American Medical Association

AMA elects ABQ doctor as group’s new president

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A prominent national medical group that opposes a Republican health care reform proposal now has a leading voice from New Mexico. The American Medical Association elected Albuquerque oncologist Barbara L. McAneny, M.D, Tuesday as the organization’s new president-elect. In a written statement released by the AMA, McAneny said she plans to use her position to advocate for both physicians and patients. “The AMA will play a pivotal role in the changing health care environment as our nation confronts pressing health care issues,” McAneny wrote. “With vision and perseverance, I look forward to creating a brighter future for patients and the medical profession.”

McAnenny is not stranger to testifying in congressional meetings.

Tom Udall

Udall calls for ‘swift’ investigation after reports Trump revealed classified info

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U.S. Sen. Tom Udall criticized President Donald Trump Tuesday after the Washington Post revealed that the president disclosed classified information to Russian officials during a meeting in the Oval Office last week. On the Senate floor, Udall said the latest news calls for a “swift” and independent investigation. “The White House and President Trump face another crisis,” Udall said. Udall went on to criticize Trump’s firing of former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates and FBI Director James Comey. “The only rational explanation is that he has something to hide,” Udall said.

Affordable Care Act

Heinrich votes against prescription drug imports

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Martin Heinrich was one of 13 Democratic U.S. senators who voted against legislation earlier this week that would have allowed Americans to buy prescription drugs from other countries. The measure, a health care reform idea often supported by progressives, came as an amendment to legislation aimed at changing Senate rules to allow majority votes on budget bills. The procedural changes, which the Senate narrowly approved in the early hours of Thursday, are the first step in Republican plans to repeal as much of the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, as they can. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent senator who unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic Party presidential nomination last year, sponsored the amendment with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota. Senators rejected the amendment on a 52-48 margin, with 12 Republicans casting their votes in favor.

ACA

Udall, Heinrich vote against first steps to repeal Obamacare

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Both U.S. senators from New Mexico voted this week against the first steps the Senate took to repeal the federal Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. The Senate vote, held Thursday during early morning hours, changed procedural rules to allow majority votes on so-called reconciliation bills. Such reconciliation bills are limited to actions on the federal budget and are filibuster-proof, meaning they just need 51 votes from senators to pass instead of the usual 60 votes. Republicans plan to use this reconciliation process to repeal as much of the ACA as they can. Sens.

Congress & Federal Issues

Lujan Grisham to be part of Dem whip team

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U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham will be a Senior Whip in the Democratic caucus when the new Congress convenes next year. Lujan Grisham received the position after being named by Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer on Thursday. This is the second high-profile position for Lujan Grisham in the upcoming Congress. Lujan Grisham was recently elected chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which is made up of Hispanic members of the chamber, currently only Democrats. Hoyer referenced that position Thursday in a statement.

Javier Gonzales

Santa Fe won’t end ‘sanctuary city’ status, even under President Trump

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Less than a week after Donald Trump won the election for president of the United States, the mayor of New Mexico’s capital city is not backing down from so-called “sanctuary” status. This comes despite threats to cut federal money to such cities made by the president-elect during the campaign. “The threat is intended to divide us against each other,” Santa Fe Mayor Javier Gonzales wrote in a statement on Twitter Monday afternoon. “It is one of the first, but it won’t be the last we see out of this administration, which based on its own words intends to persecute and attack not only immigrants but women, Muslims, people of color, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and more.”

Though there is no formal legal definition, the politically charged term “sanctuary city” typically refers to cities that limit cooperation with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency on immigration policies. Santa Fe, for example, bars the use of public resources to check for someone’s immigration status.

Abortion Access

Pearce wants it to be easier for states to cut off Planned Parenthood funding

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The House of Representatives voted in favor of a bill that would make it easier for states to deny funding to Planned Parenthood through federal Medicaid dollars. Congressman Steve Pearce of New Mexico was among the more than 200 members of the House who voted in favor of the Women’s Public Health and Safety Act earlier this week. The bill would allow individual states to decide whether organizations like Planned Parenthood can receive Medicaid funding. New Mexico’s other two members of the House, both Democrats, voted against the legislation. The bill has very little chance of clearing the Senate and, even then, would face a veto from President Barack Obama.

Health

NM House members split on defunding Planned Parenthood

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The U.S. House of Representatives voted to bar Planned Parenthood from receiving federal funding, the latest in a line of efforts to aimed at the women’s healthcare provider over abortion. The vote was 241-187 on near party lines. Three Republicans voted against the measure while two Democrats voted for the measure. In New Mexico, the members of Congress were split on partisan lines. Rep. Steve Pearce, the lone Republican in the New Mexico delegation to Washington, voted for the legislation.

Abortion Access

New Mexico leaders call for Planned Parenthood investigation

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As national discussions about defunding Planned Parenthood continue with no signs of stopping, some New Mexico officials have said they want see an investigation into local offices. Last week Lt. Gov. John Sanchez, a Republican, issued a statement on Facebook saying he was “completely appalled to learn of the practices by some at ‪Planned Parenthood‬ to harvest and sell the organs and body parts from aborted babies.”

He echoed what many national Republicans have been saying since the release of the first of a series of undercover videos released by anti-abortion activists. Some members of Congress have been calling for an investigation into Planned Parenthood after the videos, which are heavily edited, appeared to show the group sold fetal tissue for a profit. Planned Parenthood released a statement on Tuesday refuting the claims after another video surfaced. The statement accused the individuals who captured the video of violating patients’ rights and said that the videos were edited and deceiving.

Congress & Federal Issues

Luján slams House GOP over Confederate flag

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Rep. Ben Ray Luján, a Democrat from New Mexico’s Third Congressional District, slammed House Republicans over actions related to the Confederate flag. A vote on a spending bill was delayed over whether to stop flying the Confederate flag at National Parks. “It is shameful that on the very day South Carolina acted to take down the flag, House Republicans are standing up for the Confederate Battle Flag and the intolerance it represents,” Luján said on Thursday. Luján is also the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the top Democratic congressional entity for elections. Weeks after the a mass shooting at a black South Carolina church and hours after the South Carolina Legislature voted to take down the Confederate battle flag—more commonly cited as the Confederate flag—the House Republicans find themselves in the middle of a controversy over the flying of the flag.