[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 44 (Thursday, April 14, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S3649]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DENVER REGIONAL COUNCIL OF 
                          GOVERNMENTS (DRCOG)

 Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize a model 
of intergovernmental cooperation from my home State of Colorado: the 
Denver Regional Council of Governments, known as DRCOG.
  DRCOG is a nonprofit, cooperative effort of the 51 county and 
municipal governments in the Denver metropolitan area, representing two 
and a half million residents, with another million expected by 2030, 
across eight counties: Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Clear 
Creek, Denver, Douglas, Gilpin and Jefferson. It was founded 50 years 
ago as the Inter-County Regional Planning Association, conceived as a 
place where local officials could work cooperatively to solve the 
region's problems. And it is a voluntary organization--the members are 
choosing to work together for mutual benefit.
  DRCOG champions efforts in a number of areas, including services for 
seniors, transportation and commuter solutions, public safety training 
and testing, where it has repeatedly benefited from the highly 
successful COPS Program, as well as regional growth and water quality 
plans. It has focused on long-term plans to solve these issues, 
including developing understandable, fair and objective project 
selection processes for regional projects eligible for Federal, State 
and local funds and a long-term regional growth plan.
  Last night was DRCOG's Annual Awards Dinner, where it will hand out a 
number of awards, including the John V. Christensen Memorial Award. 
Named after one of DRCOG's cofounders, the late John Christensen was a 
county commissioner for Arapahoe County and one of the Denver area's 
biggest proponents of cooperative problem solving for the metro area. 
The Christensen award will go tonight to a regionalist who has 
displayed outstanding commitment to working for the region's common 
good. Past award recipients have included Colorado State legislators, 
mayors, county commissioners, as well as county planners, regional 
leaders, and others during the award's 32-year history.
  DRCOG has strived to speak, as its motto says, ``With One Voice.'' 
Its members have eschewed partisanship and ideological bickering to 
focus on a single goal: Cooperative problem solving that benefits all 
of the people of the Denver metro area. By coming to the table with the 
commitment to work towards a common solution, DRCOG has exemplified 
what we seek in our leaders: Thoughtful consideration and deliberate 
action.
  DRCOG is exactly the kind of effort to which we all aspire, a place 
for ideas and insight, for working in a nonpartisan fashion across 
jurisdictional lines. I applaud the accomplishments and efforts of the 
Denver Regional Council of Governments and look forward to its 
continued success.

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