Politics

Udall, Heinrich Announce $833,700 Grant To Improve N.M. Affordable Housing Options

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U.S. SENATE News:
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. ― U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich announced that NeighborWorks America will award three New Mexico nonprofit affordable housing organizations with a total of $833,700 in grants funded through last December’s “omnibus” appropriations bill to fund the government.
 
The funds will be used to help families who need safe, affordable housing, and create jobs in New Mexico.  
  • Homewise, Inc. will receive $591,450 to help New Mexicans in Santa Fe and Albuquerque buy homes and make home improvements to improve
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Luján Votes To Protect Seniors’ Access To Doctors And Extend Health Care For Children

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U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján

CONGRESSIONAL News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. ― U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico’s Third District voted Thursday in support of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act, bipartisan legislation to protect seniors’ access to doctors through Medicare. 

“Year after year for more than a decade, Congress has passed short-term fixes to a flawed system in order to prevent seniors on Medicare from losing access to the doctors they trust. Time and again, rather than enacting a stable payment system for doctors, Congress has kicked the can down the road. Finally,

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Rio Grande Trail Commission To Study Corridor For 500-Mile Rio Grande Trail

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That rock that was in the middle of the Blue Dot Trail isn’t there anymore. In fact, the trail is in great shape from rim to river, and March and April are the best time to take a walk in White Rock Canyon. Photo/Text by Craig Martin

Courtesy/LAC

COUNTY OPEN SPACE News:

The 2015 Legislature passed a bill, HB 563, creating a Rio Grande Trail Commission to study a corridor for the proposed Rio Grande Trail. The 500-mile trail would extend from the Colorado to Texas borders using existing trails and creating new ones.

Never mentioned in the proposal is the existing Los Alamos County River Trail. The Read More

Carly Fiorina To Keynote New Mexico GOP Silver Elephant Event In Albuquerque May 30

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Carly Fiorina

GOP News:

ALBUQUERQUE – Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina will be in Albuquerque Saturday, May 30 to keynote the Republican Party of New Mexico Silver Elephant Event.

“We are thrilled to have Ms. Fiorina come to our event and look forward to her keynote address,” RPNM Chairman Debbie Maestas said. “New Mexico has an exciting opportunity to hear from such a high-powered and well-respected business woman paired with her political background.”

Fiorina served as CEO of Hewlett-Packard from 1999 to 2005 and was Read More

Udall To Question DOE Secretary On LANL Cleanup, WIPP Costs, Tech Transfer And Other N.M. Priorities

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U.S. Sen. Tom Udall

U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., will discuss steps forward for cleanup at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and several other New Mexico priorities with U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz at a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development.

Udall will press Moniz to work constructively with the state of New Mexico to safely reopen the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) and discuss the Department of Energy’s plan to release a report on the radiological accident.

Udall also will discuss

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Letter to the Editor: New Mexicans Should Stand Up

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By JESSE GUILLEN
Santa Fe
 

As the United States and Iran work toward a historic nuclear draft accord on the status of Iran’s nuclear program, dozens of US senators have interfered in the negotiations.

Sen.r Tom Cotton and 46 others sent an ill-informed letter to Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran, threatening to end any negotiated agreement regarding nuclear weapons once President Obama leaves office. This undermines the President’s ability now, and in the future, to achieve the national security goals of the United States.

It should be the long-term goal of our national Read More

Letter to the Editor: 2015 Session Was Not Fun

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By RICHARD ELLENBERG
Former Chair of the Democratic Party of Santa Fe County
Current Candidate for Democratic Party of New Mexico State Chair

Congratulations to our Legislators for coming together in our big tent to turn back efforts to hurt workers and children. The session was not fun, and was full of ‘my way or the highway’ tactics.

The Republicans at the last minute amended the bipartisan capital improvement bill, cutting programs for seniors, education and others, to create a highway slush fund for the Governor to dole out to her supporters. At the end, they gave the Senate 20 Read More

Udall, Heinrich Urge IRS To Make Paper Tax Forms Available To Rural New Mexicans

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U.S. SENATE News:
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich sent a letter to the commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to express concerns about cuts to services, particuarly for rural and elderly New Mexicans.
 
The letter follows numerous complaints from residents of Fort Sumner, Elephant Butte, Taos and across rural New Mexico about a lack of paper filing forms and reduced office hours due to budget cuts. With just under four weeks left to file income tax returns, Udall and Heinrich encouraged the
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Udall, Rubio, Heinrich, Menendez And Grijalva Introduce Bill To Promote Historic Preservation Education

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U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Monday, U.S. Senators Tom Udall, D-N.M., Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Martin Heinrich, D-N.M. and Bob Menendez, D-N.J. and U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz. introduced a bipartisan bill to give colleges and universities with a high enrollment of Hispanic students access to a grant program that encourages students to engage in historical and cultural projects.

The Preservation Research at Institutions Serving Minorities (PRISM) Act would amend the National Historic Preservation Act by expanding eligibility to include Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) Read More

Anti-Conservation Bills Defeated In 2015 Legislature

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CVNM News:

SANTA FE — Conservation Voters New Mexico (CVNM) advocated for or against 89 bills at the Roundhouse during the 2015 New Mexico legislative session.

CVNM and our allies successfully defeated 100 percent of the anti-conservation bills that attacked common-sense laws that protect our families and communities for the 11th year in a row.

CVNM and our allies in the Environmental Alliance of New Mexico joined together to successfully pass an eight-year extension of the solar development tax credit. SB 391, sponsored by Sen. Stewart is critical to advancing development of solar energy Read More