With NM set to receive $3.7B, Dems tout bill
The Democratic members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation are touting the massive infrastructure bill that cleared the House last week, which will pour billions of dollars into the state for things like road improvements and water projects.
The Democrats all supported the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, which will bring at least $3.7 billion to New Mexico in the coming years.
“The reality is that New Mexico has long been held back by a systemic lack of investment in our infrastructure,” Sen. Martin Heinrich said during a Zoom news conference to promote the legislation. “And the pandemic really laid bare the stark realities that too many of our families still lack access to clean drinking water, much less high speed internet. With the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, we will finally be able to change this.”
Missing from the event was Rep. Yvette Herrell, the lone Republican member of the state’s delegation. She voted against the bill, which did receive bipartisan support. There were 19 Republicans in the Senate and 13 in the House who voted in favor of it.
Herrell said in a statement the bill “offered little substance.”
“I am not going to vote for a bill that is full of pet projects, Washington waste, and frivolous spending simply to appease the entrenched insiders,” she said. “If Democrats would have worked with Republicans from the beginning and introduced a bill that achieved what the title intended – better infrastructure and a foundation for future economic growth in New Mexico and all fifty states – I would have considered supporting it.”
Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., noted Herrell’s vote during Tuesday’s news conference.
“It was only the four of us, the four Democratic members of the New Mexico delegation, that voted for this legislation,” he said. “Unfortunately, our Republican colleague that represents the southern district did not see the importance of passing infrastructure legislation to make investments in every corner of our state. One thing that I learned from (New Mexico Republicans) Manuel Lujan and Pete Domenici, you got to work together.”
New Mexico’s share of the massive spending bill includes:
• $2.5 billion for highway improvement and $225 million for bridge replacement and repairs over five years
• At least $100 million to provide broadband coverage
• $355 million for water infrastructure projects
• $366 million over five years to improve public transportation options across the state
• $90 million to modernize airports
• $38 million to increase electric vehicle charging stations
• $38 million to protect against wildfires
• $13 million to protect against cyberattacks
The bill also contains provisions that will allow states to apply for additional funds.
It wasn’t clear Tuesday how such spending will be tracked. Officials said that various projects will be funded in different ways. For example, states will get money for broadband expansion projects and distribute the money. But airport improvement funding will be doled out directly by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Herrell raised concerns that the spending package will lead to more inflation and worsen supply chain problems.
Paul Gessing, the executive director of the Rio Grande Foundation, a libertarian-leaning think tank, thanked Herrell on Twitter for voting against the “boondoggle.”
She said on Twitter in reply: “The Leftist Infrastructure bill was MORE concerned with policy unicorns, but I’ll continue voting for bills that actually HELP the families of New Mexico!”
President Joe Biden is expected to sign the legislation soon.
“To put it in perspective: This bill puts our infrastructure spending on par with what we saw during the New Deal,” Heinrich said.
New Mexico Democratic Reps. Melanie Stansbury and Teresa Leger Fernandez also voted in favor of the infrastructure bill.
Stansbury, who represents the Albuquerque area in the House, said the state will greatly benefit from four types of projects funded through the package: broadband, water, road improvements and clean energy investment.
“It is so important that we show the world and the country that we mean business in terms of meeting our climate agreements, and that we are going to address our carbon footprint,” she said.
The Democratic senators and representatives also promoted the $1.75 trillion Build Back Better Act, which is a second piece of legislation that carries the child tax credit expansion, funding for free preschool and other policy goals for the White House. Congress is expected to take up that bill later this month.
