Hello fellow political junkies!
I’m back and it was not a vacation.
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and although I was in the hospital for a week for something other than colorectal cancer, I did have an emergency colonoscopy, the standard test for detecting colorectal cancer, where they found some… issues.
For those who have not experienced the joy of colonoscopy prep, it, in a word, sucks.
But so does cancer.
On March 29, a joint program between the New Mexico Department of Health’s Comprehensive Cancer Control Program, UNM’s Comprehensive Cancer Center, the American Cancer Society and Project ECHO was launched to raise awareness about the importance of colorectal cancer screening.
The New Mexico Colorectal Cancer Screening ECHO Program was launched to train and mentor health care providers across the state.
“We have been studying colorectal cancer screening needs in New Mexico and we have found a need for working together with a health equity lens to increase screening rates,” Dr. Prajakta Adsul of the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center said in a press release. “The ECHO program is an evidence-informed place to share strategies to improve cancer screening and ultimately improve colorectal cancer outcomes, increasing prevention and early-detection efforts in New Mexico health systems.”
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Back to politics.
This was a relatively slow week in the land of state and federal politics.
The New Mexico Democratic Party held its pre-primary convention in which its members voted in favor of a ceasefire in Gaza.
This puts the ceasefire as an official part of DPNM’s political platform this election season.
More on this from SourceNM here.
Also, the New Mexico congressional delegation has been busy this week with legislation being introduced and letters sent to leadership.
Rep. Melanie Stansbury and Sen. Martin Heinrich, both Democrats from New Mexico, introduced legislation with Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, an Oregon Republican, seeking to help students seeking postsecondary education.
The Postsecondary Student Success Act of 2024 seeks to remove barriers from students’ academic success by reauthorizing the Postsecondary Student Success Grant program permanently, a press release states.
According to the press release, the bill authorizes funding to colleges and universities for evidence-based retention programs, such as:
- Providing faculty and peer counseling services
- Incentivizing students to re-enroll and stay on track
- Collecting real-time data on student progress
- Providing direct student support services including tutoring and academic supports
- Preparing students for a career by providing career coaching and counseling
- Lowering student to advisor ratios
- Recruiting and lowering faculty and other instructional staff
- Reform developmental education, including utilizing career pathways and improving transfer student success
Heinrich and Sen. Ben Ray Luján, a New Mexico Democrat, sent a letter to Senate leadership requesting action for pharmacy benefit manager reform as a means to lower prescription drug costs.
2024 Primary Election
The New Mexico primary is June 4 with candidate filing day for statewide offices set for March 12.
The 2024 Primary Election Contest/Candidate List can be found on the New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office website.
For more information about elections contact your local county clerk’s office which can also help you check on or update your voter registration, a process that can also be done online at NMVote.org.
Interim meetings
Interim committee meeting information will be posted here.
For more information on interim committees visit www.nmlegis.gov.
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