For Immediate Release
Date: March 10, 2021

Members of N.M. Congressional Delegation, New Mexico Governor Applaud Passage of American Rescue Plan

Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), and U.S. Representatives Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) and Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), and New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham applauded the final passage of the American RescuePlan to provide critical relief for New Mexico families, workers and small businesses, and local, state, and Tribal governments. The legislation now heads to the president’s desk.

The American Rescue Plan will:

• Provide direct payments of $1,400 to eligible New Mexicans.
• Mount a national vaccination program.
• Scale up testing to stop the spread of COVID, safely reopen schools, and protect at-risk populations.
• Deliver immediate relief to working families bearing the brunt of this crisis.
• Support state and local governments and Tribal communities that are struggling in the wake of COVID-19.
• Provide emergency paid leave and extend unemployment benefits.

A full breakdown of the American Rescue Plan is available HERE. A recording of the call is available HERE.

“The American Rescue Plan marks the beginning of the end of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Senator Heinrich. “This $1.9 trillion relief package ramps up an effective national vaccine campaign, supplies the single greatest infusion of dedicated resources to Indian Country in American history, and significantly expands the Child Tax Credit – creating a historic reduction in child poverty. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The American Rescue Plan is a way for New Mexico, our Tribal communities, students, parents, restaurant and small business owners, and more to begin returning to a life a lot more normal than what we experienced this past year. Help is on the way.”

“The American Rescue Plan will invest in every corner of New Mexico to help our state recover and rebuild from this pandemic. Now that the House and Senate have passed this legislation, the president will sign this legislation into law and provide needed relief for New Mexico families. This monumental legislation will help put our economy back on the right track, support workers and small businesses, and provide relief for state, local, and Tribal governments,” said Senator Luján. “More work remains ahead to put an end to this virus, but the AmericanRescue Plan is a step in the right direction for New Mexico.”

#COVID19 relief is on the way, New Mexico! https://t.co/w8mrQfH71S

— Rep. Deb Haaland (@RepDebHaaland) March 10, 2021

“As someone who lived in poverty and didn’t have a savings for most of my adult life, I know what it’s like to be one emergency away from being homeless. This pandemic has put a strain on New Mexico families, hospital workers, small businesses, and many families who have lost multiple family members to this horrible virus,” said Representative Haaland. “Everyone in our state deserves to feel whole again. That’s why the American Rescue Plan is so important. With $1400 checks in people’s pockets and extended unemployment benefits, New Mexicans will have immediate financial stability, and long term investments for vaccine distribution will make sure we can get more vaccines into people’s arms and teachers and students are safe to go back to school while jumpstarting an equitable recovery.”

“We made a promise to the American people to act boldly to rescue our country from the pandemic. Today, we delivered on that promise,” said Representative Leger Fernández. “I’ve listened to mayors, local officials, Tribal leaders and families across my district, Republicans and Democrats. I asked them – what do you need to address this crisis? This plan answers their request for direct payments, for help to open their fairgrounds and small businesses. New Mexicans told us what they need. With the passage of this bill today, we are closer to recovery.”

“The American Rescue Plan is the most significant legislation targeted at lifting up Americans since the days of FDR. It is the most sweeping anti-poverty legislation since the days of LBJ’s Great Society. Words almost fail in describing what a game-changer this is, and I could not be more proud of our Democratic Congressional delegation for their essential contributions to this package, or more grateful to President Biden and Vice President Harris for their leadership in meeting this moment. The benefits to New Mexicans are astounding — the billions in targeted investments that will help us end the pandemic and help get children safely and expeditiously back into classrooms, the benefits to families with children, the assistance for hard-hit businesses and workers, the health care coverage expansions, the behavioral health support, the health equity support, the billions for states and local governments and profound investments in tribal communities. New Mexico stands more than ready to get these funds where they need to go to lift up families and workers and businesses all across our state — together we will end this pandemic and, accelerated by the assistance of the American Rescue Plan, build ourselves back better than ever before,” said Governor Lujan Grisham.

Note: Cover photo by Ron Cogswell (CC BY 2.0)