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We know that when we take care of the land that we call home, it takes care of us. As a member of the House Committee on Natural Resources, I work tirelessly to take care of the spaces we share so that generations after us can keep breathing clean air and drinking clean water. In New Mexico, we know that agua es vida. Since I arrived in Congress, I have helped secure over $778 million for water projects across my district including the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project and the Ute Water Pipeline. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which I helped pass, provided the single-largest investment of water infrastructure in history. That will help small towns and villages throughout New Mexico access clean and reliable water. I also introduced the Orphaned Wells Cleanup and Jobs Act of 2021 to clean up over 56,000 known “orphaned” oil and gas wells across the country that leak methane, contaminate groundwater, and threaten the safety of communities. The infrastructure funding in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law incorporated aspects of my bill and made $560 million available in funding to clean up orphaned wells and create jobs for New Mexico and other states. Climate change poses an existential threat to our planet and our ways of life. That’s why I proudly voted for the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which President Biden signed into law on August 16, 2022. The IRA is the largest action to combat the climate crisis in our nation’s history. It invests in clean energy production and manufacturing right here in the United States and puts us on track to reduce carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030. That means new good-paying jobs and energy security for New Mexicans. With smart investments and strategic use of our vast renewable energy resources, New Mexico is uniquely positioned to become a leader in clean energy, growing our economy and creating good-paying jobs. |