Congress Tidies Up Loose Ends

Congress typically moves at a glacial pace in the weeks before an election, and this year is no different.

The House last last week and Senate this weekend recessed and won’t return to Washington until after the Nov. 6 election. However, a few legislative items affecting New Mexico saw some action before members headed back to their districts.

Last week, the House passed the Mescalero Apache Tribe Leasing Authorization Act. The bill introduced by Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., authorizes the Mescalero Apache tribe to lease, contract or transfer adjudicated water rights.

“The ability to lease these water rights will generate great economic opportunity for the Mescalero Tribe, and will provide water for New Mexicans when we need it most,” Pearce said in a statement.

Pearce said revenues earned from the water leases will enable the tribe to invest in infrastructure improvements, elder care and scholarship programs.

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Meanwhile, the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee approved a bill earlier this month that would establish a registry to help the federal government better understand how air pollution caused by open-air burn pits of trash and other waste at military sites leads to diseases among service members.

The bill, authored by Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M. and co-sponsored by Democratic Sen. Jeff Bingaman, was prompted by the case of Master Sgt. Jessey Baca, a South Valley man diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma, mesothelial hyperplasia and constrictive bronchiolitis after serving in Iraq.

Baca is debilitated with severe respiratory and pulmonary illness since returning from duty at the Balad military base two years ago. A doctor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., ultimately diagnosed Baca’s terminal illness and connected it to the burn pit pollution in Iraq.

Similar registries were established to keep track of soldiers exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam and those who suffered by from Gulf War syndrome after the first war with Iraq in the 1990s.

The burn pit legislation has bipartisan support and Udall said he’s optimistic the Senate will pass it after the election.

“Sadly, (Baca’s) case is not unique,” Udall said in an interview with New Mexico radio reporters last week. “It means a lot to veterans like Jessey and his family, and we’re working to get it done before the end of the year.”

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Back in the House, members voted last week to extend funding for the Upper Colorado River and San Juan River Basin fish recovery programs. The Endangered Fish Recovery Programs Improvement Act extends the programs through fiscal year 2019, authorizing $42 million over the next seven years to protect fish species that have seriously declined or are listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act.

“Managing our water resources is critical to the future of New Mexico and is vital to protecting our rivers and fish that depend on these resources,” said Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M. “These programs have always had bipartisan support in Congress and their success in fish recovery has made them models for other recovery projects across the country. It is important that we take proactive steps to ensure these programs will continue and accomplish their goals.”

The Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program aims to recover the humpback chub, bonytail, Colorado pikeminnow and razorback sucker in the Colorado River and its tributaries in Colorado Utah, and Wyoming

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One of the last things the Senate did before leaving town for the election recess was to pass a resolution honoring the New Mexico’s 100th anniversary as a state.

The resolution, cosponsored by all five members of the delegation, was introduced in both chambers of Congress.

It honors “the extraordinary history and heritage of the State of New Mexico” and notes that the earliest evidence of humans in the United States was found in New Mexico and that Santa Fe is the oldest capital in the U.S., established in 1610. The resolution also recognizes New Mexico’s scenic beauty and rich history.

“New Mexico has made numerous contributions to our country in its first hundred years as a state,” Bingaman said. “On our centennial anniversary, this resolution officially recognizes the extraordinary history and heritage of our state and commends the contributions of all New Mexicans.”

E-mail: mcoleman@abqjournal.com. Go to www.abqjournal.com/letter/new to submit a letter to the editor.