Nation

$3.7 Million Aimed at Turning Around New Mexico’s Lowest Performing Schools

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Rep. Ben Ray Luján

U.S. CONGRESSIONAL News:

WASHINTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico’s Third highlighted Monday that New Mexico has been selected to receive funding under the U.S. Department of Education’s School Improvement Grant (SIG) Program. A grant of $3,754,213 will help in the effort to turn around persistently low achieving schools in the state.

“There is no better investment we can make in our young New Mexicans than providing them with a good education,” Luján said. “We have the responsibility to ensure that our children have proper support Read More

Alert: Tax Scams Using IRS Name

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IRS News:

PHOENIX─With the start of the 2014 tax season approaching on Jan. 31, the Internal Revenue Service urged taxpayers to be aware that tax-related scams using the IRS name proliferate during this time of year.

Tax scams can take many forms, with perpetrators posing as the IRS in everything from email refund schemes to phone impersonators. The IRS warned taxpayers to be vigilant of any unexpected communication that is purportedly from the IRS at the start of tax season.

The IRS encourages taxpayers to be on the lookout for phone and email scams that use the IRS as a lure. The IRS does not initiate Read More

Lujan Grisham Invites Unemployed New Mexican to State of the Union Tonight

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U.S. CONGRESSIONAL News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, N.M.-01, has invited Coby Messier of Albuquerque to be her guest at President Obama’s State of the Union Address tonight. Messier is a long-term unemployed sheet metal worker recently cut off from federal emergency unemployment insurance due to Congress’s failure to extend the program.

Since the program expired Dec. 28, 1.6 million Americans, including 7,492 New Mexico jobseekers have lost access to this vital economic lifeline.

“The House of Representatives has taken 25 roll call votes since emergency unemployment Read More

More Than 1.6 Million Americans; 7,400 New Mexicans Have Lost Unemployment Insurance

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U.S. CONGRESSIONAL News:

SANTA FE – U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico’s Third District highlighted a new report on how many Americans have seen their unemployment insurance run out since Dec. 28, 2013.

The analysis by House Ways and Means Committee Democrats found that more than 1.6 million Americans, including 7,492 New Mexicans have lost these important benefits. Without Congressional action, on average, nearly 72,000 people are losing unemployment insurance every week.

“It was disappointing that once again Republicans recessed the House without addressing Read More

Martin Luther King Day Highlights Equality; Nonviolence

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Martin Luther King Jr. Courtesy/history.org

Staff Report

As the unquestioned leader of the peaceful Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was at the same time one of the most beloved and one of the most hated men of his time. From his involvement in the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955 until his untimely death in 1968, King’s message of change through peaceful means added to the movement’s numbers and gave it its moral strength. The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. is embodied in these two simple words: equality and nonviolence.

King was raised in an activist family. Read More

Senators Respond to President’s Directive on Surveillance Reform

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U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Mark Udall (D-Colo.), members of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, reacted to today’s speech by President Obama outlining his directive on reforming surveillance powers. The senators have been advocates for reining in overbroad surveillance powers and protecting Americans’ privacy.

They issued the following statement:

“After the long push to rein in overbroad surveillance powers, we are very pleased that the President announced his intent to Read More

Udall Secures Support for Critical PILT Funding

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U.S. SENATE News:
 
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Tom Udall won a commitment from a powerful Senate committee chairwoman Thursday to work with him to find reliable funding for the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program, a critical source of revenue for local governments throughout New Mexico and the rural West. 
 
Udall secured her support after making his case for the program in a speech on the Senate floor. PILT funding expired at the end of last year, and Udall and others are fighting to find full funding. Udall argued in his speech that unless Congress renews PILT funding, local
Read More

N.M. Delegation Announces Federal Drought Assistance

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CONGRESSIONAL News:

WASHINGTON – Wednesday, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich and U.S. Reps. Steve Pearce, Ben Ray Luján, and Michelle Lujan Grisham announced that 27 counties in New Mexico will qualify for emergency loan assistance from the Farm Service Agency (FSA) due to losses caused by the ongoing drought. A full list of counties is included below.

The designation makes producers, farmers and ranchers in these counties eligible for Farm Service Agency (FSA) emergency loans, provided eligibility requirements are met. Funds are available for up to a maximum of $500,000 and Read More

Pajarito Mountain Ski Patrol Member Garners National Recognition

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Nathan Phillips

PMSP News:

Los Alamos High School senior Nathan Phillips is the runner up for Outstanding Young Adult Patroller in the nation. He received a Silver Merit Star and was recognized in the recent issue of the National Ski Patrol magazine.

Phillips has been a member of the Pajarito Mountain Ski Patrol (PMSP) for four years, helping provide safe snow sport recreation on the mountain. He and the rest of the local Young Adult Ski Patrol are attending the Rocky Mountain Division Young Adult seminar at Winterpark, Colo., in March.

Young adults ages 15-18 interested in more information about Read More

Luján Votes for Government Funding Package that Rolls Back Sequester Cuts

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U.S. CONGRESSIONAL News:

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico’s Third District voted Wednesday for the omnibus appropriations bill that funds the government for fiscal year 2014. As a result of the budget deal that was passed in December (see here), the appropriations bill rolls back the sequester cuts that have negatively impacted New Mexico.

“For too long Congress has had to legislate from one crisis to the next as House Republicans shutdown the government and used the appropriations process to make extreme demands,” Luján said.  “With Read More