Over the last 20 years, Colorado has established itself as a tech powerhouse. The Centennial State has played an indispensable role in advancing the geographic diversity of America’s tech sector by proving that exceptional talent pipelines and hubs of innovation can exist outside the bubble of Silicon Valley.

One of the brightest attributes of our state’s tech sector is its contribution to national security and the defense of our allies. Colorado’s array of world-class firms run the gamut from data analytics to aerospace and defense to cybersecurity. Our region’s technological prowess has been on display during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as multiple Colorado tech companies stepped up to help counter Vladimir Putin’s territorial ambitions. While the role of our community’s tech firms has been spectacular, it is not surprising.

When it comes to bolstering America’s defenses and keeping adversarial nations in check, there are few places in the nation that are more pivotal to that effort than central Colorado. Schriever Air Force Base, for example, offers an illustration of the impact our local military community is having on the world stage in the sheer volume of intelligence gathering activities being conducted there by Colorado’s armed forces in the effort to aid Ukraine against Russian forces. Colorado Springs is also home to U.S. Northern Command, U.S. Space Command, Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Space Operations Command, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, and the Air Force Academy, and it’s a short drive to Buckley Space Force Base right up I-25 in Aurora.

Our business community has been blessed with a pool of tech-savvy veterans who are ready to put their well-honed skills to work on behalf of our region’s burgeoning tech industry. This has given Colorado a unique competitive advantage.

American tech dominance, aided by a growing number of Colorado outfits, gives our country a valuable edge on the global stage.

Yet, there is a concerted effort by some in Washington to stop U.S. tech supremacy in its tracks. In an effort to show the loudest wings of their respective parties that they are doing something to injure Big Tech, this group of lawmakers has cast nuance to the side and proposed sweeping regulations that would stifle innovation and even potentially threaten national security. In fact, former national security officials of various political stripes have warned that these measures would not only hinder American companies’ ability to combat disinformation campaigns but also put U.S. firms at a structural disadvantage to countries such as Russia and China.

Meanwhile, America’s adversaries are not resting. Just last week, the FBI and MI5 issued a joint warning regarding China’s attempts to ratchet up its cybertheft campaign. That same day, the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center posted a notice alerting government officials and business executives to China’s covert tactics to influence policy making. Sound familiar?

These are the same objectives that the aforementioned national security officials told Congress they might be facilitating with their reckless, ham-fisted tech proposals.

Poor decisions made in Washington, D.C., have jeopardized the nation’s military readiness. The Heritage Foundation’s 2023 Index of U.S. Military Strength, released last month, rates America’s military as “weak” for the first time in the nine year history of the index, warning that it is “at growing risk of not being able to meet the demands of defending America’s vital national interests.” This is especially alarming juxtaposed with the technological ascendancy of China’s naval and air forces.

On top of that, there remains the risk of the U.S. Space Command HQ being uprooted and moved from Colorado Springs to Huntsville, Ala., a move which would reduce the efficacy, capabilities, and readiness of our most technologically important branch, at possibly the most critical time. Hobbling our high-tech defense industry with ill-conceived anti-trust regulations that give federal bureaucracies excess power over the private sector would compound these problems, and further compromise our readiness.

Here in Colorado, we take great pride in defending America’s interests. With a constantly evolving threat matrix, our military and private sector have their work cut out for them. Congress shouldn’t be making it harder.

Mark Waller is a former Colorado state representative, Colorado House minority leader, and El Paso County commissioner. He also served in the Air Force JAG Corp.

Mark Waller