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.
The leaders in the U.S. House seem to be taking care of the three incoming representatives from New Mexico, if their committee assignments are any sign.
Martin Heinrich landed a spot on the Armed Services Committee, Harry Teague has a spot on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Ben Ray Lujan will sit on the Committee on Homeland Security.
In a statement, Heinrich said: “I know that Kirtland Air Force Base and Sandia National Laboratories are of the utmost importance to our District, and this was key in my mind when seeking my committee assignments. I am proud to serve on the Armed Services Committee and I look forward to the work ahead. Although I don’t know my other assignment yet, I will do all I can to ensure that I am placed on a committee that is in the best interests of our community.”
Teague announced in a press release Monday his spot on the “key” Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
“I am honored to have been appointed to the Transportation Committee, we must have a voice for southern New Mexicans as we develop the economic recovery and infrastructure package that is so vital to the people of my district and to the health of our nation,” he said in the statement.
Lujan announced this morning he received a spot on the Committee on Homeland Security.
“As a member of the Committee on Homeland Security, I will be able to work on behalf of important programs at Los Alamos National Laboratory and Cannon Air Force Base — promoting our nation’s security and providing thousands of jobs in the district,” said Lujan. “As a Committee member, I will also work hard to protect the civil rights and liberties of all Americans, maintaining these essential protections while keeping our country safe.”
Heinrich’s predecessor, Heather Wilson, served on the Armed Services Committee until 2005, when she lost her spot on the high-profile committee after a battle with Joe Barton, who was the Energy and Commerce Committee chairman at the time, over a controversial vote by Wilson.
This is the key committee for the annual defense authorization bill, which funds the Department of Defense as well as national security aspects of the Department of Energy.
Wilson would have needed to get a waiver to serve on both the Energy and Commerce and the Armed Services Committees.
At a town hall this reporter attended, Lujan expressed his interest in the Committee on Homeland Security. This committee, in addition to having an oversight role on the Department of Homeland Security, serves to oversee transportation security, border and port security, critical infrastructure protection, cyber security, emergency preparedness, emerging threats, intelligence, information sharing, privacy, civil rights and civil liberties.
The jurisdiction of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee includes highways, bridges, public transportation, rail, aviation, ports, waterways, waste-water treatment facilities and federal buildings.
