Lujan, Pearce Oppose Budget Deal, Others in N.M. Delegation Support

Reps. Ben Ray Lujan and Steve Pearce don’t see eye-to-eye on much, but they both agreed Thursday that they couldn’t vote for a budget deal hatched late last week to prevent a government shutdown.

Lujan, a Democrat, and Pearce, a Republican, both voted against the spending bill, which passed the chamber 260-167. Rep. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., voted for it, as did Sens. Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall, both New Mexico Democrats. The measure passed the Senate 81-19.

Lujan said he could not support the bill because of cuts to “important programs that families in New Mexico rely on, such as WIC, which provides critical nutritional assistance to women and their children, and Community Health Care Centers, which provide care to underserved and low-income communities.”

“In addition, the bill cuts funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund that helps protect our public lands,” Lujan said.

Pearce said he voted against the bill because it didn’t cut deeply enough into government spending.

“For decades, both parties have tolerated rampant fiscal irresponsibility,” Pearce said, adding that the bill “does little to demonstrate that Washington has listened or changed course.”

Rep. Martin Heinrich sounded a pragmatic tone: “Compromise on the continuing resolution was necessary to keep the government running and the tens of thousands of New Mexico federal employees working.”

Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., said the bill contained “some cuts that make sense” and was “an important step toward deficit reduction.”

Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M. it was “the best agreement that could be reached in order to prevent a government shutdown and the major economic damage it would cause.”