Heinrich, Luján, Leger Fernández Announce $2.24 Million In CARES Act Recovery Assistance To Support Northwest New Mexico

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representative Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) are announcing $2.24 million in CARES Act Recovery Assistance grants that will be dispersed to northwest New Mexico.

These investments from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) are as follows:

• San Juan County, New Mexico, will receive $1.25 million to supply emergency generators and make IT network upgrades for the San Juan Regional Medical Center in support of telehealth and field hospital operation projects being implemented to bolster the regional response to COVID-19. The project will be matched with $617,000 in local funds.
• Northwest New Mexico Council of Governments, Gallup, New Mexico, will receive $990,000 to capitalize a Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) to address the economic development needs of small businesses and entrepreneurs adversely affected by the pandemic in Cibola, McKinley, and San Juan counties. The project is expected to create 100 jobs and retain 100 jobs.

“The COVID-19 pandemic unveiled a variety of public health and economic challenges for rural New Mexico. I have been moved by the resiliency and grit of these communities throughout the past year,” said Heinrich. “That is why I fought so hard to include funding in the CARES Act to help New Mexico’s rural health care systems, small businesses, and entrepreneurs to weather this storm. This funding is long-overdue and I will continue working for federal resources that New Mexico’s rural communities need to take on the COVID-19 pandemic and rebuild our economy in a way that supports everyone.”

“Nearly one year after COVID-19 hit New Mexico, our communities are still struggling with the economic and public health challenges posed by the pandemic. This long-awaited CARES Act funding will help San Juan County strengthen its public health response to the virus and serve even more New Mexicans. It will also support small business owners and entrepreneurs in northwest New Mexico recover and rebuild,” said Luján. “This crisis is not over, which is why I’ll keep fighting to bring much-needed resources to our state.”

“This pandemic has put everything we love in danger. I ran for office to protect my beloved communities and ensure that New Mexicans living in rural areas receive the necessary funding to not only get through this pandemic, but thrive,” said Leger Fernández. “The funding going to the San Juan Regional Medical Center, small businesses and entrepreneurs will provide a lifeline to those most in need. I will continue my work in Congress to secure additional funding for my district’s students, families, and workers – more help is on the way in the American Rescue Act.”

“As a community owned and operated hospital, San Juan Regional Medical Center provides essential healthcare services to the Four Corners area. I would like to thank our state and federal lawmakers for investing in the health and wellbeing of our community through funding of $1.25 million to supply emergency generators and IT network upgrades for our healthcare facility in support of telehealth and operations to care for our patient populations. This funding will ensure that we can meet the diverse needs of our patients and community and improve care for those we are privileged to serve,” said Jeff Bourgeois, President and CEO of San Juan Regional Medical Center.

"Northwest New Mexico has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and this funding provides an important tool to sustain and re-build our economy. Small businesses are the bedrock of our communities, so it is imperative that we provide access to capital to help them re-open, grow, and thrive,” said Evan Williams, Executive Director of the Northwest New Mexico Council of Governments.

This project is funded under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (Public Law 116-136 PDF), which provided EDA with $1.5 billion for economic assistance programs to help communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus. EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance, which is being administered under the authority of the bureau’s flexible Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) (PDF) program, provides a wide-range of financial assistance to eligible communities and regions as they respond to and recover from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.