than any other country in the world. And, yet, we made the decision not to provide healthcare to everybody. And, shockingly, not only are we doing that, we are spending twice what any other industrialized country is spending on healthcare--for worse results.”
Senate3 April 2025Source ↗
“Madam President, I was necessarily absent for rollcall vote No. 162, on passage of the joint resolution, H.J. Res. 24. Had I been present for the vote, I would have voted nay. ____________________”
Senate3 April 2025Source ↗
“We must never become indifferent to others or undemanding of ourselves.'' With that, I thank my bipartisan colleagues again. I look forward to the day when we are out here not with 8 Senators but 80 Senators in support of freedom and in support of the fight Ukraine is leading. I yield the floor.”
Senate11 March 2025Source ↗
“Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be permitted to speak for up to 6 minutes, Senator Tillis for up to 10 minutes, and Senator Sanders for up to 20 minutes prior to the scheduled rollcall vote.”
Senate11 March 2025Source ↗
“It is shocking that we are in the position that we are in, and I hope, for the sake of our kids and for our grandkids, for the sake of the allies that we have all over the world, for the sake of democracy and freedom in this world, that we pull together as a Senate and articulate the importance of pursuing this negotiation out of a position of strength and not of weakness. I yield the floor.”
Senate5 March 2025Source ↗
“If we abandon Ukraine, we are going to abandon the core of who we are. This is a simple question. It is not a partisan one. And the answer couldn't be clearer. So, Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 114, which was submitted earlier today; further, that the resolution be agreed to and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.”
Senate5 March 2025Source ↗
“Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.”
Senate5 March 2025Source ↗
“I urge my opponents to vote for this amendment. I ask for the yeas and nays. I yield back my second. Vote on Amendment No. 540”
Senate20 February 2025Source ↗
“Mr. President, this amendment reinstates the thousands of fired National Park Service, Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Land Management employees. Our public lands are the crown jewel of America. With drought, wildfire, and record visitation, our public lands are facing more pressures than ever before. Now is not the time to fire dedicated public servants who perform wildfire mitigation, manage visitors, clear trails, permit grazing and mining and oil and gas operations. Fewer boots on the ground means more wildfire risk and less access to our public lands and puts enormous burden on communities across the country, from Alaska to North Carolina, to Maine.”
Senate20 February 2025Source ↗
“Mr. President, I call up my amendment No. 540 and ask that it be reported by number.”
Senate20 February 2025Source ↗
“It is a lot harder, but necessary, for the living to stand for freedom and democracy and those willing to give the last measure of themselves for those eternal values. At this moment, the United States is the only country who can lead the free world against these dictators, against these tyrants. The Americans who serve in this Chamber must fulfill our responsibility to the American people and demand the President fulfill his patriotic responsibility in the days ahead. Everything now is in our hands. The moment demands that the United States of America lead-- for the sake of the Ukrainian people, for our own national security, and for democracy around the world. Our failure will not just be damaging; it will be devastating. I yield the floor.”
Senate20 February 2025Source ↗
“And Donald Trump is about to try to do it for the second time-- for the second time. And I hope that people in this body won't be fooled by it, because we saw it before. And we could get a big bipartisan vote in this Senate to begin to reestablish a set of economic rules that is actually lifting the fortunes of the vast majority of people in this country, instead of giving these tax cuts to the people in America who need it least. I yield the floor.”
Senate19 February 2025Source ↗
“In fact, the fact that it has been hard to hire them has compromised our communities in really fundamental ways, and we ought to double down on the Forest Service's mission, investing in wildfire resilience, watershed health, recreation management, rooting out waste, and cutting redtape to make the Agency a better partner for rural communities across the country. That is what we would be doing. Instead, President Trump and Musk's actions to eviscerate the Federal workforce take a torch to that approach and tear at the fabric of our communities. It is an insult to Colorado and all Americans. There is no reason they should do it, and they should rescind these cuts. With that, Mr. President I thank my colleagues for their indulgence. I yield the floor.”
Senate19 February 2025Source ↗
“Is a vaccine denier the best we can do for our doctors who are working around the clock and our nurses, too, in the midst of the worst flu outbreak in 15 years? Is a man who became a millionaire many times over by claiming vaccines cause autism the best we really can do for our kids? Do we really want parents making a choice that is unsafe for them and for their communities because people at the highest offices in the country are making false statements about science? Out of 330 million Americans, we can surely do better than this. I appreciate the Presiding Officer's patience. I yield the floor.”
Senate12 February 2025Source ↗
“This is not an issue of his appointments to the intelligence Agencies. But in the case of Congresswoman Gabbard, I think he missed the mark. I apologize to my colleague from California for going on for so long. I will yield the floor to him.”
Senate10 February 2025Source ↗
“As we fix our broken immigration system, most Americans want people treated with dignity, especially if they are children. Immigration is one of the many challenges facing our country today. It touches every aspect of our economy. It directly affects families and often implicates our core values. In their best moments, our parents and grandparents managed to navigate these tough issues by upholding the law and honoring our values. We must not abandon that aspiration in our time. Mr. President, I am grateful for your patience. I apologize for going over a minute or two. I yield the floor.”
Senate20 January 2025Source ↗
“The Senator from Alabama made this point when she said that there isn't a Dreamer in the country that is less than 17 years old. That is because notwithstanding the American people's overwhelming support for Dreamers who know no country other than the United States, that we have been unable to rationalize their presence in the country. But 3 million Dreamers--who, after all these years, are now middle- age nurses and teachers and small business owners with families of their own--are also vulnerable.”
Senate20 January 2025Source ↗
“Mr. President, I would ask unanimous consent of the Presiding Officer to set aside the pending amendment so I may offer my amendment No. 90; that there be up to 15 minutes for debate on the amendment; and that upon the use or yielding back of time, the Senate vote on the amendment without further intervening action or debate.”
Senate20 January 2025Source ↗
“Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.”
Senate20 January 2025Source ↗