“To quote a recent commentary in the Las Cruces Sun-News, Washington is ‘so divided and paralyzed that it lurches from one crisis to another.’ I agree; this brinkmanship must end. Passage of this budget, does nothing to change this precedent, it simply encourages closed-door negotiations and last minute deals,” stated Pearce. “Not only does this bill fail to make the hard choices, it raises the debt ceiling and changes spending priorities without so much as a single amendment. The resulting bill will hurt New Mexican farmers and ranchers, seniors on fixed incomes, and our state’s economy.”
“To pay for the spending increases included in this budget, Congress yet again raids the livelihood of the west and the poor. 58 million barrels of crude will be sold from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which will cause excess surplus in the market, hurting the price for our oil and gas producers in the state where revenues make up 40% of our state’s operating budget. Changes to Social Security’s funding will provide short term stabilization to disability payments, while placing greater stresses and uncertainty on the overall program. We should not be raiding the Social Security retirement fund, that working people have contributed to over their lifetimes, to pay for Social Security Disability. It is not sustainable and not fair. The bill also fundamentally changes the Federal Crop Insurance program that will limit farmers and ranchers’ access to insurance, and makes it nearly impossible for the government to continue the private-public partnership that has been working so effectively in recent decades.
“Both parties are to blame for what the process has become and the failures in this bill. We should start work on annual funding bills on the first day of the year. There should be weeks of debate, not just one hour. More transparency and more time would move us away from panicked legislation. This year, the House started the budget process the earliest it has since the 1970’s. By August recess, we had passed 6 Appropriations bills and were working on the 7th. This was real progress and momentum. Members were able to offer and debate amendments to the underlying bills and contribute to a stronger, final product. Unfortunately, since returning in September, the House has not taken up one additional funding bill, instead waiting until the last possible minute to strike a ‘grand’ bargain. This isn’t good for jobs and the economy, and it isn’t good for New Mexican families.”
Information from: Office of Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM Dist. 2)