Following the narrow passage of President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill in the Senate, New Mexico’s Democratic Senators, Ben Ray Luján and Martin Heinrich, have issued strong condemnations, warning of the potential negative impacts on New Mexican families and communities.
The bill passed with a 51-50 vote, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote, despite opposition from all Democrats and three Republicans.
Luján criticized the bill for gutting healthcare, stripping food assistance and jeopardizing rural hospitals and grocery stores, all while delivering “massive tax cuts to the ultra-wealthy and big corporations.” He also warned that the bill’s addition of over $3 trillion to the national debt would drive up interest rates, making essential costs like car loans and mortgages more expensive for families and increasing borrowing costs for small businesses and farmers.
“Senate Republicans just pushed through a budget bill that hurts New Mexican families. In their rush to meet President Trump’s demands, they voted blindly, with no regard for the harm this bill will inflict on all of our constituents,” Luján said.
Luján further detailed his efforts to mitigate the bill’s negative effects, noting that he backed several amendments aimed at protecting healthcare and nutrition programs and lowering costs for New Mexicans. These proposals, including motions to protect SNAP funding, strengthen Medicaid, increase resources for local law enforcement, invest in wildfire prevention, safeguard clean energy investments, and provide tax relief to the middle class and small businesses, were all blocked by Senate Republicans.
“This bill is not just bad policy – it’s a failure of leadership and a betrayal of New Mexico families, rural communities and American values,” Luján said.
Heinrich echoed Luján’s sentiments, saying he “stood up for New Mexico families by voting against Senate Republicans’ budget reconciliation that funds Republicans’ tax handouts for billionaires at the expense of working people.”
Heinrich said he pushed to amend the legislation, repeatedly voting to lower costs, block Medicaid cuts, protect rural hospitals, extend healthcare tax credits and prevent millions from losing health insurance.
“The largest cut to Medicaid in American history. The largest transfer of wealth to the rich in American history. The largest cut to food assistance in American history,” Heinrich said. “The largest increase to the national deficit in American history: That’s what this bill represents. And it has one effect — billionaires win, American families lose. It’s a betrayal of working families masquerading as legislation.”
While Heinrich successfully fought against provisions mandating the sale of public lands, which were removed in the final round of negotiations, he said the bill still has devastating potential consequences. Heinrich warned that if signed into law, the bill would hike electricity bills, leave tens of millions uninsured, cut food assistance for millions, shutter nursing homes, force rural hospitals to close (potentially 6 to 8 in New Mexico alone) and send health insurance premiums soaring.
Heinrich outlined numerous efforts blocked by Senate Republicans, including amendments to lower healthcare costs, protect food assistance (preventing 223,000 New Mexicans from losing SNAP benefits), prevent Medicaid cuts (which could lead to 90,000 New Mexicans losing coverage and four nursing homes closing), increase the Child Tax Credit, lower energy prices and provide permanent tax relief for overtime wages. He also filed amendments to protect veterans, prevent tax handouts for billionaires, and safeguard various environmental and immigration policies.
“Senate Republicans had a choice: stand with working families or bend to billionaires. They chose greed, cruelty, and a callous disregard for the people they represent,” Heinrich said. “New Mexicans and all Americans will suffer for it. I urge all Americans to raise their voices and call on their elected leaders in the House of Representatives to stop this disaster before it becomes law.”
The bill now moves to the House for debate and a final vote, before it heads to Trump’s desk.
Cuts to Medicaid will also negatively impact Healthcare facilities like my small mental health business where half of my clientele is covered by Medicaid.
I may be out of business due to the significant drop in numbers; not to mention how much mental health of our community will suffer with no care from their providers.