Martin Heinrich

I join a rising chorus of New Mexicans by asking President Barack Obama to designate the Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks National Monument.

For more than a century, the Antiquities Act has given American presidents the authority to protect some of our nation’s most important and threatened places. Across New Mexico, we see the benefit of the Antiquities Act — Bandelier National Monument, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, White Sands National Monument and El Morro National Monument to name just a few.

Research done late last year by the Green Chamber of Commerce shows that New Mexico’s 10 national monuments established through the Antiquities Act account for 1.3 million annual tourist visits and $54 million in annual tourist spending that supports 1,061 New Mexico jobs.

One place in New Mexico deserving of such protection is the proposed Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks National Monument in Doña Ana County. For months now, I have heard from residents and elected officials in the city of Las Cruces and Doña Ana County asking for help with their efforts to protect these southwestern natural treasures. City councilors, county commissioners, and the mayor of Las Cruces, Ken Miyagishima, have implored me to seek permanent protection.

In addition, organizations as diverse as the Hispano Chamber of Commerce de Las Cruces, the League of Women Voters, and the Southwest Consolidated Sportsmen all support a comprehensive approach to preserving Doña Ana County’s wild lands.

Only the president of the United States has the authority to use the Antiquities Act to designate a new national monument, and today I join a rising chorus of New Mexicans by asking President Barack Obama to designate the Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks National Monument.

Historical places, wild game habitat

This proposed monument includes part of the original route of the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, which took settlers and traders from Mexico City through Las Cruces and continuing north all the way to Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo. For more than 300 years, this road served as the sole route from Mexico City into New Mexico. Some of the most vivid characters in New Mexico’s history were active in this area, including Geronimo and Billy the Kid.

The Butterfield Stagecoach Route ran right though the Sierra de las Uvas Mountains, which also contain some of the most distinctive Native American petroglyphs and pictographs in the Southwest. The Organ Mountains continue to provide critical cultural resources for the growing Mesilla Valley population.

The mountain ranges in the proposed monument include some of the most important wild game habitat in New Mexico. Mule deer, mountain lion, dove, quail, and many other species call the Sierra de las Uvas home. The Potrillo Mountains are especially significant with their ecological links to northern Mexico, and the Organ Mountains provide critical water resources to local wildlife.

As proposed, the Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks National Monument proclamation would make access by sportsmen a central part of the area’s management and protection in perpetuity. That would ensure that when my sons are my age, they will be able to enjoy hunting for mule deer in the Las Uvas, or quail in the Robledos.

Because of their proximity to the fast-growing Las Cruces metro area, these places are threatened by increased development pressures, invasive species, and off-road vehicle abuse. By designating these areas as a new national monument, we can make sure that they are protected for us and future generations of New Mexicans to enjoy.

I hope you will join me in urging the president to make southern New Mexico the home of America’s newest national monument.

Heinrich, a Democrat, represents New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House and is a candidate for U.S. Senate.

Martin Heinrich

Senate candidate Heather Wilson left more than a few important facts out of her recent attack in the Albuquerque Journal. Most importantly she failed to mention her 11-year track record in Congress.

Perhaps most outrageous is Wilson’s pretend indignity over government spending. During her time in office, former Congresswoman Heather Wilson was all for taking out loans to fight two wars and pay for an unfunded prescription drug program. At the same time, she voted for tax breaks for the richest Americans and a taxpayer-funded Wall Street bailout.

Here are a few of the highlights from her tenure as your U.S. representative that she hopes you won’t remember:

• As one of her final acts as a congresswoman, Wilson voted for a bill that gave a historic bailout to the Wall Street CEO’s who crashed our economy. Her support for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) allowed the Treasury Department to buy up to $700 billion in troubled assets.
• Wilson voted to max out our nation’s credit card on costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Data from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office show that Republican-Bush policies on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and new defense policies cost $1.469 trillion.
• Wilson voted for the unfunded Bush tax cuts for the ultra-rich, adding over $700 billion to the deficit over the long term. We’ve seen that Wilson’s approach to taking care of special interests and ignoring the interests of New Mexico’s middle class families has proven ineffective at stimulating job growth.
• In 2003, Wilson voted for the Medicare Part D program that gave billions of dollars to pharmaceutical companies and health care giants by not allowing Medicare to negotiate cheaper drugs for seniors. This unfunded prescription drug program costs U.S. taxpayers about $55 billion annually, paid for completely through deficit spending.

What’s more is the irony that, while Wilson focuses on earning the support of the tea party and playing an armchair political quarterback, she refuses to say whether she would vote for the House GOP’s budget that guts Medicare. Perhaps we’ve only scratched the surface on her extreme agenda.

In the months to come, we’ll surely have some tough choices to make, but going back to Heather Wilson’s devastating policies that put us in this mess in the first place isn’t one of them.

America is too great a nation to cast aside our values as we face hardship. I’ll continue working to reduce the deficit, but not on the backs of New Mexico seniors or the middle class. We must end the Bush tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, strengthen Medicare and Social Security, and accelerate our commitments to bring the troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan. The path forward is one that focuses on creating jobs and puts the American middle class family first.

Heinrich, a Democrat, is a U.S. Senate candidate and the U.S. representative for New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District.

Martin Heinrich

Heinrich, who defeated Republican Jon Barela last week, reflects on what his victory means

Though last Tuesday’s national result was a difficult one to comprehend, it wasn’t simply an indiscriminate wave whereby an anxious public swept aside the party in power. Within the larger trend, we saw smaller narratives emerge.

By the end of the night, one in particular became clear: Those of us who won did so by having the courage to stand by our legislative decisions – to run on, and not away from, our records.

This has been a time of great challenge for our nation. But even in the face of such uncertainty, leaders on both sides of the aisle must resist the temptation to frighten a jittery public with extreme rhetoric. Now is a time for reconciliation and reason, not repudiation.

Republicans may have taken back the House, but they’re no more popular than Democrats. Together, we need to rebuild the public’s trust in government and continue the hard work of economic recovery that began two years ago.

And, yes, I believe compromise is possible. The cynics on cable TV might not think so, and they may have a few sound bites from the fringe to back up their punditry. But politics doesn’t happen at the fringe. Republicans know the American people won’t tolerate a government shutdown, and we know we can’t pass job-saving legislation without their help.

On tax cuts for families and small businesses, on cutting deficit spending, on lowering our nation’s debt, on benefits for veterans, and even on immigration, we will find a way. We will pass on a more prosperous nation than we inherited.

Know that I consider this victory a humbling challenge to keep fighting for you and for your families. My wife Julie and I are so grateful for your commitment to the hard working people of central New Mexico and to our nation’s democracy, and we thank you for all your help and support.

Heinrich, a Democrat, represents New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District in Congress.