Doug Lamborn - U.S. House of Representatives - Tenure

Tenure

An office of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency was established in Colorado Springs in Lamborn's district. The office opened in February 2009 and increased immigration enforcement agents in the area from two to ten. “The immediate need is to address those that have committed a crime and make sure they’re sent out of the country,” Lamborn said. However this would not place in jeopardy employers who hire illegal immigrants in the first place or who pay these workers without any withholding tax or below the minimum wage.

There has also been a Brigade Combat Team in his district since December 2007. The Brigade Combat Team consisting of almost 5,000 soldiers, their families, support personnel as well as increased military construction.

Congressional Quarterly said that through the first August recess, Lamborn had voted by strict partisan lines the most of any member in the U.S. House and more than any other Republican. Lamborn led an effort among conservative Republicans to force the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to discard proposed regulations that would have affected accessibility to small arms ammunition, which were opposed by Second Amendment groups. In February 2010, The National Journal named Lamborn the most conservative member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Lamborn is one of the House Republicans leading the effort against public funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and NPR (National Public Radio). "I have been seeking to push Big Bird out of the nest for over a year, based on the simple fact that we can no longer afford to spend taxpayer dollars on nonessential government programs. It's time for Big Bird to earn his wings and learn to fly on his own."

On August 24, 2007, Jonathan Bartha, who works for Focus on the Family (headquartered in Colorado Springs), and his wife Anna wrote a letter to the editor in a community newspaper expressing concerns about Lamborn's opposition to more restrictions on dog fighting. They were also concerned that he'd taken several campaign contributions from the gaming industry. A few days later, Lamborn left two voice mails threatening "consequences" if they didn't renounce their "blatantly false" letter. He also said that he would be "forced to take other steps" if the matter wasn't resolved "on a Scriptural level." The Barthas were shocked by the messages, and Anna Bartha called Lamborn's behavior "not anything we would ever anticipate an elected official would pursue."

Taxes

Lamborn is a signer of Americans for Tax Reform’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge.

"Tar Baby" Remark

On July 29, 2011, Lamborn appeared on a Denver radio program to discuss the debt crisis and the failure of Democrats and Republicans to reach a compromise on the problem. Lamborn stated "Now, I don't even want to have to be associated with . It's like touching a tar baby and you get it, you're stuck, and you're a part of the problem now and you can't get away." The term tar baby is a known racial slur used towards African-Americans. Former Colorado House Speaker Terrance Carroll, himself an African-American, replied "“Looking beyond the fact that Congressman Lamborn’s entire comment is nonsensical, his use of the term ‘tar baby’ is unfortunate because the historical connotation of that term when used in conjunction with African Americans."

On August 1, 2011, Lamborn apologized for his use of the slur, explaining ""When I said 'tar baby', I was talking economic quagmire that our country is finding ourselves in because of poor economic policy from the White House. I could have used a better term."

Refusal to attend 2012 State of the Union Address

On January 23, 2012, Lamborn announced he would not be attending the President's State of the Union address. According to his spokeswoman Catherine Mortenson, "Congressman Lamborn is doing this to send a clear message that he does not support the policies of Barack Obama, that they have hurt our country," and he believed Obama was “in full campaign mode and will use the address as an opportunity to bash his political opponents."