We should never go through this again

Dear Friend,

President Trump's shutdown is finally over, but its impact on our communities will be long-lasting. I was proud to join Congresswoman Deb Haaland over the weekend to meet with New Mexicans who were affected by the shutdown.

PHOTO: U.S. Senator Heinrich and U.S. Congresswoman Deb Haaland meet with tribal health providers at First Nations Community HealthSource in Albuquerque, January 26, 2019.

We met with workers at First Nations Community HealthSource to hear how the shutdown impacted health care delivery in tribal communities. Because the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Services experienced a funding lapse, critical services in Indian Country were disproportionately hurt by the shutdown. 

PHOTO: U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich thanks staff and volunteers at Roadrunner Food Bank of New Mexico, January 26, 2019.

We also had the opportunity to stop by Roadrunner Food Bank of New Mexico and thank them for their work to help thousands of families across our state put food on the table every day of the year. During the shutdown, Roadrunner stepped up to also help affected federal workers and their families.

PHOTO: U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich joins dozens of volunteers for a community cleanup event at Petroglyph National Monument, January 26, 2019.

The shutdown left public lands unattended, putting wildlife, landscapes and human lives at risk. I joined dozens of volunteers on Saturday to clean up Petroglyph National Monument and help mitigate some of the damage caused by the shutdown. But it will take quite a while to recover fully. During a discussion yesterday with public lands managers, I heard many dispiriting accounts of how the shutdown damaged not just our precious landscapes but also the morale of the people who care for them.

We cannot get into a cycle of the president constantly holding federal workers hostage when he doesn't get his way. I'm going to continue fighting for workers impacted by the shutdown to ensure they get their back pay and work to find a bipartisan solution to keep our government open so we never have to go through this again.

Sincerely,

MARTIN HEINRICH

United States Senator