Heinrich Votes Against Republicans’ Big, Beautiful Betrayal of New Mexico Families to Give Tax Handouts to Billionaires

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) 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. 

For over 27 hours, Heinrich pushed to amend Republicans’ reconciliation legislation, repeatedly voting to lower costs for families, block cuts to Medicaid, protect rural hospitals in New Mexico, extend tax credits for health care premiums, and prevent millions of Americans from losing their 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. 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. 

“If signed into law, this bill will hike electricity bills, leave tens of millions uninsured, cut food assistance for millions more, shutter hundreds of nursing homes, force rural hospitals to close, and send health insurance premiums soaring. The consequences of this bill will be deadly — and Republicans will own every single one.  

“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. 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.” 

Last night, Senate Republicans blocked Heinrich’s efforts to: 

• Protecting food assistance for kids, veterans, and seniors, including 223,000 New Mexicans from losing all or part of their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits in just the first year this bill is enacted into law.  

Protect Rural Hospitals  

• Preventing rural hospitals from closing, converting, reducing, or stopping services, including emergency care, mental health care, and labor and delivery services. 

Protect Our National Security  

Prioritize Working Families Over Billionaires 

Below is a list of amendments that Heinrich filed to amend Republicans’ budget resolution to cut taxes for billionaires at the expense of working people: 

• Amendment to protect food assistance for hundreds of thousands of New Mexicans by stopping harsh, burdensome work requirements that would cut SNAP benefits for families, including 39,790 New Mexicans who could lose their benefits altogether. 

• Amendment to remove a provision in the bill that bars workers providing Medicaid home- and community-based services from obtaining job-based health insurance, retirement benefits, skills training, and the option to have a voice on the job through a union. 

• Amendment to save the Inflation Reduction Act’s EPA Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles grant program that makes our air cleaner, improves public health, spurs important energy and fuel savings for public school districts, and creates high-quality jobs.  

• Amendment to protect funding for air pollution reductions, greenhouse gas corporate reporting, methane emissions and waste reduction, environmental and climate justice block grants. 

• Amendment to provide $500 million to combat the spread of and eradicate the New World screwworm through surveillance, training, biosecurity, research, and the construction of sterile fly production and dispersal facilities.  

• Amendment to eliminate $2 billion in wasteful spending for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which would fund unjust, extreme immigration enforcement measures that target vulnerable migrants and expand deportation efforts. 

• Amendment to stop $46 billion in wasteful spending on President Trump’s border wall, which bypasses environmental regulations and threatens important wildlife habitats for dozens of endangered species, including Mexican gray wolves in New Mexico and Arizona. 

• Amendment to shift funding away from unproductive, invasive background checks on immigrant families and instead invest in child welfare professionals at DHS to ensure unaccompanied kids receive safe, supportive care. 

• Amendment to ban the President, Vice President, Senate-appointed Executive Branch Officials, Members of Congress, Special Government Employees, and their spouses and children from directly or indirectly issuing or profiting from cryptocurrencies. 

Below is a total list of amendments that Heinrich filed in his capacity as Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to amend Republicans’ budget resolution to cut taxes for billionaires at the expense of working people: 

• Amendment to strike the new Loan Program Office (LPO) title named “Energy Dominance Financing, which will give $1 billion to fund only coal, oil and gas projects, instead of opening financing to cleaner, cheaper energy options.  

• Amendment to strike $1 billion from “Energy Dominance Financing,” which primarily finance coal, oil, and gas projects.  

In February, Heinrich attempted to amend Republicans’ resolution by offering an amendment to reinstate blocked grants for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence and ensure law enforcement can hold predators and abusers accountable. Republicans voted against his amendment. Watch Heinrich’s video here.