Press Releases

Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.-03) issued the following statement after President Biden’s State of the Union speech: 

"Tonight, President Biden reminded us of just how far we’ve come as a nation and just how much we’ve accomplished together over the last two years. We immediately passed the American Rescue Plan to save the economy from collapsing, address the COVID-19 pandemic head on, expanded the child tax credit for working families, and invested in countless small businesses struggling to stay afloat.  Soon after, we passed a generational infrastructure investment with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which is bringing clean water, broadband, and jobs to every corner of New Mexico.  

We passed the CHIPS and Science Act to invest in American workers creating advanced computer chips like those made right here in New Mexico and strengthened our supply chains.  We’ve passed the Inflation Reduction Act to bring down prescription drug costs, combat climate change, and reduce our national debt.  We finally took action to address the scourge of gun violence in our communities. Here at home, we delivered justice to Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon survivors.

With the Safer Communities Act, we recognized the urgent need to invest in behavioral mental health - from training the health care providers we sorely lack in rural New Mexico, to providing direct mental health and substance use services for children and families.  

These important accomplishments changed lives. They saved businesses and livelihoods, grew paychecks, created 12 million new jobs, helped Americans afford life-saving health care, and created opportunity for hard-working Americans. 

This is what progress, possibility, and putting people first look like – record high job growth, the lowest unemployment rate since 1969, increased domestic manufacturing, and a stronger United States to compete globally. We can and we are investing in the future of New Mexicans and our communities while reducing the deficit. 

But the time is still now.  

There is still more work to do. As President Biden urged, let’s finish the job. I want to make sure the money we allocated in Congress gets to our communities. I don’t want a dime to stay in Washington if it can be put to good use in New Mexico. I will continue to push legislation to lower costs for New Mexicans, put college in reach for every aspiring student, make child care an economic priority, fight to protect and strengthen social security, and continue to create good-paying jobs for our communities. 

And at the heart of this all, we must work to defend our democracy. 

As Americans we can do this together.  We must do this together.  

Let’s continue to work.  Let’s create hope.  Let’s create opportunity.  

Let’s recommit ourselves to protect and fight for New Mexico and what we love - to build a more prosperous place for all Nuevo Mexicanos."

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