While traveling the District, I spent a day in the East Mountains with our land grant communities. These land grants are vital to the fabric of our state, our cultures, and our ways of life. Established across New Mexico during both Spanish and Mexican eras, hundreds of land grant communities continue today, including in the East Mountains outside of Albuquerque. I visited with leaders from Manzano, Tajique, Chilili, Cañon de Carnue, Torreon, and las Huertas and talked about the history, culture, hopes and dreams of our land grants. It was a beautiful time! 

While in Albuquerque, I held a press conference last Friday at Road Runner Food Bank to highlight the impacts of Trump, Musk, and the GOP’s cuts to food assistance programs like SNAP, farm-to-food-bank programs, food distribution programs, and what these cuts will hurt farmers and ranchers. We know that hunger is a policy choice. Conservatives are CHOOSING to potentially let millions of Americans go hungry—as they cut vital USDA programs and propose to gut SNAP.  In our state alone, 1 in 5 children experience food insecurity and over 470,000 New Mexicans use SNAP to supplement food and grocery needs. These are real people and real New Mexicans who will suffer. But Democrats are fighting back! 

When I was down in Carrizozo, I attended the opening of a new exhibit at the Carrizozo Heritage Museum called “Atomic Dawn: Lincoln County, Trinity, and the Bomb.” 80 years ago, the first atomic bomb was detonated at the Trinity Site near Carrizozo. This fateful day in July of 1945 (as shown in the Oppenheimer movie) would determine the outcome of WWII and the course of history. But it would also leave a devastating nuclear legacy that would impact the residents of the Tularosa Basin for generations to come. These are the stories of the families in New Mexico who have been impacted by the fallout and who are still fighting for justice today. We are still fighting for justice for the downwinders—Congress must pass the Radiation Compensation Exposure Act (RECA) now!