I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
With Hillary Clinton more than likely to become the next secretary of state under Barack Obama, it is not only her Senate seat which is open. Clinton’s ranks in certain committees will also be up for grabs, one of which Jeff Bingaman has snagged.
New Mexico’s soon-to-be senior Senator will take a key position in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. A blog from The Hill says that Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., announced that Bingaman will replace Clinton “as head of the working group on health insurance reform” in the committee.
Kennedy is the chairman of that committee, while Michael Enzi, R-Wyom., is the ranking member.
“Sen. Bingaman is a longtime advocate of quality and affordable health care for the American people,” Kennedy said in a news release in which he also announced expanded roles on health care reform for other senators. “… We are all committed to working with the Obama Administration and our colleagues in Congress to finally give the American people the health care reforms they urgently need and deserve.”
Bingaman pointed out that New Mexico has one of the highest rates in the nation of people without health care.
“Furthermore, many New Mexicans that are fortunate enough to have health insurance struggle because the coverage may be very costly or may not provide comprehensive benefits,” Bingaman said in the release. “I look forward to working with Chairman Kennedy, my other colleagues in the Senate and the incoming administration to develop a plan that provides meaningful and affordable health care to all Americans.”
Bingaman was already a senior member of the committee, but his new role gives him significant influence in the debate over health care reform, one of the hottest issues in the nation. Bingaman is also one of the lead voices on another pressing issue — energy independence — as chairman of the Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
The position Bingaman is picking up could be a crucial one, if the choice of Tom Daschle as secretary of Health and Human Services is any indication. Talking Points Memo’s Election Central wrote of the choice:
First, it’s a sign that Obama will pursue real, meaningful, ambitious reform; and second, it shows that he’s determined to avoid the mistakes that doomed Hillarycare in the 1990s.
If the interests of those who attended the Ben Ray Lujan town hall on Saturday evening is any indication, health care reform is something that is very much wanted.
Editor’s note: NMI’s Heath Haussamen contributed to this post.
