COVID-19 has taken lives, ruined businesses and wreaked economic havoc in New Mexico.  

 

Crushing the virus and recovering from the economic crises must be our priority in Congress. We must begin by strengthening all the health sectors that are working to save lives and slow the spread, provide funding and federal support to ensure as complete a vaccination of Americans as possible as quickly as possible. 

 

We must ensure that our students are getting safe, adequate, and equitable access to education, and invest in our businesses and local economies so that they can survive this pandemic and thrive on the other side.

 

I am working with my colleagues in Congress to strengthen and pass the Biden Rescue and Recovery plan. We must not think small for this recovery. We are thinking bold, and just a few of the key aspects are: 

 

• Funding for state, local and tribal governments;

• Additional funding for infrastructure investment, especially in rural and tribal areas, to provide better access to broadband, clean water and renewable energy infrastructure, and health care;

• Expansion of infrastructure funding to cover the essentials our communities need to thrive, including schools, health clinics and affordable housing; 

• Economic essentials including: additional direct payments, an expansion of unemployment insurance, child tax credits, paid family medical leave, a living wage, student debt relief and a jobs program to put Americans back to work, including in our creative economy upon which so many New Mexicans rely;

• COVID relief for all Americans including immigrants, who we know are our essential workers, intrinsic to the fabric of our communities and need a path to citizenship.